By Andrew Irumba
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Ssabalwanyi has finally opened up about the victory National Resistance Movement (NRM) registered in the Hoima and Kaboong districts Woman MP By-election on Thursday last week.
Museveni last night issued a statement about the double victory, in which he said that “Even with support of foreign backers, the Opposition here cannot kill the enduring love the population of Uganda has for the NRM party. “
Statement on Hoima and Kaabong by-elections
Fellow Ugandans and, especially, the Bazzukulu.
Greetings. I have been busy with the by-elections in Hoima and Kaabong and the Commonwealth Parliamentarians Association (CPA) that is still meeting in Munyonyo. Hence, I have not had time to respond to your responses to my message of 22nd September 2019 and to your responses on my response to the tragic farce of some American Authorities saying that Kale is not welcome to the USA. The latter is a farce because the Banyankore say: “Amaizi kugagyira gati otanyoga, naiwe ogagyira, oti naanye nagabwa ntaine nziro.” The translation is: “If a particular puddle of water says, ‘do not use me for your bathing’, you answer that water that you were not in need of bathing.” I will get time and deal with the two clusters of messages.
On this occasion, I only want to congratulate the NRM on our Victories in Kaabong and Hoima for the Women MPs for the two districts, for some LC-3 Chairpersons (6 in Kaabong, 4 out of 7 in Hoima), for LC-5 Councillors for new sub-counties (8 in Kaabong, 11 out of 12 in Hoima) and for a total of 62 Sub-county Councillors (27 in Kaabong and 35 out of 47 in Hoima). The NRM won many seats, the internal rivalries of the NRM leaders, sometimes the poor organization of the NRM and the cheating and lying by the Opposition, notwithstanding.
What the Opposition cannot kill, no matter how hard they and their foreign backers work, is the enduring love the population of Uganda have for the NRM on account of its programmes- right from 1981- when we came out as a distinct political-military organization. Especially now, with the massive development and transformation taking place in the Country, it is pathetic to see these Opposition members , zooming around the country at break-neck speeds on our brand- new tarmac roads built by the NRM from zero, saying that NRM has done nothing!! It is so shameful and pathetic but it is good for the NRM.
The Bunyoro Region, like the whole of Uganda, has been here for the last 4½ million years since the human being evolved from apes and became homo- sapien- sapien (the wise man). In all that time, it is only in the NRM time that the first tarmac road was built in that region. This was the short- section from the Kafu River to Hoima- only 12 miles- as part of the 123 miles of the Kampala- Hoima Road. Later on we tarmacked the Kafu bridge- Masindi Road -35 miles. This is when we had little capacity and depended on borrowing. When our economic situation improved, the Bunyoro area is now flooded by tarmac Roads. Using Govt of Uganda -funds, we tarmacked the Hoima-Kaiso- Tonya Road (92 kms), passing through Kapapi, Buseruka- Kabaale- all the way to the Lake. Using borrowing from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, we are tarmacking the road from Kigumba- Masindi- Hoima- Kagadi-Kyenjonjo (146 miles). Using Uganda Govt money, we are tarmacking the road from Mubende –Kakumiro-Kibaale- Kagadi- Ndaiga. Using Uganda Govt money, we are tarmacking the Hoima- Kigorobya –Buliisa- Wanseko Road, we are tarmacking the Buhiimba- Nyarweyo- Kakumiro Road, we are tarmacking the Masindi- Biiso (64 kms), Kaseeta – Bwera via Bugoma forest (16kms); Howa- Nyairongo- Karusheesha- Kitoore (25kms); Wanseko- Bugungu (23kms); Kabwoya- Kyangwali-Buhuka (30kms); etc etc.
This is not to talk of the electricity which has now been extended to all Sub- Counties of Hoima except one, Kyabigambire Sub- County.
There are 154 Govt Primary Schools and 115 Private Primary Schools; there are 12 Govt Secondary Schools in Hoima district today. How many of each category were there in 1986? The NRM chairman’s Office can give the figures.
Then you come to health, to peace in the area inspite of the troubled neighbourhood of Congo and South Sudan. This is all before you talk about Industries like the new sugar factories and oil which was discovered by the NRM in 2006, having started exploration in 1989 by ourselves after I trained our scientists since 1986. In expectation of the oil, a UK group was licensed to build an international Airport at Kabaale (3.68 kms long and has the ability to be upgraded to park an airbus, compared to Entebbe Airport’s length of 3.68 kms).
