Madam Clinton, your report on Uganda lacks credibility
May 03, 2010
THIS is an open letter to the US Secretary of State. Dear Hillary, How are you in a long time?<br>I write to you after perusing your report appraising Congress on Uganda’s 2011 election preparedness in which you raised several issues and made certain allegations that must not be left unchallenged
Karooro Okurut
THIS is an open letter to the US Secretary of State. Dear Hillary, How are you in a long time?
I write to you after perusing your report appraising Congress on Uganda’s 2011 election preparedness in which you raised several issues and made certain allegations that must not be left unchallenged.
Your report alleges that Uganda’s Electoral Commission (EC) lacks independence just because the President nominates the Commission. It says the President has taken “no action to further the independence of the Electoral Commission†and concludes: “exclusion of key stakeholders from the appointment process compromised the EC’s independence and will damage the credibility of the 2011 electoral process.â€
On the freedom of movement, assembly, and a process free of intimidation, you allege that the Government continues to restrict opposition leaders’ freedom of movement and opposition parties’ freedom of assembly.
You hype on the bit that Government authorities continue to hold the passport of former presidential candidate and FDC president Kiiza Besigye due to treason charges stemming from the 2006 presidential election, and in January delays associated with the application procedure for reclaiming his passport forced Besigye to postpone travel to the United States.
You also allege that there are unfair restrictions on the media and that there is little or no press freedom! And surprisingly, you cite the very minor near-accident of Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) president Dr. Olara Otunnu – when the Presidential convoy forced his car off the road in northern Uganda – as an “assassination attempt†Please!
A close look at your report shows that it contains only one side of the story – that of the opposition. That effectively undermines its credibility and calls into question the intention of the authors. A credible report should be arrived at after considering every side and angle of the story so that when it is published, it gains immediate respect because it is based on elaborate research and impeccable detail.
Let us consider your assertions, one at a time. First, it is not true that this Government is trying to manipulate the electoral process as you allege; and it is certainly untrue that the EC is not independent.
Truth be told, definitely this Government does not want to have unfair and ridiculous elections. A very high price was paid for this freedom and the liberties we enjoy as Ugandans – folks risked their lives and forsook their comfort to throw out the forces of tyranny and dictatorship.
The Constitution is very clear and unequivocal about how the EC is appointed. Whereas the President has latitude to nominate anyone who fits the criteria stipulated in the Constitution and the EC Act, his authority effectively stops at that. He is bound by law to submit the names of his choices to the Appointments Committee of Parliament which interviews each candidate in detail and vets them.
If Parliament disapproves of any candidate, the President has no authority to force the MPs to pass the candidate anyway; he must go back to the drawing board and nominate a fresh candidate. This is a check good enough that ensures that any excess or abuse of power on the part of the President is thrown out at this point.
Besides, the independence and integrity of the EC has been tested over the years, the best example of which was five years ago when the EC chairman Dr. Badru Kiggundu openly disagreed with the legal position of Government as to the eligibility of opposition leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye to be nominated in the Presidential race when facing rape and treason charges.
We all know that Government rested its case and Besigye was nominated as FDC Presidential candidate. If anyone desires to change the way the EC is appointed, the solution is simple: they should have the Constitution amended in a manner prescribed by law.
And about the freedom of the press and expression.
If you have a radio station that is inciting ethnic hatred and breaking every rule in the book, do you leave it to go on and on?
When people are killing each other, acting on the advice of dubious radio stations, do you leave that to continue in the name of press freedom? Is that how things happen in America – “the land of the free� Is that why the Western world kept quiet when genocide was going on in Rwanda in 1994?
Let us remember that the United States and the United Nations with all their combined might, looked the other way as a million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were decimated at the rate of 10,000 a day, over 100 days. Let us also remember that it is only Uganda that came to Rwanda’s rescue. And about the crackdown on the opposition, in America, if people disrupt the peace, are they left to go scot-free? Do they become untouchable when they are causing riots and deaths, just because they are in the opposition?
And lest we forget, let us note that most of these so-called riots and demonstrations are elaborately planned and intended to cause bloodshed so that the image of Government is dented. On the question of Dr. Besigye’s passport, there is nothing different about the way he has been handled – everybody is handled the same way irrespective of who they are. What should be questioned is whether due process of law is being followed.
Nobody becomes special just because he is in Government – or in the opposition. NRM has no problem with Dr. Besigye, Dr. Otunnu or anybody else contesting. We cannot contest alone; so we welcome them aboard!
It is this Government that took initiative to make a new Constitution that – for the first time ever in Uganda—involved extensive consultation with all Ugandans as to what shape it should take. This Constitution is widely acclaimed as one of the most progressive in the world because of the way it closely and jealously protects human rights and freedoms.
Your report is generally painting a bad picture of the NRM government, suggesting that it is an inhibition or obstacle to democracy. That is very interesting considering that your government that seems so concerned about Africa’s democratic process did nothing to oust dictator Idi Amin throughout the eight years he was in power, murdering innocent people with a passion that has since elevated him to the ranks and class of the likes of Cambodia’s Pol Pot and Germany’s Adolf Hitler.
You will also recall that the US was happy to fund the likes of Jonas Savimbi, the murderous warlord of Angola to the extent that he was nicknamed “Dollar†Savimbi.
