“Stop bickering” – President tells Movement leaders

President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the Chairman of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party, has strongly warned Movement leaders to stop inter-party bickering, rivalry and in-fighting which, he said, may weaken the Party. He observed that this was among the issues that made the Party flag bearers lose in the recently concluded by-election.

Mr. Museveni said that as leaders, they needed to be examples to the people they lead and to always work to foster unity and reconciliation among themselves even if there is divergent opinions other than dividing the Party supporters.

The President sounded the warning last evening while meeting leaders of the National Resistance Movement from Bushenyi district at his country home in Rwakitura, Kiruhuura district. He said that leaders needed to put the Party above themselves and work to popularize it other than looking at their personal and individual gains and success.

He said that it was not necessary for a top Movement leader to involve himself or herself in local politics and side with one Movement supporter against another. He told the meeting this yields divisionism adding that leaders need to live such prerogative and democratic right to the wanainchi who live and know their candidates well.

The President also encouraged them to embrace reconciliation saying that it was not necessary to have endless wrangles. He stressed that failure to reconcile denoted poor leadership style. He reminded the meeting that in an election, there has to be a winner and looser and that it was not necessary to treat one’s political opponent as enemy as Uganda was not ending today and leadership was not a do or die issue but a service to one’s nation.

Mr. Museveni also called on the population to always do research on the needs of their areas and work with the relevant government organs to find solutions to challenges. He warned failure to do this would expose movement leaders to risking being unpopular among the electorate.

The President strongly condemned the reported cases of vote rigging by the opposition and said the government will act severely on those involved in this criminal act.

“Vote rigging is evil, criminal and an enemy of democracy because it erodes the democratic freedom of the people to elect their leaders and the Movement government will never tolerate it and will do all it takes to bring the culprits to book’’, he warned.

The Bushenyi district delegation included the Minister of Information and National Guidance Hon. Mary Karooro Okurut, the newly appointed Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Affairs, Professor Tarsis Kabwegyere, the new Ambassador to New York, Mr. Richard Nduhuura and Bushenyi district LC5 Chairman, Mr. Willis Bashaasha as well as many other local leaders.