11:26PM: CLOSING
With: The East African Anthem
Then the National Anthem
Good night and thank you for following us through the debate……………..
Closing remarks….
Baryamureeba: I want to thank all of you for being part of the debate. Those who were in the struggle need to retire and a new generation takes over. May God bless you.
Kyalya: I want to appeal to Ugandans that chance comes only once. We don’t want to replace NRM to NRM GO FORWARD. We must change from military to welfare government. Soldiers are not trained to save life, but to kill. If we need proper education, others, let’s change. I AM WONDERING WHY WE DON’T HAVE CULTURAL LEADERS HERE.
Besigye: I am very grateful that I have been here. The urgent change is the empowerment of our people. I am working on the project that citizens will vote the person who will serve their purpose. We want this to be a peaceful transition.
Mabirizi: I want to thank all the organisers. I ask Ugandans to join me and vote for me because I am the only candidate with plan A,B and C. I won’t allow vote rigging.
Biraaro: I thank the organisers for tis was the first level field. Protect your vote and support the unity government, Vote the Farmers’ Party.
Mbabazi: My offer is to affect my message that it is time Uganda changed by transiting from one generation to the next. I want to put my experience at the hands of young people. We need experience and innovation so that we don’t talk about steady progress, but accelerated progress.
Bwanika: It is only me who knows where we need to go. My programme is for the ordinary Ugandan. WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THE YOUTH OF THIS COUNTRY have the power.
Questions…
How many of you would introduce term limits?
All the candidates raised their hands
Bwanika to Mbabazi: What is your stand on federalism?
Mbabazi: I have made my position very clear. We work according to the wishes of the people.
Biraaro to Besigye: I want to change the constitution, would you support that?
Besigye: There are many changes I think should be made in the constitution, especially proportional representation.
If they were voting a party and not individuals, that would be different unlike now when they keep asking money from the candidates. I support the federal system of government.
Mabirizi to Mbabazi: What do you have to say about the issues on Temangalo? Do you support gays?
Mbabazi: When I was in Lango, I was told that I support gays or I am gay. I said I am married to a woman, we have children and I have 11 grandchildren. So, I am not gay. I challenged Amongi in case she had doubts to put it to the test.
There is another person who has been going around on the same allegations. That person has no children and no husband, so me and her, who would be more towards….
Temangalo: I sold my land, 99 acres in Temangalo. There was an allegation that I overpriced my land. The allegations were probed by Police, IGG and they came to a conclusion that it was the market price.
strong>Besigye to Mbabazi: Were you aware of rigging and shall we avoid it this time?
Mbabazi: do you allow unfair questions? My clear answer is that I am not aware of any rigging because I was never involved in rigging. I have heard some stories about rigging, but I don’t have any personal or direct knowledge of the rigging. I am absolutely determined to make sure that this election is secure and we are going to do what it takes to ensure that those with intentions to rig will be dealt with. I will be happy to lend Besigye my experience.
Kyalya to Besigye: You are a brother-in-law of Museveni. So, you are part of the family. Should we move from Museveni to you in the same family?
Besigye: I have nothing against members of the first family being in government. Our problem is whether we have systems that work and Ugandans are the ones making decisions. I am very far away from the first family and neither does my wife.
Baryamureeba: I want to ask the NRM historicals; if President Museveni had stuck to what was in plan from the bush, would you be here?
Besigye: I would not be here, and neither would he be
Biraaro: I would be here because we are still very poor and the workload is a lot.
Mbabazi: No, because Museveni would not have been the President.
Oppostion:
Mbabazi: I am talking about the present and I am saying that the state of rule of law in the country is not good. The level of civilization in a society is measured but the level of rule of law. We witnessed a case where one group attacked another and an entire state machinery came out against one group.
Christopher Aine: I have commented on this many times. If the government knows he is hiding, why not bring him out? The court will be forced by court to bring him or his body.
Safe houses: A place where people are detained illegally cannot be a safe house. A safe house has nothing to do with detention, but for security operations.
Corruption:
Bwanika: we lose close to $1b every year. We have good laws and I am not going to have new ones. If you cannot explain the source of your money, we shall revert it to government. We shall teach our children on the dangers of corruption.
