Museveni Can Only Win By Election Fraud

President Museveni is not sure he can find another man to continue pushing forward his vote theft project. He is worried about his bogusly dwindled popularity. Without Kiggundu’s Election commission he cannot make it.

[Global: Africa]

IT IS HARD TO TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

In Response to “Uganda: Clinton Cites Attacks Against Opposition and Lack of Election Commission Independence” www.blackstarnews.com September 22, 2010.

One of the clearest signs that you have a serious crisis  is when everybody tries to tell you how you should do your work.

Every year, more than ten delegations of people from all walks of life visit Rwakitura, President Museveni’s home, with some form of intention to advise him on what to do for Uganda’s struggling democracy. Yes, many usually get overwhelmed by Mr. Museveni’s appetite for power and simmer down without advising him to step down, which is understandable considering that Museveni will pull every string to ensure such a delegation is intimidated to full capacity.

He will exude a lot of intimidating history about Uganda’s past leaders –calling them swine if you are familiar with his derogatory language. As he tells this already repeated history, he will swing his arms , until his listeners are  humbled to near dumbness, while simultaneously turning his tactically widened eyeballs left and right presumably to paint  the picture of a man whose vision is much better than all the other Ugandans combined.

I have not been to Rwakitura, but I know what Museveni’s guests go through. Such antics are unnecessarily consummate and not good for the growth of democracy. President Museveni stopped listening long time ago. But he does not want people to know that he stopped listening. If he had not stopped listening he would disband the electoral commission without unnecessary stammering.

You will not be forgiven for thinking that only Ugandans are falling easy victims of Mr. Museveni’s foolery. While reading Ambassador Lanier’s –USA Envoy to Kampala– comments about the Electoral process in the media recently , I was struck by a mixture of awe and contempt in almost equal measure. Awe, because he –despite his assumed tight schedule– could find time to swing into the debate about the imminent election thuggery.  But contemptuous because his over glorification of just a single belated step in the mastectomy of the rot is inexplicable.  It is neither here nor there.

Mr. Lanier’s comments made it appear as if the  Ugandan democratic fraternity had solely been waiting -with folded arms – for an online voter register to have a complete vote – rigging free election. Ugandans’ lamentation about elections is about neutrality of the people managing them. Their history of mishandling election results. The question of a man who fell from the grace of integrity immediately after assuming the position at the helm electoral management – Dr. Kiggundu.

What is being debated is whether the commission which presided over the wasteful, meaningless and tasteless 2001 and 2006 elections should be allowed to conduct the 2011 elections. Had they not drowned in the shame of the aftermath of the two elections all the commissioners would have resigned long time ago. In Kenya, political leaders did not stammer about what to do with the vagabonds in the electoral body. The surgery of vote thuggery started with the historic disbanding of the Kivuitu anarchic electoral body. What followed was a transparent process of putting together a new and extremely sober, independent  electoral commission constituted by people whose conscience could not be defiled by anybody.

That was not enough for the electoral environment they wanted. An environment was created such that all stakeholders had a leeway in genuinely involving in all the processes: voting, monitoring and tallying. The media took center stage in the process. They did their own tallying whose results augured well with the official results. Is Uganda there yet?

I appreciate Mr. Lanier’s contribution to the debate about electoral malpractices especially if his decision to contribute will include a commitment to write about the Kiboko squad and the reluctance of Government to issue national Identification Cards whose usefulness in curbing multiple registrations and voting is just obvious for everyone to see. Online registration would be okay if it were to be coupled by the phenomenon of National Identity Cards, the scraping of the army from voting since the army belongs to all candidates, etc.

The electoral commission should be disbanded, Mr. Lanier. Perhaps Mr. Museveni is not sure he can find another highly educated man of Dr. Kiggundu’s stature who can bend so low as to allow his intelligence to be defiled in exchange for unfounded loyalty.

Given the high levels of disenchantment in Uganda, it is herculean to find an educated and highly profiled man taking on a job beyond which is nothing but a cemetery of shame waiting for him. President Museveni is not sure he can find another man to continue pushing forward his vote theft project. He is worried about his bogusly dwindled popularity. Without Kiggundu’s commission he can not make it. That is why he can not let Kiggundu go.

Joel Luliko Wakayima is formerly National Chairman, National Freedom Party (NFP), currently a member of the Conservative Party


“Speaking Truth To Empower.”

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