Opposition Leaders Announce Formation Of FUF-FADDU Partnership “For Redemption And Renewal” Of Uganda

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Dr. Sam Mukasa, Co-Chair of  FUF-FADDU Partnership, Prof. Mubiru Musoke, and Prof. Omara-Otunnu Co-Chair of  FUF-FADDU Partnership

Statement By Professor Amii Omara-Otunnu, FUF Chairman and Dr. Sam Mukasa, FADDU Chairman

History gives people few chances to act individually and collectively with foresight to bring about human progress and social justice for the greater and common good of society.

In the recent history of Uganda, unethical politicians have cynically amassed and misused public power to compensate for their insecurity and to cater to their greed and petty self-interests at the expense of the welfare of the great majority of people.

The misuse of public power without accountability by unscrupulous politicians has yielded unprecedented misery indices. These are captured in, among others, the unnecessary suffering of people, demise of the rule of law, unprecedented erosion of trust in public institutions, escalating poverty on a revolutionary scale, sordid corruption, dramatic decline in ethical values and practice, fragmentation of the country along ethno-linguistic lines, and the destruction of public infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and roads.

The current generation of Ugandans now walk in a path that they might not have chosen or made. Because we live in a period that is not ordinary in the life of Uganda, it is not enough that we follow the road constructed with neither our consent nor our active participation as free citizens.

After much soul-searching and conscious of the sad history of Uganda in which our country has been bled and held hostage for more than a generation by President Museveni and his cabal of looters, on August 2, 2014, two opposition organizations, Freedom and Unity Front (FUF) and Federalist Alliance for Democracy and Development (FADDU) signed an agreement of partnership to work together for two immediate objectives.

In the first place, we want to demonstrate to the people of Uganda that we can, and indeed it is an imperative that we must, break down the stereotypical ways of looking at politics and of interaction and transcend ethnic, regional and religious boundaries for the common and greater good of our motherland.

And second, we have come together in order to more effectively advance the struggle to liberate the motherland from dictatorship and impunity and to establish institutions for the flourishing of democratic pluralism and the rule of law that would help create conditions and facilitate the harnessing of resources for the development of the people and country. 

FUF and FADDU have concluded the agreement of partnership after two months of diligent and transparent negotiation. The two organizations have been brought together in solidarity by their shared ethical values and principles and deep commitment to transcend petty socio-ethnic divides that have bedeviled the politics of the country.

The leadership of the two organizations is convinced that the freedom of Uganda and the restoration of the rule of law and the establishment of democracy require moral courage, the cooperation and support of all Ugandans committed to peace, justice, human rights and security.

In particular, the leaders of FUF and FADDU have committed themselves without any reservations to the task of freeing Uganda from the dictatorship of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) that has used divide and rule, duplicity, bribery, all types of violence and fear to deprive citizens of their rights and to control the country.
The FUF-FADDU partnership will work tirelessly and deliberately across ethnic, religious and regional boundaries to educate people about their rights and to use all legitimate means to remove the NRM dictatorship under President Museveni because Uganda is not a personal estate of General Yoweri Museveni for the enrichment of his family and the clique of sycophants around him. Rather, Uganda is God’s gift to all those who live in it.

Indeed, we hold it as an article of faith that Uganda is large enough for all of her children; and that all her citizens are endowed with inalienable dignity and rights, which they should enjoy equally without undue discrimination. And the democracy we fight to establish should always endeavor to gain the willing allegiance and consent of citizens without resort to violence.

Because the leaders of FUF and FADDU have identified the concentration of unaccountable public powers in the central government and in the presidency as a main source of the national problem, they propose to tackle it through an effective system of federalism.

Federalism will form a cornerstone of the formula to tackle abuse of power and empower people because a federal system of government should ensure not only that powers are dispersed to the regions and localities, but also that individuals and groups engage meaningfully in affairs that affect their lives. Significantly, too, federalism would ensure that democratic authority have roots in the experience of citizens.

The decentralization of powers is a necessary antidote to dictatorship because absolute power often corrupts absolutely. This has certainly been the case in Uganda’s recent history. As such, in order to minimize the emergence of dictatorship by ensuring that citizens control their resources and governance, we advocate federalism.

The partnership between FUF and FADDU is co-chaired by Professor Amii Omara-Otunnu and Dr. Sam Mukasa on behalf FUF and FADDU, respectively.

The partnership will be run on a regular basis by a coordinating council, which will function under the following departments:

Professor Mubiru Musoke heads the Department of Policy, Legal affairs and Research. His deputy is Ms. Margaret Akello Opio.

Dr. Sam Mukasa heads Department of Finance.

Hon. Zoë Bakoko-Bakoru heads the Department of Mobilization and Education, and is the Spokesperson.

Ms. Dorothy Nabagerreka heads the Department of Information and Publicity.

Ms. Brenda Showers-Mukasa heads Department of Diplomacy and Administration.

As we collaborate to reconstruct the broken ends of politics and socio-economic organization in Uganda by establishing institutions that underpin representative democracy and the rule of law, we are guided by ethical values and principles to treat one another in a spirit compassion, caring, solidarity and fraternity.

In the march forward, we believe that freedom should serve as a touchstone for not only democracy, but also for the socio-economic transformation of Uganda.

In the arduous task before us, we, leaders of FUF-FADDU partnership pledge to render the best service possible to the people of Uganda, based on the ethical principle of servant-ship. Indeed, we dedicate ourselves to translate our vision, mission and objectives that are informed by ethical values and principles of compassion, tolerance, inclusiveness, reciprocal respect, equality of treatment, social justice, economic empowerment, political emancipation and unity of the country into practical reality,

By practical example of patriotic love and steadfast commitment to the welfare of the people, a new Uganda will be born. In the rebirth of Uganda, the leaders of the partnership will play a constructive role to renew the faith of people in the motherland.

 

Professor Amii Omara-Otunnu and Dr. Sam Mukasa, Co-Chairs FUF-FADDU Partnership

 

 

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