By Sam Evidence Orikunda.
Dear Editor,
Social media is awash with pictures of tortured Members of Parliament whom they say were beaten by security operatives, these ones have been picked by a number of NRM cadres who say it was justifiable and they deserved it. The NRM I support doesn’t do these dirty actions and we have been accommodative to those who even hurled insults at the head of state in the face of the media.
I am compelled to think, that the people who tortured these Members of Parliament did it to spoil the name of the party and also spoil the name of our president as you’re aware the enemy within is more dangerous and can do anything that could result into losing what you’ve built for along time and also fighting the support and trust that people of Uganda have in NRM but we leave this issue to the President and security as well to sort.
The honourable Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu wasn’t and isn’t a threat to NRM like most of you are taking it and there could be no way we feared him because first of all Kiiza Besigye has always attracted crowds wherever he goes, not even only youth but responsible people have been proud to associate with him anywhere.
Government has never cooked a plan to harm him apart from a few police officers who would mishandle him unprofessionally and these would be reshuffled immediately, in fact at some moment people started saying that Kiiza Besigye is part of NRM and what confused them was the kind of care and security that he has always been given. I don’t think that someone who is part of NRM can field his Candidate of his own party and campaign for him or that much against the NRM. Because when these members of Parliament belonging to FDC reach in Parliament they work against NRM, if Besigye was part of the NRM he would excuse himself or work in away that these MPs would lose. However I have not come to explain or clarify all these.
Jamil Mukulu an ADF rebel who was armed and working so hard to have President Museveni and his government overthrown was arrested and had himself put in a safe place, there has never been any report of him being tortured or mistreated in any way. I hope if most people are saying that NRM tortures people, this would be the right man to be tortured. Even Rwakasisi the UPC man though I don’t know much about him committed more crimes against human kind some of them could have been members of NRM but he was pardoned by the head of state and he is now a free man.
I hope you have seen a number of letters from different prominent people being circulated on social media, as for me I have seen one from Doctor Chameleon and Prof Bukenya Gilbert former vice President. All these letters describe President Museveni as a kind parent and appeal to him to pardon these members of Parliament. These people who wrote the letters are not in active politics and are not NRM activists like me Sam Evidence, they’ve simply worked with the President or seen him on the individual level and they know who he is and how he does his things.
We have got a number of ministers in the cabinet coming from the opposition side, these are trusted by the President and are given sensitive positions. The president doesn’t do this either to please the opposition but he does it out of passion and kindness and the spirit of nation building and accommodating different views. If NRM and President Museveni was a killer group as most of the people are putting it on social Media there would be a big gap between these people and the state plus the President.
But the opposition is aware of that and they can’t mention it anywhere. I do not know if there’s any opposition party that can work with an NRM member if they’ve any opportunity they instead hurl insults on most of the cadres of NRM a reason as to why we haven’t not seen many people leaving the NRM side to join. In fact they tell you that we would rather be independents, and that’s why these days we have a number of people winning elections as independents.
On the issue of mistreating the young politicians as for me I don’t think this is true and I don’t think it’s being said in good Faith. Because we have got a number of youth leadership institutions set up by government and funded by the government, we have youth leadership from the village level to the national level.
Kyagulanyi would be part of these if he was a member of NRM but through his thinking he realized he should come differing from NRM and it’s his right to do so, no one has a grudge on him and before the Arua fracas he was enjoying a free environment to do his politics and also chase his dreams. I saw a number of his pictures enjoying smooth roads in different parts of the country. He has at the same time enjoyed night music shows and he has never been intercepted or kidnapped or disturbed in anyway.
There’s no sane person that can wake up one day and say let me destroy what I have been building for all these years, instead of him build on, you gain strength to add more and prove to the enemies that you’re able to do more. I wish everyone could take their eyes back and appreciate where we have come from, What we have managed to do and what are capable of doing if given more time. I agree there must be a number of mistakes but mistakes can’t be avoided because we are human. Even governments of most developed countries are criticized.
I hope most of you people have been following debates on social media, Television, and radios, you have always seen and heard how people make reckless statements against the President, state and security.. No one of these people even feels cautious but only when they are notified by the moderator to be cautious about the statements they’re making.
I think what happened in Arua where this torture took place was a mere security foul and am very much confident that this will be sorted by people in charge, I have so far seen a number of statements from different high ranking security officers and they signify that they’re very sorry about what happened. Though I am not in any decision making institution but as a member of NRM and a supporter of President am very sure that we shall continue to guard our democracy jealously, we shall continue to create a peaceful environment for any kind of person to chase his dreams, we shall continue to embrace rule of law and and securing Uganda. Most importantly we shall continue to be tolerant and accommodative to people with views different from ours and that’s why NRM has remained in power for all these years.