Mr. Norbert Mao quoting the Book of Psalms on God’s plan for age limit.
“Members gathered here have also unanimously resolved to endorse you for 2021. They have said you should stand and are fully behind the proposal to remove age limits, which was suggested by one of our own, Hon. Nankabirwa”-New Vision newspaper.
“The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away”. (Psalm 90:10)
GULU-UGANDA:The call for Uganda’s dictator of thirty years General Yoweri Museveni to rule beyond the Constitutional age limit of seventy-five years gains momentum with the endorsement by his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party district chairpersons.
Article 102 (b) of the Uganda Constitution states that for anybody to be President of Uganda, he/she should not be more than 75 years in age. Records indicates that Museveni is now 71 year old which means he will be barred by the Constitution to contest again in 2021 since he will be 76 years old.
In a recent meeting of 120 district chairpersons who subscribe to NRM party chaired by Museveni himself and attended by the party Secretary General Justice Kasule Lumumba, the members endorsed a proposal by the Kyankwanzi district chairperson Ms. Rosemary Nankabirwa “to lift the 75-year age limit” from the Constitution to allow Museveni stand again in 2021.
The State owned daily newspaper the New Vision of Friday July 15, 2016 reported the meeting in its lead story as “DISTRICT NRM BOSSES WANT AGE LIMIT OUT”. As a reward, the NRM bosses want a vehicle each “to enable them monitor government programs effectively”.
“Members gathered here have also unanimously resolved to endorse you for 2021. They have said you should stand and are fully behind the proposal to remove age limits which was suggested by one of our own Hon. Nankabirwa”, reads part of the New Vision story.
“We, the district chairpersons have taken this initiative with the sole aim of improving our party by making suggestions that will not only make us fulfill our mandate as indicated in the NRM constitution, but also make the national leadership tap into our potentials and capabilities for the overall benefit of the party and our involvement in government programs”, the paper quotes Kampala Central chairman, Salim Uhuru.
The move to amend the law to allow Museveni rule for life has drawn strong criticism from a cross section of Ugandans mostly from the opposition. One commentator on social media says the proposal came from opportunists who are asked to propose on behalf of the selfish, greedy, unpatriotic leadership that originated out of violent grabbing of political power
“The proposal came from opportunists who are asked to propose on behalf of the selfish, greedy, unpatriotic leadership that originated out of violent grabbing of political power and intended to be a lifelong monopoly of power. Shameful and has lost any credibility of respect worldwide. He has tarnished the image of the country and lack people’s mandate. He is rather dictatorial”, says John Okello Okello on social media.
Mao quotes the Bible to Museveni.
The President General of Uganda’s oldest political party, the Democratic Party (DP), Mr. Norbert Mao, simply quoted the book of Psalm, chapter ninety; verse ten, when asked for a comment.
“The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away”. (Psalm 90:10)
“Even God had age limits. If they want to prove it, let it be lifted in ten years instead. This is opportunism and we hope parliament will resist it. As people who had opposed the lifting of term limits in 2005, we shall oppose it. This is negative development” says Mao.
Both the outgoing leader of Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC) party Dr. Olara-Otunnu and the new chairman of Acholi Parliamentary Group (APG), Professor Morris Ogenga-Latigo, say this proposal is not new since they had planned it long ago.
“This is not new at all. They wanted to bring it last year but were warned by the First Lady (Ms. Janet Museveni) to postpone the proposal until after elections. Now is the time. They were just buying time”, says Prof. Latigo.
“For me, this is what they had been planning for a long time and is not news at all”, says Dr. Otunnu.
