Wednesday, 17 December 2003
Parliament met at 10.37 a.m. in Parliament House, Kampala.
PRAYERS
(The Deputy Speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, in the Chair.)
The House was called to order.
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIR
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, today we are due to hold the candidates’
meetings for those intending to serve us at the Pan African Parliament. But before we go into that
business, I have been informed by the Chairman of the Acholi Parliamentary Group that the
Acholi Members of Parliament have come back to this House. However, I would like him to
confirm that for the purpose of the Hansard, very briefly.
MR ZACHARY OLUM: Thank you, Madam Speaker and honourable members. I would like to
say that we are back and tomorrow we shall make an official statement to this House to inform
you of what we have done, and what is going on in our region. Thank you very much. (Applause).
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: I do not know whether all the candidates are here, but I will just
remind you who they are. We have hon. Omara Atubo, hon. Aggrey Awori, hon. Dr Bulamu, hon.
Steven Chebrot, hon. Kabareebe Muzoora, hon. Abdu Katuntu, hon. Ken Lukyamuzi, hon. Miria
Matembe, hon. James Mwandha, hon. Ogenga Latigo, hon. Elijah Okupa, hon. Jachan Omach,
hon. Fred Ruhindi, hon. Mike Sebalu, hon. Wagonda Muguli, hon. Betty Amongi, hon. Loyce
Bwambale, hon. Nusura Tiperu.
Those are the candidates. I would also like to inform this House that the hon. Ruth Nvumetta
Kavuma has withdrawn from the race. So, we have 18 candidates. (Applause).
The candidates have picked lots, so they will not appear in alphabetical order. They have been
given numbers, which they picked themselves, so they will come in that order. However, I would
like to inform members that today the question of time is out of my hands. Sometimes when I tell
you to wind up you continue, but today the matter is out of my hands. I did inform you yesterday
that you have ten minutes only.
After nine minutes the microphone will beep and after ten minutes -(Interjection)- no, at nine
minutes it will beep and at ten minutes the microphone will go off automatically. So, today I
cannot help you even if you want to add something more. I would like to wish all the candidates
well, and let me ask the electoral college to listen very carefully - open their ears. The first
candidate is hon. Ken Lukyamuzi.
10.43
MR KEN LUKYAMUZI (Lubaga Division South, Kampala): Madam Speaker and
honourable members, let me begin by paying tribute to the late Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana who
over 40 years ago perceived the notion of the unity of Africa. God bless the celebrated spirit of
that celebrated son of Africa, Kwame Nkrumah. (Applause).
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Uganda will be sending five Members of Parliament to represent her in the great assembly of
nations. I beg you to consider me to be one of those people. I do not want to represent you
summarily, I will represent you specifically. (Laughter)
Madam Speaker, today many nations of Africa are among the poorest nations in the world. I
contest the impression that Africa is poor. Africa is not poor. Africa is poor because of the
reluctance of our people to appreciate the magnitude of the abundant spectacular natural
resources. (Applause)
Africa is also rich. It has a rich history with a rich mosaic of cultures and traditions. Those are
also a source of wealth. Those resources should be harnessed because in them are values capable
of causing peace, security and conflict resolution to ease the expenditure on the African
economies.
Africa also has vast rich soils, unique renewable energy sources, a rich diversity of flora and
fauna, water resources and other varieties of living organisms, a good number of which are
endemic on the continent of Africa. All that is wealth. Why do you waste that wealth? Let us join
hands in the continent to harness those resources amicably. (Applause)
Uganda is referred to as the Pearl of Africa because of her unique natural resources. If we are to
remain the Pearl of Africa, those resources must be used sustainably. It is on record that I have
been a pillar in ensuring that the natural resources of Uganda are sustainably used. Who does not
know that?
Madam Speaker, why am I requesting you to consider me for a vote? In 1997 I won the East and
Central Africa Environmental Leadership Award. I have also recently won the Queen of Lake
Victoria Environmental Award 2003. (Applause)
The two awards were a symbol of recognition for my tireless efforts in protecting the ecology of
Lake Victoria and the input towards the policy formulation in this Parliament. Who does not
remember my anti-chemical crusade, which freed the waters of Lake Victoria from toxicity?
Africa’s lakes and rivers are highly threatened. They must be protected through aggressive action
programmes, which I shall personally float in the African Parliament. The water bodies I am
talking about include Lake Tanganyika, River Congo, Lake Kyoga, River Zambezi, River Nile
and even the Kabaka’s lake in Kampala. (Laughter)
As I speak now, I am also the Vice-President of Global International, a global organization for a
balanced environment based in 100 member countries of the UN. If I can cause impact on the
state of the world environment, why should I not cause impact on the state of Africa; and if I can
cause change in East and Central Africa, why not Africa?
Madam Speaker, my Parliamentary crusade to save Uganda’s forests is known to you all. I have
not won all the environmental wars. I have won some and lost others. There are also cases where
I may not have won those wars, but I have influenced government policies on issues like
affordability of electricity tariffs and the issue of the phenomenon of land.
One of my greatest achievements around Kampala - I saved the City Square greenbelt to ensure
that the residents of Kampala and the workers access fresh air. Basajjabalaba’s investment was
about to turn it into a cave; I fought tooth and nail. (Laughter)
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Finally, Madam Speaker -(Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, honourable supporters!
MR LUKYAMUZI: Finally, Madam Speaker, what do I intend to do if you send me to that
Parliament?
One, I have demonstrated that I am a man of the people with full capacity to go to the Pan
African Parliament, compete and even bring you medals. I have already brought you medals. I
would like the Pan African Parliament to play a coordinating role in transforming the conditions
of the African people by making the black continent a better society to live in.
I shall persuade African leaders to re-design their respective national planning programmes to
accommodate the new vision of sustainable utilization of natural resources. Madam Speaker, the
time for doing so is now.
Africa must treat electricity - this is very important - as a social good and public utility if people’s
livelihoods are to be transformed in a positive direction. Non-wood based renewable energy is
vast in a number of African countries. Therefore, there is no reason why Africa does not address
affordability of electricity as a prerequisite.
Africa has the cheapest supply of electricity in the world. River Congo, for example, can light the
whole of Africa. Africa is able to integrate transmission grids and gas pipelines so as to facilitate
cross-border energy flows so that electricity becomes affordable.
It is also time for Africa to harmonise petroleum regulations and registration attached to it in the
continent. This is quite possible through that partnership, which already exists in Africa.
Madam Speaker, Africa is predominantly agricultural. This is a very important matter. A positive
agricultural production entirely depends on a balanced environment.
In conclusion, I have demonstrated capacity to protect the Ugandan environment. I have
demonstrated capacity to protect the African environment, I even feature largely internationally. I
vow to fight for the freedom of the African people, even if it means going on a hunger strike!
(Laughter)
Finally, there are occasions when I venture but when I venture, I dimension. Give me a chance,
give me support, give me consent; give me your votes. God bless you all. (Laughter and
Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, honourable members! Let me thank candidate Lukyamuzi
for his presentation.
10.53
DR JOHHNY BULAMU (Luuka County, Iganga): Madam Speaker, honourable members, I
will first of all thank you for nominating me.
Secondly, I thank you for inviting me here to address you. I am a serious, mature, seasoned
politician, Member of Parliament for Luuka County. I have come here; I want to go to the Pan
African Parliament. It pays to tell you how it comes about.
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The Pan African Parliament was not there when the OAU was there, yet the vision to fight for
stability, solidarity and democracy was the same. It is because they were not enough but because
there was this thing, non-interference.
How can you say you are brothers and sisters, wife and husband and you talk about noninterference? Your wife goes where she wants and when you talk about it you are interfering. The
husband spends money the way he wants and when you talk about it, it is non-interference. That
blocked development and it blocked cordial relations amongst states.
Some became very stubborn and the OAU did not have the mandate. This happened right from
the 1950s. When the OAU was formed in 1963, people started seeing the change until the Gadaffi
era came. Noting all these shortcomings, they formed the AU.
The African Union was formed and when it was formed, it made its manifesto the way most of
you have made when you are campaigning to come to Parliament here, and that manifesto was
the NEPAD. NEPAD became the manifesto to be binding, to back one another, to reciprocate
potential so that each country gains from another because of what it has done.
It pays to note that when we talk about security, stability and conflict management, we have at
least our own to praise because His Excellency, Yoweri Museveni, has got involved in solving
conflicts in Burundi, Rwanda and so on. So, we at least have a starting point.
The other thing, which we have, is our nation, which is called the Pearl of Africa. But the Pearl of
Africa cannot gain its status once again if we do not unite. Let us reciprocate with others so that
they help us to make it a pearl and we help them to make it a pearl of other things.
What are these things? We are champions in the whole world with HIV/AIDS. Bulamu is a
seasoned medic, you can be sure if you send him to the African Parliament he would have to put
in an invaluable input.
He is a product of Uganda where the President has been the open champion, vigorous and
stimulus to fight HIV openly. When I came to Parliament you were so nice, you saw sense in me
and selected me to the HIV/AIDS Committee. There we have done wonders.
We have taught, interviewed and communicated with over ten international delegations of
Parliament. We have attended international conferences. We have toured over 25 districts to
monitor, to evaluate, to have a base to encourage the Government, to have a base to advise the
Government how best to go about things.
We still know there is a quite a lot to do to impress on the communities that the things the
Government is doing are very helpful indeed.
Madam Speaker, I was alarmed when I learnt that we have only ten minutes, that is why I have
not gone to the written speech yet. Because of that I am saying that for the forging of dignity,
identity for the African states is one of the keys OAU had. It is one of the keys the African Union
has on the agenda. So, if you consider me a worthwhile man, a man who understands the
difference between state, government and nation, I would not confuse you.
I have a base to defend Uganda and when I talk about Uganda I am talking of a Uganda that I
know right from the colonial days. I have the scars, I have not read about them, I have not been
4
told about them, the scars are in me and on me. I felt them, I know the poverty, I know the misery
– (Laughter)
I have been a civil servant for over 30 years - (Applause)- and a senior civil servant at that. I have
been a barefoot worker dealing with communicable diseases - malaria, TB, HIV - home and
environmental hygiene, water and sanitation; the key things that you cannot avoid.
Even when you talk about security and stability you must talk about security of a healthy people,
you must talk about stability of a healthy community. It is because of that and many others that,
Madam Speaker and hon. Members of Parliament, I am presenting myself to you for assessment.
Assess me and as you do so, you must know you are assessing a mature man, worthy of
representing you.
True when we come to the African Union, the essence of the economic block and its advantages
was one of the key things for forming the Union. It is an embracing policy for security, stability,
democracy and good neighbourliness with exacting responsibility. Why do I call it exacting? In
the OAU these conditions were not exacting but when the African Union forms its own army to
defend one another, it would be exacting.
No single state will say, “You are interfering with my territory”. It would be exacting. They
would have qualified themselves to obey, to ally with Asia and the Caribbean for global
development.
Already NEPAD has propelled the African Union to the apex of it and the United Nations has
accepted to consider NEPAD as one of the key programmes for the whole of Africa. Banange –
(Laughter)– I am sorry, ladies and gentlemen, I would be an effective entity –(Member timed out)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you candidate Bulamu. Let me remind the candidates that
when the beep goes it means you have used nine minutes and you have one minute.
11.05
PROF. OGENGA LATIGO (Agago County, Pader): Madam Speaker, my honourable
colleagues who will be our voters, my colleagues in the race, we have five slots for the Pan
African Parliament. I seek to occupy one of those. I have my good reasons but before I give you
those reasons I would like to make one apology.
The announcement for the nomination to this Parliament got us when we were in Pader District.
We did not know that the elections were due and, therefore, I was not available to canvas for
votes.
Madam Speaker, I say this because when I returned people were concerned as to whether I was a
candidate. I am a candidate. I am a candidate for one very good reason, which was resolved by
Parliament, that this Parliament sends the most competent people to the Pan African Parliament. I
know I can represent this Parliament so well because I have the relevant background.
I have looked through the challenges of a representative to the Pan African Parliament. In the
early stages our key role would be advisory, our key role would be to set the standards that will
constitute what the African Parliament shall be. It will be about knowledge, it will be about
commitment and it will be about facts.
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I offer to go and present that, and in particular the Pan African Parliament will be the body that
will help to implement the programme for African Economic Community, specifically the
programmes under NEPAD.
Under NEPAD we have the comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme that
recognizes that agriculture is the key instrument for the transformation of our rural Africa. There
is no question about that.
Based on my record of contributions in this House and in the Committee of Agriculture and many
other regional forums, I will effectively represent Uganda. I will use my knowledge to the best of
my ability to further the interests of Africa in as far as agricultural development is concerned.
(Applause)
Of course as a representative to this Parliament of Uganda, I must be a person who will cease to
be himself and be part of the five. In spite of my religious background, where I come from and
the political beliefs, you can be sure that I will be part of those five representing this country
effectively. (Applause)
Madam Speaker, when we go to this Parliament, there are certain key attributes that a member
must have. A member must be committed. When he goes to that Parliament the member must be
committed to be present and to follow issues critically. (Applause)
My record in this Parliament is very clear. We will always be here, we will always speak and we
will always analyse issues and bring them out. These are the basic reasons I seek for the mandate
to represent you.
Obviously, I am a human being. I have weaknesses but I have the capacity to learn. I ask you to
look at my ability to learn and to struggle for this country objectively, rather than my weaknesses.
One weakness, which I promise I will resolve, is the fact that I do not speak the French language.
I do not speak French and yet to be harmonious I must be able to communicate with the French.
When you give me your vote tomorrow, I will go and register to represent you effectively.
(Laughter and Applause) Thank you very much.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much, candidate Ogenga.
11.11
MR WAGONDA MUGULI (Buikwe County North, Mukono): Madam Speaker, it is with a
lot of humility that I present myself as one of the five candidates for the Pan African Parliament.
(Applause)
Some of us have been associated with Pan Africanism right from our student days. You will
recall, while we were students at Makerere, the role our association, by then known as NUSU,
played in the liberation movement.
It will be recalled that it was some of us who were able to brave the vagaries of Idi Amin, when I
was the second last President of the Makerere political society. I am offering myself as a
candidate, hoping to take with me to the House the experiences of Uganda and how in my humble
way I have been able to contribute to it.
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It is very well known that I have been a civil servant. I have been a Permanent Secretary in a
number of ministries. During the course of my tenure I have been able to represent Uganda on a
number of conferences and a number of task forces.
I have participated in the formative stages of the East African Community. I have been closely
involved with the activities of IGAD as a co-ordinating ministry. I have dealt with regional bodies
like the Desert Locust Control Organization.
I have of course negotiated for Uganda at a number of forums. I can proudly say that I have
represented this country very effectively in the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and in
negotiating with the European Union. I am the man who secured the restoration of Uganda’s
quota of sugar to the European Union. (Applause)
I have, therefore, been able to identify the problems of the African continent and we can use our
experiences for regional integration in East Africa. We can use our experiences in regional
professional bodies like ASERECA, to be able to provide a foundation on which we can build.
NEPAD is a very good opportunity for Africa. It is the rebirth of Africa. We are moving from the
days of the Lagos Plan of Action where we were talking of health for all by year 2000, water for
all by the year 2000, and these aspirations were not realized.
Why were they not realized and why is NEPAD a better opportunity for Africa today? This is
where we have to take a pragmatic approach. Under the Lagos Plan of Action, countries were
operating individually. It is high time that we gave the partnership a practical dimension.
With my experience as a civil servant, I will encourage my colleagues to make sure that we
actually produce long frames for all African countries, so that we know specifically the
contribution of each African country towards the achievement of the aspirations of NEPAD.
(Applause)
Madam Speaker, the ills of Africa have been blamed on colonialism, the ills of Africa have been
blamed on unequal terms of trade. Colonialism has been resolved. The issue of equal terms of
trade is yet to be addressed.
I draw from my experience that even after we had our quota restored, we found that the cost of
transporting sugar from Kinyara to Mombasa was about twice the cost of a tonne of sugar from
Jamaica. We, therefore, have problems of being landlocked. How do we renegotiate the law of
the sea to ensure that landlocked countries in Africa have preferential treatment in trade?
(Applause)
If we are talking of agriculture as a major item of competition, how can we compete against the
European countries when they continue to subsidise their farmers and African countries are doing
nothing about it?
We are talking about the problems of infrastructure. We have had on the drawing board the
Trans-African Highway. How have we performed in realising the Trans-African Highway? These
are questions that we must answer. These are question that our governments in Africa must
address.
Madam Speaker, before you is a candidate who is capable of delivering. (Applause) I have
alluded to my experience in being able to represent this country at various fora both on the
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continent and internationally. I hope to use my experience in the civil service to participate in the
establishment of institutions for the Pan African Parliament. (Applause)
I also know that there will be a lot of need for capacity building. If the Pan African Parliament is
to participate in capacity building, then you need people with experience that they can fall back
on and I think that is where I come in very handy.
Behind me, Madam Speaker, I have had a distinguished career in this country. I have served this
country selflessly and with distinction. (Applause) I have the capacity to analyse issues, I have the
capacity to organise. I was even given a letter of commendation from the White House in the US
-(Applause)- when I was able to successfully chair the national organising committee that
organised –(Interruption)
In conclusion, Madam Speaker, I have been a team builder. I will be able to work with other
colleagues from this Parliament and indeed, with the others from the African countries. When you
vote Muguli, you vote right. When you vote Muguli, you vote results. If you do not want to
regrets, vote experience. I am the man! (Applause)
MR SEKIKUBO: Madam Speaker, I move a motion that we vote.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Now, honourable members, you know this is a
candidates’ meeting. So, I would really appeal to you not to interfere with the candidates and
their presentations. You just listen to them. I do not want anybody to stand up with a motion.
Otherwise, if anybody disrupts I will suspend that person from the House. Thank you candidate
Wagonda.
11.20
MRS MIRIA MATEMBE (Woman Representative, Mbarara): Madam Speaker and
honourable members, first of all, I wish to thank you so much for nominating me and, therefore,
giving me an opportunity to stand here before you to make some brief statement in self appraisal
and commendation, to enable you assess my capacity and suitability to represent this country,
Uganda, at the Pan African Parliament.
Right now honourable members, you are pre-occupied with a question, “Among the five, whom
shall we surely send?” I am here to say, send me and you will not regret. (Applause). Before you
here, stands a fully accomplished woman of distinction and excellence. (Applause)
I am very thankful to God who not only endowed me with talents but also equipped me with the
requisite qualifications, interest and commitment to do the job I am seeking now.
Madam Speaker and honourable members, the eloquent and humorous manner in which I
articulate issues under debate is a quality highly required of a legislator. (Applause) I am also
blessed with the capacity to hold my audience alert and interested. (Applause)
Those two qualities have enabled me to attract effective attention and interest whenever I have
represented this country on any for a, be it national, regional or international. That way I have
been able to influence decisions in the interest of Uganda, and as you have been able to see from
my curriculum vitae, I have been able to raise Uganda’s flag high everywhere I have been.
(Applause)
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As a matter of fact, Madam Speaker, and honourable members, on many of these international
and regional meetings I get standing ovations when I talk. (Laughter)
Madam Speaker, my occupation in all my work and political career has been to raise the voice of
Uganda higher and higher, a mission I have successfully realised.
On one rare occasion I had the privilege to even raise the physical flag high among 100 nations.
This was when I walked to a distinguished podium in New York to receive my award as one of
the 100 women heroines of the world who have distinguished themselves with issues of equality
and women’s empowerment. Can you imagine what an asset -(Laughter)- Uganda has, in a
woman called Matembe! At a later stage when I am talking about my awards, I will ask for
permission to show you this incredible award.
Some of you, honourable members, when you have gone to conferences and you said you were
from Uganda, you have been confronted with a question, “how is that firebrand of a woman,
Matembe; do you know her, anyway? (Laughter) And you have come back to tell me such kind
of good news.
