Exclusively speaking to this website, two foreign diplomats in Uganda have revealed that United States of America and other western countries are very concerned over the ongoing opposition fights.
The diplomats were reacting on the ongoing arrests of National Unity Platform (NUP) grassroot political mobilizers (foot soldiers) by security on criminal charges related to politics
“It is surprising that they (other opposition political parties) have failed to issue a statement condoning the ongoing kidnapping of their colleagues in the political struggle. You people who can talk directly to those people encourage them to welcome teamwork otherwise, they will perish,” a senior diplomat told this reporter.
He wondered why there are no opposition top leaders coming together to fight against government’s bad laws as it was during the walk to work, the fight against the lifting of the presidential age limit from the constitution and many others.
More Read
However, highly placed sources within diplomatic circles revealed to this website that the opposition infightings have hugely cost diplomats deployed in Uganda given that currently, much of the money which was planned to be poured in Uganda to influence their country’s foreign policies in Uganda especially at this time of elections has been diverted to Kenya.
Sources added that diplomats were getting commission from the huge amount of money that was sent to Uganda to facilitate civil societies and opposition parties and it reached an extent when they started working together after creating a fertile ground that led to hope that president Museveni’s forty years rule can be stopped through elections.
Edward Luwaga Ssansa, a Masaka based lawyer and also a political commentator said that the problem in Uganda is that people join politics to seal deals to get easy money. And this can only be achieved when one is working with government or pretending to be opposing the government unlike in Kenya where people take politics as a serious pass to develop their country.
“Opposition in Kenya didn’t give President William Ruto time to rest in his chair. He is under constant pressure, but here in Uganda, people are just sealing deals for their personal benefits and not doing what opposition is supposed to do. Instead most of what we see as opposition is funded by the person they are opposing,” Luwaga said
Lawyer Male Mabirizi warned that if opposition don’t come together, they will end up all in prison. Mabirizi cited the colonial unlawful drilling offence which Museveni is using to imprison NUP leaders including their deputy spokesperson Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro.
Mabirizi pleaded with Kampala Lord Mayor Ssalongo Erias Lukwago and other senior lawyers to join NUP’s legal team to beef up their legal strength in the fight against the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) who is sanctioning these criminal files.
“Yes, NUP has good lawyers but they need senior lawyers like those representing Dr Kizza Besigye because for them you can see and think very first and put up a spirited fight. That unlawful drilling was brought in 1950’s by the colonialists to suppress those who were fighting for Uganda’s independence. We need to challenge that law in the constitutional court but NUP lawyers cannot do it alone,” Mabirizi said
However, one of the lawyers representing Dr Besigye and his political assistant Obed Lutale Kamulegeya told this website that a decision to join NUP lawyers is very scary because the foot soldiers always get twisted thinking when it comes to working together with other parties.
“They will think that this is a new tactic to frustrate their efforts to regain their freedom, so they will fight it,” he said.
Kira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda who is also the Secretary General of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) said that the problem is that political parties in the opposition are using people arrested by Museveni to gain political capital by gaining more support and anyone who tries to help is seen as an enemy who wants to stop the flow of their political electricity “Amasanyalaze”.
He noted that they were shocked when NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) abandoned Dr Besigye when he was imprisoned even though before his arrest from Kenya, he was always encouraging them to work with Bobi Wine.
“True, when Dr Besigye was just arrested, we held a joint opposition prayer at NUP headquarters at Makerere Kavule and we all agreed to work together but it all ended there and we we each wend our own way. PFF leadership always stands in solidarity with our leaders,” Ssemujju said
He added that the opposition leadership currently is only fighting for positions so as to occupy political offices to receive huge monthly salaries and the issue of overthrowing Museveni’s government is not part of their main agenda.
The Leader of Opposition in Parliament who is also the NUP Spokesperson said that the problem why it is not easy to work with other opposition politicians is many of them have political dealings and have signed agreements with President Museveni which is a sign that they are no longer interested in the fight against his government.
This website has established that the diplomats in Kampala through their contacts have started engaging opposition especially PFF and NUP to work together even though they are scared with engaging with Civil Society groups because most of them have been infiltrated by the State .
