With queries still lingering in the public about whether the 2021 general elections will be held amidst the current COVID-19 crisis, President Yoweri Museveni has come out to clarify.
Speaking on NBS TV on Monday, President Museveni said that the election can only happen if COVID-19 is defeated by June and added that that would also require reduction of time for campaigning.
Museveni pointed out countries such as Iran which was badly hit by COVID-19 because they organized elections amidst ravaging pandemic without observing social distancing.
Some Members of Parliament have recently called for the postponement of the 2021 general election on grounds that the economy is hit by COVID-19 and lots of money will be wasted in campaigns.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has already led to into the cancellation of elections of special interest groups.
Tumukunde
On the issue of arrest of former spymaster and Security Minister Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde and whether it is related to his ambitions to run against Museveni in the next election, the President said no one can be jailed over his/ her intention to become President and Tumukunde went beyond that.
“People who want to run against me are not arrested. Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) said he wants to be President and he is not arrested. People who want to be President are walking but Tumukunde went beyond that and there is evidence. I don’t want to go into details because it is in Court. You cannot be arrested for saying you want to be President,” said Museveni.
He added that “it is those who hide under politics to do subversion” who are jailed.
Asked whether he feels uncomfortable with his critics such as Col Dr Kizza Besigye who has been jailed over and over again without being convicted and sentenced, Museveni reiterated that those who are arrested mix politics with subversion.
Succession
Museveni also cleared air on whether or not he will stand in the forthcoming election in 2021 election and said that he is fit to run.
Museveni would not be eligible to stand again as presidential candidate in 2021 if Parliament had not amended the Constitution to remove the 75-year cap for anyone to stand for presidency.
“Of course I am fit to run for that election. What’s the problem? He asked.
He added that he would not want to leave the “struggle” as long as people of Uganda still want him to be President.
“If the people of Uganda agree, I would not like to desert the struggle to run away, to say that I am going home to do my own things when this big historic task is not achieved,” he said.
On the issue of his successor, Museveni said succession is in constitution.
Rwanda – Uganda Rows
Museveni expressed optimism that the Uganda – Rwanda row will be sorted soon.
The two neighbors have had disagreements in the past few years which led Rwandan President Paul Kagame to shut the border.
Rwanda accuses Uganda of supporting its enemies who want to overthrow Kagame’s Government while Uganda accuses Rwanda of espionage.
The two leaders (Museveni and Kagame) have had talks in the past under the mediation of Angola but unfortunately the talks have not yielded much results.
Now Museveni says Uganda has no problem with Rwanda and that both countries were supposed to have another meeting to resolve their differences but were only disrupted by COVID-19 .
“It will be sorted. Of course for us we have no problem at all with Rwanda or any African country,” said Museveni.