As a matter of fact, the international community describes me as an incredible, amazing woman
for this nation. Surely, if you cannot send such a person to the Pan African Parliament, whom can
you send? (Laughter)
In terms of qualifications, which were worrying some of the members here, mine are very clear as
you saw from my curriculum vitae. I hold a Master’s degree in Law and Development from the
distinguished University of Warwick in England.
I have a Bachelor of Law honours degree from Makerere University. I have a certificate in human
rights of women, obtained from Schreiner Institute of Austria. I have a certificate in women
management; name it, you saw it in the curriculum vitae. So, that one can end there.
About representation, I am telling you representing Uganda on regional and international fora has
been a cup of tea to me. As you saw from my curriculum vitae, I have represented Uganda in
many places and made presentations, even in United Nations and everywhere. But I want to
single out three.
Even before I became a minister four years ago, at the international community, even here, I think
I was being recognised as a minister, whether it was as a shadow minister, I cannot tell. Because I
have been representing the Government of Uganda even when I am not a minister, leading
delegations abroad.
I will just mention three. I led the Ugandan delegation to the third Regional Conference on the
Integration of Women in Nairobi. I really made a statement there, which was produced in the
United Nations reports.
I led the Uganda delegation to the United Commission on the Status of Women in Vienna. On
reaching there, I was appointed a member of the United Nations on the Commission on the Status
of Women for a whole year.
I have held a brief for Government and presented government papers to the fourth African
regional conference preceding Beijing International Conference on Women.
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Madam Speaker, when the Vice President was appointed and could not proceed, they looked
around the government delegation. Although I had gone as part of an NGO, they said, “Matembe
is the one who will talk.” When I did, oh, you do not know what happened! (Laughter).
On parliamentary issues, I have led parliamentary delegations three times. I led one to India in
1992, another one to Canberra in 1993 where I was elected as African representative on the
Human Rights Commission of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Just recently, I led a delegation to
the 26th African Parliamentary Union conference in Accra, Ghana. You have looked at the August
House, you saw me in action. I have never failed to be in action. (Laughter)
On civil society, I have been wonderful on regional level. I am a founder of a regional
organisation called Women in Law Development in Africa (WILDAF), which has now covered
the whole of Africa. I am founder of FEMNET, which has also covered the whole of Africa.
On Pan African matters, I have been deputy Secretary General of the Seventh Pan African
Congress, which established that office. In fact, I have been participating in the recruitment of
young people like Tiperu, to come there and do the work.
As a Cabinet minister, I can only say that I really held Ugandans flag high. In fact, on all these
international fora to fight corruption I was regarded as the African group leader and mine was an
authority.
Finally, I will handle matters of all nature. I know NEPAD, I know everything, but I will
specifically attend to ethics and integrity, human rights, gender equality, the issues of peace and
security. Therefore, honourable members, I can assure you of my dependability to raise Uganda’s
flag, to lobby and to influence the Pan African Parliament on Uganda’s interests. So, please vote
Matembe.
The word matembe means climbing. Vote Matembe so that Uganda can climb higher and higher.
I thank you. This is the certificate of the heroines. This is the certificate of AIDS award. I also
fought AIDS and I got an international award here. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much, candidate Matembe.
11.31
MR AGGREY AWORI SIRYOYI (Samia-Bugwe County North, Busia): Madam Speaker,
my honourable colleagues, I stand before you to seek your mandate that I continue to represent
Uganda internationally. The candidate you are looking at is a true embodiment of Pan
Africanism. (Applause) You are looking at the most competent person among the candidates this
morning.
Why am I saying so? Educationally, I can boast that I have been exposed to the best minds in
terms of training in diplomacy, international relations and economics. In one of the schools I went
to, internationally renowned Harvard, one of my instructors was a very well known diplomat
called Dr Henry Kissinger. He drilled me in international diplomacy.
Madam Speaker, in terms of competence, I can assure you I can deliver. I am not just seeking a
vote as if I am going to another committee of Parliament, no. This is a Pan African organisation
in sapient stages, which needs competent minds, experience, know-how, contact and hands-on
experience.
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In terms of contacts, I do not believe there is any country on this continent where I do not have a
friend. Among my friends are people presiding over cabinet meetings, in other words, Presidents.
(Applause) Among my friends are vice presidents.
Maybe to be more specific, I can name some of my friends: The President of Sudan, the President
of Liberia, now even closer home, the Vice President of Kenya – (Laughter)- and further south,
the Vice President of the Republic of South Africa. These are friends I can pick up a telephone,
call and talk to on behalf of Uganda.
Representing Uganda is not a novelty to me. I have been at it since I was 18, that is a long time
ago, and I am still at it. The first time I represented Uganda was in athletics, in the Olympics
Games of 1960 in Rome, and I repeated it in 1964 in Tokyo. That is no mean achievement.
I have represented Uganda internationally in conferences in United Nations; and one thing I must
say honourable colleagues, wherever I go, not withstanding my independent mind I always speak
for Uganda. (Applause). I may have differences with the government at home but immediately I
leave Uganda, Uganda comes first. (Applause)
Madam Speaker, it is no news to anybody in this House that I am a committed multi-partyist and
the Government here is a Movement Government. We may have difficulties in communications
here, but when I go abroad, Uganda first. (Applause)
My honourable colleagues who are here today can prove the point. Hon. Mbabazi, honourable
Prof. Kiwanuka can prove that every time I am in the UN, not withstanding the difficulties I have
with the policy here on certain matters such as Congo, I speak for Uganda.
Madam Speaker, some people are wondering and asking, “Hon. Awori, now you want to be a
member of the Pan African Parliament, what about your other ambitions that we have heard
about?” Obviously, all of you know that all of us who are seeking to go to the Pan African
Parliament will cease to be members immediately this august House is dissolved. You can only
be a member of the Pan African Parliament as long as you are a member of your home national
Parliament.
That is why I am saying for me I am a one-term candidate; I am not going there for too long.
(Laughter) I will be there until 2006 when this august House is dissolved. Obviously I am going
to contest other positions that would become available at highest level. (Applause)
Madam Speaker, you have seen in the press, you have seen on the flyer I put out, that when you
elect me, when you send me to Pan African Parliament, I intend to contest for the highest office
in that Pan African Assembly. (Applause) It is not a matter of being ambitious; ambition is not a
vice, it shows that somebody has got capacity to develop vertically not horizontally. (Laughter)
I have no doubt my honourable colleagues here present and those who will be available tomorrow
or the day after to vote for me, will never regret. I have a programme that I intend to pursue when
I get to the Pan African Parliament. I have a vision for that august Assembly of delegates from all
over Africa.
One is to press upon them that we harmonise our municipal laws or national laws on matters
crucial to the welfare of the people at home. For instance, there should be uniform legislation
prohibiting African leaders from committing massacres on their own people. There has to be a
11
law to the effect that anybody who is committing such atrocities shall be removed from the
Parliament of Africa.
On the economic sector, I also have a programme, which I will press upon my colleagues that we
adopt as a policy in the Pan African Parliament. It has been mentioned by my colleagues here that
the economy of any country is the engine of the nation. We are richly endowed in natural
resources and yet we have allowed the imperial or former colonial powers to exploit them almost
at will.
My ambition is that we now also form economic curtails like the one of the organisation of
petroleum exporters. We should also form now an organisation for oil producers of Africa so that
we have uniform policy and nobody is going to manipulate the –(Interruption)
Madam Speaker, the candidate you are looking at is one person who has the contacts, the
network. He is a natural Pan Africanist and will make the Pan African Parliament work for the
interest of the Africans, but primarily for the interests of Uganda. Thank you very much, vote for
Awori - experience, competence, network and skills all at work! (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much, candidate Awori.
11.42
MR SEBALU MIKE (Busiro County East, Wakiso): Thank you very much, Madam Speaker
and hon. Members of Parliament. I stand here to offer myself as a candidate for the Pan African
Parliament.
I do appreciate all my colleagues and I have heard their attributes, but there is one missing link
that you should look at. The experience is good and all those ideas are good, but they need to get
someone who can anchor them with technical support to be able to deal with the intricacies of the
global situation. (Applause).
Madam Speaker, I am a student of international relations, that makes me both a practitioner and a
student of international relations. So, when I go to deal with those issues, I will be dealing with
those that are missing out. When the politics is sorted out right, I bring in the technicalities and
we get moving as a team. (Applause)
For that matter, honourable members, if you are looking for five Members of Parliament to
represent you, Mike Sebalu must be among them. (Laughter). If you are looking for two, then he
will be one of them. But if you are looking for only one, then he is the one. Give me your vote; I
will be able to deliver.
My fellow Members of Parliament, I am not here by accident. Mine is well designed. I have been
a member of the Presidential and Foreign Affairs Committee for three years. That clearly shows
evidence of interest in the sector.
I am not only coming for Pan Africanism, but I have been following it. In the Committee on
Presidential and Foreign Affairs, even the ministers from that end have appreciated the way I
have always come in handy to upgrade the level of our undertaking (Applause)
I have been able to represent this country in those conferences that have been very relevant to this
aspect. To mention a few, I have represented Uganda in CPA, APU and the Pan African
Parliament Steering Committee. When I came back, as a good representative who will be
12
following on my oversight role, I came back to this House and I presented a report, something
that is very uncommon in this House. (Applause)
I do promise that when I go to the Pan African Parliament, it will be incumbent on me to always
come back and report on the issues as they unfold in the Pan African Parliament.
Dear Colleagues, what is the position of Africa today? Before we go to talk about Africa, what is
the position of Africa? Africa is dominated politically, it is exploited economically, and it is
deprived in terms of human resource.
We have a brain drain, which impacts on the remaining brain. It gets drained because it is
overused. It is incapacitated in terms of utilisation of natural resources. It is vulnerable socially,
it is weakened structurally and institutionally and almost non-existent technologically. Now,
when you get such issues, you need to move. So, the above issue constitutes a threat to Africa.
Chinua Achebe had this to say; “When you have a problem of a fox chasing the chicken, you must
come together and chase away the fox.” Now Africa is under threat. With the threats I have
mentioned, now we need to come together as a continent to chase away the fox, then we can talk
about the mother hen to stop walking carelessly in the field. Africa needs to re-converge.
Why am I standing? It is because of a commitment to the cause. It is because of the consistency to
the process. It is because of the cooperation with the stakeholders. It is because of the
consultation at all levels and it is because of the concern I have for my country. (Applause)
Besides, honourable members, I am functionally versatile in matters of international relations.
(Laughter)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, members!
MR SEBALU: Honourable members, I am technically grounded, I am academically qualified, I
am intellectually sound and I am politically clear and objective. (Applause). Furthermore, I am
socially interactive and outgoing. I am diplomatically well schooled both in theory and practice.
At all the levels of analysis, I have the right level and the tools of analysis to deal with the
intricate situations of the globe today.
Furthermore, honourable members, I have put a network of inter-linkages between the Steering
Committee of Pan African Parliament, a cross-section of politicians across the continent, the
academia because I am an academia in that field, I am pursuing it, and students as a focal point.
Now, I have a contribution so far registered.
I brought a report to this House and through my interactive engagement with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, the protocol was ratified, and it is on record in this House.
Secondly, when I was in the Pan African Parliament Steering Committee meeting, I put across the
issue of women representation. It is already on the agenda. The number was raised to two, when
we go there we only need to amend the protocol.
Where is my interest derived? It is derived from the 1995 Constitution. In the Constituent
Assembly (CA) we anchored regional co-operation and integration as one of the cardinal foreign
policy objectives of Uganda. Paragraph XXVIII, sub-paragraph (ii) and (iii) of the National
Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, state as follows:
13
“(ii) Uganda shall actively participate in international and regional organizations that stand for
peace and for the well-being and progress of humanity.
(iii) The State shall promote regional and pan-African cultural, economic and political
cooperation and integration.”
So, that is the genesis of my standing.
The Pan African Parliament is one of the organs of the OAU. Now, dear members, I think I have
articulated the technical issues. You very well know that when I go there you will be properly
represented. I do ask for your vote. Vote for Mike Sebalu. Do not wait for tomorrow, you can
even vote today for Mike Sebalu as your representative in the Pan African Parliament.
In the international forum it is quite in order, and you appear to be very diplomatic, when you use
the time allocated to you. So, I hereby conclude by saying, give me the vote. Vote Mike Sebalu as
your Pan African Parliamentarian.
I have been at it for long; I started it all, I have consulted all of you, I have talked with you, I have
rang you. Give me your vote and I represent you. Thank you very much, may the Lord bless you.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, members! Thank you very much candidate Sebalu. He
will be followed by hon. James Mwandha. (Applause)
11.53
MR JAMES MWANDHA (Representative of Persons with Disabilities): Thank you very
much for that warm welcome. Madam Speaker, honourable members, fellow candidates, first of
all, I want to thank you all for nominating me to be one of the candidates to compete for
membership of the Pan-African Parliament. I particularly want to thank those who have
encouraged me to stand for election to this Parliament.
After that occasion when we were revising the rules and I put up a spirited attempt to amend the
rules, many of you came to me and said “look, you should stand in your own right”. I do
appreciate those sentiments.
Madam Speaker, we are competing to go to the African Parliament and I want to start with my
own experience in Parliament. I entered this House in 1989, at that time representing the people
of Bugweri. In the course of time, the Constitution of Uganda was revised and there was a slot for
representation of people with disabilities, and in 1996 I was elected to represent people with
disabilities and then re-elected in 2001.
During my time in Parliament, I have served in many positions. I have served as chairman of the
Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises. During this time I
presided over some of the most difficult inquiries.
I have been a member of the Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development since
that time also. Currently, I am the deputy chairman of the Committee on the Budget. I also have
served on two previous select committees including one on election violence.
Madam Speaker, while in Parliament, I have attended several workshops on parliamentary
practice. In 2001 I was selected as one of the resource persons to conduct the induction course to
this 7th Parliament. During that time I was allocated the subject of sensitising members on the
14
tools available to Members of Parliament to draw attention to important matters. Since that time,
the 7th Parliament has received more petitions than any other Parliament before it.
During this time in Parliament as well, I have attended several meetings overseas on behalf of the
Parliament of Uganda. I have attended three ACP, EU joint parliamentary assemblies, and two
CPA conferences.
I have also participated in certain tours of the Parliament of South Africa, the Canadian House of
Commons, the US Congress and a number of the US state legislatures. I have attended this
Parliament regularly, participated actively in Parliamentary debates, and in my contributions I
have been independent but objective. I have always borne in mind the national interest of
Uganda.
When elected to the Pan-African Parliament, I will, first and foremost promote and protect
Uganda’s interests economically, politically and other interests. I shall also advocate for good
governance, democracy, rule of law and human rights including the rights of disabled persons in
Africa (Applause). Thirdly, I will advocate for the total unity of Africa.
Madam Speaker and honourable members, though disabled, I have never allowed disability to be
in my way. On the contrary, I have tried to work harder than able-bodied people in order to be
able to keep afloat. I have the will, I have the ability, and I have the experience and the relevant
international exposure to serve Uganda in the Pan-African Parliament (Applause)
Honourable members, when coming to decide as to whom you should send to the African
Parliament, remember me. Mwandha should be among the five people to go and represent this
Parliament and Uganda in the Pan-African Assembly. (Applause) Please, do not be prejudiced by
anything else, judge me by what I am able to do.
Honourable members, we have a challenge. We have to send a team to the Pan-African
Parliament, a team of quality, a team of people with experience, a team of people with
commitment, a team that will project Uganda, and I am one of them. (Applause)
I have learnt that South Africa has gone through a similar exercise and they have indeed sent a
very strong team, incidentally including their own Speaker. So we have a challenge; we must
send a team that will match other strong teams that are coming from other Parliaments of Africa.
Honourable members, give me a chance, I will prove that I am capable of representing Uganda in
the Pan-African Parliament with dignity, with integrity, with a lot of pride. Please vote James
Mwandha. Thank you for listening to me. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much candidate Mwandha. He will be followed by
hon. Nusura Tiperu Omar - (Interjections)- Since hon. Tiperu is not around, I think I will call her
when she surfaces. Hon. Mwandha will be followed by hon. Kabareebe Muzoora.
12.02
MR AMON KABAREEBE MUZOORA (Rwampara County, Mbarara): Madam Speaker,
honourable members, I am very glad that finally I have been nominated to participate in these
campaigns to become a member of the Pan-African Parliament. You will note, and I want you to
note this very carefully, that the struggle for the Pan-African movement started as early as I was
born.
15
Honourable members, I will start like this, Peter Enaholo in his book, Africa in Search of Identity,
mentioned that there should be a continental parliament, a continental army, a continental
currency, and a continental self-sustaining economy. All these require a person who knows how
to formulate policy, follow it up, monitor it and effect it. (Applause)
Madam Speaker and honourable members, you will agree with me that when I came to this
Parliament I had a vision, which I thought would benefit Uganda. This was a motion I tabled in
this House at first with very big resistance. But as we go on, when you see the report tomorrow or
tomorrow but one, you will note that whatever I raised was correct.
However, when I moved that motion on the River Nile, you will note that it encompasses only ten
nations. But eight are upper riparian and two are lower riparian. The lower riparian states are
Egypt and Sudan. In my motion, I was seeking for systematic compensation for what Uganda and
other upper riparian countries contribute into making that water clean. But as I talk now, the Nile
Basin Initiative has taken a step –(Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members!
MR KABAREEBE: They have taken a step to negotiate. I have been involved in these
negotiations; the Nile River Basin Co-operative Framework Project (D3) is out. (Applause) But I
am not satisfied, that is why the Pan-African Parliament shall have to come in.
The ten countries with the NBI are already having a problem with this. For example, on page 13,
Article 14 says, “Egypt and Sudan have so far refused to repudiate the pre-colonial agreements”.
Therefore, I believe once I join the Pan-African Parliament I can raise it there - if I go through,
which I pray.
Honourable members, I have also taken some study – (Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, order!
MR KABAREEBE: I have taken a study on global warming and green houses. I have
established how much contamination the developed countries have done. I have the figures here
on what America, Japan, Europe contribute to the contamination. I have all of them here.
Africa is being used as a buffer zone to protect the environment worldwide. Suppose I reach there
and move a motion, which will mitigate the whole world to contribute towards Africa because it
is used as a buffer zone for environmental protection, is there anything wrong with that?
Madam Speaker and honourable members, I served as Secretary General for Lake Victoria
Region Local Authorities Co-operation in East Africa. I participated in a training programme with
Union of Baltic Cities (UBC). Union of Baltic Cities includes ten countries: Sweden, Poland,
Germany, Russia and so on. So, I trained the Lake Victoria Regional Local Authorities Cooperation in East Africa.
In the first place, we were given an observer seat in the East African Community. We were now
being given an observer seat in the Union of Baltic Cities, of which I am a co-partner –
(Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, allow the candidate to speak. Consultations
will be done outside.
16
MR KABAREEBE: Madam Speaker, I hope the bell was making members quiet?
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, it is for them.
MR KABAREEBE: Thank you very much. I was also co-partner for Local Environment Action
Programme in Central and Eastern Europe. I was also co-partner of the Union of Baltic Cities in
Europe. I was chairman of the technical team of international training programmes for Entebbe
Municipality and I left when 20 cities had signed protocols with Entebbe Municipality.
(Applause) I believe other municipalities and Kampala City have also benefited from this.
When I was the chairman of the technical team for the international training programmes,
Kayunga, Kampala, Jinja, Mbarara, Busia, Tororo and several other districts benefited. So, I
believe once you push me into that arena, more friends will come to our rescue.
Honourable members, I was among those chosen to assist in settling the Rwanda problem. I wrote
a report on the pattern of tribal conflict in Rwanda and the perspective of its avoidance, in 1996.