People have built new houses, Hoima Town has grown tremendously. The People see these achievements and appreciate. You can see the spontaneous welcome of the People as you drive through. Crowds were quickly forming along the road as I drove through the area- Buseruka etc. On the drive to Kigorobya, wherever I stopped, I would be mobbed by the Wanainchi, the school children etc. Then you had the massive rallies at Kigorobya inspite of the rain, Mbarara inspite of being early in the day and Hoima Town itself inspite of the rivalries among our members.
To, therefore, find the Opposition going around saying that the NRM has done nothing, is such a big shame; but it is good for the NRM. You cannot dissolve a road, a powerline or a school by lies. You only dissolve yourself politically by lies and that is what will happen to the so called Opposition, working for foreign interests that we know well and will expose at the right time.
Having failed to convince the people, then the Opposition plans to cheat and be violent. Here, they are assisted by a Police force that had been infiltrated by, Kawukumi (emuungwe). Why should a Police personnel tolerate somebody using bad language in political campaign? You have no right to speak rudely to any Ugandan or to beat anybody. I was told that the Opposition elements were trying to riot and destroy property in the area because they had been blocked by slightly better organization to repeat the cheating they did in Arua, Jinja and Bugiri. Their schemes will fail. The little skirmishes the Opposition engineers, help me to see the resolute cadres of the NRM that will take that glorious Movement to a higher level. I thank all the NRM cadres that stood resolutely against the schemes of the unpatriotic elements.
The story of Hoima, is replicated in Kaabong. The whole of Karamoja is massively behind the NRM. Why? It is because the NRM rescued Karamoja from self-destruction by removing the guns ─ through disarmament. We removed 41,000 rifles from the population. We also caused the beginning of transformation with a tarmac road from Moroto-Nakapiripirit and another one from Moroto to Soroti. We are planning for a tarmac road from Moroto-Kotido and Kaabong and another one from Kitgum to Karenga and Kaabong. Electricity has already arrived in Moroto and Abim and we are stringing the lines to Kotido and Kaabong. The work is at 60% now. These were 33KV for lighting. However, we are building an additional and stronger line, the 132KV, from Soroti to Moroto because Karamoja is going to be a big industrial centre with the factories of cement, marble, maybe gold, fruit processing, dairy industries, gum Arabic, etc. The big problem of Karamoja was scarcity of water apart from security. The NRM government has built the following dams: Kobebe (2.3 million cubic meters of water), Kawomeri (1.3 million cubic metres), Arecek in Napak (2.1 million cubic metres), Longorimit in Kaabong (1.4 million cubic metres) and over 80 smallers ones.
There are a total of 277 Government Primary Schools and 69 Private Primary Schools; and 17 Government Secondary and 6 Private Secondary Schools. Health programmes, especially, immunization and peace, have helped the population of Karamoja to recover and grow from 190,000 in 1980 when I went there as Minister of Defence to now about 1.2 million people. Why would anybody with logic think that such people would abandon the NRM? It is such a big shame. The Opposition did not even have a candidate Nakoka (daughter-akoka in Ateso) Adiaka Judith Nalibe, who was supposed to be the Opposition candidate, is actually a member of the NRM but who was angry that the officials concerned had not compensated the vehicle of her father. Even when she withdrew, the Electoral Commission refused to announce the NRM elected unopposed. Last minute, we had to continue with the theater of having an election when the other candidate had withdrawn. What were the results? The NRM candidate got 22,532 votes which is 93% of the votes cast, while the non-existent opposition got 1,692 votes, which was 6.9%. The turn-up for voting was 60.3%. In Hoima, the turn-up was 43.3% of the registered voters. The NRM got 33,301 votes, while the opposition got 28,789; these translated into 53.63% for the NRM and 46.37% for the Opposition. I doubt, however, if the Opposition even got those votes. We are auditing the voting to discover the cheating which is characteristic of the Opposition (Jinja, Bugiri, Arua, etc). All this is partly, due to the weaknesses of the NRM in terms of organization ─ inspecting the registers of voters to discover the imported voters, using exercise books to record people that come to vote and comparing the list to the votes in the box, etc.
The NRM will continue to perform while the Opposition continues to lie. Performance will outlive lying. The NRM, however, must address the organization weaknesses.
I also congratulate the NRM for defeating the reactionary Opposition among the Ugandans in North America. I congratulate daughter Nairuba on her election and the Hon. Nankabirwa for leading the fight on that front where the patriotic position of the NRM was under attack by reactionary (non-progressive) groups.
Yoweri K. Museveni (Rtd Gen)
PRESIDENT – SSABALWANYI