Army:
Biraaro: It was a disaster to take the army to agriculture. There were many officers in the army who were idle and the government wanted to deploy them, but it was not for productive reasons.
All the agricultural institutions are not working. I will create an agriculture bank and farmers will be able to get loans.
Women:
Besigye: Looks of government can be deceptive. You can have people with positions without the power.
We want to do empowerment of women through the grassroots. Tokenism of appointing women into offices does not help. We want to start at budgeting level not tokenism of appointments.
Mabirizi: we want women given positions from up to down. Women must be represented in Parliament, but what percentage.
I am talking about being represented in all spheres. We shall make sure that we educate our people to ensure there is fairness to all sexes.
Kyalya: women are like dummies in this government. All the businesses are being done in State House.
Education:
Bwanika: Our education was designed to train clerks and not thinkers. We need to change the system . we must reduce the time a child spends at school. Not only school is a centre of learning.We are going to construct school at sub-county level.
Veterinary:
Bwanika: We must have good breeds of animals. All the good animals were bought by Rwanda after genocide. I am going to bring the technology that secures animals from thefts.
Eradicating poverty;
Mabirizi: We shall restore some of the parastatals that were sold and rebuild more so that people get jobs. We are going to make sure that we fight corruption. Once you have fought corruption, you have money to run other things.
We shall also make sure we have good relationship with other countries. We must have Ugandans working in India and China.You will eradicate poverty out of the country.
Health:
Dr. Besigye: Trying to fix things on wrong foundations will not work. Accountability and strong institutions are very important. We must first increase our expenditure in health. We need to spend about 15% of the GDP so make it come to a reasonable level.
A lot of our people are suffering from conditions that are preventable. We must reemphasize health education, hygiene so that we reduce the burden on health centres. It I a big issue, but funding is very critical.
What 3 subjects do you think are important in education?
Kyalya:
The grounding of the children is very important. We are teaching children English and later communication becomes a problem. Natural talents of Ugandans have not been considered.
Children should be assessed at an early age. Education is not about passing exams, but about a whole package and the skills you pick as you go along life.
Candidates back from Break:
Reducing Parliament and Cabinet:
Bwanika: Uganda is one of the poorest countries, yet we have a huge government in terms of Cabient. By the end of these elections, we shall have 435 MPs. We must reduce public expenditure.
Baryamureeba on education:
We need to fix education from the bottom up. We need to fix the curriculum. I will put 20% of the money into education. Each student gets sh102 per term, which is not enough. When you give loans to students, the loans will be recovered from the students after 3 to 4 years. We can have Ugandans working for USA, Europe, etc. You can be based in Uganda and work for a company in America.
Candidates go for a break….
Topic:Oil
Has anyone seen the oil agreemets?
Kyalya: I have not seen the agreements, but I am sure the people will not benefit.
Mabirizi: I would consider building a refinery at the coast of Kenya. Oil is not a major source of income. Agriculture and tourism would earn more than oil. Oil prices are going down all over the world apart from here in Uganda.
Baryamureeba: Oil companies must publish what they pay to the government and the government must publish what they get from oil companies. We need good laws that will ensure transparency. Parliament needs more powers to legislate on these laws.
What do you disagree with in the current economic policy?
Besigye: The NRM system was a good system and it is not the one Museveni is doing. The system was based on reconstructing the foundations of the country; all the systems we are talking about must be based on the democratic foundations.
We must put our money where our people are. For example more than 80% of our people derive their livelihood from agriculture. We want to give it more money. We also to defer from their policy. The cost of constructing a road in Uganda is ten times the cost in the region. Bujagali dam was constructed at 4 times the cost it would have taken.
TOPIC: Debt Reduction
Biraaro: I will manage the debt by increasing agricultural production and I will inject in sh3 trillion.
We have political units, but not economic units. That is why I propose zoning so that each district receives sh30b to invest in agriculture.
I want Uganda to get at least 8,000,000 tourists, who will bring in much more money than even what is expected out of oil.