I wrote a report on the impact of IMF and the World Bank on the development of African
countries. I wrote a report on the civil service reform and living standards of retrenched civil
servants in Uganda. I presented it at Makerere University for the civil service and since that time
retrenchment has not taken place again, having followed that advice.
I presented a paper to the UNICEF Conference in Nairobi, Kenya on integrated urban
development in sub-Saharan Africa. That is how the money for urban development is coming to
Uganda as I talk now.
I presented a report to the Lake Victoria Regional Local Authorities Conference in Mwanza,
Tanzania, on compensation by Lower River Nile States for the capital investment in
Environmental Sustainability of Lake Victoria Basin, in 1998. That was the development of the
concept of the River Nile motion.
Honourable members, Africa has suffered economically, socially, politically and culturally.
Definitely, the developed world exploited Africa and up to now it is still going on. But with a
population of over 800,000,000 people, I believe our market can be our strategy in terms of
labour, production and in terms of technology, given the opportunity that we are there to make the
policy and follow it up.
Madam Speaker, I beg to stop here, but if I still have one minute, I could conclude like this. In
summary, I was talking about the ozone layer. The heavy industrialization has destroyed our
Africa. The threats include degradation in –(Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: When the light comes you will have one minute.
MR MUZOORA KABAREEBE: I thank you very much. It is only unfortunate that the time has
got me, but otherwise we need to cultivate linkages, mind about distribution and focus on
institutions. I believe, members, if you send me, I shall be able to represent Uganda without any
twig in the eye. Members, please I request that you to send me now. (Applause)
17
I quoted from this book, and I will lay it on Table for reference. I have the agreements; these are
seventy international agreements and other instruments relating to the use of natural resources in
Africa, including the Basin Waters. Everything is here. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much, candidate Muzoora.
12.13
MS TIPERU NUSURA (Woman Representative, Yumbe District): Madam Speaker,
honourable members, ladies and gentlemen. Before I go on to my speech, I would like to
apologise for coming in late, but it was because I was attending to some urgent call from the PanAfrican Secretariat- (Applause)
Honourable colleagues, I would like to thank you for having nominated me, and I also want to
thank you for the overwhelming support you have so far given me, and I hope you continue doing
so until tomorrow. (Applause)
Honourable colleagues, the struggle for African Union is really far dated as far as 200 years ago. I
want to give gratitude to our forefathers in their absence for having analysed Africa’s weaknesses
and strengths. They said that the way forward for Africa was for us to be united. (Applause).
These were people like Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere of Tanzania, people like Leopold
Sengo of Senegal, people like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, people like Abdu Nasser of Egypt,
among others. Ladies and gentlemen, the call for African Unity is the way forward. Time has
come for Africa –(Interruption).
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, the member has only ten minutes. Please
listen.
MS TIPERU: Ladies and gentlemen, time has come for Africa not to suffer humiliation as it has
done before when we go to different conferences where Africans have always been paired to
different countries because we lack a common position.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to give thanks to the African Presidents, and in particular the
President of Uganda, because the call for African Unity has not been a lip service. It has been
right from their hearts. They have appended their signatures to the constitutive Act of the African
Union. I would like to inform you that I was present in Libya on one occasion where the African
leaders participated in a convention where they were discussing issues on how to make sure the
formulation, or the formation of the Pan-African Parliament was made speedy.
The objectives of the Pan-African Parliament will focus more on territorial integrity; it will focus
more on planning at a wholistic level. Ladies and gentlemen, when you send me there, with the
dynamism I have, the vitality in me, the youth in me and commitment that I have – (Applause)you will have no doubt that the interest of the women, the youth and especially the interest groups
in Africa will be catered for. (Applause)
Ladies and gentlemen, you are all competent and you are aware about Africa’s problems. You
have heard lamentations about the fact that Africa has the largest natural resource. Much as it has
the largest natural resource, it is also the poorest among all the continents in the world. So, it is
now upon us to ensure that the people you are going to send will be focusing on how to help
Africans come out of the poverty situation. The people you are going to send will focus on how
Africa will survive within the global village. The people you are sending should be people like
Tiperu who will go and lobby to ensure that your constituency also benefits. (Applause)
18
Ladies and gentlemen, I have very good lobbying skills. I was the Secretary General of the
African Youth Congress, and I was the only person chosen in Uganda with other youth in
different parts of Africa to be trained by the American State Department. (Applause) So, I have a
network in the whole of Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen, I kindly request you not to doubt my education. I am a graduate of Social
Sciences. I am pursuing a Masters but finalizing on my dissertation and focusing on the interest
groups vis-à-vis the comparative contribution in the development process. Realizing that we are
now going into the constitutional review process, I believe my dissertation will help in giving
whether we should continue with the affirmative action, or we still have a long way to go as
women.
I have already lobbied Libya to give Uganda a radio for youth and women- (Applause)- I
participated in lobbying to give the wives of Ugandan soldiers money so that they can improve on
their economic position.
Ladies and Gentlemen, many times people doubt – in my bid for campaign, the issue of age
seems to have featured most. I want to request you to take my age as an advantage; my age is
strength. You are aware that Uganda in the international scene has been advocating for the
prevention of HIV. I am going to use my age because I believe everybody will notice my
presence in that Parliament -(Applause)- and I will continue championing –(Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order, please, honourable members!
MS TIPERU: I want to assure you, honourable Colleagues, the African people will be very
grateful because it will be coming from the horse’s mouth. As a person contesting on the
affirmative seed, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to ensure that policies that will be passed in
the Pan- African Parliament will be gender sensitive.
I did participate in the initial process of the formulation of the constitutive Act; and more specific
it was about engendering the constitutive Act. I am not, therefore, surprised that it was made
clear in the protocol that out of five at least there must be a woman. (Applause)
The Act talks in Article 19 about the financial institutions. As a person who is going to focus on
women, I will ensure that the bigger bodies, the people who will be heading the financial
institutions, that is, the African Development Bank, the African Insurance Bank, the African
Monetary Bank, will have at least a woman.
Ladies and gentlemen, you are aware that the problem we have, we have very few women
entrepreneurs. The reason why we have few women entrepreneurs in Africa and Uganda in
particular is because we have no access to the provisions, or to the possibilities of loans. If we
have women in those positions, then we can be sure that I will even bring you the message on
how you can become good investors like the Mulwanas. There will be different Commissions
created, there will be courts of justice and my role will be to ensure that every protocol that is set,
at least the issue of gender is catered for.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have attended conferences and everybody will come here and tell you
how many conferences they have attended, and each and everyone of you, as long as you a
Member of Parliament then you have the capacity to represent Uganda in any forum –
(Interruption)
19
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: You will have one minute when the light comes back.
MS TIPERU: Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to end here, but ask you to humbly give the vote to
Tiperu Nusura- (Applause) I pray that today when you go home, God guides you in the process
of thinking on who you are going to give the tick. Please, vote No.4, Tiperu Nusura in category
B. I am going to stand to defend Uganda in Africa and any other forum. I thank you very much
for the support. God bless you. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please! Thank you very much, candidate Tiperu.
12.24
MRS LOYCE BWAMBALE (Woman Representative, Kasese): Thank you, Madam Speaker,
honourable members for this rare opportunity. I beg to start by thanking you, Madam Speaker, for
nominating me and also thanking the members of this august House for overwhelmingly
supporting me- (Applause)
I am Loyce Biira Bwambale, Member of Parliament, Chairperson, Kasese Parliamentary group,
and Chairperson, Uganda women Parliamentary Association, and Deputy Chairperson, Natural
Resources Sessional Committee. I am a holder of a Bachelor of Science degree taken
concurrently with a diploma in Education. I am currently on a Masters Degree in Educational
Management and Planning. I went to these schools: Bwera Primary school, Kyebambe Girls,
Nabumali High School and Makerere University.
Allow me to be specific in my candidature: I am vying for the woman’s seat on the Pan-African
Parliament in accordance with Article 3 of the protocol, which provides for such a seat.
My mission: I have a clear mission to effectively represent Uganda on all matters of national
importance and engender the Pan-African Parliament agenda in accordance with the objectives of
the African union, the Pan-African Parliament and above all, the NEPAD.
Madam Speaker, I know the work I am going to do. I am very conversant with the objectives of
Pan- African Parliament (PAP) in Article 3 of the protocol that produced it. I will mention only
three out of nine. One, promoting the principles of human rights and democracy that has
produced me- I am a role model- encourage good governance, transparency and accountability,
which are natures and characteristics of Uganda as a nation; promote peace security and stability,
an area where I am totally conversant. Honourable members, please select a person like me with
capacity, knowledge and commitment to perform, influence, lobby and make impact for the
Ugandan women.
My stability as a candidature: My basis for offering candidature is embodied in my high index
performance in leadership positions I have held for a significant period of time and the legislative
experience and knowledge acquired during 14 years of legislation. I have acquired diversified
exposure to political and politicking skills- see my Curriculum Vitae, 2003. I also have other
attributes that can contribute to a peaceful, stable, developing, and gender sensitive Africa.
On gender issues, I have said I am going to be very specific and action oriented. On gender
issues and gender mainstreaming, when I came to NRC, 1989, within three years, I was appointed
Deputy Minister, Women, Youth and Culture –(Applause)- a position that exposed me to
executive functions I am taking along and also exposed me to be productive legislatively because
20
we produced two laws on Women Councils and Youth Councils immediately.
Government for that. I will always cherish that.
I thank
In the CPA meetings I have had, this is international exposure, specifically on gender and
mainstreaming. I participated in the formation of the CPA Women Group and amending the
constitution accordingly. In Uganda, I led an experts group to Tunisia in relation to the PreBeijing Women Platform of Action. While in the Ministry, we were very productive, we made a
very excellent report that has ended into a gender policy.
Madam Speaker and honourable members, I was coming to a very sensitive role of steering
Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) as its Chairperson, which role has made
Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) gender focused. We have tried to inspire
Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) and the women of this country and we
have forged partnership with the male members of this House. We feel comfortable with them
and they feel comfortable with us. We have forged partnership with civil society; we have also
formed partnership with other Parliamentary Groups of a similar nature and with similar
objectives.
Let me quickly go to what I intend to do. My plan will be in three areas: to engender all
institutions of PAP, NEPAD and AU, including forming a Pan-African Women Parliamentary
Association (PANWOPA) for gender equality.
To promote the potential of Uganda’s natural resources, trade and marketing opportunities,
Uganda’s political image using international relations skills, using my networking ability, my
lobby and advocacy, tested skills and above all diplomacy.
Madam Speaker, I will ensure that PAP conforms to its objectives of democracy, good
governance, security, stability and development. These plans need a person of enriched
experience, wealth of knowledge, tested, determined, having negotiating skills, confidence, with
integrity, transparency, accountability and that person is Loyce Bwambale, No.2 on the ballot
paper of Section (b). I beg to request for your support. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, candidate Bwambale.
12.34
DR STEVEN CHEBROT (Tingey County, Kapchorwa): Madam Speaker, my colleagues, the
Members of Parliament of this august House, I stand before you to offer my candidature for
election to represent Uganda in the Pan-African Parliament as stated. My name in full is Steven
Chebrot Chemoiko. Many of you know me; I have been in this House since 1988, uninterrupted.
I first qualified as a Medical doctor in Nairobi, Kenya in 1979 and thereafter did a Masters
Degree in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and became a consultant in Nairobi, Kenya. Eventually,
in 1986, I was called upon by His Excellency, the President, to come back home because of the
active work that I had done in the politics of this country; and I was appointed Uganda’s
Ambassador to India, South Korea and Japan. So, I have a very rich international experience in
as far as political issues are concerned.
What have I done since then? I have done a number of things. First of all, in 1988 when I
returned, I was appointed Deputy Minister of Local Government, a job which I served for close to
six years, and thereafter, I was also appointed the Minister of Labour for close to three years. So,
I have an involvement in politics for a very long time. That is for the executive part of it.
21
Now, my fellow Colleagues, I do know that many of you have an idea about the mission of the
Pan African Parliament. The mission of the Pan African Parliament is to provide a common
platform for African people, then the grassroots groups/organizations and the decision-making
pattern, which will bring Africa together.
Now, having been a Minister of Labour, I saw so many problems and interacted with many
organisations. What is it that I saw in many parts of Africa, which touched my heart and which
made me stand for this seat? Incidentally, today is my second day or second time to stand for a
position of this nature.
The first time I stood is when I wanted to become the Chairman of the Movement Caucus, against
hon. Bukenya. He beat me by just a few votes. I wish he was here, I would have asked him to
make sure that he gives me another vote; and I would like to ask the Members of Parliament that I
have the qualifications necessary to enable me to become a Member of Parliament.
What are those qualifications that I have? I did say I have a Masters degree in Obstetrics and
Gynaecology from the Harvard School of Public Health, which is one of the highest institutions
of learning. I also have a Masters degree from John Hopkins Hospital and I am a member of the
Gates Alumni, which deals with AIDS in Africa. I also work in collaboration with another
Institute in the United States, which deals with HIV/AIDS, and that of the National Security for
AIDS in the Army.
As I said before, what did I see when I was the Minister of Labour? I saw poverty in most parts of
Africa; I saw ignorance in many parts of Africa; I saw hunger both in Uganda and in many parts
of Africa. Recently we have seen the AIDS pandemic, which has affected this country, and I am
glad to inform you that I am on the panel of the international community to fight HIV/AIDS.
I have traveled to a number of countries, which include Senegal, Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa
and Ethiopia. Some Members of Parliament asked, “Where has Chebrot gone? Chebrot has
disappeared for one year and has not been in the Parliament.” Let me tell you what I have done. I
have been pursuing both academic and practical issues, which I think can promote Uganda’s
future.
When I lost my ministerial job, I did not sit down to cry; I did move up and down. I did sit down
with my colleagues, most of whom are in front here. In fact I came here in 1988 and I can only
recognize three people who have remained since. I can recognise hon. Omara Atubo, I can
recognise hon. Nasasira, and I can recognize Moses Ali. I also recognise my grey-haired friend
who is sitting right here and if I have forgotten anybody else, please forgive me. So, you can see
how the political process has gone; it has been through a lot of things.
What do I intend to do if elected to the Pan African Parliament? First of all, the mission is very
clear. It has many dimensions, which need to be removed out of that. Once you have made the
objectives very clear, then it is extremely important that you have a system in place that can be
able to implement those objectives. And those objectives need not to be implemented the way
they are.
They need a time framework within which they must be implemented. One of the major issues
that we have in the Pan African Parliament is to promote principles of human rights and
democracy in Africa. I think I have done that. I have demonstrated that in my constituency also
22
by being elected since 1988, to promote principles of human rights and democracy in Tingey
County.
No. 2 is to encourage good governance, transparency and accountability in member states. I will
ensure that I do this before you, before other states and I will effectively and efficiently represent
Uganda. I will contribute to a more prosperous future for the people of Africa –(Member timed
out)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: You shall have one minute when the light comes back on.
DR CHEBROT: I will strengthen the solidarity of Africa.
I wish to conclude by reaffirming my position and I ask for your determination to elect me as an
effective leader to represent Uganda in the Pan African Parliament. I can use my enormous
professional, diplomatic and political experience to champion the objectives and functions of the
Pan African Parliament. I declare my candidature, honourable members; you vote for me and I
will serve you. Thank you very much. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much, candidate Chebrot.
12.45
MR FRED RUHINDI (Nakawa Division, Kampala): Thank you very much, Madam Speaker
and honourable colleagues; and thank you very much for that applause, it is not in vain. I wish to
thank you so much for nominating me to be one of your representatives to the Pan African
Parliament.
I am inspired, I am challenged to be one of your representatives in the Pan African Parliament. I
am confident and committed that given my background as a lawyer in the Ministry of Justice and
Constitutional Affairs for ten years; as an investment promoter and facilitator for eight years in
the Uganda Investment Authority; having served at all political levels of local government and
now in Parliament, I have no doubt that I will give you the best in the Pan African Parliament.
(Applause)
I obtained my postgraduate degree (LLM) from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. During
my time in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, I was a desk officer in then
Preferential Trade Area. During my time in the Uganda Investment Authority I held many
responsibilities. I was the Corporation Secretary of that institution, I was the Vice-President of the
World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, and we used to handle our matters in
Geneva.
Much has been said about conferences and about presentation of papers. Yes, to this candidate
that is routine. I would like to talk about more serious matters.
Many of you may know that to-date I have accomplished two major projects. One was a
consultancy for the East African Community and I developed and drafted a model investment
code for East Africa. It was approved by the East African stakeholders. (Applause)
During this year I participated, with a team of consultants, as a legal person on the legal
institutional and administrative framework for the East African Customs Union. It has also been
approved. (Applause) That is more than routine, because you go and defend your work and prove
your worth. And in these projects, you have to appreciate what is involved - the comprehension of
23
issues relating to regional integration and unity. Therefore, I am very much ingrained in that
particular area.
In the face of the growing strength of individual developed nations and their regional blocks such
as the European Union and NAFTA, et cetera, our own efforts in balkanized regional blocks such
as the East African Community, ECOWAS, SADAC and COMESA, is nothing but kindergarten
talk. We have got to rise to the challenge of uniting Africa and promoting it as a single market. I
have the expertise.
Efforts such as AGOA and “Everything But Arms” (EBA), have got their own challenges. The
challenges include location problems. The distance between our own states and where we are
supposed to go in Europe and America; and in any case those schemes are simply unilateral
preference arrangements. They do not offer free trade arrangements. Therefore, the only solution
is a united Africa. I have the ability to push it forward. (Applause)
Madam Speaker, allow me to talk a bit scientifically, since I am a lawyer authoritatively. The
foreign direct investment flows according, to the UNCTAD Investment Report of 2003 in Africa
is 1.7 percent of the global inflows of FDI. To me, that one should wake us up. We need to do
something, we need to look among - and of the 1.7 percent much of it is in petroleum and
prospecting in Algeria, in Nigeria, in Chad and nothing much in Uganda.
Let me speak about security. The greatest incentive to promote business in any country is political
stability. (Applause) Without it some of us who have actually been in this game of going to
promote investment and trade, they ask us, “Where are you by the way? Is that where there is this
war and this war?” Therefore, the challenge is, how do we deal with the insecurity? We need to
unite. (Applause) The countries, which are retreating - at this point I need to salute all the gallant
Ugandans who have been engaged in the war in the North and North East.
But as I salute them, I wish to say one thing and to give you some small tale. Two men were in
the jungle and at a distance they saw a lion. One of them started pulling out his running boots and
the other colleague said, “Are you serious you are going to leave the lion?” The other one said,
“Who tells you I want to leave the lion? I want to leave you.” We may run so fast and leave our
colleagues who may be eaten by the lion, but be sure that lion will still come for us. We need to
unite in the war against insecurity. (Applause)
Where is our culture? When a person made an alarm a neighbour would always come in. Where
are our neighbours in Africa? Those are some of the critical issues we need to go and discuss in
PAP. (Applause)
Madam Speaker, in the protocol establishing PAP, Article 3, which has been quoted, promotes
good governance. It details PAP to promote good governance and development. Good
governance has got eight major characteristics. It is participatory, it is consensus oriented, it is
accountable, it is transparent, it is responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and
follows the rule of law. (Applause)
It ensures that corruption is minimized. The views of minorities are taken into account and the
voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. You can write a thesis on
each of these. All I want to say is that you know my role in this Parliament on all those issues.
Finally, I wish to say that elect me to PAP. The time has never been better nor the will stronger to
fulfill the challenge today. (Applause) I will represent you effectively. Thank you very much. I
24
demonstrate effective political skills; I demonstrate effective real skills; I demonstrate effective
management skills; I demonstrate excellent communication skills; I am flexible and adoptable;
work well with people of diverse culture economic and other background. Above all I have the
ability to look beyond the obvious in search for realistic and achievable goals. Thank you.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much candidate Ruhindi.
