Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. ‘Matlhohonolofatso Tšepang Tšita-Mosena vowed to emulate some of the best practices she has learned in her recent tour of duty
in Uganda earlier this month. This she told the Informative Newspaper in an exclusive interview. Tšita-Mosena was from January 7th to 18th deployed by the Women Situation Room (WSR) to be part of the high delegation
mission to observe the elections in Uganda. She was part of the 21 team of “eminent” women occupying influential social positions in various African countries.
Among this group, 8 were international and the remaining 13 were Uganda nationals equally commanding influence in their fields of work. The East African country has held Presidential and Parliamentary elections on
January 14th. Established in 2011 during the elections in Liberia, the WSR is a women led initiative that is a “non-partisan early warning and rapid response mechanism against election-related violence and conflicts in
Africa”. It has presence in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Uganda. It was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council in 2016 as “an effective
mechanism for women’s intervention” in conflict resolution and peace building missions and also it was endorsed for “best practice” by the African Union’s Gender
is My Agenda Campaign in 2012. The Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was made a Champion of this movement.
The MP said they were scattered in four regions across the country and she was based in the capital, Kampala. “We were free to observe, contribute our
expertise and learn. ” Reflecting on the lessons gained, she said, “My take home lesson was to learn how things are done elsewhere and bring some of that home.
” The aspirant Tšita-Mosena further said that was a women led initiative that clearly non-partisan contributed to “neutrality that was very efficient” in that country. As
an incoming member of WSR, she said the “neutrality” which their mission was advocating for high level collaboration and resolution of issues emanating on
the ground, helped to quell mistrusts amongst different formations that were key players in the elections. “In leadership, you have got to act fast and
efficiently to gain trust of the people you are helping,” she noted. Tšita-Mosena said on January 8th, they had an audience with the representatives of different political parties who were also
afforded a platform to air their discomfort about the prevailing pre-election situation. This move, she described as a “neutral ground” they had extended to
the contestants. She also told this publication that before and during elections they engaged different stakeholders such as the Electoral Commission Uganda (EC), Uganda
Police Force and Uganda People’s Defense Force. According to WRS statement, the engagements were to “ensure timely response to reported incidents and to
promote peaceful elections”. The Movement for Economic Change (MEC) MP and the Deputy Leader said they received and intervened in over 1 700 incidents that were reported on their call
center. As they screened the calls, she said some matters they would take with relevant stakeholder to take appropriate action depending on the nature of the report and as Eminent Women they would
give feedback to the callers to determine finality of incidents. The WRS in its statement mentioned that they had received about 1 778 calls. “These were associated with election-related logistical challenges, reported election
malpractices, ignorance or misinformation among voters and polling officials regarding procedures and regulations, intimidation and violence. 40% of the
calls sought information on the electoral process and included general inquiries,” reads WSR statement in pertinent part. “It was relatively peaceful on election day, much as there were minor incidents”
she said adding that “our mission was achieved, we intervened, we helped”. Reflecting on what she called an outstanding development, she noted the parliament scraping
of age limit of 75 years to contest for presidential candidacy. She also remarked that this repealed law also made a way for the incumbent president to
contest for the presidential seat. Also, she made mention of the scrapping of the minimum age limit to contest for presidential election from 23 years to 18
years. Asked to comment about the house arrest of the presidential candidate Robert Kyagulany, a musician famously known as Bobi Wine and the social media
shutdown, she said there were no formal correspondence regarding some of the things and that they only learned of the Wine’s detention after they had issued the
report but said they are yet to produce a detailed report. She also noted that the internet absence placed an impediment in their communication. The MP also said that
some of the challenges which prevailed during their mission were ambit of their mandate, saying their main focus was ensuring presence of peace during the
elections. Prior to elections, the Uganda Communications Commission issued a directive to internet service providers to extend a social media blackout.
President Yoweri Museveni was declared a winner, winning a sixth term in office having occupied that office since 1986. “We appeal to government, security agencies and politicians to embrace a culture of
peace and tolerance. ” The organisation further made an appeal to “government and the relevant authorities to expeditiously address the issues associated
with the arrests of civil society members and the restrictions to their operations”. Tšita-Mosena had recently sponsored a motion on the commemoration of the United Nations Resolution
UNR 1325 (Women, Peace and Security) at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) PF plenary assembly. Resolution 1325 according to the UN, “urges
all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts. It also calls on
all parties to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse in situations of armed conflict”. This mission for her was an accomplishment of her advocacy, and she is “extremely humbled” to be contributing towards peacekeeping in Africa.
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