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

NRM HAS REMAINED AN ARMY

(Embargoed for release at 11.00 am, 18TH JULY, 2007)

1. The concluded NRM Parliamentary Caucus Kyankwanzi meeting confirms the UPC long-term held view that the NRM stripped to its bare essentials has never been a political organization or a party but has always been and shall remain a ruthless undemocratic army under the firm grip of president Museveni whose policy decisions are first vetted by the High Command of UPDF and ratified by a caucus contrary to the NRM Party Constitution that stipulates which organs are supposed to initiate, debate and implement policy decisions.
2. It is this Army that captured power on 25th of January 1986 and established a one party State cum Military dictatorship where political parties' activities were proscribed. Even with the new political dispensation under the multiparty system of governance, the space for democratic political action is fast shrinking as the NRM practical reliance on the military was symbolically manifested in the dress code of its MP'S at Kyankwanzi. This act is a total violation of the constitution as the army is supposed to be subordinate to civilian authority but the image being created by the NRM government makes them superior to all civilian democratic institutions in the country.
3. The military High Command in 1989 took a decision to extend the NRA/M lifespan for 5years.The NRC which was a pseudo parliament rubberstamped the decision under the watchful eye of its Chairman President Yoweri Museveni. Remember most of the legislations endorsed and passed by the NRC never attracted any robust and vibrant debates apart from 'AYES'.
4. The same NRA High Command in 1993 sat in Gulu and took a decision to amend the 1967 Constitution and provide for the restoration of traditional rulers and return of the assets hitherto held by the Kingdom governments. Although the NRM government has refused to return some of these assets to the kingdoms.
5. After the promulgation of the 1995 Constitution, it has largely been through the military force that NRM has suppressed opposition political parties and cheated them of electoral victory. Actually before the Constitutional amendments leading to provisions for life presidency, popularly called the third term, the army top brass was summoned to Gulu by the commander in chief to endorse his life long dream of being president for life.
6. Through out the two decades of NRM'S military rule, President Museveni true character as a militarist has been exposed. There has been an endless effort on the part of the NRM leader to regiment every Ugandan into the military. Under the guise of demystifying the gun and politicizing Ugandans, thousands of our citizens were enrolled for mchaka-mchaka courses and passed out as NRM cadres. And in the same guise of training Administrators of Bonna-Baggawale scheme, all sub-county LC3 Chairmen through out Uganda were equally regimented. All these categories of our civil servants and the entire public sector now belongs to UPDF reserve force and are subject to military law at the call of the commander in chief.
7. Having subordinated the entire executive to NRA/UPDF, Gen. Museveni has now turned his guns to Parliament. At the recent NRM MP'S retreat, Members of Parliament who are supposed to enjoy Constitutional separation from the executive under the principles of separation of powers have now been regimented into the army and are now the subject of military laws and directives. Effectively the institution of Parliament has been merged with and into the UPDF led executive.
8. UPC fears for that day when the judiciary will be regimented into UPDF since it has always been President Museveni desires to stock the judiciary with NRM cadres. Our worst fears are that President Museveni intention and motive of militarizing all institutions in Uganda are not clearly being seen by Ugandans and the International Community. In case of a showdown between the long oppressed citizens of our motherland and the military machines in place, the terrible consequences may likely be genocide.
9. UPC calls upon the people of Uganda and their friends in International Community to take any available lawful action to prevent the NRM military machine from dragging Uganda into bloodbath.

For God and my Country

Haji Badru Kendo Wegulo

National Chairman, Uganda Peoples Congress