The Alternative View ;Why The Age Limit Is Too Weak To Deter President Museveni’s Longevity Project

The Alternative View ;Why The Age Limit Is Too Weak To Deter President Museveni’s Longevity Project

The age limit is the easiest obstacle he has ever faced in his quest to keep power

Immediately after the 2016 elections, the age limit debate picked momentum amongst the Ugandan political elites.

Why? Because it was the only remaining obstacle to president Museveni’s continued stay at the helm of this country.

Almost the entire intellectual class was of the view that the age limit clause 102 (B) had to be maintained to create a more predictable political transition in a country that had seen chaotic change of power from one leader to another.

But I quickly realized that although the desire to maintain article 102 of the constitution was strong and passionate, it was logically too weak to hold the ground, if subjected to thorough critical reasoning.

My view was that the grounds for its amendment were far stronger than against the amendment.

Because, one; it was and has never been a tenet of democracy

Two; it is not part of the democratic practice in developed countries.

Three; it infringes on the right of the young people below 35 years and above 75 years from exercising their democratic right to contest for the highest office in the land.

Four; it can easily be regarded as a discriminatory constitutional clause which is in contravention of the laws regarding labor which states that no single individual will be discriminated against on the basis of tribe, religion or age , in the process of offering himself for work.

Therefore, I was of the view that it was a very easy clause to strike out of the constitution. In fact it much easier to remove than the term limits.

Embarrassing m7 ?

The only concern was that it was going to embarrass president Museveni who was once interviewed saying that he never thought that it was feasible for him to continue ruling beyond 75 years.

But at it turns out today , it seems president Museveni’s utterance of not vying for power after clocking 75 years is becoming a very small contradiction.

And in any case, one can say, that leaders contradict themselves all the time as long as the contradiction doesn’t break the law, it can be permissibly waved off.

Actually one person once said that good leaders are those ones who tell a lie to fit the circumstances-as long as it creates a semblance of harmony. While a bad leader is the one who tells the truth and it results into trouble!

In fact, the momentum to clear out that statement has grown, with most Museveni enthusiasts saying that president Museveni’s statements are not enough to affect the position of the party.

Yes, the party can overrule the position of their chairman. Therefore alth0ugh president Museveni argued that he wouldn’t vie for the presidency beyond 75years, the party has decided to overrule him and forced him to stand again in 2021.

Uganda in chaos with M7?  

Now, there are those who reason that president Museveni’s continued grip on power will plunge the country in anarchy.

But when you interrogate that argument closely you will find an interesting answer that perhaps the situation might even get worse if president Museveni vacates power.

One; because there are no guarantees that when Museveni steps down, the leader who will come after him will not make dangerous decisions that can plunge the country in chaos.

Two; secondly, there is a possibility that since Museveni has presided over a militarized group for over forty years , this same group can easily undermine the group that will take over from him.

Thirdly;, the argument about pacifying and containing possible uprisings (the kogikwatako , or togikwatako group)that can emerge when Museveni continues in power is weak since he has been containing more dangerous military groups (ADF, LRA, JOSEPH KNOY ETC )than these kogikwatakos.

M7 Enjoys Challenges

Even then, if you have been veryu inquisitive enough you should have noticed that president Museveni has spent all his life fighting one obstacle after another. The obstacles have not only been military in nature but also procedural as well.

And in any case, Ugandans should know that Museveni enjoys these challenges more than they think.

When you talk of kogikwatako, and you even threaten, you are playing directly in his hands. Those are the sort of things he wishes to find on the menu.

When Col Kiiza Besigye talked of unleashing a tsunami, president Museveni waited for the tsunami, but it never materialized.

WHAT NEXT FOR UGANDA?

At the moment, the people of Uganda will have to bear with what the Ugandan parliament will deliberate.

If they manage to amend the constitution and indeed amend article 102 ( as expected )that paves way for president Museveni to contest again in 2021, then Ugandans will have to take the following measures.

One; agitate for constitutional reforms with particular emphasis on instituting an independent electoral commission.

Two; the reforms should also include the idea of coming up with an independent judiciary which is not directly appointed by the president.

Thirdly; they should also agitate for a probable power sharing arrangement, in case of a political stalemate, of let’s say when an election gets closely controversial (like it was in 2001 and 2006 when the constitutional court ruled that there were irregularities in the elections but they were not substantial enough to warrant the overturning those particular elections) , then a power sharing arrangement should be instituted.

Fourth; the power sharing component should also include an element of accommodating the second runner up in government as the leader of opposition in parliament rather the current system which is ambiguous and almost insignificant, to say the least.

Once you have the runner up is co-opted as leader of opposition in parliament, it might certainly create a semblance of political harmony in the country.

Fifthly; we should crusade for the trimming of the powers wielded by the president because that’s where all the troubles originate from. Why should the president appoint all the critical leaders of the  critical institutions in the country?

Sixth; we should also agitate for a parliamentary system which will make the power with most members of parliament to form government. This will reduce on the political tension in the country which has been created by the presidential system.

IN CONCLUSION

I think , if there is anything that you can call an obstacle to president Museveni’s continued stay in power then I don’t think its article 102 because it’s too weak to block him.

In our next blog we shall deliberate on why Museveni is still clinging firmly on power.

The Author, Fred Daka Kamwada Is A Ugandan Blogger and proponent of the THRID FORCE ,, you can chat him up at kamwadafred@gmail.com