The planned visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uganda continues to be marred by controversy after residents of Kololo, through their lawyers of Kisaalu Advocates petitioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indian High Commissioner in Uganda protesting that the event be shifted to another venue other than Kololo Airstrip.
The petitioners say Kololo Airstrip does not have proper facilities like kitchens toilets, lighting and resting area among others, yet Modi is a high profile world leader.
Modi is slated to visit Uganda on July 24, 2018 and is expected to be hosted by President Museveni at State House Entebbe.
He will then address Parliament on Wednesday July 25, 2018 and thereafter meet Indian community in Uganda at Kololo Airstrip.
“We the under signed here in of C/O \Kisaalo and \company Advocates, being persons intimately interested in the timely visit of the Hon.prime minister of India to Uganda, do here by forward our compliments and duly submit our petition/complaint in respect of the above matter as follows; That the selected venue is wanting in facility terms of toilets, kitchen materials and great inconvenience from the neighborhood all that is likely to affect the health of our beloved Prime minister,” reads part of the copy of the petition accessed by Eagle Online. The petition is addressed to the Indian High commissioner Shri Ravi Shankar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The petitioners claim that the organisers of Modi’s visit to Uganda have not shown transparency and honesty in the arrangements so far. “The organisers of the event have not exhibited any transparency and honesty but only intended to benefit a few people at the expense of the common good of the entire Indian community in Uganda and Uganda as a whole,” they say.
The petitioners are also not happy with the choice of the venue claiming that the event coincides with school pick up peak hours as well as traffic peak hours but also that the venue is wanting in terms of security as it is open.
The Uganda has many better alternative venues that should have been selected to host Modi.
“We strongly protest and express a great sense of dissatisfaction in the manner in which the whole event/function has been organised,” they say.
Preparations for Narendra Modi’s visit been marred by corruption scandals involving among others, former NRM’s deputy treasurer Singh Katongole, divisionism among the Indian community in Uganda and connivance of hiring services whose costs were allegedly inflated.
Some sections of the various Indian associations and agencies had threatened to stay away from the preparations for Modi’s visit, saying the organising committee had excluded them.