Winnie Byanyima most viable candidate for the presidency – Kyalya

Maureen Kyalya, the only female candidate in the February 2016 presidential elections, has urged the Oxfam International Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, to vie for the highest office in the country.

Kyalya, who was reacting to Byanyima’s honorary doctorate degree awarded by the University of Manchester, said that Byanyima, the wife of Uganda’s leading opposition figure Dr Warren Kizza Besigye, has all what it takes to be President of Uganda.

“The president we lost. Nothing she can ever do will make up for the void in Uganda leadership. Charity begins at home. On an FDC ticket, coupled with the mothers’ sympathy vote; Byanyima has 100% chances of becoming the first female president of Uganda in one single attempt,” Kyalya writes on social media.

“Any patriot would have worked this out. Ugandans Love Winnie Byanyima; Ugandans Pity Kizza Besigye; Ugandans Fear #YKMuseveni. Challenge me if I am wrong with valid reasons,” she adds.

However, she says that endorsing Dr Besigye’s wife, one of her opponents in the last elections, doesn’t mean that she has given up on her dream of becoming the first female president of Uganda.

“My dear I have not given up any dreams. I have only pointed out to FDC that they have gold at their disposal that they are not utilising. Of course according to me Byanyima is harder to win in an election than Besigye. If they bring her then I am doomed. But if they do not then one more defeat for Besigye and he will become too weak that even a fresher student at Makerere would beat him in the polls,” she brags.

Byanyima was yesterday awarded an honorary degree by University of Manchester as part of its Foundation Day celebrations.

A politician and global public servant, Byanyima was one time the Member of Parliament for Mbarara Municipality, and also worked at the Africa Union and United Nations before being appointed Executive Director of Oxfam.