An NRM Caucus Meeting decided that legislators should only consult the party’s leadership in the district on whether the Constitution can be amended to lift the Presidential age limit. In South Western Uganda, seamless consultative meetings were conducted in legislator homes. Voters in the region were however not amused. They wanted the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga to rain in on the legislators to consult universally. “They are consulting one particular set of citizens and particularly those who are loyal to the NRM government. So am meant to pose a question to the Speaker to clarify whether she sent Members of Parliament to go and consult NRM members.”
MPs in Mbarara, Sheema, Bushenyi, and Kiruhura districts narrowed down to consultations in their homes and in secret meetings. On July 30th, the Member of Parliament for Mbarara Municipality Tumusiime Michael and other NRM district leaders organized a trip to the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi for retreat. While there, they resolved to amend the Constitution by lifting of the age limit. This left some of the party supporters divided. “We are not going to Kyankwanzi for age limit because as members and as leaders of Mbarara age limit debate is purely for MPs.” “When we reached Kyankwanzi, I heard them say that the whole of Mbarara has agreed and allowed Museveni to amend the Constitution. How can he amend the Constitution when we the actual voters don’t agree?”
The same scenario happened in Kiruhura district recently. The District Council sat and resolved that the age limit should be amended. But controversially the locals were spitting fire maintaining they were never consulted on the contentious matter. The same happened in Isingiro and Buhwejju districts. “On 13th, we had a Council where we passed a resolution to amend the Constitution on Article 102 (b).” “Nchungula NRM leaders are here huducking people huducking the Nation that Kiruhura anonymously has come up as one to remove the age limit cap which is a false.”
FDC’s Mwijjukye Francis the Buhwejju District Member of Parliament said the Speaker directed the legislators to consult the entire public but to his surprise, the NRM Caucus directed otherwise. “The leaders from their political parties are not doing the consultation that was asked by the Speaker of Parliament. They are scared of the masses, they are scared of the population, and they are scared of the voters.”
Mwijjukye was concerned that the Police was the deliberate lead side on the nature of consultations. “The Police wants to determine how we consult, who we consult, how many people we should talk to, which language we should use, where we should consult them from and which topics to discuss. For me, this is not only unfair but it is primitive.” Fears emerged from the voters who believed that their views would not be presented in the Parliament as expected. Some wanted Kadaga to change the mode of consultations. “I want my Member of Parliament to come to my Constituency if we are 100 people that have been called from all across different sects within our Constituency we sit. At the sitting, those who will support he takes a record and those who will say no he takes a record.”
