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By Vision reporters
FOR several hours on Friday, the NRM presidential candidate, Yoweri Museveni, addressed thousands of enthusiastic people on his 166km campaign trail, stretching from Kampala to Kasambya in Mubende District.
Suddenly, as he spun the massive gathering into a frenzy in the dusty township of Kasambya, 30km off the Kampala-Fort Portal highway, the skies opened, dispersing the crowd.
Museveni was then sped off in his white Mercedes Cross Country for another rally at Kassanda, where he asked for votes.
After the rally, nature again took its toll. Museveni’s convoy, heading back to Kampala, got stuck in the mud of the freshly graded murram road. Many other vehicles were stuck in the red mud too.
It took a combination of the President’s supporters, chanting his slogans, the Presidential Guard Brigade and a group of journalists to push Museveni’s lead blue Police Subaru and other vehicles to let his Cross Country through.
Earlier Museveni had travelled from Kampala to Mubende in a black stretch Mercedes Benz limousine. He was accompanied by officials who had been driven to Nakasero State House in United Nations Development Programme vehicles, but whose identities were not disclosed.
Museveni addressed big rallies that paralysed business at Natete, Busega, Bulenga, Bbira, Buloba, Bujuuko, Muduuma, Zigoti, Wabigalo, Kiganda, Kalagala, Kalonga, Kukyenda and Mubende.
“Vote for the NRM so that we can continue the process of democratisation, support women plus other formerly marginalised groups, create employment, maintain peace throughout Uganda, work for the total annihilation of terrorist groups and resettle all people currently in the IDP camps,” he said.
On the economy, Museveni said, “We shall help improve the financial sector, commerce and agriculture. We shall focus on prosperity for all of us through improvement of household incomes, transformation of rural economies and value addition.
He lashed out at some of his rivals in the race for the presidency, saying, “We are not like the UPC who had only one cooking stone that was based on politics of intrigue or the DP who have all these years just been in town shouting ‘Egumire (DP is strong)’ yet they are now running around the country looking for cooking stones. FDC are like grains of millet that fall off the main heap that we have been winnowing.”
Yesterday, the President campaigned in Wakiso.
In Masaka, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Col. (rtd.) Dr. Kizza Besigye said he fled into exile in South Africa after losing in the 2001 presidential elections for tactical reasons, but was surprised that the Government celebrated his departure.
“They drummed and celebrated, hoping that I would not come back but they were shocked,” he said.
Besigye said, “At my last rally here in 2001, I had promised you that you were going to witness Museveni returning to his home village in Rwakitura, but it was not possible. I promise you again now that he is going,” Besigye said.
He added, “Museveni wrote in the newspapers that I would be charged if I returned, but I also wrote back saying I would be at Entebbe on October 26, which I was.
“Museveni was worried about my support from different districts of Uganda to where I travelled, so he decided to arrest me.”
Besigye addressed rallies in Tororo and Butaleja districts yesterday.
Independent presidential candidate Dr. Abed Bwanika in Hoima on Friday promised to end regional imbalances, which he said had dominated Uganda’s politics. Bwanika, addressing a cheering crowd at Hoima Boma ground on Friday, said previous governments had centralised development in the city and their home regions, leaving other places lagging behind.
He decried the poverty in Bunyoro region, which he attributed to poor infrastructure and repatriation of wealth by local and foreign investors.
Speaking in Luganda, Bwanika said that if elected president, his first infrastructural development in the country would be road construction and upgrading of all highways, and that his priority would be the Bunyoro region.
“I have realised that Bunyoro has been neglected by the previous governments. It has the best soils in the country and yet it has the poorest population. It is the richest in natural resources in the country, but it is the only region in the whole country which has no tarmac roads. All leaders who have been coming have been concentrating on the central and perhaps their home regions. I want you to elect me on the 23rd, I will begin with you,” he said.
Bwanika expressed his disappointment over foreign investors, who he said had made Uganda their market but do not pay back.
Bwanika said that if elected, he would make sure that investors who come to do retail trade in Uganda were stopped, since there are able local investors who could do the same. He said he would set up at least one fish processing industry to cater for the 47 fishing villages on Lake Albert so as to boost the fishing industry. Bwanika said he would introduce a students’ loan scheme to allow poor students to join higher institutions of learning and then pay back when they get jobs.
In Koboko, UPC presidential candidate Miria Kalule Obote exonerated her party of the 1981 Ombaci massacre and blamed the murder on the Military Commission that was in power by then.
Speaking at Koboko town Boma Grounds, Miria said, “Some people have said that our last government came here and killed people. That is not true because it was the Military Commission in power and the president in power (Yoweri Museveni) was the Minister of Defence and also vice-chairman of the commission.” (According to records, Museveni was Minister of Defence during Godfrey Binaisa’s regime — Editor)
The UPC flag bearer promised to set up a truth and reconciliation commission similar to that in South Africa to heal Ugandans.
She said the 20 years of war in northern Uganda and disunity had impacted negatively on the people. Miria promised to tackle the high levels of corruption. On education, Miria said UPE was a UPC idea that the Movement government had adopted but failed to implement it.
“Now you have poor children getting poor education and cannot compete with children of the rich who go to better schools,” she said.
For Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate John Ssebaana Kizito, it was all about federo.“The Democratic Party shall give federo to areas that need it,” Ssebaana said on Kagadi Kibaale community radio, shortly after addressing a rally at Kagadi freedom square in Kagadi Town Council last week.
“There are many areas which need it (federo) but President Museveni has frustrated them,” Ssebaana said. He asked, “How can the President deny people their constitutional right to decide the way they should be governed?
“The Democratic Party manifesto provides for the governing of people basing on their local aspirations and needs. If they need federo, then the party cannot sabotage their interest.”
He added that a federal system of government would help develop the regions. “Federo shall give more autonomy and revenues to regions which need it,” Ssebaana said
However, Ssebaana could not clearly explain his stand on the land issue in Kibaale, which did not go down well with some callers.
Published on: Sunday, 15th January, 2006
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