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Saturday, May 5, 2012

THERE MUST BE A HEALTHY DEBATE TO SEE TERM LIMITS BACK IN UGANDA

President Museveni has done all the possible to remain in power. The unfortunate thing is that many Members of Parliament and majority of the NRM NEC members more often than no fall in for Museveni's wisdom. It is sad as the country is headed for a lot of uncertainty. the wise thing Museveni can do is let the Constitution have term limits back in place as was the case before removing them, short of that, it is those who think that they are beneficiaries of the status quo that will suffer most in case Ugandans decide that enough is enough.
Militarism can never be a sustainable solution for Uganda. Museveni is deceived. Heeding to advice will help the country whose progress is currently in the negative. He is ignoring one thing: "Article 1 - Sovereignty of the people: (1) All power belongs to the people who shall exercise their sovereignty in accordance with this Constitution." William Kituuka Kiwanuka Constitution:Chapter 1 - The Constitution Article 1 - Sovereignty of the people (1) All power belongs to the people who shall exercise their sovereignty in accordance with this Constitution. (2) Without limiting the effect of clause (1) of this article. all authority in the State emanates from the people of Uganda; and the people shall be governed through their will and consent. (3) All power and authority of Government and its organs derive from this Constitution, which in turn derives its authority from the people who consent to be governed in accordance with this Constitution. (4) The people shall express their will and consent on who shall govern them and how they should be governed. through regular, free and fair elections of their representatives or through referenda. Article 2 - Supremacy of the Constitution (1) This Constitution is the supreme law of Uganda and shall have binding force all authorities and persons throughout Uganda. (2) If any other law or any custom is inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Constitution, the Constitution shall prevail, and that other law or custom shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. [edit] Article 3 - Defence of the Constitution (1) It is prohibited for any person or group of persons to take or retain control of the Government of Uganda, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. (2) Any person who, singly or in concert with others, by any violent or other unlawful means, suspends, overthrows, abrogates or amends this Constitution or any part of it or attempts to do any such act, commits the offence of treason and shall be punished according to law. (3) This Constitution shall not lose its force and effect even where its observance is interrupted by a government established by the force of arms; and in any case, as soon as the people recover their liberty, its observance shall be re-established and all person who have taken part in any rebellion or other activities which resulted in the interruption of the observance, shall be tned in accordance w-ith this Constitution and other laws consistent with it. (4) All citizens of Uganda shall have the right and duty at all times- (a) to defend this Constitution, and in particular, to resist an,v person or group of persons seeking to overthrow the established constitutional order: and (b) to do all in their power to restore this Constitution after it has been suspended, over thrown, abrogated or armended contrary to its provisions. (5) Any person or group of persons who, as required by clause (4) of this article, resists the suspension, overthrow. abrogation or arnendment of this Constitution commits no offence. (6) Where a person referred to in clause (5) of this article is punished for any act done under that clause, the punishment shall, on the restoration of this Constitution, be considered void from the time it was imposed and that person shall be taken to be absolved from all liabilities arising out of the punishment.
The problem Uganda has is that initially, Museveni was a dreamer, he ventured to fight his way into power. he eventually captured power with the group of people he had managed to convince that they were capable of turning Uganda around for the better. The most unfortunate thing is that these people believed so much in what Museveni was telling them as the best way forward, in the process, they have helped him consolidate and he has become a liability who is very hard to get rid of. he is so smart at using the law to get his ends to meet. He continues on with least regard that the country has reached a level of exploding! BISHOPS CALL FOR TERM LIMITS By Patrick Okaba Posted Saturday, May 5 2012 at 00:00 In Summary Bishop Odama said if politicians and the people go wrong without the religious leaders giving guidance, the clergy would be guilty. Catholic bishops from northern Uganda have weighed in on the debate on reinstating the presidential term limits, saying their role is to encourage dialogue on the issue and avert a “dangerous” future for the country. The bishops, under the Gulu Ecclesiastical Province led by Metropolitan Archbishop John Baptist Odama, were yesterday addressing journalists in Nebbi at the end of the province’s 7th annual peace week hosted by Nebbi Catholic Diocese. Archbishop Odama said their position is that since lifting of the presidential term limits was debated it is also important that its reinstatement, as agitated by a section of the citizens, should also be debated. “What we are saying is not that lifting or reinstating the presidential term limit is necessarily bad but that the leaders should watch out because there seems to be a danger,” Bishop Odama said. “The issue of the term limits is causing some unease, especially among young people who want to participate in the governance and could plunge the country into a flame,” he added. On the position of the government that the Church should keep off politics, Bishop Odama said the Church has weathered many political storms since its early days because, as he put it, “the truth is that the Church is the conscience of the people and the nation”. Quoting the late Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, Bishop Odama said if the politicians and the people go wrong without the religious people giving guidance the clergy would be guilty. The Archbishop said the Church is non-partisan and the State needs to appreciate its seriousness and strength. “For the Catholic Church we have a clear law not to be partisan but a father to all. So we are not worried about that and shall never fear as long as we are prophetic,” he said. Deputy Prime Minister Moses Ali, said Uganda has been in turmoil for more than 40 years because of misunderstanding, mistrust and disrespect among Ugandans. “We don’t need more wars, if we have differences we should talk and reconcile and not resort to guns,” he said. editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

1 comment:

  1. it is disrepectful for him to think he is the only visionary in the country. i am totally enraged by events that incessantly occur that abuse human rights in my country. He has made this a personal issue.

    Thanks for the post,
    i hope your cause is

    ReplyDelete