Uganda Peoples Congress

Uganda Peoples Congress
National Secretariat
Plot 8-10 Kampala Road, Uganda House,
P. O. Box 9206, Kampala
phone/Fax:+256-41-236748

Bad Goverance Will Ruin East Africa

Press Release

Embargoed for release at 11.00am, 9th January 2008

  1. The unfortunate events unfolding in Kenya with serious repercussions through out the great Lakes Region are the latest testimony to the evils of bad governance. The hitherto peaceful Kenya has been engulfed into violence and disorder as a result of disputed electoral results declarations. Hundreds of people have been killed, millions worth of properties destroyed and thousands of people displaced from their homes as others take refuge in Uganda.
  2. The mayhem in Kenya is the result of five failures:
  3. The manipulation of the electoral process by the incumbent who is determined to retain power at all costs.
  4. The bowing of the Electoral Commission of Kenya to the pressures of the incumbent and its failure to uphold its independence.
  5. The failure by the Kenyan police and other security organs to keep law and order. Instead the police and other security organs have decided to brutalise the people of Kenya by violating their rights to life, peaceful assembly and demonstration.
  6. The failure of the courts of law to guard their independence and offer a platform for resolution of electoral disputes and others, That is why the ODM of Hon. Raila Odinga has rejected any proposal to seek redress in the courts of law.
  7. The failure by the East African Community, the African Union, the government of the rich donor countries and the United Nations to take practical measures to reign in dictatorships. Instead many of this countries and organisations reward dictatorship with economic, military and political support.
  8. The factors at play in Kenya today have for over two decades bedevilled Uganda as the world looked on. As a result Uganda's economic, social and political foundations have been undermined and the country faces prospect of genocide and disintegration. It is not surprising that it's only President Yoweri K. Museveni among all African leaders who had no shame in congratulating President Kibaki on his disputed re-election.
  9. The current fuel shortage in Uganda which affected the country barely two days after disputed election in Kenya lay bare how naked Uganda's economic plan and preparedness is. The citizens have proved that when Kenya sneezes, Uganda catches life threatening diseases because of the dictatorship which is synomous with bad economic management. Uganda is not prepared for any economic, political or natural disaster. UPC has seen the NRM government panic in the face of floods in North and North Eastern Uganda, in face of ebola and other epidemics, and now in the face of the Kenyan crisis.
  10. The NRM runs this country as a mercenary predator force. There are no reserves for fuel, food, medicines and other essential supplies. In the months to come, much of eastern and central Uganda will be gripped in famine. And yet no steps are being taken to create any food reserves. Starvation and death that will arise out of this impending famine, is the price that the people of Uganda shall pay for the two decades of NRM dictatorship. It's regrettable that the people of Kenya are on the path of political and economic disaster courtesy of the mismanagement of their electoral results in the fashion so common in Uganda.
  11. The Uganda Peoples Congress expresses its sympathy and condolences to the people of Kenya in the face of the crisis that they have been pushed into. UPC calls upon the people of Kenya and all peace loving persons to stand firm and resist all attempts to establish a dictatorship in Kenya.
  12. UPC calls upon President Mwai Kibaki to seriously consider the consequences of his actions and stop any moves that undermine efforts by the international community to mediate a peaceful solution to this crisis.
  13. UPC calls upon the international community especially the donor countries to intervene and save Kenya from degenerating into another failed African state.

For God and my Country

Mama Miria Kalule Obote

President, Uganda Peoples Congress