Madam Clinton, this is but an edited version of an elaborate answer to your report, the full text of which shall find its way to your desk shortly hereafter.
marykarooro@parliament.go.ug
THIS is an open letter to the US Secretary of State. Dear Hillary, How are you in a long time?
I write to you after perusing your report appraising Congress on Uganda’s 2011 election preparedness in which you raised several issues and made certain allegations that must not be left unchallenged.
Your report alleges that Uganda’s Electoral Commission (EC) lacks independence just because the President nominates the Commission. It says the President has taken “no action to further the independence of the Electoral Commission†and concludes: “exclusion of key stakeholders from the appointment process compromised the EC’s independence and will damage the credibility of the 2011 electoral process.â€
On the freedom of movement, assembly, and a process free of intimidation, you allege that the Government continues to restrict opposition leaders’ freedom of movement and opposition parties’ freedom of assembly.
You hype on the bit that Government authorities continue to hold the passport of former presidential candidate and FDC president Kiiza Besigye due to treason charges stemming from the 2006 presidential election, and in January delays associated with the application procedure for reclaiming his passport forced Besigye to postpone travel to the United States.
You also allege that there are unfair restrictions on the media and that there is little or no press freedom! And surprisingly, you cite the very minor near-accident of Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) president Dr. Olara Otunnu – when the Presidential convoy forced his car off the road in northern Uganda – as an “assassination attempt†Please!
A close look at your report shows that it contains only one side of the story – that of the opposition. That effectively undermines its credibility and calls into question the intention of the authors. A credible report should be arrived at after considering every side and angle of the story so that when it is published, it gains immediate respect because it is based on elaborate research and impeccable detail.
Let us consider your assertions, one at a time. First, it is not true that this Government is trying to manipulate the electoral process as you allege; and it is certainly untrue that the EC is not independent.
Truth be told, definitely this Government does not want to have unfair and ridiculous elections. A very high price was paid for this freedom and the liberties we enjoy as Ugandans – folks risked their lives and forsook their comfort to throw out the forces of tyranny and dictatorship.
The Constitution is very clear and unequivocal about how the EC is appointed. Whereas the President has latitude to nominate anyone who fits the criteria stipulated in the Constitution and the EC Act, his authority effectively stops at that. He is bound by law to submit the names of his choices to the Appointments Committee of Parliament which interviews each candidate in detail and vets them.
If Parliament disapproves of any candidate, the President has no authority to force the MPs to pass the candidate anyway; he must go back to the drawing board and nominate a fresh candidate. This is a check good enough that ensures that any excess or abuse of power on the part of the President is thrown out at this point.
Besides, the independence and integrity of the EC has been tested over the years, the best example of which was five years ago when the EC chairman Dr. Badru Kiggundu openly disagreed with the legal position of Government as to the eligibility of opposition leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye to be nominated in the Presidential race when facing rape and treason charges.
We all know that Government rested its case and Besigye was nominated as FDC Presidential candidate. If anyone desires to change the way the EC is appointed, the solution is simple: they should have the Constitution amended in a manner prescribed by law.
And about the freedom of the press and expression.
If you have a radio station that is inciting ethnic hatred and breaking every rule in the book, do you leave it to go on and on?
When people are killing each other, acting on the advice of dubious radio stations, do you leave that to continue in the name of press freedom? Is that how things happen in America – “the land of the free� Is that why the Western world kept quiet when genocide was going on in Rwanda in 1994?
Let us remember that the United States and the United Nations with all their combined might, looked the other way as a million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were decimated at the rate of 10,000 a day, over 100 days. Let us also remember that it is only Uganda that came to Rwanda’s rescue. And about the crackdown on the opposition, in America, if people disrupt the peace, are they left to go scot-free? Do they become untouchable when they are causing riots and deaths, just because they are in the opposition?
And lest we forget, let us note that most of these so-called riots and demonstrations are elaborately planned and intended to cause bloodshed so that the image of Government is dented. On the question of Dr. Besigye’s passport, there is nothing different about the way he has been handled – everybody is handled the same way irrespective of who they are. What should be questioned is whether due process of law is being followed.
Nobody becomes special just because he is in Government – or in the opposition. NRM has no problem with Dr. Besigye, Dr. Otunnu or anybody else contesting. We cannot contest alone; so we welcome them aboard!
It is this Government that took initiative to make a new Constitution that – for the first time ever in Uganda—involved extensive consultation with all Ugandans as to what shape it should take. This Constitution is widely acclaimed as one of the most progressive in the world because of the way it closely and jealously protects human rights and freedoms.
Your report is generally painting a bad picture of the NRM government, suggesting that it is an inhibition or obstacle to democracy. That is very interesting considering that your government that seems so concerned about Africa’s democratic process did nothing to oust dictator Idi Amin throughout the eight years he was in power, murdering innocent people with a passion that has since elevated him to the ranks and class of the likes of Cambodia’s Pol Pot and Germany’s Adolf Hitler.
You will also recall that the US was happy to fund the likes of Jonas Savimbi, the murderous warlord of Angola to the extent that he was nicknamed “Dollar†Savimbi.
Madam Clinton, this is but an edited version of an elaborate answer to your report, the full text of which shall find its way to your desk shortly hereafter.
marykarooro@parliament.go.ug