I salute NRM ‘rebel’ MPs for their courage
By M. Suleman
24th Oct 2011: Whether it was a one off or not, the courage and patriotism displayed by the 9th parliament so far not only excited the MPs themselves, it also excited many Ugandans in the Diaspora.
To begin with, the very fact that members of the 9th parliament forced their Speaker Kadaga to urgently recall the House from recess to debate the oil saga showed some rare but very welcome patriotism. Although many Members of Parliament belong to the ruling NRM, they broke with tradition and protocol and turned against their own government Ministers.
They put aside their partisan interests and put Uganda first. That was very refreshing. Museveni has always relied on a divide and rule policy to govern Uganda. On this occasion however, the Members of Parliament decided that they would be Ugandans first. The first lady found herself out of place when she tried to ridicule the Members of Parliament who stood up for Uganda.
I bet Mrs Museveni could not believe the avalanche of questions and responses being directed at her. Unfortunately for her, even the Speaker of Parliament, a true ‘Yellow Girl’ on any other day, did not bother to save the First Lady from the humiliation. For the first time, I think Mrs Museveni was cut back to her size.
Thirdly, in a rare show of allegiance to Uganda, the MPs tore the Prime Minister and the cabinet Ministers involved in the oil saga to shreds. Having dominated the economic space for a long time, for the first time, I think it dawned on Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and the greedy Ministers that they do not actually own Uganda. The rage shown by Ugandans spoke volumes.
It became even more serious when FDC Chief Whip Hon. Kasiano Wadri angrily lambasted Hilary Onek, one of the Ministers implicated in the oil scandal. Kasiano went out of his way and said Onek was a shame to northerners because northerners are not known to be thieves. The reverse implication of course is that southerners have been responsible for sucking Uganda dry.
Parliament was not the only source of excitement. The arraigning of Minister Kutesa and his colleagues over CHOGM was another cause for celebration in the Diaspora. Kutesa, Nasasira and many ‘inner circle’ NRM members were until recently regarded as the ‘untouchables’ who own Uganda. But the mere fact that they were forced to appear in court has changed all that.
Ugandans now believe that they can take these ‘powerful’ men on. And in my view, the sooner that happens, the better. As poor Ugandans toil in the scorching sun to earn money to pay their taxes, these greedy men are busy eating what, in most cases, rightfully belongs to Ugandans. The impact of their eating is there for all to see.
Year after year, the Ugandan state continues in its decline. Bad roads, lack of medicine in hospitals, high school fees etc. The fact that the opposition and civil society organisations continue to point out these problems no longer makes news.
So, since some NRM MPs have broken with their dishonourable tradition and decided to stand firmly on the side of Uganda and its people, I will also, as a mark of appreciation, break long established political traditions and say that my big thumbs up must go to the ‘rebel’ NRM MPs who have shown great courage by standing up on the side of the people of Uganda.
Some are even beginning to agitate for constitutional amendments to restore presidential term limits in our constitution. Keep the fire burning NRM rebels! You are definitely on the right side of history. END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
