By Mulengera Reporters
Speaking at the PFF Inaugural Convention on Tuesday in Kampala, Gen Mugisha Muntu (the ANT leader) called on Gen Museveni to realize that leading with dignity and honesty in a manner that makes Ugandans happy and proud of their country is the best thing any leader can accomplish.
He also made it clear that there is no way Ugandans can be proud of their country when the President tolerates corruption, them being exploited by his cadres and torture by his security forces.
He added that making good roads and power generation dams won’t make Gen Museveni great for as long as the people he leads continue to live in destitution and extreme deprivation while being subjected to torture by regime officials and security forces leaders.
He asserted that Gen Museveni has occasioned so much misery and division among the Ugandan population to the extent that majority Ugandans have lost their self-worth and don’t believe in themselves anymore.
Muntu (a former army commander) reminded Museveni that, before becoming failed states, countries like Iraq, Libya & El Omar Bashir’s Sudan/Khartoum had all the good roads and nice well built-up cities but they still ended up becoming failed states because they weren’t being well governed.
He cautioned Gen Museveni, his former boss whose Ministerial appointment he one time declined, to learn from the big man or strong man syndrome which led to the destruction of those countries.
He thanked PFF colleagues for their humility which saw them eat a humble pie and entertain the idea of re-grouping to once again work with like-minded colleagues inside his ANT even when they don’t agree on everything. He stressed that people don’t have to agree on everything all the time.
He said time has come for political leaders to come together and find common ground and be able to work with all change-seeking forces including people they may dislike and don’t agree with.
Gen Muntu also thanked Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago for being a true and loyal friend who stood firm and never betrayed Dr. Kizza Besigye, his mentor and personal friend. He also thanked the coalition of lawyers whose involvement in the court case resulted into the Kizza Besigye persecution getting endless publicity in the international media and western capitals. This naturally created pressure and made Gen Museveni uncomfortable.
The same event was also addressed by Counsel Dr Sarah Birete, a much-respected Civil Society leader, who thanked PFF for founding such a strong political party that is based on strong values and real commitment as opposed to mere posturing and publicity-seeking.
She added that Ugandans must have confidence in the Freedom Party because it has the highest concentration of Uganda’s most experienced and most well-intentioned political leaders, a reality which has been strengthened by their close political cooperation with Gen Muntu’s ANT. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