12.55
MR ABDU KATUNTU (Bugweri County, Iganga): Thank you, Madam Speaker and dear
colleagues. I always remain grateful for the honour and confidence and trust this House has given
me, more especially the 20 people who nominated me. (Applause) I will always be grateful to this
House whatever the result at the end of this process.
One of the attributes of a humble person is not to self-praise, and I find it difficult to come here
and praise myself. I imagine that for the two and a half years we have been working together in
this House, colleagues are aware who amongst us is up to the task. (Applause)
One thing, which I think I should talk about is what the issues at the African Union as I
understand them are. The revitalization of the Pan Africanist approaches to equitable economic
development and justice for all provides opportunities for a continent with rising poverty, fragrant
denial of human rights and stagnant or inadequate economic growth.
The role of peoples’ representatives in the African Union and indeed NEPAD will be a decisive
force in how Africa utilizes these opportunities. In many ways, Madam Speaker, the African
Union and its specialized mechanisms and protocols have begun to act, as some have described,
as a compass for national policy definition, setting standards for nation states on gender, conflict
and issues of good governance. I imagine that is the basis of our campaign here today.
Who is Abdu Katuntu anyway? I am possessed with the minimum legal skills, which I can
provide to the group when pursuing the responsibilities you are going to give them. I have served
as the Vice-Chairperson of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. My opinion
especially on legal issues and interpretation, have been professional and indeed I intend to keep it
as such.
My love for this country is not doubted. I know I have a political belief, which might not be the
same as that of some colleagues, but that is what makes me relevant. If two people agree all the
time, then one of them is useless. (Applause) The honest part of me is to tell you what I think and
that is what I have done in this House. As the institutions increase their capacity to regulate and
shape Africa’s political and economic development; continental integration economically,
politically and socially will increasingly become a critical factor to overcoming poverty and
suffering, and enhancing good governance in Africa.
If Africa is to develop, it must unite. Even better economies like those in the western world have
united, what has happened to Africa? We still remain a scar on the face of the earth. Can you tell
me how a country like Uganda can relate economically to the European Union? It is not possible;
it is a joke. Dear colleagues, look amongst us, who has got the competence and ability to serve
you and indeed to serve the country? (Applause)
Madam Speaker, when we are looking at world trade relations, how can a small country, for
example Rwanda, relate to a bigger economy like the United States of America and the European
25
Union? It is a joke! Africa must unite and for those of us who still have the energy in us, let us
contribute to this unity. (Applause)
On issues of gender parity; why does Africa not learn from the Ugandan experience, for example?
You go even in the neighbourhood, women’s emancipation, the affirmative action in Uganda
should certainly provide a basis for most of these African countries. (Applause) At the end of the
day we are looking at one thing; a person who can articulate a country’s position, a person who
can lobby and defend a country’s position. (Applause)
The responsibility rests with this House, the responsibility rests with this country to harmonize
and have a correct position. We cannot afford, Madam Speaker and honourable colleagues, to
have the Cancun sagas; we cannot afford it. As the developing world, we should have a uniform
economic policy, which can assist our people to get them out of the quagmire they are in.
I have - other than serving this House in the capacity, which you all know - been the Deputy
Legal Consultant to the Kenya Constitutional Review Commission. (Applause). Sometimes
prophets are not known at home, but we have got the skills and indeed the regional respect. I
thank you, honourable colleagues; I seek for your vote. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, candidate Katuntu. You will be followed by the hon.
Daniel Omara Atubo.
1.03
MR DANIEL OMARA ATUBO (Otuke County, Lira): Madam Speaker, distinguished
Members of Parliament and voters, I greet you all in the name of Pan Africanism. Bonjour mon
ami. Salaam Aleikum; tres bien, tres bien. (Laughter)
Africa is at the threshold of a great change and a great revolution. The birth of new institutions in
the African Union as opposed to the previous Organization of African Unity must be a welcome
development. Madam Speaker, we who seek to go to the Pan African Parliament have the
advantage and a challenge of being the first born, and being the first-born we have the greatest
challenge to lay a firm foundation. Call it capacity building; and you lay this foundation for a new
institution for others to come and follow.
It is, therefore, more demanding that the people we are going to send must be of the highest
caliber, must be of the highest stature, must be of the highest experience and must be of the
highest ability. I believe I am one of them.
Madam Speaker, if you look at the protocol, which established this Pan African Parliament on
Article 3(1) it says that, “Although the ultimate aim of the Pan African Parliament is to evolve
into an institution with full legislative power whose members are elected by universal adult
suffrage, however, until such a time as the member states decide otherwise through an
amendment to this protocol, the Pan African Parliament, the first one, shall have consultative and
advisory powers only.”
This is a very important proviso to that provision. We, who are going, will have consultative and
advisory powers to all other institutions. Therefore, surely somebody to be consulted, somebody
to advice must be of the calibre you can think of. Some of the qualities have been mentioned by
my colleagues, and I do concur with them fully and I do respect their views. I want to mention
that they include experience, they include maturity and wisdom, which comes out of age. This
grey hair is not for fun. One must be a Pan Africanist; one has got to be a nationalist; one has got
26
to be an internationalist because the Pan African Parliament, together with the African Union, is
going to be within the context of the global politics and within the global village, as we
understand it today.
Madam Speaker and colleagues, distinguished Members of Parliament and voters, we who are
going there must be first class diplomats. One of the rules in diplomacy is that you should never
send a messenger who cannot find his or her way through the palace. I have had the advantage of
being a Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and one of the greatest advantages I can boast of
today is that, because of that exposure, at least half of all the African heads of state are known to
me personally. (Applause). People like Muammar Gadaffi of Libya, South African President
Thambo Mbeki, Sam Nujoma of Namibia, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Joaquim Chissano of
Mozambique, Paul Kagame of Rwanda who was a major when I was his Minister of State for
Defence, Benjamin Mkapa - I was in Tanzania and I know him - Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Hosni
Mubarak of Egypt, whom I had the pleasure of initiating when I was the Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs leading the Ugandan delegation in Uganda-Egypt joint commission.
I am the one who went and saw President Mubarak and negotiated for Egypt Air to resume flights
to Uganda. I remember that when I was with him, he picked the telephone and talked to the
Executive Chairman of Egypt Air and he said, “Do you know, I have a Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs who comes from Uganda? You must fly there otherwise, these people are going
to block Lake Victoria from flowing here.” The Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo is known
to me as an active member of the African leadership forum. Ghana’s John Kuofor was there when
I went to attend the African leadership forum, Sudan’s Omar Bashir, Angola’s Eduardo Dos
Santos and many others.
When you send me to the Pan African Parliament, I will not fail to find my way in that palace, but
I will also be able to knock on the doors of these heads of state. And when I knock they are not
going to ask, “Who is this knocking?” They will not say, “Honourable who?” When I say it is
honourable Omara Atubo, they will say, “Oh! Welcome” –(Laughter)- and I am sure they will
ask how their brother, President Museveni, is and I will say, “Fantastic, he is doing very well.”
Madam Speaker – (Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please.
MR ATUBO: Madam Speaker, the OAU has now been transformed into the AU; it is a peoplecentred participatory Parliament. From the politics of liberation at the time of the OAU and the
anti-colonial politics, we are now moving into the politics of development, social and economic,
unity, peace and good governance.
Madam Speaker and distinguished voters, I commit myself that I will regularly consult you and I
will not take any decision in the Pan African Parliament before consulting you. You are my
voters and you are so important to me that every decision of a major nature, which we are taking
there, I will come back to you and consult you. But above all, this Pan African Parliament is a
new centre because they want the people to participate. The OAU was a collection of heads of
state, now they want the ordinary people of Africa to participate.
Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for this opportunity. The greatest challenge we are going to
face there is challenge to make Africa a happier and a better place to live in. There are three
categories of candidates here: The first category are those surely who must go, the second
category are those whom you can consider to send, and the third category are those who can
afford to wait. I plead to you that I am one of those who must go. (Laughter and Applause)
27
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please. Thank you candidate Omara Atubo.
1.13
MR ELIJAH OKUPA (Kasilo County, Soroti): Thank you, Madam Speaker, honourable
members, and the ministers present here today. I must start by thanking God for having enabled
all us to be here today. I must also thank God for having given me the life and enabled me to
stand here today, where I have declared myself as a candidate; not only a candidate, but also a
viable candidate with potentials that need to be exploited for the benefits of the country of
Uganda.
Madam Speaker, honourable members, I have given my Curriculum Vitae to be passed around as
I give my speech. I will not dwell so much on it because it will be passed around. My name is
Okupa Elijah, a Member of Parliament for Kasilo County, Soroti District. I was born 35 years ago
in Teso. I have a profession, which I strongly believe none of – (Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, honourable members.
I am the only professional economist in the team. We need an economist for African
development. I am also finalising my master’s programme in economics; that is economic policy
and planning at Makerere University. I am also a student of ACCA; this is an accounting
profession. So, I have a twin profession of economics and accountancy. Figures, analysis, will not
be a problem to me for interpretation and analysis.
Honourable members, since coming to this Parliament, I have served on the Committee of
Presidential and Foreign Affairs - (Interruption).
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, please listen!
MR OKUPA: The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises,
where I have shown the potential, the ability and the analysis. The Members of this committee
will bear me witness. I have attended a number of conferences, not only after coming to
Parliament. While at Makerere University, being the president of the university economic
association, I represented Makerere University at an international economics conference that was
held in Tunis, Tunisia effectively. While in Parliament, I have represented Parliament on African
parliamentary union, which was in Accra in October this year. I was there with hon. Miria
Matembe. Because of the potential they saw in me, I was elected vice president to the executive
committee of the African parliamentary union. (Applause).
Last month, I represented the Committee on Presidential and Foreign Affairs and the Parliament
at the United Nations General Assembly, where I stood firmly, defended Uganda’s human rights
position, Uganda’s presence in the Congo, because it was a state that we were defending not a
Government. (Applause)
Honourable members, there are issues on which I strongly feel I should go and give advice, give
consultative information when you give me the vote. I want to start with the issue of gender
imbalance. The issue of gender imbalance should not be looked as a women issue alone.
(Applause) Honourable members in this House who are women folks, you need an ally, an ally in
the name of Okupa Elijah. You cannot achieve women emancipation alone. You need the men
folks. I am there for you. Make your voice heard, make your issues heard in the Pan African
Parliament through Elijah Okupa.
28
The European Union has a fund that is specifically targeted towards the women programmes.
Why can this not be introduced in the Pan African Parliament? That is what I am going to fight
for, that there should be a specific fund to help the women folk of Africa, of Uganda to achieve
equality on this continent. The African woman, Ugandan woman should have her voice heard in
the African Parliament and it is only Okupa who can do that as an ally.
Honourable members, there is the issue of the marginalized groups. I always find a problem
calling our colleagues, who are part of the human race, the “disabled.” I prefer using the words
the “differently abled” people because they are abled in another form. The issues of the disabled
will be a key, in my lobbying in the Pan African Parliament. The issue of the children, the
disabled and the elderly is important. Children and the disabled suffer a lot in times of wars. We
have the laws but we must push for these laws to be enforced in Africa such that the children of
this world, the future of tomorrow is catered for. If you are not interested in the future of
tomorrow then that is when you cannot talk about the children. They have the potential to lead
this country, they have the potential to be great leaders of the world, they have the potential to
change the world. A family without children is no family. (Applause) So, we must take the issue
of the children seriously.
The differently abled people have suffered a lot because of the vulnerabilities that come their
way. The community perceives them as unable to do work, but research has shown that there is
little variance about their productivity, given the tools, given the qualifications, given the skills.
The differently abled people have always found a problem in accessing places of work thus
denying them opportunities to work. This is one of the issues, which must be raised and solved if
we have to help the differently abled people.
Talk of peace; it has become a rare commodity in the African continent to start with. Most of the
African countries have been faced with insecurity, lack of peace, lack of stability. I believe in
peaceful resolution of conflicts in Africa with a view of contributing to initialisation of the culture
of peace, of co-existence based on good governance, respect of human rights and good
neighbourliness. This is one thing that we need to push for if we are to achieve what our
forefathers sought for a long time ago; that is having unity in this continent. Honourable
members, I do not see any reason why you should not give me the vote. (Applause) I am a
Member of the AMANI Peace Team, which has done a lot in agitating for peace as a means of
ending this war. (Applause) We are going to extend it to the African continent as a whole.
We are talking about unity. To start with, Africa needs a common language. We are going to find
a problem in the Pan African Parliament because we do not have a common language. (Applause)
The costs are going to increase because we do not have a common language to be realised in the
African continent.
On the issue of economics, Africa is a big market. We should start by ourselves other than being
tossed here and there by the European Union, United States of America and the United Nations
that is dominated by mainly five countries. So, on the economic issues, Africa must come as one
block and exploit the potential that is in it. Honourable members, I need a vote from you.
(Applause)
Honourable members, as I end, I wanted to give you a short story of two African Members of
Parliament, a European Union commissioner and a cow. The EU commissioner sentenced two
African Members of Parliament to death for their conduct in Cancun. One of them knew how
29
much the commissioner loved his cow. In return for life, he offered to teach one European bull to
be internationally competitive without subsidies –(Member timed out).
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: When the light comes back, you have one minute.
MR OKUPA: Thank you, Madam Speaker and honourable members. I was saying within one
year, the commissioner agreed; the second Member of Parliament was dismayed. “Why prolong
the inevitable?” He asked. “You know those bulls have to change against our own. Not so?” said
the same Member of Parliament. “I have given myself four chances for freedom: First, the
commissioner might die during the next year; second, I might die. Third, the bull may die and
fourth, I may be able to make the damned bull internationally competitive.” What does this story
illustrate? It illustrates the potential of the parliamentarians with a vision to open up space both
for our continent and internationally. That is what I am going for. Vote Okupa Elijah as a catalyst
in the Pan African Parliament, with a productive mind, with a potential, with the interest to
analyse things. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, candidate Okupa.
1.25
MS BETTY AMONGI (Woman Representative, Apac): Thank you, Madam Speaker and
honourable members of Parliament. First of all, let me thank all of you for nominating me, for
supporting me up to this moment. I am Betty Amongi, a Member of Parliament from Apac
District. I hold a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Public Administration from Makerere
University. I am also finalising on my Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomatic
Studies. (Applause).
Before I joined Parliament, I worked as a programme officer in charge of Africa and the
Caribbean at the Global Pan African Movement, an inter-governmental organisation. (Applause)
The Global Pan African Movement is an inter-governmental organisation that tries to bring states
together to find common problems of Africa and common solutions. If you are looking for the
vision, the experience, Betty Amongi is the candidate. (Applause) The Pan African Parliament is
an organ of the African Union with a vision. If you want the vision that Pan African Parliament
sets, that the African Union sets, that is the vision I come with. I believe the most important thing
that the person to go and represent Uganda should be able to do is to articulate issues. And I am
capable of doing that. (Applause)
What is the issue that I think is very vital for Africa? The Oxfam report quotes 138 million
Africans living below one dollar a day, and that the most extreme poverty is in Africa. The
Oxfam 2000 report further quotes that: “If only trade could be fair in the world market, Africa
would be ahead.” (Applause) Let me give you the figure and quote you the book. The book is
entitled: Rigid rules and double standards: trade, globalisation and the fight against poverty.
That book says that when an African country imports to a developed world, she faces four times
the tariff barriers that a developed country cannot face in Africa. Why? (Applause) The report
further says that if only Africa could increase its trade by one per cent, Africa would not need aid,
Africa would cancel all its debts and Africa would not need loans.
Therefore, I think the most important issue is trade. Trade is the answer because if we can only be
treated justly in the global market, trade would be able to make Africa get out of poverty.
(Applause) But how can we achieve this? Uganda as an individual country cannot achieve that
because Uganda cannot go and negotiate with European Union as an individual state (Interjections)- Yes, I always think so. Therefore, the only answer is continental integration.
30
Therefore, if you want a person who understands the issue, the woman who will go and articulate
and will not a shame Uganda, it is Betty Amongi. (Applause)
Secondly, people have been talking about NEPAD, but they have not talked about the issues
NEPAD talks about. NEPAD says that why should an African when travelling - last week I went
to the commonwealth heads of state meeting called CHOGM - with the President by the way. So,
when I went to Abuja for that meeting, I had to connect right from London. Why should an
African from Uganda going to Lagos, going to Accra, going to Abidjan, have to go to Europe to
come to Africa? Why? We need to develop the infrastructure that connects Africa. That is the
unity we are talking about. (Applause)
I want to leave that point because I think you have understood.
I now want to go to the issue of peace and conflict resolution. Where do you see Africa in the
United Nations (UN) system? Africa is nowhere. When Rwanda was being butchered, where was
UN? When Sierra Leone was in conflict, where was UN because the UN system favours the
developed countries but not Africa. We need a mechanism in Africa for conflict resolution. Peace
and conflict resolution should be developed and the Pan African Parliament should be an
institution to build mechanism framework of peaceful resolution of conflict so that we can move
with the unity. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order please, Members.
MS AMONGI: I want to talk about women emancipation. In the Commonwealth now, Africa
leads in women emancipation with Mozambique, 30 per cent, South Africa, 29.7 per cent,
Seychelles, 29.4 per cent. I am quoting the figures in my head; I am not reading. Uganda comes
fourth. The recent report says in Africa, Rwanda now leads the whole world in women
emancipation and we have always led in women emancipation because our African tradition
protected and respected women. We need to understand and give that example. At the Pan
African Movement, I have always done that. When I go to the Pan African Parliament, I will
make them get the affirmative action of Uganda.
The issue that I am going to articulate is here. This is the Constitutive Act of the African Union,
this is the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), it is all here. I participated in
this – Yes, I did. All these issues I am going to articulate them. But now Members, I cannot do
that without your support, I need the vote. I need the vote because I can articulate those issues,
because I understand the issues. I need the vote because I cut across all political divide.
I think you need a woman of integrity. I am a woman of integrity. In the two years I have been
here, I have been a woman of integrity. You need a woman who is dependable, who has the
conviction and when she has the conviction she cannot stagger -(Applause)- I am the one. But
most important, for a representative, you need a person who smiles to every voter. You need a
person who is approachable, and I am approachable to all of you, whether you are Minister,
whether you are a Member of Parliament, whether you are what, you can access me as your
representative to the Pan African Parliament. I thank you. (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please. Thank you, candidate Amongi.
1.37
MR OMACH MANDIR JACHAN (Jonam Country, Nebbi): Madam Speaker, honourable
members, the last will be first and the first will be last, so it is said –(Laughter)
31
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Members!
MR OMACH: So it is said and so it will be done. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank all the
honourable members of Parliament for having the confidence in me of making me a candidate for
the Pan African Parliament. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Madam Speaker, when the Members of Parliament from Nebbi elected me to be the Chairman of
the Nebbi Parliamentary Group, it was because of my competence. When I went to the
Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development, it was because of my competence
that the Members elected me as the Vice Chairperson of that committee.
Madam Speaker, when I stand here, I come here with confidence and a smile on my face. One of
the instruments that I will use effectively is what is called a disarming smile and I will use it in
that Parliament (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
MR OMACH: Madam Speaker, I am a member of the Parliamentarians for Global Action
(PGA). This is not something, which I have just started today. It shows you that I have got
international interests to ensure that the globe is one.
Madam Speaker, I a member of APNAC, which is dealing with the issue of corruption, and
Africa cannot be free if Africa is corrupt, and I will stand against corruption.
Madam Speaker, as I go out to the Pan African Parliament, with your mandate, Members of
Parliament, I go there to ensure that I go as a Ugandan and to ensure that Uganda is sold. All the
good things that are happening in this country, let the other members from the other states of
Africa also benefit from them.
Madam speaker, I have been a banker for the last 22 years. To be a banker is not easy, but to be a
distinguished banker, having worked as a General Manager for 11 years, is not a mean
achievement. You must be a person of integrity, of prudence and unquestionable rights. Now, the
African state requires people with such knowledge.
