Africa-Press – Uganda. President Museveni has slammed suggestions of mediation between him and the Opposition.
“Imagine some people have been coming here that they want to mediate between me and the Opposition. Mediate what? I do not want any mediation. Everybody knows my address, I know the address of these Opposition people. I can drive there and we talk. We do not need any mediation. It’s an insult to tell me mediation,” President Museveni said while launching the natural Covid-19 treatment clinical trials in Kampala yesterday .
During his National Resistance Movement (NRM) Liberation Day speech on Tuesday, while responding to comments by the Vicar General of Kampala Archdiocese, Msgr Charles Kasibante, who led the opening prayer, Mr Museveni said he was ready to reconcile with anyone who presented an ideology that is different from that of NRM.
“On the issue of reconciliation which Msgr Kasibante talked about…that is our way to do things. That is how you find that Idi Amin’s son is my deputy director of intelligence and when you see Taban, you can see that Idi Amin is around,” Mr Museveni said on Tuesday.
Makerere University senior lecturer of history Mwambusya Ndebesa said Museveni does not believe in dialogue but rather seeks to absorb others into his programme.
“I do not think he has space for dialogue with others. The only space he has is incorporating them in his programme. But for a shared programme, others bring their programme, he brings his and they compare. There is a give and take. It has never been his thinking in the line of politics. He can only compromise with the Opposition only if his opponent agrees with his programme. That is true to his characters,” Mr Ndebesa said yesterday.
He added that the best way to get out of the current political impasse in the country where contentious issues are resolved by teargas and bullets, is to have genuine dialogue.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) party says there is no need for talks because it would imply personal issues between Museveni and them.
However, their Opposition counterparts Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) agreed to the proposal for negotiation to resolve the outstanding political issues.
“These are matters of the country, they are not personal. What we want is where democracy thrives, leaders who are accountable to the people, not like Museveni who goes on TV and says ‘I am not your servant’…” Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, the NUP spokesperson, said. Mr Wasswa Biriggwa, the FDC chairperson, said for a country to have political harmony, there is need to know what other people’s issues are.
“Does he know he has been in very many mediations himself? A mediator is normally a facilitator, one who allows both sides to put their points across and then to avoid conflict during the discussion, the mediator does not take one side or the other side,” Mr Biriggwa said.
He added: “We either take control of the situation now or never… this is not a personal issue, some of us have been involved in national issues…so many people have said we are brothers and sisters and we have a problem. It’s unfortunate if Museveni sees that there is no problem….”
Mr Museveni also preached self-reliance, adding that the country should not wait for foreigners to solve problems.“Uganda now we defend ourselves in areas where I have been active. I make sure of self-sufficiency. Uganda is not defended by the UN. I cannot allow UN to come to Uganda to defend us because what are you for? If you cannot defend yourselves what are you for? So we are self-sufficient in defence. This region is full of chaos but we are here, nobody can touch us because we are confident we can defend ourselves against external threats and internal disruptions,” the President said. [email protected]
