Uganda's military dictator is at it again trying to further entrench his autocratic reign by once again sodomizing the constitution. In 1995 he bribed members of Parliament to remove term limits to allow him to continue to rule. He is now facing another constitutional hurdle that bars him to run for the presidency beyond seventy-five years. He is also itching to amend the constitution to enable his regime to grab private land without compensation.
His top cohorts have repeatedly issued contradictory statements over the impending age limit amendment. The Attorney General told parliament that there is no such a bill in the offing. The Speaker barred MPs from discussing the "age limit bill that has not been tabled before Parliament". The cadre Police chief has decreed that the " age limit debate is strictly in parliament but not in schools or villages”. It is supposed to be debated in parliament and should be among M.Ps." The police have gone ahead to brutally arrest and detain different sections of the public over these impending monstrous bills.
The regime has gone ahead to table the equally explosive Land Act (Amendment) Bill. The Presidential Age Limit Bill may be passively supported by regime cohorts and majority ignorant regime supporters just for the sake of maintaining the status quo. However, that Land Act amendment for compulsory acquisition of private land affects everyone across the board regardless of political affiliation.
The land bill is more controversial than the Age Limit Bill. The top regime cohorts have been exploiting the poverty, fear and ignorance of the masses in grabbing their land. Buganda Kingdom has reactivated its land rights awareness campaign this time round dubbed Kyapa Mungalo. The scheme aims at empowering its subjects with value for land so that they don't easily dispose of it off to grabbers. In the Northern region, regime land grabbing is already being violently resisted and so is in Eastern Uganda.
The deceptive Museveni Land Probe Commission has clearly made public what was already known that land grabbing is spearheaded by top regime cohorts with full backing of the regime. No wonder, its activities have been halted under the guise of lack of funds and it won't be surprising if it does not resume. The regime may even accuse it of 'incitement' of violence or being accessory to defamation of the President.
Since the conclusion of the February 2016 rigged polls that gave rise to a military take over by Museveni, the regime has placed a ban on opposition political activities. It has brutally and arrogantly suppressed all attempts by the opposition to link with the masses. The regime has curtailed public meetings and assemblies, imposed draconian restrictions of access and use of radio, TV, print and social media. The regime fears an Arab Spring, Burkina Faso, or Ivory Coast kind of situation.
That way, the regime hopes to keep the population in fear and ignorance. Some sections of the Ugandan society have innocently suggested that the controversial constitutional amendment bills should be subjected to a referendum. They forget that the regime has all the machinery to rig and influence the outcome. However, the regime can not dare subject such controversial constitutional amendment bills to a referendum because it fears the exercise would involve different stakeholders to directly interact with the population.
The spillover effects of the referendum exercise may not be easily reversed. It would provide a platform for the opposition to directly link with the population hence enlightening them about their rights to the disadvantages from the regime. Therefore, the only option available to the regime, is to as usual use the legislators to pass the bills. Nevertheless, the elected legislators are also mindful of loosing out on the electorates because of the unpopularity of the two bills.
The only way out is for Museveni to guarantee the legislators security of tenure by also amending the constitution to extend their term of office from five years to 50 so that they will not have to go back to renew their mandate with their community and their voters.
Alternatively, the only way out is to kick the regime out of power. Otherwise, the bills will be passed and there is nothing anyone can do. That will mark the end of Uganda and Ugandans. Regime stays or regime goes.
INFORMATION IS POWER AND DEFIANCE IS THE WAY TO GO.
change of guards blog
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.