Mbabazi: Being in debt is not a problem, but to what use you put that money. We have the problem of importing a lot and exporting little. We need to put a system in place that enables everyone to work so that you are earning. The constitution of the country puts all power in the President and all those under him take his orders. I was dutifully performing under the directives of the President.
Mabirizi: stand-off on whether he reads or gives thoughts. Finally he talks. We are going to make sure that there is proper debt management. Much of the money we borrow is embezzled.
Says he has the best approach by confiscating their property and selling them off. Those people should not work for government for the next 15 years.
Besigye: We should look at the issue of accountability by tackling corruption so that the loans we get go into production rather than borrowing the money to put in our pockets like the regime has done.
Kyalya: says there should be fairness in the time allocated to candidates
Back from the break……
Baryamureeba: I will increase employment opportunities by creating 1,000,000 jobs every year so that our people get jobs. They pay taxes and increase the resource base. Then we shall have enough money to clear the debt.
Kasujja: Baryamureeba is not clear on what he wants to do.
8:53pm: Candidates go for a break, but Kyalya remains in her seat.
Candidates go for break….
Meanwhile in Rwakitura, over 250km away, NRM women league leaders are having dinner, waiting for President Yoweri Museveni
Bwanika:
any candidate should ask for support from where they are born. There is no problem with that. I keep coming and contesting because there are people out there who are being disappointed by the leaders we have.
Mbabazi:
I think it is time for change. I have a lot of experience and I have been in government for a long time. You should believe the facts; that there was no intimidation in Kinkiizi in 2001 and I could not be held for individual actions. I agreed with the teachers when I was prime minister on the 50% increase in salaries.
We implemented the commitment, but when I left office, the other commitment was not honoured. How could I have threatened to arrest teachers when we had reached an agreement.
Presidential Candidates take their Positions at the Podium(Photos by Nora Mukimba)
Besigye: I am very disappointed that Museveni is not here. He has a responsibility to be here and to account to the country. Justice Ogoola assured me yesterday that Museveni will be here for the debate and that’s why I came.
Kyalya:
I am not a politician, but a social worker. I have been working underground. I came to the fore when I realized there was a lot of poverty in Busoga.
Fails to answer the question and is sent back
Kasujja:
Why the U-turn?
Besigye:
All the institutions in Uganda have been personalized. Just like Mubutu said, I think in every respect, Museveni is the state
Mabirizi:
Says he convinced 23 presidential aspirants to stand down for him and will convince the rest.
Biraaro:
Says there is a big task
Thanks the organisers…. Asks for a handclap
Says the politics are very polarized over the last 15 years.
Says the elections are a referendum for peace or violence
Says a nation can be born in one day and this is the day
Says he wants a unity government, build consensus.
Calls upon Ugandans to make choice.
Mbabazi:
Says throughout the campaign trail, he has asked Ugandans: do you want change or you want to remain the same? This is the question you should answer today
Says 83% of the youth are unemployed.
Many of our children failed the exams
The situation is bad…. Time up.
Bwanika:
Salutes the organisers
Says leadership is about envisioning for the nation, how the nation must reach the desired destinations.
Says he has come with proper treatment to solve the problems of this nation
People have been living in hope for the last 54 year, but nothing has come their way
There are no drugs in hospitals and I stand on the side of those ordinary Ugandans, who have been praying
…… time up.
Baryamureeba:
Says he will fix the education, health sectors. Says he is a candidate for transition, stands between those who are 0 and 94, saying he is 47.
Says he has a manifesto of 12 points.
Says he will revise the business and strategic plans.
…..oooops: time is not on his side
Kyalya:
Says all are good enough to be president, but says she has the best programme
Says she has worked in Uganda and the UK
Says Uganda went wrong in 1900 where the country has never talked about the conflicts.
There is more teargas than medicine in the country
Says she is a mother and a princess in Busoga and loves people.
Says she is happy with whatever choice and will work with everybody.
Besigye:
Glad to be in this debate
Thanks the organisers
Glad that they are taking a cue from the FDC debate last year.
Says it is a unique debate, where no leader has entered state House without using the guns.
……ooops: time gets him.
Mabirizi:
Begins with … Praise the Lord.
