No one should go into exile over polls - Mbabazi
KOBOKO/ARUA- Independent presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi has said no Ugandan should go into exile or become a refugee because of election results or bad governance.
“I don’t want a situation where some of our people feel they are not exactly Ugandans because other members of the community regard them differently. I was in Bunyoro and some Ugandans who live in a neighbouring refugee camp are being treated as refugees in their own country,” Mr Mbabazi told a rally in Koboko District on Tuesday evening.
The former prime minister said the country needs political stability and an end to the anxiety that grips citizens each time there is an election.
“I want to end the tension that builds up in the country each time we talk about the possibility of changing the presidency because change of a leader should be a matter of routine. And this time, people should feel comfortable,” he explained.
Mr Mbabazi said in the last 53 years, the change of presidents has been by use of guns.
There were elections in 1980 which were disputed and NRA/M led by President Museveni waged a guerilla war that ushered the incumbent into power in 1986.
“We have widows scattered all over the country and the world because of this (post-election) violence and we must bring this down once and for all. And the way to end violence is to have peaceful change of leaders.”
The Go Forward candidate said Ugandans, especially those living in exile, should not be haunted by crimes committed in the past, and promised to set up a government that will respect the law that will be applied without discrimination.
The background
After the downfall of President Idi Amin, many residents in West Nile sub-region went into exile as the soldiers loyal to the fallen president and his successors revenged on the people thought to have been loyal to either camp.
This also followed the Ombaci massacre where several people were massacred at St Joseph’s College Ombaci, in June 1981, as they sought refuge from the Uganda National Liberation Army soldiers.
In the past, President Museveni has always said he was proud to have made sure the people of West Nile returned to their homes in 1986.