Behind #Museveni's early push for age limit amendment - #Uganda

Uganda's military dictator last week deployed security forces who laid siege to Parliament as it was scheduled to handle the constitutional amendment scrapping the presidential age limit. Article 102 (b) of the constitution provides for a maximum age limit of 75 for the President of Uganda.  Museveni who now claims to be aged 73 won't qualify to contest in the next elections in 2021 unless the article is amended. In July 2005, he amended the same constitution to remove the two-term presidential limit. The following month he was nominated to contest in the February 2006 general elections. Museveni is renown for enjoying keeping people guessing before he makes last hour decisions on controversial issues. Therefore, the big question now is why has he chosen to come out so early when we still have over three years to the general elections in 2021?????

Unfortunately, Museveni's 31 years’ dictatorship has thrived on the incapacity of the majority Ugandans to understand him and his ways. He has systematically been destroying whoever understands him either by isolating them as enemies or compromising their independent mindedness and credibility. It takes a lot of courage and sacrifice to resist and survive Museveni's blackmail, manipulation, bribery, intimidation and actual threats. Very few have consistently stood out to courageously oppose Museveni and in most cases, they have been misunderstood by Ugandans. LRA's Joseph Kong is one such example but unfortunately his LRA rebellion lost direction. Museveni very well knows that Ugandans are fed up with his reign as demonstrated more clearly during the last general elections. Immediately after the February 2016 military coup d’état he publicly declared that he was to completely destroy political opposition. He is perturbed by the growing opposition capacity to rally a majority of Ugandans by unmasking the mastery of deceit in him. He fears that unless he acts faster, the opposition may rally the masses for an "Arab Spring" kind of situation.

He is therefore under pressure to act fast and decisively. He has all along been restrained by the fear of Donald Trump's threats of "sending him to jail" but now that he has registered his (Trump) approval, Ugandans should prepare for the worst. Museveni's early push for the age limit amendment is designed to provoke resentment from the opposition, the general population and from within its own ranks. In his estimates, amidst the widespread resentment, he can carry out a grand purge that will guarantee him a fresh start. The wild allegation by the regime that some people had planned to burn the parliamentary building alludes to this sinister scheme.
The fresh stories of emergence of new rebel groups is not a coincidence.  Many Ugandans will be picked up, charged with treason and incarcerated.  Unfortunately, for Museveni, it’s not the burning of the parliamentary building, the street protests, strikes, or international embargos that can pose a threat to his hold on power. Neither the civil society initiated dialogue, nor Gen. Muntu's so called 'building of organisational capacity' can end Museveni's dictatorship. Even a resort to armed opposition will only serve to provide him with an opportunity to carry out his brutal purge. It worked in Turkey recently. The pro-change leaders and Ugandans in general have a noble cause to move the struggle forward. They only need to realise that there is an easy, simple and less costly way of saving the country from the Museveni carnage, and that is, "prayer".  Don't fall into Museveni's trap.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND DEFIANCE IS THE WAY TO GO