FDC presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye has told the people of Kaberamaido not to give up on changing the political leadership of Uganda.

“I know there are people who have been voting for me to have the change. Since you could not have seen it in the previous elections, you may be tempted to give up. I am here to tell you that the change we want is coming and never give up”, he told a rally at Ochero sub-county headquarters in Kaberamaido on Tuesday.

This was after Besigye and his team had campaigned in Dokolo district the same day.

The Dokolo team, led by their FDC district chairperson, John Baptist Okello Okello, handed over Besigye and his team to Kaberamaido.

Besigye was received by Kaberamaido FDC chairperson Julius Peter Emigu, who is also the area parliamentary flagbearer, and his team.

The opposition leader was in company of Mugisha Muntu and Patrick Amuriat.

Whereas he was supposed to have addressed two rallies at Ochero and Kaberamaido town, he failed to make it to the second venue as he had arrived late due to poor roads. So he would carry on with that on Wednesday (today).

He is expected to address three different rallies today in Kaberamaido at Kalaki, Kaberamaido town and Otuboi before he goes to Amuria, as part of Teso.

In Ochero, he blamed the NRM government for bad roads.

“I delayed to reach here due to the bad roads of NRM”, he said, adding that they have now weakened the NRM government and it is about to collapse.

“We have been shaking it including its roots. You can see some people who have been on the tree have now started jumping off.”

Besigye said unseating his main political rival President Yoweri Museveni of the NRM “is not easy and it is not a one day’s work”, a reason that he claimed has made Museveni to stay in power for long.

But he told the rally that the time has now come to bring to end his rule.

If elected into power, the FDC politicisn said he will want to see that roads become better for people in the country. “We must stop these bad roads we are suffering from today.”

He added that in his regime, all children will have better education. Saying that particularly mothers are suffering a lot due to poor medical attention, Besigye said he will work to improve the health sector.

“We are prepared to handle all these challenges that have been created in the last twenty years. What we only need is to get the power.”

He said there is fear that there may be vote rigging based on the experience that the NRM have had in their primary elections. “If one section of NRM can rig votes of another NRM, what do you think can happen to our votes?” he mused.

He said to avert the vote rigging, they have introduced the ‘Power Ten’ (PT) system in every parish that will have a coordinator in every parish.

The PT system will ensure that nobody rigs an election and they will have a role to protect the votes.

Immediately after addressing the crowd at Ochero, Besigye and co moved to the home of the late Robert Opolot who is alleged to have been shot dead by local fisheries enforcement officers.

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag-bearer, presidential candidate Col. Kizza Besigye has promised to institute a commission of inquiry to investigate the perpetrators of the atrocities committed during the insurgency in northern Uganda.

Besigye made the promise on Monday while campaigning in Alebtong and Otuke districts.

In Alebtong, where he arrived in the afternoon, after holding rallies in Otuke, Besigye visited Abia memorial for the 139 people massacred by the Lord’s Resistance Army on February 4, 2004.

During the attack, scores of internally displaced people (IDPs) were burned alive when the rebels set their huts ablaze. Those who tried to flee were shot, bludgeoned or hacked to death.

Besigye and his team also made an impromptu visit to Alaka Memorial Community School, which has makeshift grass-thatched structures for classrooms. Commenting on the school located in Akora sub-county, Alebtong, after sitting in one of the classes with Gen. Muntu, Besigye said: “This is completely unacceptable. This is why we need change.”

Kenneth Wane, one of the parents in the school, said: “The Government has forgotten us. Our school has 720 pupils. We have no schools in the area. We have no secondary school here.”

New Vision could not establish whether Alaka Memorial Community School is under the universal education programme. However, the school was included in the Alebtong district administration’s budget paper for 2014/15 as a beneficiary of desks.

Another presidential candidate, Venansius Baryamureeba, also recently expressed shock at the condition of the school.

Earlier campaigning in Otuke, Besigye told residents that next year’s presidential race is the final contest that will bring the change they had voted for in the past.

“Even with rigging, I defeated Museveni in Otuke in 2006. So, I know the people of Otuke want change. But I know some of you have been losing hope for change because of what happened during the previous elections. Wherever we have gone, it is clear the nation wants change,” he said.