Says he is an investor and educationist
Says he has the best approach towards whatever we want to do for our nation.
Baryamureeba gets onto the stage, he will be followed by Kyalya, then Kizza Besigye, followed by Mabirizi, Biraaro, Mbabazi and lastly Bwanika.
8:10pm: National Anthem plays, by Watoto choir
8:07pm: Moderators speak: Nancy Kacungira and Allan Kasujja tell the candidates the rules of the debate
8:00pm: Justice James Ogoola introduces the debate as candidates get ready
Candidates undergoing make up before the debate
Candidates head to the boardroom, And this is what is taking place.
7.08pm: Abed Bwanika arrives.
Hundreds turned away
Many people, who had come for the presidential debate were turned away because they had no invitation letters or accreditation.
They went back cursing: “We thought this was a free debate, but we are disappointed that they could not allow us in,” they said as they moved out of Serena compound.
6:46pm: Amama Mbabazi arrives
Mbabazi:
Says Museveni’s presence or absence is not relevant, saying he has come to present issues.
Says the campaign is gaining momentum.
Says he is wearing an orange necktie, not yellow as journalists had said.
6:40pm: Besigye arrives.
Says a debate is an opportunity to gauge where the country has come from.
Says he has always been keen to question the incumbent, although the President has not come.
Says he is ready to give the plans of FDC
SAYS HE IS NOT surprised that Museveni has not come, saying there has always been an attempt to have a debate, but has always failed because Museveni does not want a direct engagement. His absence takes away a lot from the discussion because Uganda has been under Museveni for more than half of our independence period. Museveni has a duty to account because he is a public servant. I am surprised there has not been enough pressure on him.
6:35pm: Joseph Mabirizi arrives for the debate.
Says he is ready for the debate and has a lot to unveil.
Says he was abducted and the Police says he was accused of abducting himself.
Says he is ready to take on other presidential candidates.
6:26pm: Maggie Kigozi, one of the organizers says she is happy the debate has taken shape. She says it is an opportunity for the candidates to cool down and discuss issues in a serene environment.
Says they would have wanted to have all the presidential candidates, but Museveni may not come.
Says she would want the presidential candidates to tackle the ICT to make it cheaper for e-government, education, etc.
6:12pm: People stranded at the entrance as the security checks for the invitation cards and accreditation. Some journalists blocked from accessing the debate venue. Attendance was by invitation and Justice Ogoola says they invited 1,000 well-selected people.
6:07pm: Maureen Kyalya arrives for the debate.
Says she feels she is the only candidate able to transit the country to a modern country.
Says the ground is not fair because Museveni is president at the same time a presidential candidate.
5:50pm: Farmers Party president Maj. Gen. Benon Biraaro arrives
5:40pm: Prof. Venansious Baryamureeba arrives
5:50pm: Farmers Party president Maj. Gen. Benon Biraaro arrives
DEBATE PREPARATIONS IN HIGH GEAR .
By Mubarak Mugabo
Preparations for the historic presidential debate are underway at the Kampala Serena Conference Centre with no sign of the NRM Presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni’s attendance.
The debate is organised by the inter-religious council of Uganda and Uganda Elders’ forum chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice James Ogoola. The entire conference centre is decorated in the Uganda flag colours of Black,Yellow and Red.
Inside the conference centre, organisers have put eight named glassed podiums each for one presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, a total of 120 European Observers have started observing the electoral process ahead of the polling dates.
The observers are monitoring the conduct of the campaign, vote counting, potential electoral violence, campaign financing, access to state media houses by presindetial candidates and Parliamentary candidates among others.
The chief observer of the European Union Edward Kukan says that their team is already on ground in Kampala Masaka,Mbarara, Kabale, Arua, Gulu, Jinja and other voilence prone areas.
He adds thats another team of the European Parliament is also on a flight to Uganda to conduct its own electoral oberservation.
Will Museveni attend the debate?
By David Lumu
As the clock ticks, Ugandans are eagerly awaiting for the first-ever presidential debate in the country.
At Serena Conference Centre where the eight candidates are expected to debate their manifestos and visions, lecterns with names of aspirants and chairs dressed in colours and symbols of the candidates have been arranged.
