By Andrew Irumba
The National NGO Forum Executive Director Richard Sewakiryanga has lashed at President Museveni’s recent statements during his state of the nation address on Sunday night where he alleged that ‘some’ NGOs in Uganda are funding jobless opposition youth to burn the city of Kampala in order to make it un governable and finally fall his beloved government.
In response, Mr Ssewakiryanga said the NGO community was outraged by president’s comments. He has urged the president to organize a meeting with the NGOs so that they can explain to him what they do.
Mr Sewakiryanga said the leaders of NGOs are Ugandans and that they can’t plot to burn Uganda since it is their home.
Last Sunday, Mr Museveni alleged that the youths are paid different sums of money to burn tyres on streets to show that Uganda is ungovernable under the current leadership.
“There are NGOs who are funding them (youths) and I have this information on good authority that the youths are being paid Shs100,000 to burn tyres on the road and paint a bad image about this country. They were even planning to set a fuel station on fire for a fee of Shs300,000, but we couldn’t allow them, we blocked all those plans,” Museveni said.
Last month, several protests marred major towns especially Kampala town with youths burning tyres on the road protesting the alleged torture and detention of opposition MPs who caused chaos prior to the Arua Municipality by-election that climaxed with the pelting of stones on the presidential convoy resulting to destruction of the rear windscreen of one of the presidential car.
“These NGOs are using our desperate youths to cause chaos. They give money to our youths to commit arson, beat women, rig elections among others. But efforts have been deployed to accommodate the youths because they are not a problem but an asset,” Museveni said.
