Mao seeks platform to reconcile Ugandans

The Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao has advised the government to create a platform tailored to reconcile a country that is “a hypocrisy where everyone is pretending to do something.”

Mr Mao told an audience that witnessed the launch of the Building Synergies-Uganda (BSU) think-tank last Friday that dialogue facilitated by a reconciliation commission can put the country “on a better footing.”

“Those in power realised that they could not build a political party but built an army,” Minister Mao said, adding, “People cannot heal unless they talk about what is hurting them.”

Minister Mao, who is also the leader of the country’s oldest political party, the Democratic Party (DP), urged Ugandans to look past tribal labels.

“All the wrongs of the Idi Amin regime were attached to West Nile. All the wrongs of Milton Obote were attached to the Langi, and all the wrongs of President Museveni are attached to Ankole,” the DP president general and three-time presidential candidate said, adding, “No tribe filled an application to belong to Uganda. The British put us in one box and we must find a formula to live together.”

Ms Beatrice Kiraso, the interim chairperson of Building Synergies Uganda, said Uganda finds itself at the crossroads, with its citizens “having no interest in what’s going on.”

The think-tank she oversees intends to change the conversation by deepening and widening evidence-based engagements on democratic governance, socioeconomic transformation and holistic human progress. 

“People have hatred for each other. There is talk of hopelessness among a bigger population and we cannot continue hiding our heads in the sand,” she said  while presenting some of the key findings from the think-tank’s research.

Mr Francis Mwijukye, the Buhweju County MP, advised stakeholders in the country not to put the proverbial cart ahead of the horse.

“When you talk of reforms, are you going to reform Museveni’s police, army, family and electoral commission? I am not just for reforms, but I am for transition where you have leaders that will be in charge of the transitional period so that we amend the constitution not for a leader but for all Ugandans,” Mr Mwijukye said.

Ms Alice Alaso, the secretary general of Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), advised the government not to treat political parties like enemies of the State.

Inclusion

“If you want inclusion, you need to include different political parties and allow them space to participate in the democratic processes at all levels,” she said, adding, “If political parties are kicked out, it means there will be no dialogue and you know what this means for this country,”  she said.

On his part, Mr Muwanga Kivumbi, the Butambala County MP, noted that meaningful inclusiveness in Uganda’s democratic governance will only materialise when citizens are given an opportunity to speak their minds without fear of any repercussions.

“For you to retain certain jobs or positions in this country, you cannot speak your honest mind about certain issues. If it is a business, it will be targeted until it fails. This must change and those in government must understand that there are generations to come after them. This country will still exist after they are long gone,” Mr Kivumbi said. 

Mr Primus Atukwase Bahiigi, the country director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, said the time has come for Ugandans to embrace home-grown solutions to the problems they face. 

“People seem not to be sure of what will happen tomorrow. When you see the hatred on social media, the celebration of death of certain people, the inability to speak and sit together from different backgrounds and political parties and the gap between the rich and the poor, these are issues that must be dealt with through dialoging for a peaceful country,” he said.  

According to Kiraso, some of the recommendations of Building Synergies Uganda think-tank research include constitutional and legal reforms, regular leader to citizen interface and inclusive, impartial and compulsory leadership training for all elected leaders. 

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