Besigye conceded that ousting the NRM government.

“Removing the regime is like pushing down a big deep-rooted tree. For all these years, we have been shaking it, but its roots have now come out. Join me so that we make the final push and the tree will, this time, fall down,” he argued.

Promising never to betray Ugandans, Besigye said his government would end corruption, which hinders services from reaching ordinary citizens. He appealed to voters across the country to fight corruption by refusing to vote corrupt leaders.

Besigye promised to cut unnecessary expenditures in the Office of the President and State House and, instead, spend the money on poor Ugandans. He reaffirmed his promise for free personal computers to secondary students, saying: “This is a computer age. Uganda has been left behind. In Rwanda, computer lessons are taught in primary schools.”

On his education sector promises, Besigye added on the provision of lunch to Universal Primary Education pupils and investment in frequent supervision of schools to ensure quality education is availed.

FDC president Gen. Mugisha Muntu urged Otuke residents and the rest of Ugandans to force Museveni to retire.

He said 30 years is too long in the Office of the President. Before Otuke, Besigye on Sunday held rallies in Amolatar, where he promised to provide every sub-county with tractors to boost agriculture. He again attacked President Museveni for promising to supply free hoes, saying the use of hoes is an outdated method of farming.

“In the 1960s, the first Uganda People’s Congress government provided tractors for farmers at every sub-county. Fifty years later, Museveni is promising hoes. Can you imagine,” he wondered.

Besigye drove to Amolatar in a convoy from Dokolo town, a journey that took him about two hours. As he entered the various towns, a vehicle carrying a public address system went ahead of the convoy, playing the Toka kwa Barabara, Besigye Anaingia song, prompting crowds to follow him.

He held his first rally at Lake Kyoga’s Kayago landing site, where he used Luganda as someone translated in Langi because of the cosmopolitan nature of the area.

Besigye repeated the assertion he made at the same place in 2011 that Museveni has sold off state resources, including natural resources. He promised to stop what he described as the persecution and exploitation of fishermen by fisheries officers, including taxes they pay.

Besigye criticised the Government for failing to avail clean water to the area. He promised to construct the road from Dokolo to Amolatar.

“I should have reached here earlier, but I have been delayed on the way because of the bad state of your roads. President Museveni uses a chopper because he knows his roads are bad,” Besigye said.

Arguing that the NRM party has caused so many problems to Uganda, including stealing money meant for the ordinary citizens, FDC secretary general Nathan Mafabi urged the people to vote for FDC fl ag-bearers so as to bring about change.

Kumi county MP Patrick Amuriat urged voters not to leave polling stations on the voting day, until votes have been counted.

Jimmy Obura, one of the voters in Amolatar, said: “Besigye has mentioned our concerns, such as the bad roads, poor health services and scarcity of clean water. I am excited about his promise for free computers to secondary school students.”

Stella Achayo said she was also impressed by Besigye’s promise to tackle the problems of poverty, bad roads, unemployment and poor quality education.

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Col. Kizza Besigye has remarked that ‘rebuilding Uganda’ after the National Resistance Movement administration is dislodged from power will not be an easy task.

Besigye made the remarks during rallies he held in Dokolo district.

Besigye has for about two weeks been in the northern region to canvass for support for his presidential bid.

Dokolo that was recently split into two constituencies has about 80,000 voters.

Besigye set off at about 9:30am on the journey to Dokolo from Lira Hotel and on the way, paid a courtesy visit to Charles Okuru, an FDC elder.

Okuru said: “I am happy you have visited us. This is a good gesture, unlike other leaders who bribe voters and ferry them to their rallies. For you, people voluntarily come to you and even give you their money. That is what we used to do for Obote in this area.”

Along the way to Dokolo, Besigye addressed excited crowds of supporters waving the FDC sign.

“NRM will leave behind unemployment, bad roads, poverty and many others. But there is even a bigger problem of broken families and broken culture, which is not easy to fix,” he said.

Religious institutions

Besigye added that the NRM and President Yoweri Museveni have done a big disservice by entrenching the culture of corruption in society and it will be difficult to deal with.

