By Mulengera Reporters
State Minister for foreign affairs Okello Oryem has said President Museveni’s decision to skip this year’s UN General Assembly (UNGA) has nothing to do with MP Bobi Wine Kyagulanyi Sentamu. Saying it was to do with desire to save money, Oryem said its not true as some people have been claiming that the President is shunning UNGA because he fears to criticized by colleagues for the maltreatment of Bobi Wine and other opposition leaders. There are reports also that some Ugandans are planning to stage demonstrations outside UNGA in order to internationalize the fight against bad governance and human rights violations, a thing that is clearly aimed at embarrassing our government. However, Oryem explains that all this is mere propaganda which is totally untrue. This is what he told celebrated talk show host Patrick Kamara during the Kfm hot seat edition this Thursday evening: “The President came to cabinet some time back and told us he wasn’t attending UNGA because it would waste a lot of money for the tax payer. Cabinet agreed with the President and we voted against his attendance because members saw it as wastage of money. The President would go with a big security entourage which is costly. But he would also be away for many days yet he is busy with a lot of work to do for Ugandans who elected him. So he won’t be attending and Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda will represent him there and I will also be travelling to New York to interact with several delegations.” Oryem maintained it had nothing to do with Bobi Wine whom he equated to “a mere storm in the tea cup.” He said Mr. Wine is a small man “equalling no more than a tail on very big animal.” He said its the media and foreign groups as well as NGOs that are exaggerating Kyagulanyi’s political importance.
