Crime preventers are agents of vote rigging - Gen Biraaro

Crime preventers at a recent pass out ceremony. Presidential aspirant Maj Gen Biraro says they are partisan. Monitor photo

KAMPALA- Ugandans risk encountering a tragedy in the forthcoming elections if at all the training of militia groups is not curtailed, Maj Gen Benon Biraaro has warned.

Gen Biraaro, a presidential candidate of Farmers Party of Uganda, made the remarks in Kampala yesterday, while launching his campaign manifesto, which he said, would elevate him to power because it addresses the major challenges crippling Ugandans.

The retired General was referring to the continuous training of crime preventers, which he claimed is a political vehicle, made to help President Museveni rig elections in 2016.
He said these militia groups are unnecessary, arguing that they instead put people’s lives at stake since they allegedly do not respect the rule of law.

“These so called crime preventers are siding with Museveni because they will be used as his agents to rig elections. NRM is now like an expired drug and that’s why the rule of democracy has been defiled. This time round, we need leaders but not rulers because we need someone who will espouse the interests of the ordinary people,” Gen Biraaro said.

Gen Biraaro revealed that his major target is to fight poverty and that this could be done by allocating enough resources to the agriculture sector, pointing out that 80 per cent of Ugandans live by agriculture. He accused the the ruling NRM party of not prioritising farming, something he said has made many Ugandans wallow in poverty.

By implementing this ideology, he said he will base on the Maputo Declaration, which he said spells out that at least 20 per cent of the Budget should be allocated to the agriculture sector and that without this, the country has no vision.

“Countries like India and China have all embraced agriculture and that’s what I plan to do once elected president of Uganda because this is crucial. I have tried to carry out sensitisation and Ugandans are indeed ready for change. I have a new political dimension, which is a new testament in politics,” Gen Biraaro said.

Asked to comment about the just concluded NRM primaries, he cast a pale picture, doubting its victory in 2016, stressing that all the confusion that was exhibited during these primaries is a clear manifestation that NRM has lost vision, adding that he is therefore the only capable person that Ugandans need.