But Museveni has consistently argued that only the NRM government has capacity to fight corruption.

presidential aj en ugisha untu campaigns for counterpart esigye in okolo FDC presidential Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu campaigns for counterpart Besigye in Dokolo

Besigye said his government will fund religious institutions to help in rebuilding Uganda’s broken society.

“We shall partner with religious groups to rebuild the moral fabric of our society. The current government supports religious organisations by way of patronage for political support. Our government will support them formally and by law,” he explained.

Besigye told the voters to reject the candidates who try to bribe them using money.

“I am sure they will bring you money they have stolen from you for votes. If they have not yet registered you, go and get registered and eat the money, but deny them votes. In doing so, you will be contributing to the national struggle against corruption,” Besigye argued.

Batta sub–county

In Batta sub–county, Besigye introduced seven people who said they were crime preventers who had decided to join FDC.

Besigye promised to increase salaries of teachers, provide tractors to each sub–county and introduce irrigation schemes.

He also pledged to revive state-owned factories, end corruption and wastage in government, invest in road construction, deal with unemployment and poverty. He promised to work on provision of clean water.

official ngrid urinawe takes a shot of esigye not seen in picture FDC official, Ingrid Turinawe takes a shot of Besigye (not seen in picture)

A month after the campaigns kicked off, Besigye has not issued his election manifesto.

Museveni, former prime minister Amama Mbabazi who is standing as an independent, Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba, Dr. Abed Bwanika and Joseph Mabirizi have all launched their manifestos.

Supporters’ views

Campaigning with Besigye, FDC president Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu said: “I ask everyone in security agencies to look at the future and avoid serving selfish personal interests of those in government. Serve the interests of citizens because you have a significant neutral role to play in the transition.”

He added that Museveni has concentrated more on securing himself in power than improving the lives of Ugandans.

“If he had taken the right path, Uganda would now be a paradise because 30 years is too long,” he added.

The FDC leaders campaigned for former deputy Inspector General of Police Julius Odwee who is standing for chairman Dokolo district as an independent candidate.

One of the residents at Besigye’s rally, Ana Alele, said: “I am impressed by his promises of prioritising agriculture, corruption and wastage in government.”

Another resident, Bob Orima, said: “He has addressed our key concerns, like bad roads, poor health services, and ending corruption, which hinders services from reaching us.”

President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday urged the people of Serere district not to accept to be misled by opposition politicians who he said want to disrupt the economic, social and political progress registered in the country.

While addressing Serere voters at the two venues of Kadungulu and Ochaapa, Museveni, who is the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, said the NRM party is like a good driver who has steered the country well during difficult times, and now that things are getting better, the Opposition is saying the NRM should go away.

“Do not be misled. NRM is a good driver. We have brought development, but now there are people who are saying go away,” he said, apparently referring to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye and the Go Forward leader, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.

“We have been driving when roads were bad, when there were rebels everywhere. Cattle rustlers were disturbing you. Now we have got money. The roads are getting better. There is peace everywhere. I appeal to Ugandans to keep their good drivers.

“I appeal to the people of Serere to vote for the old man with a hat and all the party flag-bearers,” Museveni said to cheers from the crowds.

NRM flag-bearers

The NRM flag-bearer introduced Hellen Adoa for district Woman MP, Joseph Opit Okojo for LC5 chairman, Patrick Okabe for Serere county and George Owanyi for Kasilo county.

He also introduced Cosmus Elotu for Dakabela county in Soroti, Racheal Adyango for Soroti Woman MP, Peter Ojur for Soroti Municipality MP and George William Egunyu for Soroti LC5 chairman.

Museveni, who has been in South Africa for the second Forum on China-Africa Co-operation, yesterday resumed his campaign trail in Teso with rallies in Kasilo, Serere, Dakabela and Soroti municipality.

Flanked by the NRM eastern region vice-chairman, Capt. Mike Mukula; Teso affairs state minister Christine Amongin Aporu and other top NRM officials, Museveni catalogued many achievements of the NRM government, including in the education sector, rural electrification, building roads and healthcare.