As I go to the Pan African Parliament, I know the issues that are now facing Africa. First and
foremost, Africa is endowed with a lot of resources be it physical, human, natural resources like
the wealth of the ground, or mineral wealth. But the problem of Africa is to get out of this by
ensuring that we get economists, bankers and people who can understand how Africa can get out
of poverty. I will be the right person to do this (Applause)
Madam Speaker, my training in economics and social administration at Makerere University was
not in vain and this will be needed at the Pan-African level.
Now, how do we get out of this problem that Africa is having? First and foremost, Africa must
integrate economically first at the regional level and secondly at the international level. So, I will
ensure that that Africa integration at the regional level and international level comes to pass so
that Africa can be free economically.
The second thing, Madam Speaker, is the issue of Africa bringing out valued Pan-African
institutions like the Pan-African Parliament, Pan-African Bank, Pan-African currency and the
32
Pan-African courts of law. These institutions must be built to enable Africa to be second to none
in this world.
The third, Madam Speaker, is the issue of infrastructure. Right now Uganda drives on the left and
Congo drives on the right. We need to synchronise the roads, railways, and the various activities
that give us transportation and communication. So, Africa must develop these roads so that we
can trade among ourselves, and this is only possible if you send me as your representative in the
Pan-African Parliament (Applause)
Madam Speaker, there are also other issues. Africa is not growing so fast because of the issue of
peace and security. Since the Biafran war, Africa has been at war. We do support and thank the
UN peacekeeping forces, but we need a Pan-African military presence in Africa so that Africa
will be ruled by Africans.
Madam Speaker, there is also the issue of gender. When you read Genesis 2:21-24, the gender
issue is summarised there. The lady is got from the ribs because with the ribs you must be side by
side. The lady is got from the ribs because they house the heart and there must be love. They are
got from the same flesh so that we must be one in flesh, in thinking, in everything. (Applause)
Therefore, Africa, which has got the highest number of women - over 55 percent of the
population in Africa, is women - the issue of women emancipation must be second to none. I will
ensure – (Applause)- that this comes to pass.
Madam Speaker, there is the issue of education. As I talk now over 20 billion people have entered
the third millennium without knowing how to read and write. In this country if we can have
quality UPE, we are in the right direction. We need to ensure that every person on the globe,
particularly in Africa, is literate so that we can be able to get out of poverty. (Applause) I will
articulate these issues and ensure that Africa is totally educated and there is no illiteracy in
Africa.
Madam Speaker, there is the issue of health. We are created to be healthy. I will ensure that the
issue of health comes up very clearly. That is why in this country I introduced Moringa, knowing
that it will help our people –(Applause)- out of bad health. So, on issues of bilharzia, malaria,
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, I will articulate this and ensure that Africa is free from all these
diseases. And we need that in order to develop.
We need to address the issues of the farmers. Africa is predominately agricultural and to liberate
Africa we need to move away from hoes; we need to use animal traction. This will be the best for
the women because at the moment they are the ones who are being disturbed.
We need animal traction so that Africa can grow better crops, open more land and the peoples’
power is not disturbed. I will ensure that the farmers’ interests are addressed and Africa can
articulate its issues accordingly.
Madam Speaker and honourable members, there is the issue of environment and natural
resources. Africa is well endowed with all these resources. As I talk now, the rest of the world is
having a problem with the Ozone layer and it is only Africa that can clean the ozone layer of the
carbon dioxide. That is why again we are encouraging the planting of trees. These trees right now
for every – (Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: You have one minute when the light comes back.
33
MR OMACH: Right now I would like to ask you to give me your votes. Once you send me
there, you will not regret it. First of all, the smartness alone is in my blood. (Laughter) So, give
me your vote. On the ballot paper, I am number 12 and number 12 is the perfect number, so vote
for Jachan Omach. I thank you all (Applause)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you candidate Omach. Honourable members, this concludes
the candidates’ meetings. I thank you for your attention and for the support you have given
overwhelmingly to all of the candidates. The elections will begin tomorrow at 10 0’clock. So I am
appealing to all the members of this House to be here to vote tomorrow.
In the meantime, I will suspend the House up to 2.45 p.m. when we shall resume with the other
business of the House.
(The Proceedings were suspended at 1.49 p.m.)
(On resumption at 3.30 p.m., the Deputy Speaker presiding_)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I just want to alter the Order Paper a bit to
permit presentation of a petition from Kibaale District.
3.32
DR KASIRIVU ATWOOKI (Bugangaizi County, Kibaale): Thank you, Madam Speaker. This
is the petition from the Kibaale residents, and I am moving it under Rule 22 of our Rules of
Procedure.
“To the Parliament of Uganda,
Parliament House,
Parliament Avenue,
P. O. Box 7178,
Kampala.
The humble petition of the undersigned in agreement and represented by hon. Dr Kasirivu
Atwooki, Member of Parliament for Bugangaizi County, showeth and states that:
1. The subject matter of this petition is the continuing unresolved land and socio-political
conflicts in Kibaale District, which surfaced at the height of the 2002 political conflicts.
2. Following the aforesaid conflicts, His Excellency the President appointed a four-man
committee headed by Dr Crispus Kiyonga to investigate the causes, and propose possible
solutions to the conflict. The committee carried out many consultations with various stakeholders
within and outside Kibaale District and consequently made a report entitled ‘Report of the
Government Committee of Inquiry into the Political Developments in Kibaale District, April
2002.’
One of the major recommendations contained in the report mentioned in (2) above was that
Government sets up a commission of inquiry that will propose a permanent solution to the
political conflicts and the land question in Kibaale District. Unfortunately, to-date, this
commission of inquiry has not been appointed.
34
Therefore, the petitioners seek the indulgence of this august House and pray that Parliament
resolves that the Government expedites the appointment of the Commission of Inquiry into the
land question in Kibaale District. And your petitioners, as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition presented by Dr Kasirivu Atwooki, Member of Parliament for Bugangaizi and attached
signatures of other humble petitioners.”
I beg to move.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. Honourable members, I will commit that petition to the
Committee on Natural Resources to engage in dialogue with the Government and report back
when we come back from recess.
MOTION FOR PRESENTATION, CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION OF THE REPORT
ON ELECTION VIOLENCE
(Debate Continued.)
3.33
MR KAGIMU KIWANUKA (Bukomansimbi County, Masaka): Thank you very much,
Madam Speaker –(Interruption)
MR AYUME: Is the honourable member holding the Floor in order to have come here dressed as
if he is going to a disco, or to inspect his shamba?
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: The honourable member was not properly dressed for this House.
But I think he has borrowed a jacket from one of his neighbours. You are now visible.
MR KAGIMU: Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is a problem of the ventilation of the House.
So, I think the chairman of the committee concerned should take note.
Madam Speaker, I thank the committee for the report on election violence, which was done very
well. I would like to speak with special reference to my constituency on some of the elements that
appeared.
Madam Speaker, I think it is not proper for a President, a whole big man, to come to a
constituency and de-campaign someone. I think that was put in the report and I hope it will be
adhered to so that in 2006 we do not get those problems.
A whole President to come and de-campaign you! Okay, it shows you are big because to make a
whole President come to your constituency means you are a big man; you are heavy. But I think it
is not proper, it should not take place again in future.
The issue of individual merit should be emphasized. Since we all know that we are all in the
Movement by the Constitution and by law, saying that this one is Movement and then at the same
time you say there are no parties, you will end up confusing yourself and others.
Madam Speaker, another point is that on the eve of the elections, soldiers came to my
constituency and beat up people saying, “You, why do you elect that DP man?” They brought
pickups full of soldiers. I think this is unbecoming.
35
Sometimes the administration at the district, the RDCs, also got involved. They kidnapped my
campaigners, put them on the pickup, accusing them of bribing voters. They made all sorts of
allegations, dumped them at the Police and went on intimidating my people.
Madam Speaker, I think this is not proper and it should be addressed. When we go for elections,
they must be free and fair. The Government should not come in to interfere and use violence. On
the eve, they beat up my people thoroughly. Actually I was going to sue the Attorney General, but
I was advised that, “You are a new man, now you are going to be in conflict with Government”.
Again, I was intimidated by that sweet-talking. But next time if it happens, Mr Attorney General
–(Interruption)
MS MUGERWA: Madam Speaker, I am standing on a point of information to tell the House
what happened in Masaka, in his constituency especially. When President Museveni came to
campaign for somebody, hon. Kagimu was one of the beneficiaries. He was even introduced
publicly to show that actually he -(Interjection)- I have not finished -(Interruption)
MR KAGIMU: No, do not finish the information. You are misleading the House. Madam
Speaker, she is abusing the opportunity. (Laughter) Do you know –(Interruption
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, honourable member, let her finish.
MS MUGERWA: I have the Floor. Madam Speaker, you gave me the Floor. Thank you.
Another thing, Madam Speaker, is that actually it was not Government. If we are discussing this
report, we should be realistic. It was not Government beating people.
I knew I was on the side of Government because I was working with Government, and when I
stood a lot of colleagues supported me from Government. So, I knew that I was a government
candidate, but my people were beaten up seriously. So, it was not Government.
If it were Government, probably even the other side too was beating. I had my supporter walking
on crutches because of being beaten. So, I do not think it was only Government. All sides were
beating, if we have to look at that issue –(Interruption)
MR KAGIMU: You sit. Madam, she has abused the chance I gave her. Now I know, I will never
give you a chance.
Madam Speaker, this is what happened. When His Excellency came, with all the due respect, he
started saying, “This one, I know him very well, mumanyi bulungi, but do not give him because
he has squints”. He said that we multi-partyists have squints. But now the Movement is also
having squints because you were the first people to register as a party. So, you also have squints
now. But he was saying that I see like this.
So, Madam Speaker, I was heavily de-campaigned. In fact I lost the elections because of that.
What the honourable member is saying, that both sides were beaten, is very unfair -(Mr Kizige
rose_)- You also! (Laughter). No, I know you; you are not going to say anything good. Madam
Speaker, I am free.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Kagimu, members usually give you a lot of courtesy in this
House. Whenever you stand they allow you. So, give him a chance.
36
MR KIZIGE: Madam Speaker, I am seeking clarification from the honourable member from
Bukomansimbi. He has just said that he lost the election because he was de-campaigned by the
President. But court ruled that there were mal-practices by the other candidate in the
parliamentary elections and, therefore, ruled that there should be a by-election.
Is it because he was de-campaigned by the President or because of the rigging on the part of the
other candidate that he lost the election? Can we get that clarification?
MR KAGIMU: Madam Speaker, these people who seek for clarification just confuse and
misguide the House. You see, what happened when the President came, he campaigned for this
man who had no papers. After the elections I went to court, the court ruled that the man had no
papers and he was disqualified. Funny enough, the man went and stood again, can you imagine,
on the same papers! In fact, that is one of the elements I want to bring out.
The Act must be amended so that UNEB can be sued. How can you clear someone whom court
has thrown out? He stood again and I beat him this time, although I am in court. He took me to
court again on two reasons. You can imagine, he went to court and alleged that I do not have
academic qualifications - that man is terrible - and also that there were malpractices.
I have my degree in Economics, everything is very clear, but he thinks I forged like him. I know
he is not here to defend himself, so I do not –(Interjection)- I know, Madam Speaker, you stopped
us from attacking people who cannot come here to defend themselves.
Madam Speaker, the Act must be amended so that UNEB can be sued. It is unfortunate you
cannot sue UNEB. They clear somebody in error, but you cannot sue them because the rules of
procedure cannot allow you to do so. They are using the 1996 rules and in 1996 UNEB was not
there so you cannot sue UNEB. So, it must be amended immediately so that UNEB can be sued.
How can you clear someone whom court has thrown out? It is terrible!
Madam Speaker, when we go for campaigns people at the district should not quake too much. If I
stand, why do you fear Kagimu? They organise meetings and then they start selecting one against
the other and they say, “no, no that one is a powerful man”.
Why do you quake? Elect people on individual merit. Let them come, I beat them and that will
be the end. But then everybody is quaking, they even bring the President, but for me nobody
helped me but I stood and beat them.
Madam Speaker, we have been listening to these people who have been saying we should elect
our representatives on individual merit. You elect them on merit and not by sitting in a caucus
and then say, “please let us elect this one. Even if he has not performed well, this is our man.”
Where is your man!
We want somebody who is going to be of high calibre. We do not want people who are going to
ashame us. Do not bring these things, which we are doing in our constituencies, where you go and
campaign for somebody who is not capable and bring him here simply because he is going to clap
and put up his hand. You campaign for someone who will give you prestige.
I hear meetings are going to go on tonight to discuss these people who have stood - hon. Mbabazi
with all due respect I am sorry - to say that, “this one is our man”. Madam Speaker, I laughed at
them. So, I believe in individual merit. If it is individual merit, let it be individual merit and no
intimidation, no campaigning.
37
An RDC comes and then they campaign and say that, “do not vote this one” and then they get the
campaigners, they beat them up and intimidate them. In my constituency, it is terrible. They fear
me very much; now, why do they fear me?
First of all, I am good and I am not going to –(Interruption)- no, no, you see we shall fight the
Movement through democratic means, do not fear too much. They beat the ankle of my
campaigner; the man could not walk for a month. You see, there is that barracks at Masaka which
they use. They come at night and they beat people thoroughly.
Madam Speaker, another point is that in these elections, sometimes you find even a whole
minister coming to a constituency and then they make these caucuses. In Luganda they call them
“olukukulu”. So you find that they come to the district and then they start doing this. Okay,
canvassing for these candidates is good but do it humanly, do not intimidate.
I remember there was a candidate who stood in my constituency. He said there were three people
who intimidated him and they said, “We shall kill you and you are going to leave your children”.
So, he called his campaigners and said, “You see, I have young children, they are going to kill me
and now how can I leave these young children.” The poor man had to step down. Why do you
force someone to step down?
Madam Speaker, the Movement has been in power for 17 years but they still fear; why do you
fear? If I have been in power for 17 years and I have been talking alone, I have not been giving
others a chance, why do I fear? They fear, they quake and they do intimidate.
Madam Speaker, another element is about money. When they spot that this is their candidate,
they give a lot of money to that person. Why do you do all these things? You see, I think it is very
unfair, and secondly, you are not going to meet the quality that you want. You are using a kind of
fatherly approach; somebody is like a child, you come to campaign for the candidate and give
him money.
Madam Speaker, I would like to appeal to the Government to stop these things. I do not want to
pre-empt what hon. Jack Sabiiti is going to say but, Madam Speaker, there are very good
recommendations.
Lastly, Madam Speaker, if, for example, court has ruled that this person does not have the
academic qualifications, how on earth can that person be allowed to stand? It is really
abominable. Court has ruled and then a person is allowed again to stand! And the district
administration sits, somebody who is qualified comes up and instead of at least supporting that
one, they again support somebody who has been disqualified! Thank you very much.
3.47
DR KASIRIVU ATWOOKI (Bugangaizi County, Kibaale): Thank you, Madam Speaker. I
want to thank the committee, which prepared a good report, for the work they conducted. I have a
few observations to make on this report.
Madam Speaker, you are aware that during campaigns one of the sources in laying a platform for
violence is candidates themselves and their agents. There is a bad practice of character
assassination, calling people names, composing songs with a hope that if you de-campaign,
mudsling, character assassinate the opponent, you will get the advantage.
38
In the process, you create antagonism to the extent that even after the elections, someone will not
forget that you called him or her that name and, therefore, violence is perpetuated. Someone
looks at a person and says, “When we were campaigning for elections, this person called me a
thief”, and then you have really prepared a platform for further conflict.
Madam Speaker, it is very possible to present issues as you campaign, ask for support and make
sure that you also try to restrain, as much as possible, your agents from causing antagonism with
other candidates.
In the election of 1996, we had candidates’ meetings. For those who were supporting the issue of
candidates’ meeting, one of their reasons was that when you are moving together it is very
difficult for a candidate to talk ill of the other because you are all there. Yes, but it also had its
own limitations. You may not have enough time to express your own issues to the electorate, but
when you are moving alone you know where to move and how to go there.
However, why should we continue using phrases and words, which are inciting our opponents? If
we as candidates can avoid it, mount a clean campaign, present our issues; if you have been an
incumbent, account for the time you have been in Parliament or other elective office and then
from there you request for a fresh mandate, I think we would have somehow a better campaign
and minimize election violence. Otherwise, if you call me a thief, I will also get offended. I may
hit back and in the process of hitting back we flare up.
Madam Speaker, the other issue is the use of sectarian tendencies in campaigns. It is true that in
some parts of this country, religion plays a factor in election. People who are Catholics say, “vote
for this one because he is a Catholic”. The Protestants say, “vote this one because is a Protestant”.
The Moslems say, “vote for this one because he is Moslem.” In some parts of this country,
religion plays a factor. Therefore, this is another source of conflict and violence.
Madam Speaker, if you are in a predominantly Catholic community like Kibaale, which is over
90 percent Catholic, why should you bring in religion? Because if you are protestant and you
state it, you have lost from the word go. If you are a Catholic, there are many others who are also
Catholics and you cannot use it. So, areas where there are 50 to 50, 40 to 60 all of the same
religion, use of religion should be abandoned and not practiced.
Similarly, there is the use of tribalism, Madam Speaker. I want to submit that one of the main
sources or origins of problems in Kibaale was tribalism during elections. Some people decided to
use tribalism with the hope that they would gain support. Unfortunately, it did not work but it had
set a stage for conflict.
What we are now experiencing in Kibaale is because of this tribal problem. I will give an
example from Bugangaizi County. I stood with some young man who incited people on a tribal
basis. He was unlucky because I beat him.
The same person went to Kamwenge District to stand for LC V and while there, he used religion
and he was also unlucky, he was beaten. But in all, he had started this divisive type of politics,
which is a platform for conflict and therefore violence. Can we really discourage use of narrow
parochial tendencies while we are trying to seek for support?
Madam Speaker, as I wind up, as we go multiparty it might be necessary that some public officers
who are theoretically supposed to be neutral may have to first resign their offices so that they can
be identified with a party. Otherwise, how does someone leave office and say, “I am now actively
39
a member of a certain party”? That means you were not neutral in the first case when you were in
the service.
It is only under the Movement where you can all of a sudden go and stand. Because you are an
individual you can say, “I am going for leave”, then you go and participate. If you fail, you come
back to office because you are acting as an individual. But if we are under multiparty, then I feel
resigning a post might be the only solution. I thank you.
3.54
PROF. MORRIS OGENGA LATIGO (Agago County, Pader): Madam Speaker, I am pleased
that I am once again able to appear here and express my thinking on any of these issues as they
come. I actually did not expect to participate in this debate, but I have three basically technical
issues to raise.
I concur with the concerns about the violence that took place. However, I am particularly more
concerned with the way the committee handled their work up to the final product. If I am
repeating, I am just clarifying the issues.
Right from the beginning when Parliament formed this committee, there was already conflict.
This manifested itself in challenges as to whether certain individuals should be in that committee.
While that was resolved, unfortunately when you read this report you will find that this matter
was never resolved. You read each chapter of the report and you can read that this is a different
individual from that.
In my own view, I have seen reports of committees and this is the most disjointed report,
technically, that I have ever read. Because it is like that, it actually clouds the very message that
it is supposed to bring.
Secondly, I do not know what happened to some of us who are here. I was an editor of an
international journal and they co-opted my brother Dr Nkuuhe to help. If they had editorial
problems, they should have co-opted some of us. The language of that committee in that
document is very unfortunate because the English is very bad; it is extremely bad. It reflects very
badly on Parliament. I think if they were not able to work harmoniously, they should have left the
technical people to do the editing.
