Prime
The New Formation is not necessarily about Gen Muntu
What you need to know:
Time is a judge. For those who say Gen Muntu is a mole whose mission is simply to confuse the Opposition in their quest for change, well, the jury is out there. Like he himself puts it every time that question pops up, time will tell.
Last Sunday, I penned a piece that explained in fairly clear terms the mileage I have so far covered in my relatively short political journey. This journey started 13 years ago in the hands of a revered political leader in the person of Mr Jaberi Bidandi-Ssali. He took us on as his sons and daughters and mentored us for political leadership.
That article received, as expected, both positive and negative feedback. Broadly speaking, the feedbacks were addressing two things. First, there were people who wondered why I chose to put in the public domain, the reasons for my departure from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). Secondly, many other people wondered why after leaving the PPP, I had chosen to join The New Formation.
I would like to use this opportunity to clarify on these issues. Regarding my departure from the PPP, I would like to categorically state that we disagreed in principle with the leadership of the party and I explained the reasons in my resignation letter to the party chairman on July 3, 2017. I did also state briefly in the article, the reasons for my departure. I am not bitter with the PPP and its leadership at all. In fact, I do wish the party and its leadership well.
However, in politics, it is very important that we put on public record the reasons why we act in a certain fashion and make the decisions that we make. In other words, we must at all times account for our actions and or decisions. The culture of leaders accounting for their actions and or decisions is a missing link in our politics. We must, thus, deliberately introduce it in our political life.
It needs to be understood that leaders in The New Formation are on a mission to transform our nation. In order to do this, we must rid our politics of the culture of falsehoods, untruths, misconceptions and lies that continues to characterise our political leadership. As thus, political leaders need to account publicly for their actions and or decisions. In the final analysis, this should act as a point of reference in case of distortions.
There is another angle to this. There is no nation on earth that was or will be transformed based on lies and falsehoods. So as leaders pursuing the critical mission of transforming society, we must all the time, strive to bring out truths in our political life. This will save us from being misunderstood, misquoted or misconstrued. But most importantly, it will help posterity and or future generations to avoid repeating our mistakes.
In as far as joining The New Formation is concerned, it needs to be said that over concentration of political power in the hands of one single individual in the last 32 years has palpably affected Ugandans’ understanding and appreciation of the role of political parties and the actors therein. Consequently, every political party and or actor is viewed from the same lenses.
We need to, however, disabuse Ugandans of this notion. The New Formation is not necessarily about Gen Mugisha Muntu. The New Formation is about having shared ideals, a common vision and an outlook on engendering the culture of a democratic and accountable political leadership. Certainly, Gen Muntu is a prominent political leader in Uganda who embodies these ideals. He will, thus, play his role in ensuring that these virtues are cultivated in the party.
For those who say Gen Muntu is a mole whose mission is simply to confuse the Opposition in their quest for change, well, the jury is out there. Like he himself puts it every time that question pops up, time will tell. Time is a judge that never fails or errs. The Bible also makes the same point, “they will be known by their fruits.”
In the meantime, those of us who believe in this ideal shall continue with our forward march in laying a new foundation for institutionalisation rather than personalisation of political power. That is the root cause of many of our problems as a polity.
The New Formation should, therefore, do everything possible to fix this malaise. This is the mission of our generation. Gen Muntu and his ilk will only set the stage for us. It will be a long journey with many twists and turns, but we shall eventually get there.