The debate will start at 7:00pm and candidates are expected to start arriving by 6:00pm, 1,000 carefully selected people have been invited among others youth, women, persons with disability, boda-boda riders, political party representatives, diplomats, election observers and nominees of the presidential candidates.
The central theme as preparations continue to take shape, remains the possibility of whether President Yoweri Museveni, the presidential flag bearer of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) will attend the debate.
According to a letter dated January 8 written by the NRM secretary general Justine Kasule Lumumba to Justice James Ogoola the chairperson of the organising committee of the debate read;
“If the busy campaign schedule doesn’t allow Museveni to attend, the NRM will send a representative to discuss the party manifesto and vision.”
But Lumumba doesn’t rule out Museveni’s presence. According to his programme, Museveni will address rallies in Katerera, Bunyaruguru and Bushenyi municipality and he is scheduled to meet members of NRM women league in the evening at Rwakitura, Kiruhura district.
However, there are indications that he might attend the debate, at least for the first twenty minutes, where each candidate will explain their manifesto, and then go away.
“The NRM candidate will attend the debate personally if his schedule permits. In the event that he fails, the party will send a representative to discuss our party manifesto and vision,” Lumumba wrote.Ogoola received the letter on Thursday.
Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, the flag-bearer of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), who had initially opted out of the debate, yesterday made a U-turn and agreed to participate in today’s presidential debate.
However, Besigye said that Museveni’s presence would balance the debate.“We cannot have a utopian debate about what is good for the country without interrogating the incumbent. Museveni has been fostering untenable policies, which he is incapable of defending. We will end up having a one sided show,” he said.
During the three-hour debate, candidates will tackle issues of domestic economy, good governance, rule of law and social economic welfare.
The two debates will be moderated by BBC’s Newsday programme presenter, Allan Kasujja and KTN’s Nancy Kacungira, who recently won the Komla Dumor’s inaugural BBC award.
The candidates that will face-off today include; Museveni, Besigye, Abed Bwanika (People’s Development Party flag bearer), Maj. Gen. Benon Biraaro (Uganda Farmers Party flag bearer), former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi (Independent), former Makerere University vice chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba (Independent), Eng. Joseph Mabirizi (Independent) and Faith Maureen Kyalya Walube (Independent).
Organisers said that each candidate will have 20 minutes uninterrupted to speak about the key issues and also explain their manifesto programmes.
After this, hosts will ask questions rotating around the four topics; domestic economy, good governance, rule of law and social economic welfare before opening the floor for questions from the audience and the social media outlets.
Social media comments on the debate
Prof. Baryamureba (presidential aspirant): I would like to clarify to all Ugandans that I shall participate in the Presidential Candidates’ debate scheduled for 15th January 2016. I believe this debate gives us a chance to discuss real issues affecting Ugandans, dissect our manifestos and defend the values we stand for.
Winnie Byanyima (ED Oxfam and wife of Besigye): Museveni and Kizza Besigye will come and go. We must build our democracy brick by brick. [The] presidential debate helps a bit to level the ground.
Nasser Ntege Sebagala (Former Kampala Mayor): Only 30% of population will watch [the] debate yet Museveni is concentrating on 70% rural based supporters.
Nancy Kacungira (Co-host of the debate): The Uganda presidential debate 2016 is on, and there’s been a lot of debate about the debate. Unfortunately a lot of it is about who and not what. Who is organising? Who is coming/not coming? We should be asking; what are the big issues? What solutions do the candidates have? I hope to use the privilege of moderating this debate to keep us focused on the issues politics should be about the will of the people, not just about the personalities in politics.
Dr. Abed Bwanika (presidential aspirant): I assure Ugandans Bwanika shall be at the debate come Jan 15 because Uganda is bigger than any candidate. If we leaders deny citizens an opportunity to make an informed decision at the debate; how can we guarantee service delivery?
Amama Mbabazi (presidential candidate): The Presidential debate is about putting yourself out there to be questioned by the people. Whether it is 10 people or 100,000? I look forward to the Presidential debate. The debate is not about individuals.