Thirdly, I was actually surprised that the committee, in their method of work, even thought of
statistical sampling. When you are dealing with election violence there are no statistics, there are
facts. What do you then calculate and come out with? That the number of times violence occurred
is significant or not significant, when every single act of violence in an election, when every
single act of corruption in an election, when every single death in an election is important. I just
did not understand that.
Madam Speaker, that was my dilemma when I read this report. Unfortunately, I am still fresh
from the academic world, I got derailed, the issues failed to come out. That was my only concern.
I thank you very much.
3.58
MR NYOMBI THEMBO (Kassanda County, Mubende): Thank you very much Madam
Speaker and colleagues. Let me also thank the committee for the good work although my
colleague has torn this good work into pieces. But I should contain that the committee did very
40
nice work, much as I will not be very kind to some of the impressions the report tries to put
across.
Madam Speaker and colleagues, I think you will agree with me that elections in any democracy
are very important pillars. This investigative report tries to dissect the whole process, and there
are some proposed Constitutional amendments and statutory amendments they are trying to give.
To me, they are sort of proposing a very strong anchorage of our democratic process.
So, much as the report can have shortcomings, it gives us some insights into our much-loved
democratic process, which we have cherished so much for the last 17 years. We hope when we
pick issues from here and there in the report, we can improve this process further.
I must add, however, that the whole of yesterday there were some instances when I nearly jumped
out of my skin when some of our colleagues started to give, like the colleague said, statistical
comparisons between countries. I thought I should make a very strong observation on this. You
cannot compare demographic characteristics vis-à-vis the electoral register of any country,
moreover using population as a base.
When we talk of voter turnout, votes registered, we are basically talking of incomplete records
and this should be underlined. We are talking of incomplete records. You cannot compare
incomplete records! In Africa, I know there is no country where registration is compulsory. If
registration were compulsory, then you can dare to compare the statistics.
When somebody started saying, in this country this number turned up, the other country this
number, you must first look at the factors that determine voter turnout. There is political
sensitisation, the level of industrialization - we know that the higher the level of industrialization
the lower the voter turnout, and I think some people have done research on that. There is the level
of civic education, and the political development stage.
You also have to look at starvation from voting. Societies that have been starved of voting tend to
turn out in big numbers when they finally get out of that imprisonment and they are allowed to
vote, like what happened in Uganda in 1986. We were starved of voting for 26 years. So, it
should not surprise anybody that 80 percent, 70 percent, or even 90 percent could turn up to vote.
So, these factors should be looked into very critically.
Madam Speaker, still on that example where people are comparing these statistics, everybody
knows that before computerization, we had problems with the register. For anybody who has ever
handled data without a computer, managing 7 million entries is not a simple task. You cannot
blame anybody.
This is an institution we are building slowly by slowly. We should not just come out always to
blame. We should look at the magnitude of the task; managing 7 million entries is not a simple
task and we know this. Some of these statistics we have compared, sort of give an impression that
somebody deliberately inflates this register, which I do not agree with.
I remember Government itself, without pressure from any circle and led by none other than His
Excellency, came out to say, “let us computerize the voters’ register”. It was because of some
procurement problems and some administrative hiccups in the Electoral Commission that we did
not get a computerized voters’ register in the presidential election of 2001. But it was
Government that spearheaded this.
41
As a result of computerization, some of us who managed to come after the computerized register
do not have a problem. That is why I will pose a very serious question at the end of my
presentation, which all of you will assist me to answer.
Madam Speaker, I will go on to the issue of individual merit. People have commented so much
on individual merit. The report touches so much on individual merit. To me, individual merit does
not mean that senior political leaders are not supposed to have preferences.
Within individual merit we must have preferences. Otherwise, if you do not have preferences
why elect? Elections mean preferring one against the other if all of you are good. If there were no
preferences, why elect? But you have talked of individual merit as if individual merit means we
should not have preferences.
So, I do not think we should blame any senior political leader for having preferences. If
somebody did not use any intimidating methods or violence but he said, “I prefer Thembo and I
am not voting the other. I prefer that so and so be voted and not so and so”, why? To me
whenever you talk about individual merit, we must also know that there should be preferences.
Madam Speaker, I have also heard about, before I go to my four points, the issue of
qualifications. This is where we have to be very careful. Someone says, “You do not have
qualifications today, why should you stand tomorrow”. I may not have qualifications today and I
get them tomorrow. Is that a surprise? There is no contradiction in that.
Lack of qualifications is not a constant issue. I may not have a qualification equivalent of ‘A’
level today, but I can graduate in the evening today or tomorrow and have an equivalent of ‘A’
level and I stand. So, I do not see any controversy.
Madam Speaker, I have some four issues, which I think I should comment on. Civic education is
the first one. I think the critical issue of our electoral process is civic education. Civic education
has completely failed in this country. It is wrong to think that we should partake civic education
during elections. Civic education should be a continuous process, and it makes more sense –
(Interruption)
MR MIKE SEBALU: Thank you very much hon. Nyombi for giving way. There is a tendency
in this country for people to confuse voter education with civic education. I think the two need to
be distinctly appreciated so that we get civic education at the right time when it is supposed to be
undertaken and then voter education. That quite explains why we are having the confusion we are
having.
MR NYOMBI THEMBO: Thank you very much for that information, very great guy. So,
Madam Speaker, I was saying that civic education should be continuous and I think it should be
adequately funded. I request that this civic education to be funded through PEAP under the good
governance pillar because this will not be affected by any swings of the budget.
Madam Speaker, I will go on to the Army and security. This has been a key issue but we have to
ask ourselves some pertinent questions. Who incites the Army? Who makes the Army part of the
electoral process? Is it government or even us candidates? I heard a candidate say on his first day,
“I have 90 percent support in the Army.” When you make such a statement, do you not think the
Army will try to prove you wrong or to prove you right because of merit? “I have 90 percent
support within the Army!”
42
Then if we still have areas, which are insurgency-prone and we know that this insurgency is
threatening the people and making them not to go and vote, who will ensure the security of these
people? If you say the Army should not be involved at all, because we know very well that Kony
was telling people not to go for voting –(Interruption)
MR WADRI: Thank you very much, honourable member, for giving way. I have very attentively
listened to you and when you say somebody said he had 90 percent support of the Army, and we
are over 300 here in this Parliament, could that person be one of us? Could you please set your
record right by being succinct and telling us who that person is so that we do not have to begin
suspecting each other? Could you be clear enough to tell us who that person you are referring to
is, or was? Thank you.
MR KIZIGE: Madam Speaker, I want to inform the member who has just been on the Floor that
I attentively listened to the launching of the manifesto for the Reform Agenda. Dr Kiiza Besigye
told Uganda that he had 90 percent plus support from the Army.
CAPT. BASALIZA: I would like to inform my brother hon. Wadri, actually my grandfather –
that last week when I was contributing, I said somebody by the name of Col. Kiiza Besigye
claimed he had 90 percent support of the Army. You were here; so next time, please take care.
MR MBALIBULHA: Madam Speaker, we are going rural. We have a law in this country that
involves the Army in the politics of the country. Even the Army men are allowed to vote.
Candidates are allowed to go to the Army barracks and solicit for votes. If I misread my opinion
polls within the barracks and tell my supporters that, “Well, I have been in the barracks, the Army
is supporting me.” Really, does it justify a professional army to oppose me by hitting my
supporters? Does it justify soldiers hitting people because they wanted to prove that they do not
support me? I think we are going rural and being petty. Thank you very much.
MR THEMBO: Thank you very much. I will not answer the last clarification until I am
concluding because I have other points, which I have to make.
We should not place a blanket ban on military involvement in elections because an election
involves a lot of logistics; and you know that the masters of logistics are the military. In fact in
some neighbouring countries, which I will not mention here, they use the military to distribute
voting materials. If we place a blanket ban that the military should not be involved whatsoever,
we may end up missing that logistical support that we can get from the Army.
They have the helicopters and they have the vehicles, especially when we no longer have
insurgencies; why should we leave that capacity idle when we can use it to solve a logistical
problem to distribute the voter materials? So, we should not make it blanket.
I have heard of expanding the Police that so that it can handle polls, but in the Bill that is coming
- oh, we are not allowed to anticipate - but we can have the reserve force because you cannot
build a police force designed for elections. An election is a one-off activity. It would be like
building your house and designing it for the day when you have a wedding. Because you will be
having so many people at your place, then you build a house the size of this Parliament. No!
When the time of the wedding comes, you borrow tents and you borrow chairs. So, when the time
of elections comes, we can borrow from the military because they can handle logistics. We can
borrow their vehicles. So, we should not place a blanket ban on them.
43
Madam, I go on to the security and Resident District Commissioners (RDCs). This is very
important. I happen to have been -(Interruption)
MS ALASO: I am just seeking a simple clarification from you. You are saying in the absence of
insurgency, we will be able to borrow and use the vehicles. I want to know from you which type
of vehicles we will be borrowing from the Army because apparently almost all the money the
Electoral Commission has been wanting has been passed in this Parliament. They have the pickups and they use the local administration vehicles. So, which vehicles are we going to borrow
from the Army when there is no insurgency? Is it the APCs, is it the Mambas; and for doing
what?
MR BASALIZA ARAALI: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I think the honourable member is
making a very important statement that we should not make blanket statements about the security
personnel getting involved in elections. First of all, those people who carried out research, those
people who wrote the report, went only to troubled areas. They did not go to peaceful areas where
they could compare between the violence and those people who were peaceful.
In fact in some areas where the Army was, it maintained peace and order in those areas during the
time of elections. A case in point is Kibaale and Kabalore districts. The Army was there and it did
a good job. So, we should not make blanket statements about this issue. Thank you very much my
colleague.
MR THEMBO: Thank you very much. The vehicles I am talking about, hon. Alaso, of course
you know the Army has a lot of lorries and helicopters. These can help in terms of flexibility.
During peaceful times especially, it can give a lot of support to logistical distribution.
RDCs are a very important point because I have been opportuned to serve in that capacity before
I came here and I know what it means. The way some of my colleagues talk of RDCs, one could
think that these are sort of ogres, which are put in districts to torment people. RDCs are senior
civil servants; RDCs are the Chairmen of District Security Committees. If the RDC is the
Chairman of the District Security Committee and all of you agree that there was violence, who
would have controlled violence?
Would you have wanted government to stop operating just because there is an election? You are
saying there was violence; the RDC is the Chairman of the Security Committee, heading the
Police intelligence and the Army. Who would have controlled that violence without the chairman
taking part? Let us be clear on this. These are human beings and very responsible people.
MR DOMBO: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I want to seek clarification from my
honourable colleague and friend. When he says that, if there was violence and these organs had to
participate in cooling down violence, how would it have happened without the involvement of the
RDC, who is the Chairman of the Security Committee? May I seek clarification whether in
situations where these organs actually exacerbated insecurity during elections, whether it was by
the direct supervision and participation of the RDC as the Chairman of the Security Committee?
MR THEMBO: Of course not. The RDC is not supposed to inflame insecurity, he is supposed to
cool the situation and that is what I meant. Madam Speaker, everybody knows why the security
people have to get involved at some point, because of the indiscipline of the candidates. Who
does not know that some of the candidates received money from unfriendly governments to
destabilize this country, and why do you think that ESO should not get interested in that? Why
should ESO not get interested in that? You receive money from an unfriendly country as a
44
candidate or as a group, and you think security should not be interested? That is a mockery of the
whole situation. (Interruption)
MR AMURIAT: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. The statement made by my
honourable colleague is a serious one to the effect that some candidates actually got money from
unfriendly countries. This being Parliament, we need to be clear about what we say here; and the
listeners should be made to understand that what they perceive from members’ contributions is
accurately perceived as what members said.
I would like to know from my colleague who this particular person is, or persons are, who got
money and from which unfriendly countries. Which countries hostile to Uganda gave this kind of
support for campaigns? I just want to get that clarification.
MR THEMBO: Thank you very much. The Minister for Security gave Parliament the list of
unfriendly countries. So, everybody who was here knows it. That is gazetted information,
everybody knows it, I should not repeat it here. As to whether who received that money, that I
would not reveal for the time being.
I will end with the question, which I want to put across so that I can be assisted to answer it.
Maybe one of my colleagues can answer it. Now that we have found out according to the report
that the register was inflated, there was use of a lot of money, lack of civic education,
incompetent Electoral Commission, intimidation of voters, ballot box stuffing, use of public
assets; all these are things that are not allowed in any election. I want to ask and I want to be
assisted because of these problems, is it why all of us are here?
Are we here because the Electoral Commission was incompetent, because the register was
excessively inflated, because ballot boxes were stuffed? Were we advantaged by those
malpractices or were we disadvantaged? This is a very pertinent question because when you read
the report – I do not know. Were we advantaged? Because if we say we are advantaged by these
malpractices and administrative inadequacies, then it puts a very big question mark on our
legitimacy.
Save for some of us who came during Kiggundu’s time, it puts a very big question mark on all of
us. When we say we are not disadvantaged, our friends who remained are the one who were
disadvantaged by this. It raised a very big question. When we say, “No, all these were done but
we managed to come here” then that means when it is an administrative hiccup, whatever you do
the sovereignty of the people will prevail. Thank you very much.
4.20
MR MUGAMBE KIFOMUSANA (Nakifuma County, Mukono): Thank you Madam Speaker.
Honourable members, as I stated when we were still new here, there was no violence in Nakifuma
County during the 2001 elections. However, this report has enlightened me on a lot of violence
that took place and I would like to start off by thanking the committee for producing this report.
I am also happy they attempted to come up with some data – what is given and the way data is
handled. Normally, a statistician collects data, verifies it, validates it, processes it, analyses it,
comes up with a conclusion, then disseminates it. Unfortunately, some people use statistics the
way a drunkard uses streetlights. A drunkard uses streetlights for support, not for showing him or
her the way. So, as he stumbles he gets hold of statistics and moves on, but these have attempted
to use it well.
45
I should come up with why there was no violence in Nakifuma. As hon. Kasirivu has pointed out,
we used mature politics though one of us was an armed person. He put on combat and he would
be shown as a man who looks like the President and all that, but he was mature, he never
practiced. Not even his people exercised violence. He went through, only that there was going to
be violence after the elections, as I will tell you.
In the report on page 176, individual merit is brought out as one of the causes of violence. I do
not want to agree with that very much because I was here in 1980 when there was multi-partism
and on the nomination day 17 people went through unopposed just because other people had been
blocked. Just because there was a lot violence even when there was multi-partism, we should not
assume that individual merit came and will go.
Even when it comes to multi-partism, I am sure a party will choose a person with some individual
merit. After all, some people argue that individual merit is making elections very complicated but
I am sure even in multi-parties there is a lot of expenditure. Just from the preliminaries, you have
to spend twice: in the preliminaries and again after the preliminaries. So, we should be sure that
under the circumstances we shall –(Interruption)
REV. SSEMPANGI: I want to inform the honourable member that hon. Kabwegyere has told us
several times that he was locked out, he was not able to go to be voted in. That was not during the
individual merit.
MR MUGAMBE: I am sure people have registered that information. I wish he could clarify
more on that information. What would have been pointed out is corruption. Corruption could
have been a cause of violence. In this report on pages 79 and 95 they are showing us misuse of
funds. Money was given and those people who were given money –(Interruption)
MR KAKOOZA: The member has mentioned a very important point and in 2006 people have
been urging that we should go for multi-partism. With the political maturity we still have, will he
support the extension of a transition period after that?
MR MUGAMBE: Thank you, honourable member. Corruption: we are being told at the
commission that data was not well processed. At that time I was working as a procurement
consultant and we made several reports. With due respect to my colleague, he may have been
very happy with what was happening there.
What the report may have left out is that, even the person who was heading the data processing
department did not have the simple literacy of a computer. He did not even know what a qwerty
key board is; you know what it is. I am made to understand you underwent computer training.
Qwerty, this one is on the keyboard. That one he did not know, but he was heading the data
processing. That must have been also a source of problems.
Unaccounted for funds; I will explain how they caused problems. You know, once people are
given funds to carry out certain activities and they do not carry them out, they resort to violence
to force people to vote just because they did not carry out the activities they were supposed to
carry out. The hasty procurement pointed out in the report is a fashion in many government
departments, actually the computer that should have handled that data could not have been
obtained from off-shelf. You have to order for that computer and it might take about seven to
eight months before it is in place. But they wanted it in November to be used in the presidential
elections around February, which was impossible. But as I told you, people do not want to
analyse issues.
46
Another problem was declaring of election results. In Mukono, when the results were completed
people started tallying. There was an attempt to swap results and there are ways they do it. After
all people have signed forms, some figures can be changed, where there were 90 votes someone
can easily put 40 and it becomes 490. They go back to the ballot boxes and tick some more 400
and give them to someone. So, they will say those votes were not well counted, that is, if the
forms are not well filled in. This is why it is very important to have civic education. Once civic
education has been carried out well, we shall not have such things. Actually, there was going to
be real violence because people were trying to cheat after the elections. That is something which
should be watched very seriously.
Abuse of office: I think it is high time Government became serious about people who abuse
offices. They should not only be transferred, they should not only be demoted, but they should
just be dismissed. In some cases these are causing a lot of problems, they become habitual, they
move from one department to another.
Madam Speaker, honourable members, I would like to talk about the campaign meetings. The
report has not made any recommendation about the campaign meetings. Some people are
suggesting that maybe the candidates should make joint meetings; others are saying we should
meet individually. I am of the view that we should hold individual meetings. We used to hold
meetings at the same time then you would find that a person who speaks first may be at a
disadvantage, may end up being attacked by all those who speak later on, and they are stage
managed. There are people who ask questions just to detract one candidate. So, the person does
not feel that independent. Maybe for lower councils, they could move in groups. But for Members
of Parliament upwards, I recommend that they should move individually. Thank you.
4.29
COL FRED BOGERE (Army Representative): I thank you, Madam Speaker. I would like to
take a slightly different focus of the election violence, and this is in relation to my institution as
an Army. I would like to state my view that all of us as leaders of this society, in our respective
roles, we have been a party to this confusion leading to violence, and we ought to take our
respective blames or responsibilities for it.
Madam Speaker, I am saying so because many of us or all us have either actively perpetuated
violence or have kept silent over gradual processes that lead to violence. I tend to believe that the
majority of us fall in the second category of keeping silent over situations that lead to violence,
and silence is not necessarily safety and it can be indeed a very deadly conspiracy. For us to keep
quiet when we see all these developments and we just sweep them under the carpet is, in my
view, to exhibit the highest degree of cowardice on our part.
I would, therefore, like to say that we need to inculcate confidence within us as leaders and within
the society we lead, because within our society we have tended to propagate the element of
militarism, which in my view is very unfortunate. There is a tendency to think that for everything
you will wait for what the Army is saying or what the Army is directing. The Army, according to
this Constitution, is supposed to be subordinate to the disciplinary authority. (Applause) Why
then should you wait for your servant to lead you? It is very unfortunate and it a serious matter.
Sincerely, you note the way some of us as leaders are trying to propagate this mentality in our
society. When you go on the streets of Kampala, Jinja, Mbale or wherever you go, you will hear
this mentality the so-called “Mayinja.” “Oyo tomuzanyirako mayinja.” You think that
“mayinja” mentality is a simple mentality but it is very disadvantageous for this country. Our
47
leaders today in this country, you find ministers, RDCs, assistant RDCs, seeking military escort.
Is it really a duty of a military man to escort you? (Applause) Why then, for God’s sake, are you
misusing and abusing this institution? I have seen a number of them –(Interruption)
CAPT. BASALIZA: I would like to seek clarification from my senior brother, Col Bogere. I
know he has been a member of the High Command, he is a member of the Army council, and the
Army council passed laws and orders that civilian members of Government, ministers and so
forth should not be escorted by soldiers. Col Bogere, I do not know how far you have gone with
that directive?
