By Our Reporters
The leadership of JEEMA, one of the opposition political parties with representation in Parliament, has explained why they prevented their only MP and Party President Asuman Basalirwa from accepting appointment on the FDC-led shadow cabinet in Parliament. “He met the FDC President POA and Betty Aol the new LoP who offered him the slot of shadow Attorney General. He came back to us and members voted in the NEC meeting to decline that offer. The reason was twofold. One those people of FDC despised Hon Basalirwa too much and never wished him to become MP for Bugiri. They fought him hard saying he was too weak to become MP on grounds he wasn’t on the ground. The second reason we considered and minuted as NEC was this looked like a ploy to antagonize him with more senior colleagues. He is just three months in Parliament. Why would you make him shadow AG ahead of Abdul Katuntu or even Medard Segona who are clearly more senior and experienced than him in parliamentary practice?” said JEEMA national spokesperson and NEC member Abdul Kyamundu. In an interview with this news website, Kyamundu explained that JEEMA opted to avoid things/offers that might complicate its only MP Asuman Basalirwa’s relationship with other opposition colleagues “in favor of concentrating on bigger things like how do we work with everybody to build a strong opposition coalition under the auspices of People Power so that we can defeat Museveni and his NRM in 2021.” He added: “we are focusing on the evaluation committee of the entire opposition, including FDC, whose work is to evaluate people and ensure that we come up with joint candidates as opposition for both MP and local council positions.” Efforts to speak to Asuman Basalirwa were futile as he never took repeated our phone calls and didn’t respond to text messages. The FDC camp was equally difficult to reach for their position on this matter as Basalirwa isn’t the first one to decline appointment on the shadow cabinet. Months ago, Butambala MP Muwanga Kivumbi addressed the media and said he wasn’t interested in retention on the shadow cabinet where he has excellently been serving as minister of internal affairs. Whereas Deputy Secretary General Harold Kaija said he wasn’t aware of the Basalirwa offer, his FDC Party President Patrick Oboi Amuriat, Secretary General Nandala Mafabi and LoP Betty Aol didn’t answer their phones. But another FDC official, speaking on condition of anonymity said: “I’m aware the list continues to be worked on ahead of that reshuffle in parliament but it hasn’t yet been completed. It has been work in progress for some time and this Wednesday that same matter will be top on the agenda during our NEC meeting. So it’s premature and deceitful for anyone to say an offer has been made to Asuman Basalirwa or any other person because NEC has to make its input.” Whereas the political relationship between Basalirwa and the mainstream FDC soured in 2016 when he and others shunned Col Kizza Besigye for Go Forward’s Amama Mbabazi and further escalated in the new Bugiri Municipality elections, some FDC officials say his latest refusal of the shadow cabinet job might have been influenced by quitters now working to promote Gen Mugisha Muntu’s New Formation. Being shadow AG would gift Basalirwa with a couple of levers including an opportunity to shine and show case his credentials as an excellent lawyer and debater. There are also a few perks to pick here and there and lucrative travel opportunities. It seems the JEEMA president has opted to overlook all these short term benefits in favor of something else he and others are working on anticipating it will lead them to either defeat NRM or form the next opposition leadership in parliament as a new political grouping. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
