Mbarara. Four-time presidential candidate Kizza Besigye has said he will not give up his political struggle and instead urged fellow Opposition leaders and those who want to see President Museveni out of power to support his cause for change.
Dr Besigye, who is also the founder president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), has lately come under attack from colleagues in the Opposition, who accuse him of perpetually contesting against Mr Museveni.
Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi of the People Power pressure group and Dr Abed Bwanika, the president of People’s Development Party, last Thursday openly spoke against another likely shot at the presidency by Dr Besigye in 2021 elections.
But Dr Besigye, in apparent reference to criticism from Mr Kyagulanyi and Dr Bwanika, said no body brought him into the struggle and nobody will tell him to leave.
“I am born a fighter; nobody will stop me from fighting because nobody brought me into this struggle,” he said during a meeting of FDC leaders from greater Mbarara in Mbarara Town on Friday.
Dr Besigye argued that some members of the Opposition, who never supported him in the 2016 elections and had backed former prime minister Amama Mbabazi, keep attacking him because they do not want him to fight for his victory he said was snatched from him by Mr Museveni.
“They seem not happy with our campaign of fighting for our 2016 election victory but even if they are not supporting our move to kick Mr Museveni out of office, we should respect each other’s decision so that we can all ensure that Museveni leaves State House,’’ he said.
Dr Besigye added that his people’s government work is to ensure that Mr Museveni respects the people’s decision made in the 2016 elections and he surrenders power or else they will force him not to contest in the next election.
People’s influence
He argued that ordinary Ugandans said people have power to stop Mr Museveni from contesting like it happened to President Joseph Kabila in DR Congo and President Arap Moi in Kenya, adding that President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan will also soon bow out due to people pressure.
“The purpose of the people’s government is to struggle for democratisation. That means taking power from a few that took it from us with a force of a gun and who kept it with the force of guns to the people of Uganda,” Dr Besigye said.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that President Museveni won the 2016 election after dismissing Mr Mbabazi’s petition.
After the meeting, police, which had been deployed around the town throughout the day, dispersed Dr Besigye’s procession that included FDC party president Patrick Amuriat and other supporters.
The public rally planned in Nyamityobora Ward aborted due to lack of police clearance. Dr Besigye declared 2019 as “the year of action” where FDC intends to force President Museveni out of power.
What they said
Dr Abed Bwanika: “I have heard one person who has now perpetually become a presidential candidate and wants to become one again. I have decided, whether I will remain alone, I will ensure that Ugandans don’t vote that presidential candidate again.”
Bobi Wine: “Don’t talk about democracy and stand four times and on the fifth time you tell people democracy doesn’t work. On that point, I will assert that democracy actually works and anybody who despises democracy is despising the people of Uganda.”
By Daily Monitor
