President Museveni has shared his thoughts on recent happenings in Uganda’s political direction.
The President made his position clear on the judgement pertaining to the removal of the presidential age limit petition, and the election of new members of parliament and other leaders for created Municipalities in Ibanda, Bugiri, Nebbi, Apac, Njeru, Sheema and Kotido.
The judgement in a petition challenging the removal of the age limit in the constitution was delivered on Thursday 26th July, in Mbale.
The court, by a majority judgement, upheld the amendment to the constitution that scrapped the presidential age limit from the constitution.
The judges also in chorus declared null and void the amendment extending from five to seven years, the term of members of parliament and other elected political leaders.
Below, we reproduce the president’s statement;
Countrymen and women,
I draw your attention to my two recent short speeches: one, in Parliament when HE Modi addressed Parliament of Uganda; and, the second one, when, I addressed BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in Johannesburg, South Africa. All of them illuminate different angles of NRM’s four principles: Patriotism (anti-sectarianism); Pan-Africanism (working for African Unity economically and politically); social-economic transformation (modernizing the African society); and Democracy (the democracy of substance, not mere form). We are making good friends all over the World that will help us to achieve our goals, starting with unity of our African brothers and sisters in the form of the EAC and CFTA in order to unite our markets.
Unfortunately, our judges in Uganda spend more time on form and not substance, on procedure and not substance. My freedom fighter’s sense of justice, in this matter (the age limit ruling) focuses more on the convenience of 7 years rather than 5 years. With the 5 years, a lot of time is spent on electioneering and less time on development; the 1st two years settling in, the 3rd year some work in the constituency and, then, by the 4th year, electioneering again.
In the end, however, the judges are not the ones in charge of the country. If the NRM MPs follow my guidelines and bond closely with the people, through wealth and job creation, we can, together with the people, make the necessary Constitutional reforms, judges or no judges.
The Constitution should facilitate the modernization of Uganda and the economic and political integration of Africa for the survival of the people of Africa as free people, not just the theatre of democracy of form without addressing substance.
The Judges should have taken into consideration the recent L.C.1 and Women Councils and Committees elections which gave massive victory to the NRM, soon after the age limit and the seven years’ debate. This was more or less a referendum. There was open participation by the millions.
We shall harmonise and galvanize our position. The undemocratic age limit nonsense was clear. “Nibagaya Engabo oti mwihemu abagurusi?” (How can you say old soldiers should be disqualified when everybody’s efforts are needed because the good soldiers are not enough?)