New members

Museveni also received hundreds of FDC, Go Forward and Uganda People’s Congress supporters who defected to the ruling party at rallies in Sapir Primary School, Ochaapa, Kyere, Kadungulu in Kasilo county and Soroti municipality, including David Eroku, the Go Foward co-ordinator in Soroti.

The President, who said the people of Teso did not vote him in 2006, added: “I said it is okay I will remain your father, but in 2011, the people of Teso saw that I cared for them and they voted for me massively.”

Museveni described NRM as a party of unity that does not discriminate against people basing on tribe or religion. He said the concept of unity is what has ensured peace in the country. “NRM’s first target was unity. After uniting the people, the NRM garnered strength, which has led to development,” Museveni said.

NRM priorities

Museveni said the NRM government has been able to manage the running of the country because of the prioritisation of the most urgent services like infrastructure development, beginning with roads and electric power, education and health services.

He said other things would follow later, according to priority.

“You cannot handle all the problems at the same time, because if you try that, you will fail. We tried prioritisation in the bush and it worked. We started with only 27 guns and were able to overthrow a whole government,” Museveni stated as the ecstatic crowd cheered on, waving yellow flags bearing the candidate’s photo.

The NRM candidate listed his next priorities after the elections as: increased funds to the National Agricultural Advisory Services programme, and more financing to the youth fund, women’s fund and microfinance and an innovation fund to support scientists. He said the Government would next year take up provision of scholastic materials to primary pupils and provide sanitary pads to school-going girls.

Museveni explained that in many communities, the lack of sanitary towels is one of the reasons girls drop out of school.

Quoting a famous saying that “When you educate a girl-child you have educated the nation”, the President said an educated girl is good for her family and the country as well, because she is key to the wellbeing of the family and the whole country.”

He told of how his wife, Janet Museveni, was able to take care of his family while he struggled for 13 years for the liberation of Uganda, saying it was only possible because his wife was educated.

Unemployment

Museveni observed that the universities in Uganda today churn out 40,000 graduates every year compared to 800 in 1986. This, he said, was a problem, but a good problem. “We used to have uneducated people, but now we have educated people without jobs.

“One way of solving this is to help these people start businesses. We have started the youth fund, although it still has some problems. The other is re-skilling these people in computer and other practical skills that can get them jobs and self-employment,” he added.

Simon Oibi, a youth and an information communication technology specialist, observed that there is need to address the issue of youth unemployment. Another youth, Catherine Atim, said there was need for industrialisation in the Teso region so that the factories can employ the youth.

More on Museveni’s list of priorities

Constantly interrupted by the ululating crowd, clad in yellow, Museveni told the people of Serere and Kasilo that it was only the NRM government that had been able to extend electricity to the district.

Electric power has already been extended to Serere and Bugondo and Kyere, Kamusala, Kateta. The secondary schools and trading centres around would soon get power too, he said. On education, the target of the Government, Museveni said, was to have a government-aided primary school in every parish, a secondary school in every sub-county and a technical school in every constituency.

Serere, he said, has 181 primary schools with only nine parishes without government schools. For secondary school, Museveni said Serere has nine schools with only three subcounties having none. He said the Government was working on extending power to the trading centres of Ochaapa, while plans exist for Kidetok, Kadungulu and Iningo.

Museveni said Ojama is expected to get a dam. The candidate also revealed that the Government plans to start irrigation within the district.

“We get a lot of water during the rainy season. We can trap this water that is disturbing us during the rainy season and use it during the dry season,” Museveni stated.

The road works in the region, he said, started with the Soroti- Otuboi-Dokolo-Lira road that has been tarmacked, and the focus would now shift to Soroti- Katakwi-Iiri-Matany-Moroto road, which has already been budgeted for.

Museveni said the Pallisa- Tirinyi-Kumi and Kumi-Ngora- Kagwara-Soroti roads would also be tarmacked, while a ferry would be introduced to connect Serere to Kamuli.

Pan Africanism

The NRM candidate also delved into Pan Africanism, saying African countries need each other. He justifi ed the existence of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in Somali, saying when there is peace in our neighbourhood, we are able to conduct business peacefully.

