A ruling party MP who is sharply opposed to the Raphael Magyezi constitutional amendment bill has said his group will not be wowed by President Museveni’s cash to dropped their opposition to the draft legislation.
Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga) was on Wednesday responding to Museveni’s Tuesday letter to the rebel MPs saying they made a mistake by attacking the proposal to amend the constitution to lift the age limit.
Last month , ten MPs including Ssekikubo, Monicah Amoding, Barnabas Tinkasimire, Patrick Nsamba Oshabe, Sam Lyomoki, Gaffa Mbwatekamwa, John Baptist Nambetsye, Alex Ruhunda, Sylvia Rwabwogo and Felix Okot Ogong wrote a letter President Yoweri Museveni asking him to give up the Constitutional Amendment Bill and also prepare a transition and succession process within the NRM party and national presidency.
However, in response, President Museveni said the rebel MPs made a mistake by attacking the proposal to amend the constitution to lift the age limit.
“Our party leader (Museveni) is exposing his dictatorship within the NRM and beyond,” Ssekikubo retorted.
He however said that he was happy that the President had found time to reply to their letter. “Only that some aspects unfortunately have been overtaken by events such as the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Central Executive Committee (CEC). They only sat as a response to our challenge and even then the national conference which, according to NRM constitution, is a supreme organ of the party, has not sat to endorse the removal of the age limit,” Ssekikubo said.
According to the president, it is also wrong for some people to manipulate the consultation process by going to public places to ask people about their stand on the proposal to amend the presidential age limit.
“There are structures which are the committees of NRM .You should consult those, then with the committees, you can go to the public in the local areas,”Museveni who is also the NRM party chairperson argues.
Ssekikubo argued that “the President knows it very well that the duty of NEC and CEC is only to recommend to the national conference”.
“So it means that we are still waiting for proper answers. But there are some other pertinent issues we raised. We raised the question of transition. We requested the President to set into motion the process that will lead to the take over from him both within the party and in the country. Unfortunately, the President does not make mention of that in his letter,” he added.
Museveni offered to buy us
Last month, the NRM MPs sharply opposed to the Raphael Magyezi bill said they were approached and promised cash if they dropped their opposition to the draft legislation.
They were also reportedly promised good roads, electricity, clean water and refurbished health facilities in their constituencies.
In separate interviews, several ‘rebel’ NRM MPs said presidential emissaries have approached them and urged them to soften their hardline stance to the amendment, which seeks to lift age limits for qualified presidential candidates and presumably allow President Museveni seek re-election in 2021 when he will be well above the 75-year upper age limit.
According to the MPs interviewed, President Museveni reportedly telephoned and talked to some while others were approached by State House aides, NRM parliamentarians such as Bukedea Woman MP Anita Among and Security minister Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde.