COL BOGERE: I thank you, my honourable colleague. Madam Speaker, in 1998, I was by then
a lieutenant colonel and a director of education in the UPDF, and I attended an official forum of
the Army where the then Col Henry Tumukunde, now Brig. Gen. Tumukunde, in his capacity as
chief of personnel and administration, tabled before the Army council and staff and command of
the time, which used to sit concurrently chaired by Gen. Mugisha Muntu - and we did resolve
and it is minuted that in this country, it is only the President of the Republic of Uganda, the Vice
President and the ministers responsible for Defence and the RDCs in insurgency infected areas,
that ought to be escorted by people in the military uniform or military men for that matter. But
surprisingly, you find an RDC from Sembabule, an RDC from Kiboga, an area that is peaceful is
escorted by the military. This is nothing but an abuse of this institution, this is nothing to us, I
want you to understand it that we refer to it as defilement of this institution. You are simply
defiling this institution. Those of you who would wish to be escorted by military men –(Mr
Mutuluuza rose_)
MR MUTULUUZA: Thank you, honourable Member, for giving way and thank you, Madam
Speaker. I want to inform you that one of the person I was contesting with, but who was dropped
due to academic qualifications, has almost a platoon. I understand they are called reserve force.
He disturbed me until I used Police to arrest some of those people. But when they arrested them,
immediately he went to the late Kyamufumba in charge of the reserve force of Mpigi District and
gave him 10 soldiers armed in uniform, they were chasing me all the time, but I managed to
survive anyway. Now, I am just informing you that it is not only RDCs, but also these other
people. I do not know why up to now that man still keeps a whole platoon at his farm. Thank you.
MRS KAFIRE: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I would like to inform the colleague
holding the Floor that the person I was contesting with was a sergeant in the Army. He had 30
uniformed soldiers with pistols throughout the campaign. Unfortunately for him, I defeated him
with my peaceful way of behaviour. (Applause)
MR SEKIKUBO: Thank you, my colleague for giving way. Madam Speaker, it should not be
seen as RDCs, presidential advisors, but also civilians. I remember we used to have one called
private Tumukunde. I used to see him at the quarter guard at Bombo; he was from the military
police. Private Tumukunde not the Brig. Tumukunde. He was escorting one of the contestants
whom I stood against, Mr Rwakoojo –(Laughter)- and he meted out a lot of violence, beat people
throughout the campaigns. But to my dismay, instead of being punished he was seconded to the
young officers’ course, and was given that course as a way of thanking him and he is now a
young officer of the UPDF. So, if we really groom people, reward them for meting out violence,
it is a great shame. It is not only the RDCs but there are also members of the civilian community
who purport to have military escorts. Thank you.
COL BOGERE: I thank you, Madam Speaker and I thank honourable members, for the
information. I did hear one of the questions asking me as to why? My simple answer is and I did
48
document this, it can be checked within the military circles. I wrote to Gen. Jeje Odong then my
Arm commander. I was by then acting chief political commissar and later on as RCE of the
Army. I did say in writing and in two separate documents that, the continued arming of military
men to escort civilian leaders is simply intended to exploit and abuse the ignorance of the
population with a view to giving impression that they are more closer to the state and, therefore,
the state is more concerned about their security. You are simply exploiting the ignorance of the
population! (Applause).
Are we saying therefore, Madam Speaker, that number three in the hierarchy of this country, the
Speaker and his/her deputy, who are escorted by the police are less people in this country? Why
then should we see a minister not responsible for Defence, why then should we see an RDC being
escorted by military men? What are you trying to imply? Are you withdrawing your confidence
in the police force? Are you therefore, telling the Chief Executive that apparently the person he
appointed in the name of Gen. Katumba Wamala, to lead the police force is incompetent? Do you
realise the implications of your actions?
Madam Speaker, there is another dimension of that. These same people are telling us that they
are not concerned about the welfare of this state, and they always tell us that they are –
(Interruption)
MR KEZIMBIRA: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I was reluctant to give information to Col
Bogere, who is very conversant with the Army, but I just want to say that in the issue of elections,
the police force with the number of only 13,000 - and I am not talking about the abuse sometimes
you are referring to. The number of 13,000 is not adequate to be able to cover all the election
areas and prevent possible insecurity in all areas. So, sometimes when the Army is used or some
of the people are deployed, they are deployed to avert possible insecurity or marring of elections.
So, wherever you see a military person during the course of election - (Maj. Rwamirama rose_)let me finish.
MAJ. RWAMIRAMA: He should not finish to tell lies. (Laughter) Madam Speaker, you can
only justify shortage when you have deployed all the available force and that is what Col Bogere
is bringing out. It would be justifiable that you have 90 policemen required for the operation, you
are running short of 30 and you need 30. But when you do not utilise 90 and you bring the
alternative that we are talking about, it beats our understanding! (Applause)
MR SEBULIBA: I understand that in Arua District they used prison officers and warders instead
of army men, what rationale was used there in deploying the prison staff rather than the Army,
when even here, even in other places, the prison officers and warders were there?
MR WANDERA: Madam Speaker, until the Mukono LC V elections, I had a totally different
opinion about election violence in this country because where I voted from I did not see it. But all
of us are aware of one Capt. Muwanga, and when we met the President in Gulu, I asked him why
he was allowing our Army to behave like those –(Interruption)
CAPT. BASALIZA: Madam Speaker, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs was giving
information to Col Bogere, who was on the Floor. Now Members have hijacked the debate. Is it
procedurally correct?
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Now, the problem is that the minister was giving the position of his
ministry. So, it opens the way for Members to ask questions.
49
MR WANDERA: Thank you very much, for your wise ruling, Madam Speaker. Now, the
honourable Minister is saying that he has inadequate manpower. But Muwanga beat up people
and I believe in doing so, he was breaking the law. So, I would like to know from the minister
whether it is because of inadequate manpower that the police have not apprehended this man?
Are you saying you have inadequate manpower to arrest the people who meted out violence? I
think this House should be taken very seriously. I say this because I believe I have more years to
live in this country than certain people and, therefore, I am very concerned about my future.
MR AMURIAT: Madam Speaker, I want to share the experience of Kumi District with the
honourable Minister. In Kumi, we just have a few police personnel. There was certainly a
shortage during both the presidential and parliamentary elections. But in its wisdom, the district
decided to deploy local administration police and we did not have any incidence of violence in
Kumi. There were no army men deployed, at least I am sure about this, and we felt there was no
reason to do that. We covered the gap using local administration police and we had a peaceful
election.
MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, the clarification I wanted to seek from the honourable Minister
is whether his argument of inadequate manpower is still tenable, given that the elections in
Mukono took place when there was no other election in the whole country, such that he would
have had the entire police force utilised in Mukono, over 19,000 of them? They were not utilised,
but still there were military officers who abuse their offices and meted violence on the civilian
population. Is your argument still tenable, of inadequate manpower?
MR KIZIGE: Madam Speaker, the information I want to give to the minister is that in the whole
of Kamuli District there are only 87 police officers from central police, and about 60 police
officers from the local administration police. In Bugabula North Constituency alone, we have 87
polling stations. Because we do not have an Army barracks in the district, we ended up using
local council secretaries for defence as security people at polling stations. That was because there
was no sign or indication that there would be violence at all. So, it was not necessary to call for
the Army to come into Kamuli. When you see there is likely to be violence, you end up deploying
the Army.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think Col Bogere will get lost. Let us give him back the Floor.
Minister, I think you can clarify on those issues.
DR KEZIMBIRA: Madam Speaker, I am not arguing against a case like what hon. Dombo is
raising, and I did not come in to justify. I came in to inform you about the numbers of police
personnel that we have. That sometimes with all the deployment, there may be inadequate
manpower in certain areas where, if the Army is deployed, it is not deployed to cause violence. It
is deployed to keep law and order. This is the information I wanted to give you.
COL BOGERE: Indeed, I appreciate your submission in regard to the inadequacy of the
numbers. But as I stated earlier, if as leaders - whether at LC I, LC III, LC V or Members of
Parliament or the President or whatever level - we chose to have peaceful and civilised elections,
we would have it. And the police posts we have in this country, with the LDUs we have in this
country, with the local administration police we have in this country, they could adequately cater
and oversee our elections. (Applause) That is why I hasten to add, and I did say earlier, that all of
us are to blame in this. You remember how I started it? We have either kept silent or we have
actively perpetuated it or somehow behind curtains, we are behind all this.
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I would like to add, Madam Speaker, that yes, we can always resort to the Army on each and
everything but we must know that we are doing it at our own peril. Because at the end of the day
you are giving a false confidence to your Army and a wrong signal to your Army, which as per
the Constitution is supposed to be subordinate to civilian authority. At the end of the day, if you
continue seeking to know what they are saying or what they want, the day you do not comply
with what they want, they will take it the way they want it. (Applause) I would, therefore,
propose strongly that this mentality of seeing everything from a military perspective – I earlier
talked about the so-called “mayinja” mentality on the streets of Kampala. The taxi drivers say,
“Oyo tomuzanyirako oyo avuga ya mayinja.” Even when he is driving a vehicle of a hajji in
Kikuubo he says, ”Avuga ya mayinja”(that he drives a vehicle of a certain Captain or Major or
whatever it is).
We need to condemn this and the only way is to make this so cheap. We need to condemn it so
that the individuals who propagate it realise that apparently this does not sell, and I am seen as
very cheap when I do it. (Applause)
I did say earlier on that as we talk now, there are those senior leaders I talked about some of
whom are escorted by military men.
Early this year, I was told of a very perturbing story of one of our men escorting an RDC who is a
student in a university. The lecturer was asking me whether we have any rules for our army. He
told me this RDC is a student in his class. You remember what I talked about showing that you
are so close to the state. In order to show that she is so big, that RDC deliberately takes her seat in
the class when the lecturer has come in. Some 20 or 25 minutes thereafter, the escort walks in
with a bottle of mineral water and he salutes, puts down the water and goes away. (Laughter)
How else can you describe this if it is not abuse and defilement of the institution?
MR AMURIAT: Thank you very much my honourable colleague for giving way. Madam
Speaker, there are situations where even worse things have happened. This is related to military
men escorting RDCs.
In Kumi District in my constituency, a few months ago an army man escorting the RDC of Kumi
shot dead one of my constituents under circumstances related to theft. The RDC used his escort to
attempt to arrest an alleged thief and yet just down the road there is a police station! By the time
the police arrived at the scene, this young man was already dead.
So, some of these people do not handle things professionally. They are capable of doing worse
things. They feel they are escorting chairpersons of the security committees in the districts and,
therefore, should misuse the arms that are actually bought by the taxpayer’s money.
MR NANDALA: I would like to seek clarification, Madam Speaker?
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: From who?
MR NANDALA: From him.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, you should ask for clarification from the person holding the
Floor.
MR NANDALA: Maybe through him then.
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THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay, hon. Nandala.
MR NANDALA: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. The clarification I want to seek
through my colleague, Col Bogere, is whether that RDC and his escort are not in courts of law,
because murder is a criminal case. Are they in court?
MR AMURIAT: Well, the escort was actually arrested and he is facing charges, I think of
murder. But really what I was trying to say, if it had been a policeman escorting this RDC,
probably he would have been able to handle this case more professionally.
MR OGOLA: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The violence causers or those who claim to be very
near power are usually sycophants and liars. They want to claim that title so that they get this
kind of authority support.
For example, I stood against someone who used to be a fighter in a bar although he had occupied
a big office. He tried to kill me three times, but he failed. On the voting day, he shot at one of my
supporters and just barely missed breaking his arm. He was arrested and charged in court, but he
even jumped bail and they said that he had run away to America.
Right now, the word is spreading again that the other day when the President went to America, he
met him and told him to come back. In other words, giving the impression that the President
himself is willing to break the law just because the President loves him so much and yet he is
strictly and politically a non-entity. These are part of the problems.
COL BOGERE: Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. Ogola for his information. But I would think
that if indeed the fugitive did meet the President, the President is under obligation to ensure that
he lures every other Ugandan back home. What happens thereafter, the institutions take charge.
But his duty is to bring back everybody.
Back to the point, I was raising this issue of people militarising our sphere of life. I personally
witnessed in September an incident behind Workers’ House while I was walking behind there. I
was with a certain legal counsel and I was going to his car because there was a document he was
supposed to give me.
There is a small building with some stairs outside and I saw a white pick-up with an escort, some
were standing in military camouflage. When the RDC, the owner of the car, came down, his
escort ran to the car and opened it up, waited for the RDC to seat and he saluted.
I was looking at all this and wondered. We deserve some respect as an institution. Do you really
need this soldier, mister or madam RDC, at that status, for somebody to open for you, you take
your seat and he salutes? Why are you abusing this institution? Why don’t you have respect for
it?
I tend to think that this is a very serious abuse of the institution, and at the same time you are
simply taking advantage of the unsuspecting civilian population – (Interruption)
MR AYUME: I would like to thank my honourable colleague and you, Madam Speaker, for this
opportunity. I am really tickled by the way my colleague is developing his point, that because a
soldier who is attached to the RDC opens the door and salutes him or her that amounts to abuse of
the Army.
52
I thought – (Capt. Byaruhanga rose_) - let me make the point. I am seeking clarification from
him and I am entitled to it because I am not in the military. I thought that the soldier who is
attached to the RDC does those things because of his discipline. Can it be, therefore, visited on
the RDC to amount as abusing the institution? That is the clarification I want.
CAPT. BYARUHANGA: I want a clarification from the Attorney General as to who is entitled
to escorts in this country. If he could guide us on that, then we could know whether these soldiers
are abused or not.
MR AYUME: It is for this very reason that I am asking for clarification. I do not know.
(Laughter)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, just stand; I will see you.
MS MUGERWA: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am seeking clarification whether Government
is taking note of what has been talked about from the report. Because from the beginning, hon.
Mutuluuza told us that a civilian was escorted during election time and up to now he is still
escorted. I am trying to find out whether he is escorted by people who are using our uniform and
paid money, which should be going to the military group. Could Government tell us?
Secondly, I am surprised that the Attorney General has really come up to say this. He is asking
somebody from the House, from the Backbench, who should be escorted and who should not be
escorted and yet he should be telling us who should be escorted!
I would like Government to tell us who should be escorted and whether what has been alleged, as
far as RDCs are concerned, is true. Could Government tell us whether RDCs should be escorted
or not, and if not, who is paying for their escorts? I thank you.
MR NYOMBI THEMBO: Madam Speaker, I think this one is very clear, and I want to give you
factual information. In the appointment instrument of every RDC, the RDC is entitled to two
armed escorts. The Instrument reads, “You are entitled to two armed escorts –(Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I think you should listen and get it from the
horse’s mouth, the former RDC.
MR NYOMBI THEMBO: An RDC is entitled to two armed escorts. That is what the
Appointment Instrument reads. If somebody abuses them and wants them to bring for him
mineral water to drink, that is another issue.
We do not want the impression to be put on the Floor of Parliament that RDCs are there to
intimidate the population. If you know the conditions in which we work; some of my colleagues
work in disturbed areas. They move up and down in insurgency-prone areas and you expect them
not to have escorts! Some of them have died, some of them have just been shot at; one of our
colleagues has just left hospital. You have to be fair.
MR DOMBO: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thought the House should have paid attention
because the former RDC was providing very useful information.
However, the clarification I want to seek from you is, if the RDC is entitled to two armed escorts,
who is responsible for the deployment? Is it the Military, the Police, the guard service or is it a
53
choice of the RDC himself to either go the Army Commander or go to the Police? How does this
discrepancy come about, that somebody else uses a policeman and another one uses the military?
MR NYOMBI THEMBO: I will not go into those details. You are entitled to two armed escorts,
and an RDC will have two armed escorts. Some of them can be police and some of them can be
military, depending on the district in which you work. If you work in – in fact I will not go into
those details, the Minister of Defence can talk about this.
What I know for sure is that those RDCs working in insurgency-prone areas, with all fairness,
must have military escorts. Most of our colleagues who work in non-insurgency areas do not
have. I did not have any military escort.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I think there have been too many
interjections. But Col. Bogere in his introduction said that as far as he is concerned, the President
and the Vice President are entitled to use military escorts, after that, the Minister of Defence and
the Minister of State for Defence, after that the RDCs who work in insurgency-prone areas. That
is what he said.
Honourable member, what the member was questioning was that, why is it that RDCs in safe
areas are also using the Army when they could have used the Police. That is what he is
questioning.
THE MINISTER OF DEFENCE (Mr Amama Mbabazi): Thank you, Madam Speaker. I came
in when hon. Col. Bogere was making his presentation and I was trying to get his point. I had not,
so that is why I had kept sitting.
However, generally speaking, those who are entitled to an escort are mainly entitled to Police
escort, including ministers. The question of moving from that norm is determined by the level of
threat against the individual. Where the threat against the individual is thought to be beyond the
capacity of the Police to handle, then the Army is brought in.
In some other countries, actually Special Forces have been created for guard duties.
Unfortunately, we do not have this yet in Uganda. Each time we meet in the National Defence
Council, we make an assessment of the security threats of all types including threats against
individuals like threats of assassinations. I am sad to say, there are those who think they can solve
the problems of this country by assassinating individuals. So, we must respond to that.
So, where we think –(Interjection)- let me finish my sentence. Where the National Security
Council thinks that the level deserves protection at higher level than Police, then it is provided.
That is point number one.
MR MUTULUUZA: Thank you very much, Mr Minister, and thank you, Madam Speaker. He
has talked of people who are entitled to be escorted by soldiers and I am trying to find out
whether Presidential Advisers are also entitled, because the one in my constituency has almost 20
soldiers. -(Interjections)- Zzimula Mugwanya.
MR ALINTUMA NSAMBU: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am getting confused where my
position as a Member of Parliament lies.
When you look at the level of threat, it starts from the highest political hierarchy in the country. I
would expect that the level of threat of the President of Uganda is probably 1000 times more than
54
that one of Nsambu because I am merely a Member of Parliament. So is a minister; his or her
level of threat is higher than mine because this minister goes to Cabinet and decides for the
country.
Then comes the legislative body, which actually from the hierarchy is the third in this country.
Then comes the RDC who appears at number 37 in the hierarchy of this country, and that person
is almost at the level of a minister, because I do not see the ministers having such a level of threat
very often, as it appears now.
So, Madam Speaker, as I seek clarification will it be possible also that within these levels of
threat we include the Members of Parliament? Thank you.
MR MIKE SEBALU: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I have been touched by the issue
raised by the Minister regarding creating a special force for guard duties.
This country has problems of insurgency and at times you find that our forces are spread so thin
on the ground in terms of numbers. I am looking at a situation where there are so many individual
threats and people get the intervention of the UPDF at their individual threat level at the expense
of the much-needed force in some of these areas where we have problems.
So, I am looking at a situation of expediting that process of getting the guard in order to allow the
Army to focus on those issues that it should focus on, and also to avoid the abuse. Actually some
of these people, hon. Minister, really do abuse the integrity of our officers; they deserve more. So
I think we could explore that possibility of a special force. Otherwise, the institution may be in
trouble.
MR AMAMA MBABAZI: I thank those who gave information. I was really speaking in general
terms. I did not have any specific individual in mind because I had not been given specific
examples.
MS MUGERWA: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank you hon. Minister for giving way. I
would like to appeal to Government, especially to the Minister of Defence, not to discuss this
issue now. Maybe he should try and discuss it when he is ready because it seems that he does not
know who is employed from his establishment.
I do not want this House to be told that way. I want to protect my government. I would like to call
upon the Minister, and especially the Prime Minister who is here, not to discuss this issue. The
Minister is telling us that he does not know who is employed where and by whom, and who
escorts this and that. This information should not come officially to the House. I think
Government should go back and get correct information before it talks to us. I thank you.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Namaggwa, there is a recommendation in this report that the
Army should never be used anywhere in relation to elections. Now some of the officials who
might be engaged in the elections may have military escorts. So it was necessary for us to
understand how some soldiers happen to be outside the barracks. That is why it has come up. But
you can take it up with him in his policy statement.