“When I sent soldiers to Somalia, some people were asking why. Such people are like someone inside his house and does not know what is happening in the garden, does not know what is happening to his cows in the bush,” Museveni said while addressing people at Soroti Sports Ground late in the evening.

Responding to the issue of city status for Soroti, raised by Capt. Mukula, who is also the municipality MP, Museveni said Soroti must meet the required population of 300,000 people like it was the case on Kampala in the 1960s when it was created.

Soroti has less than 300,000 people.

Museveni hailed the people of Teso for embarking on large-scale farming, especially citrus fruits.

“When I was flying over, I saw large gardens of oranges and mangoes. This shows that the people have embraced Operation Wealth Creation that was introduced late last year,” Museveni said.

Although the President was happy with this development, Steven Odolon, 61, an LC1 chairman of Otucho village in Arapai Dakabela and other fruit farmers felt disappointed that there is no market for the fruits.

“The traders come and set their prices and we have no alternative. The Government should revive co-operatives so that we can bargain and look for market as a group,” he said.

He also called for the construction of the fruit factory in Soroti to be expedited.

NRM presidential candidate President Yoweri Museveni has said that the opposition wants to return politics of sectarianism, which he says the National Resistance Movement fought a long time ago.
The NRM presidential candidate said this at a campaign rally in Ngora district on Monday.

“The people here can be my witnesses. Before the NRM came, DP [Democratic Party] was for Catholics while UPC [Uganda People’s Congress] was for Anglicans and KY [Kabaka Yekka] was for Baganda,” said the President, who is seeking to retain power.

He is running against seven other candidates, including his three-time challenger Dr. Kizza Besigye and former NRM secretary general Amama Mbabazi.

Others in the race are Dr. Abed Bwanika, Maureen Kyalya, Joseph Mabirizi, Benon Biraaro and ex-Makerere University vice chancellor Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba.

“Now I hear this TDA [The Democratic Alliance] claims to be an alliance of the union. That is an NRM ideology,” Museveni told a large crowd in Ngora.

Meanwhile, the NRM leader was impressed by Adoli Gift Lillian, a 10-year-old pupil of Kaler Primary School, who recited a poem urging opposition leaders to join President Museveni for the good of the country.

The little girl wants to be a nurse and admirers leaders like Museveni.

Her mother, Florence Adungo, a teacher at the same school, said the school has over 1,000 pupils yet the facilities are not enough.

She said the president should prioritize the increase of their salaries and construct classrooms for their children.

The minister in charge of the presidency and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has blamed Uganda’s underdevelopment on sectarianism which he says was promoted by the previous government.

Frank Tumwebaze, who is also the Kibale County MP, said that some sections of politicians mainly from the opposition are promoting tribalism and disunity among Ugandans, which according to him, is dangerous.

“There is nothing that can foster development in Uganda like unity. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) government united us, and that is why we are living as Ugandans therefore this is development.”

His comments follow several social media and multimedia tribal messages trending in Uganda which he said are generated by enemies of peace.

Tumwebaze urged Ugandans to shun such politicians who are trading politics of tribalism.

“Avoid those who are promoting tribalism. They want to destabilize our peace and unity. We know there are many tribes, many religions, but that is not important. What we need is togetherness.”

The minister said the promotion of sectarianism contradicts the party ideology of pan-Africanism, nationalism, social economic transformation and democracy.

“Kamwenge district is under Toro Kingdom, but we have very many tribes, and we have peacefully lived together for so long and no one should disunite us.”

Tumwebaze was addressing NRM supporters who had gathered at Nkoma sub-county headquarters to welcome him after he was nominated for the Kibale East MP seat.

“Politics of sectarianism was used by UPC [Uganda’s People’s Congress] and that is why they failed. We as NRM we condemn it in the strongest way,” said Geoffrey Byamukama, the Kamwenge NRM vice chairperson.

Bony Kemigisa, hailing from Bwizi in Kamwenge commended the NRM government for uniting the tribes in Kamwenge and settling the refugees.

“There are very many tribes here, but we don’t look at that. We live as people from Toro Kingdom and Ugandans. If anyone is going to divide us we shall not vote for them.”

Meanwhile, Tumwebaze said that tribalism is a major stumbling block to democracy as well as social economic development.