Opposition political party JEEMA president Asuman Basalirwa has said the political party cannot be party to what he termed as ‘wasteful’ and ‘boring’ swearing-in ceremony for President Museveni tomorrow Thursday at Kololo Independence grounds.
Addressing journalists at the party headquarters in Mengo on Wednesday morning, Basalirwa said they cannot attend a function whose legality they are continuing to challenge, insisting the events before, during and after the February 18 polls indicate that President Museveni should not be sworn-in.
“We were not invited for the function at Kololo but even if they had sent us an invite, we would not attend. The flaws in the elections which we challenged in the Supreme Court show there was something wrong,” Basalirwa told journalists.
The Supreme Court ruled the Museveni was validly elected as the president of Uganda. Judges dismissed the petition as groundless.
“We cannot take part in celebrating, merry making and the pomp when our fellow opposition politicians are being detained at the homes and not allowed to move an inch to where they would want to go,” said the politician.
Police maintain Dr Kizza Besigye and other opposition leaders are hell-bent on cultivating ground for violence.
The JEEMA president said the swearing –in ceremony would be another chance that government would use to see it brings even its foes nearer as part of its efforts to ensure reconciliation and building the nation.
Basalirwa noted that the swearing –in ceremony is being held on the backdrop of human rights violations and uncertainty among people especially the opposition politicians.
“We predict that by the end of the function tomorrow (Thursday), the country will be more divided than before yet we thought it was for bringing together everyone.”
Ban
The opposition political party president attacked government for what he termed as acting in panic when it went to the Constitutional court and sought orders to ban the defiance campaign, insisting there were other ways this matter could have been handled.
“There are many provisions in the Public Order Management Act and the Penal Code that government ought to have used and detained whoever they think is involved in the defiance campaign other than banning it,” Basalirwa noted.
He added that the court order creates an impression that it is elastic and of universal application which has led to increased self censorship as well as affecting media freedoms in the country.
“We ask court to come out and clarify on the extent and applicability of the said order.”
He revealed that the party will however use May 12 to mark 10 years of existence as a registered political party.
“People will now have an alternative function to attend other than the swearing –in at Kololo and we expect police not to interrupt us. We have invited a number of people in the country to join us at the party headquarters,” Basalirwa noted.
When asked whether President Museveni was one of those invited to attend their function, Basalirwa said they could not ‘waste our time and energy’ because they were sure he would be occupied with the swearing-in activities at Kololo.