MS MUGERWA: I am wondering, Madam Speaker, who is paying them if the Minister is not
sure of who is working where. Under whose establishment are these escorts?
55
MR MBABAZI: Well, that was raised as a point of procedure and clearly, Madam Speaker, it is
outside my power to handle, assuming that I am in the right procedure.
I was saying that I was not speaking specifically about individuals like RDCs or ministers
because no individual was mentioned. I was giving you the policy. The policy is that - if I may
repeat - ordinarily guard duties, escort duties are a function of the Police.
However, depending on the threat level, the National Security Council may choose to give you
the military; that is if the threat is presumed to be beyond the ability of the Police to handle. That
is the simple point I made and I am 100 percent sure about it. I am obviously not talking about
what I do not know.
The second point I wanted to make was that there might be actions of criminality on the part of
the individuals. I was very pleased to hear that the escort of some RDC in Kumi who committed
an offence of murder is behind bars awaiting trial.
That is the correct procedure. Nobody is above the law; anyone who commits an offence, the law
must take its course including soldiers. That is a fact, and that is something we all know, which
we practice as a government.
Therefore, I would like to urge my colleagues in Parliament and the general public that when you
see someone in uniform committing what you consider to be an offence, please, do not hesitate to
report it to the law enforcement institutions, which in turn move against them as the law requires.
MR DOMBO: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I would like to seek clarification from
the hon. Minister. According to his statement, the deployment depends on the level of the threat.
If the threat were big, then they would consider deploying military escorts or police escorts
depending on the situation.
But, hon. Minister, recently in Kampala we have seen the Police doing a very good job under the
Violent Crime Crack Unit. They have generally pacified the area, complementing the work that
was started by Operation Wembley.
Would you in your answer imply that the Police force actually receives some inferior training that
cannot enable them to handle a serious eventuality when they are conducting their guard duties?
If so, would you not consider it appropriate to give them similar training as the one of the military
so that the Police is equally combat-ready in performance of their duties? I seek your
clarification.
MR KAKOOZA: Thank you. I am also concerned that the Police fears most of the RDCs who
are escorted by the Army. These people have escorts putting on army uniform and in the long run
when you report them to the Police, Police tells you they are not capable and you fail to know
how that mechanism can be handled.
I reported a case where an RDC detained people at the Police. After going to the Police, the RDC
shifted the detainees to another place. So, it became a problem. The Police in the area I come
from fear RDCs with military escorts. So, it is a very big problem, which needs to be addressed.
MR MBABAZI: I thank the honourable members for that information again.
56
Hon. Dombo, the level of training of police is something that we have been considering. In fact at
one time we had decided that for basic training, like basic drills, management of personal
weapons and things like that, they should receive the same kind of training. In some countries you
need to pass the basic military training to qualify to be a police officer. Maybe we can move
towards that.
As I said earlier, we have been looking at the possibility - we are simply restrained by our
resource envelope – of training a special force to do guard duties. These would have the special
training, they would have the techniques, and they would have the level of arming that is required
for them to have to be able to accomplish that task.
I am not sure that by giving an RDC military escort you are abusing the institution. I do not know
whether it was abusing the institution of the army, UPDF, or not.
Certainly, for an escort to salute an RDC is not an abuse, as Col Bogere knows. It is –
(Interjection)- I heard both examples. The lecture room stories, obviously, are something that I
am going to ask about. I will ask my friend, Col Bogere, to give me details about that, because
that sounds way out of this world.
But for an escort to salute an RDC, whom he is escorting, is absolutely normal. It is not abuse of
anything. As you know, a salute is a sign of respect, from a junior normally. The junior salutes –
it is a greeting in fact, and the rules are that it is the junior who greets the senior and the senior
replies. -(Interjection)- He or she must reply. Yes, that is true.
When you are a civilian, you are not supposed to salute. You can acknowledge it by nodding or
something like that. People who salute are those in uniform. So, it is not an abuse if a soldier, an
escort of an RDC, has saluted that RDC.
As to the details of who has escorts and how they are used, like that example of the RDC student
who has this soldier, if I was the lecturer I would never allow that kind of thing to happen in my
class. Why doesn’t the lecturer chase the fellow away?
MR MWANDHA: I think the statement made by the honourable member on the Floor must be
understood in the context in which it was made.
One of the observations of the committee in the report, and which appears to have been a great
concern to him as the one who represents the Army in this House, was the fact that the Army is
one of the institutions most abused during elections. He was telling the House, to the best of his
knowledge, the people who are supposed to have military escort.
I think the abuse is to the extent that this person, who is an RDC but not in an area of insurgency,
is using a soldier, and I think that is an abuse or misuse. So, to that extent, the soldier is being
abused because this particular person who does not come from an area of insurgency should, in
the first place, not be using a soldier as his escort.
Of course, it goes further to opening the door and saluting and this kind of thing, but I think this is
the context in which the matter should be understood.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I think this point of abusing soldiers has
been made. Can we ask Col Bogere to wind up so that we can move on?
57
COL BOGERE: I thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank the hon. Minister for his clarification.
I was only saying that my –(Interruption)
MR ETONU: I would like to seek clarification. Col Bogere is representing the Army in the
House. As he put it, he knows the category of people who are supposed to be escorted by
military.
I would like to know, as a Colonel, a very Senior Officer, and the Army as an institution, if they
find a person who is not in that category being escorted by the military, have they tried to stop
this? If he did, or if the Army tried to stop this, what is the roadblock that is blocking the Army
from stopping this to continue?
PROF. KAMUNTU: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thought the fundamental role of Uganda
Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) is to protect the territorial integrity of this country. When they
are made to carry out guard duties, does this not tantamount to misuse, if I can be diplomatic, and
abuse, if I can be blunt?
The territorial integrity is not threatened by an RDC, not to mention civilian personalities guarded
by UPDF and officers. I would like the clarification from the Minister in charge of the Ministry of
Defence.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Col Bogere, do not yield the Floor unless I notify you, please.
COL BOGERE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish to reiterate that when I made my
submission or presentation in this case, I brought it in the spirit of curbing militarisation of our
society. That is what I have rotated around.
I have discussed the various mentalities that gradually developed into this problem. I would also
like to add that there could be such situations that the Minister has talked about, he is perfectly
right.
However, we should also be mindful as we work round the clock, trying to convince everybody to
come here and help us or join hands in the transformation of our nation or our economy. Some
serious investors do come here and visit some of these offices. You take them to the 7 th floor, the
4th floor, the 9th, or whatever, and he finds men camouflaged in uniform and armed. Or on the
streets of Kampala when he goes to buy a handkerchief, he finds military men escorting Col
Bogere.
The impression he gets is that this country is at war, and the damage done is more than what
meets the eye. We ought to interpret this.
Indeed, the Commander in Chief one time sent a message, and if my memory is not at fault he
must have been in one of the capitals, probably Brussels. He sent a message to the Army
Commander then, saying, “With immediate effect I do not want to hear any bullet coming from
the UPDF within Kampala and its suburbs”. That was his message.
He also said, “Besides, there is no reason why military men should continue escort duties.” He
sent that message and it is there. Subsequent to that, there was an operation in the military that
disarmed most of us.
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Therefore, Major so and so who is at the front, Colonel so and so who is at the front, Lieutenant
Colonel so and so who is at the front, or Captain so and so for that matter, are directed by the
Commander in Chief not to be escorted by the military men especially when he visits the urban
centre. By then his message was reflecting the economic implications. Why then does Mr
important so and so ignore all those considerations and say in order for him to appear so big, let
him have military escorts around him.
I would like to invite this House to reflect on the lifestyle of hon. Bidandi Ssali. We all know hon.
Bidandi Ssali stood firm on what most people called the controversial position on federo. We all
know very well he comes from this region and he had gone against the interest of that region in
general terms. But he continued to drive in his car with his driver or himself and up to now he is
kicking. He has made sure that his security is within the people he lives with–(Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Bogere, please try to wind up.
COL BOGERE: Madam Speaker, as I wind up I would like to reiterate that sincerely, if we want
to curb all this, we should not militarise our society. This should be started by all of us.
Last but not least, Madam Speaker, I would like to inform all those concerned that the majority of
us in the profession would wish that we do a job that is respected, and that we do enjoy the
confidence of the people we work with. It is very important. I would like to assure this country
that indeed when professionalism is kept at its best, every other person would endeavour to join
the force. Thank you.
5.37
MR EMMANUEL DOMBO (Bunyole County, Tororo): Thank you very much, Madam
Speaker. This election violence report gives this House an opportunity to reflect on the electoral
process that has been gradually improving in this country.
When you look at the first NRC elections and the first elections in Uganda under the NRM
leadership, they were basically under the lining up system, and most of the elections were by an
electoral college. However, as the democratisation process took root, we graduated from the
electoral college to adult suffrage.
Madam Speaker, the entire world then started upholding Uganda, that once again we were taking
the route to full democracy. That is why after the 1996 elections Uganda was once again readmitted to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. It was because of that democratisation
process. I want to thank Government and every authority that worked to ensure that this process
continues like that.
I did participate in the 1996 elections. When you reflect, the democratisation process is supposed
to grow and take root, on the contrary the level of violence has been increasing by the day. That is
the question; how should we mature in democracy while we are also maturing in violence, and
what must we do to address this controversy?
Madam Speaker, you will not like it when you read the election violence report, the report of the
Judges in the Besigye petition, and the observations by members who were volunteering
information to the committee. You will see that there has been deliberate violence meted in the
election exercise in one way intended to favour one candidate against the other.
59
For us when we make the laws here, we intend for the electoral process to be democratic. But
how can the ground be levelled when some candidates are preferred, at state expense, against
others and yet the offices are all accessible and open to everybody under the Movement system?
This is an irony that must be addressed.
Madam Speaker, you will recall that when President Daniel Arap Moi was about to retire, he
came and addressed the Parliament of Uganda. The Parliament of Uganda, among other things,
recognised and thanked President Moi for keeping the soldiers in the barracks throughout the time
of elections. In other words, he was indirectly condemning our leadership for opening the
barracks during the time of elections for the soldiers to participate and mete out violence at
freewill.
Madam Speaker, can you imagine a situation where a soldier stands up and says that the people
should remember that the guns that brought the President from the bush are still smoking! What
type of message are we sending out? What type of democracy are we building? Are we giving
hope that a civilian authority will ever take over and manage the affairs of state and also
command the institution of the army? These are fundamental questions that must be addressed if
Uganda must continue properly on the democratic path, which it has been doing properly in the
past before the violence started.
Madam Speaker, there is another issue, which I want to take about, the electoral reform. I
participated in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, but one of the issues, which
conspicuously came up was the issue of stuffing the boxes with ballot papers before election time
was over. In Budadiri, for example, by 10.00 O’clock people who had come to vote in the
referendum exercise were advised that actually the voting exercise was over. Madam speaker,
this is contradictory. If we want democracy –(Interruption).
MR NANDALA: Thank you very much Madam Speaker and my colleague, Dombo. In fact, in
one place in our Sub-County in Sironko, one strong person was there and he said, “No, do not
vote. You go and eat meat and malwa. For us we finished long ago, we have already
circumcised the child.”
MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, whatever they were circumcising, I do not know. But I was
saying that really if we must put down the root of democracy and give hope to everybody that can
participate freely in the electoral process, we must first and foremost reform this area. For
instance, I will give you an example –(Interruption)
MR MUTULUUZA: Thank you, honourable member for giving way and thank you, Madam
Speaker. The clarification I want to make- he has made a very serious allegation. We know the
time for voting, it is from either 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Really, unless those people do not know
the law, how could they have accepted that to happen? By the way, it is not too late, why don’t
you tell us that place so that the investigations start?
MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, if the honourable Member –(Interruption)
MRS RAINER KAFIRE: Thank you for giving way. Thank you, Madam Speaker. In my
constituency, what happened during referendum time, people came from other constituencies and
voted in my constituencies. That is why Kibuku was very high up because they suspected that
my people would not vote. We even had more voters than our own.
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MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, what we are talking is public information in the public media. I
specifically talked about Budadiri because it featured most in the 6th Parliament, where voting
was through by 10.00 O’clock in the morning. One of the problems, which brings this, which I
would recommend for reform, is that the voting exercise in Uganda, where you vote by ticking
should be abolished. Madam Speaker, where you vote by ticking using a pen, any Tom, Dick and
Harry can pick a pen, tick ballot papers 100 times.
I want to give you an example of Ghana. In Ghana, Madam Speaker, during the election
exercise, everybody, whether you are able bodied or not, they vote by thumb printing, everybody.
But in Uganda, why should somebody vote by pen and then want to dip his finger in the ink for
identification? Why don’t you use finger printing because we all know all people in the world,
nobody has a similar or resembling finger printing level in Uganda. This one can be verified by
computer programmes. This is how democracy in Ghana has progressively taken reform and has
put Ghana on a democratic path.
Madam Speaker, this is one of the strong recommendations I want to propose here. That in the
election process, the subsequent elections in Uganda, let us avoid and abolish voting by ticking.
Let all voters vote by use of a thumbprint, which thumbprint they will later dip in the ink for
identification. In so doing, we shall have minimized the level of malpractice because where
somebody uses a thumbprint 100 times, it can be verified -(Interruption)
MR KAYONGO: Thank you, hon. Dombo, for giving way. Some people are born without
hands, how do they vote using thumbs?
MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, once the principle has been adopted, even those people can be
catered for because we have blind people in Uganda who cannot see and cannot write, but they
have all along been voting. How have they been doing it? Madam Speaker, that would be a lame
thing to say, somebody does not have a limb –(Interruption)
MR OGWEL: Thank you very much for giving way. Madam Speaker, I would like to inform
my honourable Colleague that using a thumbprint as a way to control malpractices is not the
answer. There is a case where somebody, an officer, used all his fingers and he used even
including the footprints in order to sign for the money of the people. So, that does not guarantee
that there will be no cheating in the elections.
MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, right now if you are going to travel to America, or any such
developed country, modern technology is available that can limit or that can make sure that you
are traced from wherever you go. Right now we are in the process of having an electronic
register, we can also have the register for electronic thumbprints; and this thing will be answered
once and for all, of rigging elections using a pen, when we could have used – it has worked in
Ghana. The Electoral Officials can travel in the countries where this practice has been used so
that they make a study and come and see how it can be improved. But it is a very fundamental
step in trying to limit the process of rigging because if somebody uses a thumbprint 1,000 times,
at least the technology will be able to show that, which cannot be shown if somebody uses a pen.
Finally, Madam Speaker –(Interruption)
MR ALINTUMA: Madam Speaker, hon. Dombo has made a very interesting statement
regarding the thumbprints. When we were attending the International Security Council against
terrorism, there was one gentleman who came with a Microsoft and proved to over 1000
delegates in Washington DC that if you produce a thumbprint from 3000 people, they would
always have differences at the first instance. You can never have the same thumbprint ever.
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Likewise, you do not have to test one thumbprint more than twice to find out whether this
thumbprint has already been taken. A case in point is that one of the United States of
Government. Once your thumbprint is already taken up, by the time you arrive in the United
States you press that thing again at the Airport, they can already detect that you have already been
seen at the Embassy here. So, I think this is one of the best solutions if we are to look at
technology as one of the ways of developing our electoral system. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
MR WAMBUZI GAGAWALA: Madam Speaker, I would like to inform hon. Dombo that
technology has actually advanced beyond the thumbprint because if I take your thumbprint
properly, an imprint of your thumbprint, it is possible today to cast a plastic and actually put
something which resembles your thumbprint. Now we have moved further and it is now
established that the best way of identifying particularly crooks is through photographing the eye
iris. The inside of the eye, that is now the state of the art technology as far as identifying people
is concerned -(Laughter)
MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, I want to say that it could be that that level of technology so far
is in Bulamogi or in Gagawala’s constituency. This is what modern world uses now including
developed countries like the United States where Microsoft lives, the highest man in software
technology; they still use thumbprints. I am yet to – (Interruption)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Honourable members, I do not want proposals, which will
discriminate against the blind people. How will they photograph their eye iris?
MR WAMBUZI: Madam Speaker, when you go on population ratio, of course, the blind people
are not catered for in that incidence, but the majority of the population is normally the other way.
So, the technique will be to be different, maybe we then go what we call genetic coding of the
blood which is ultimate.
MR KAGIMU: Madam Speaker, I am seeking clarification from the member holding the Floor.
Thank you very much. You see the honourable member is saying that when we use thumbprints
the people are not going to rig. But I am asking, there are two situations of rigging especially in
some big elections. What happens, the person comes with 20 ballot papers already ticked.
Now, do you want to tell me that you are going to open the ballot papers and then verify that this
thumb is similar to other one? How are you going to do that? That is why in some cases you find
that ballot booklets come when about 100 ballot papers are missing. They are missing because
they have given already those ballot papers to some people who have ticked them. That is why in
the past elections they put this polythene paper so that somebody could hide; he would come with
them in the coat, and then he would put 20, which he has already ticked or thumb printed.
Secondly, another way of rigging, a presiding officer can tear about five pieces and then this man
when he goes, instead of ticking again, he will put thumbprints, now how are you going to
differentiate; are you going to open the ballot papers and then when you are opening the ballot
boxes they say, “No, this one is – how are you going to handle that? Thank you.
MS ALASO: Madam Speaker, I just want to inform the House that the Committee on Defence
and Internal Affairs actually had the opportunity to see some of those people who have those
facilities, who visited our Committee only about three months ago. This is a very workable thing,
they presented to our committee, the costs per card was up to about $3 utmost. So, this is very
affordable; hon. Dombo’s idea is a very available thing.
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MR DOMBO: Madam Speaker, what we are talking has worked in other developed countries in
Africa. The technology is available. The incidences of the vote rigging can be tremendously
reduced by introduction of voting by thumb printing other than using a pen. Madam Speaker, this
one can be qualified and studies can be made, but I am sure it is a recommendation that can
correctly save this country.
The electoral reform, the electoral process and the election officials. There is one thing that
saddens me that some people can be sacked in disgrace and then they can be rewarded by being
paid their terminal benefits in appreciation. The two are completely contradictory, and I would
have expected that in future when recommendations and tough actions come up about election
officials who are supposed to oversee the election process in the country that tough action must
be taken by the powers that be in this country.
Finally, on the same area of the election officials, Madam Speaker, I want the election officials
now that they have the time to do the civic education, to do the planning, to do the monitoring, to
do the budgeting in time, to ensure that the process of elections starts in time and the resources
are provided and resourced in time so that the multi-practices that have occurred before do not
continue.
Secondly, there is a controversy now coming in which we would want better people who
understand to help us, because the very qualified people at the Electoral Commission, with high
sounding qualifications did a terribly bad job and they have been dismissed in disgrace. However,
there are some educated officials at the Electoral Commission who seem to be doing a good job.
Now, the question is, what way and how do we proceed? This is a fundamental question that
must be addressed in this country so that the electoral reforms can take a deep route. But we want
to thank the Electoral officials so far for the input they have put to try to transform the electoral
process. Let us hope that Government and Parliament will provide them with the necessary
resources to ensure that we do not repeat this exercise that we are going through right now. I
thank you, Madam Speaker.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Now, honourable members, I had planned that we should go on
until about 7.30 p.m., but I have received about 30 representations from the Parliamentary
Catholic Chaplaincy that there is a Mass outside. So, I am really being harassed, so honourable
members, I am sorry we have to adjourn until tomorrow. When we resume we shall start with
hon. Sabiiti. We are starting at 10.00 a.m. because we are voting.
(The House rose at 5.52 p.m. and adjourned until Wednesday, 18 December 2003 at 10.00 a.m.)
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