Former Ethics Minister Miria Matembe has slammed at President Museveni’s government. In an interview with Top Secrets, Matembe noted that some opposition members are moles because it is the only way they can help their Constituencies.
TOP SECRETS: You were in Parliament for a very long time and worked in President Museveni’s government, what is your say on the succession plan in the National Resistance Movement (NRM)?
MATEMBE: All those things of succession plan show that there is no multi-party democracy in this country, it is all rulership by an individual. As far as am concerned, we don’t have any institution, all institutions are under one person who is the President of Uganda and so there is no principle of separation of powers, there are no independent institutions at all. There is an idea of a life dictator President and that is why we don’t have elections in Uganda because they are a sham. Rulership by one person is what we have.
TOP SECRETS : Opposition seems to deploy the same strategy in the quest to capture power. What new thing do you think they should do to take over power?
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MATEMBE : As far as am concerned there is no political environment in Uganda, there is no multiparty democracy dispensation. So even the opposition has no environment in which they can build themselves. You know very well that it is not even allowed or needed by the government of Uganda and that is why it can’t build itself. Actually for me, I don’t criticise opposition but rather sympathize with them. I’m personally opposition because I oppose government although I don’t belong to any opposition party but I really sympathize with them and even appreciate them for the little they do because there is no conducive environment for them.
For example is there anything the opposition can oppose and NRM sides with them however correct they may be? Look at the coffee deal, Uganda Airlines had a bad boss and others! So there is nothing much to do.
TOP SECRETS : What advise would you then give to opposition to stay relevant in the country where there is no multiparty democracy like you stated?
MATEMBE : You know opposition is an oversight, it is a very small instrument of facilitating the performance of government. But here opposition is seen as an enemy to government and they are very busy buying everybody and you know the Constitution of Uganda outlaws one party system, that is why there is a camouflaged political party dispensation. Uganda is generally under dictatorial militarized regime of one man.
TOP SECRETS : We have seen a number of cases in which some opposition members have resorted to becoming moles in their parties and are now spying on their own parties. Do you think it is what is still failing them?
MATEMBE : One thing you should know is in 2006, the first speech that President Museveni gave after elections was that he was going to kill opposition, to destroy it completely.
What does that tell you? That he prefers everybody to be in one party like we used to be in the Movement long ago.
Now he wants us to go back to the one-party system of Obote of 1968-1971. Another thing in Uganda, when you are in opposition, you are fought and you can’t speak, you cannot work for your constituency because government cannot do anything for a constituency which belongs to the opposition which is very ‘stupid and backward.’
And yet according to a civilised government, people compete, when one party wins, then it runs a government for everybody but because of the backward mentality for Africans, the moment a party wins, they think they are going to serve only their members and not the country and yet even in a Constituency where an opposition member wins, there are people who vote for the president, so if you don’t serve that constituency, what about the people who voted for you. Everybody is entitled to go to any party of their choice. For example, if I want to fight for women’s rights and I realise that the opposition supports me, I will definitely cross to the NRM because there I will be able to fight for my people. So, everyone has a right to move to the party they want. Now because Ugandans are ignorant, they will run shouting because one has crossed to another party.
