Reflections on the national dialogue
If all goes well, the Uganda national dialogue process will be launched in Kampala on Wednesday, November 21. It has been a long, winding and difficult road to arrive at this stage.
I recall attending an inter-party meeting in 2010, convened by the Electoral Commission, at which a proposal to hold a national dialogue was discussed. Many of us left that meeting hopeful that the national dialogue process would begin by 2012, at the latest.
When leaders of political parties met to endorse the proposals we submitted for their approval, somebody, to put it graphically, shot down the idea.
Against this background I thank the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) and The Elders Forum of Uganda (TEFU) for their tireless efforts and perseverance which has brought us this far.
As a Christian and a career diplomat, dialogue and peaceful settlement of disputes is the only way I know and will recommend to solve problems, big or small. Although I have many relatives and friends who are soldiers and police officers, I have never held or fired a gun and will never do so. My weapon of choice is a Parker pen.
So when I hear violent men brag about going to the bush to kill fellow citizens allegedly to solve political problems, I shudder and lament at how backward, bloodthirsty and morally decadent such people are!
As Scripture teaches, those who take the sword will perish by the sword! If you don’t believe, find out what happened to Gen Samuel Doe of Liberia and many other like-minded gunmen.
Rationale for national dialogue
The principal objective of the national dialogue is to rebuild and renew national consensus on several burning questions which are tearing Uganda apart and which could eventually bring down the “idea of Uganda” planted by the British in 1894.
After intensive and widespread consultations by ICRU and TEFU, Ugandans have expressed a desire for a national dialogue whose goal is “an agreed national consensus to consolidate peace, democracy and inclusive development to achieve equal opportunity for all”.
My reading is that Ugandans from all walks of life are legitimate stakeholders of the dialogue, not only political parties, CSOs, NGOs, politicians and certainly not some arrogant, greedy and self-important people who have illegally usurped power which legally belongs to the people.
In my opinion, the formal launching of the national dialogue must go on as planned, on November 21. It’s the right of political parties to attend or not to attend the opening ceremony.
As a senior member of UPC, I urge my party to attend for sake of the youth and women of Uganda who are marginalised and the silent majority of Ugandans. As the congress of the people of Uganda, it is our patriotic and bounden duty to do so.
At a similar event held in London in 1961 to discuss arrangements for Uganda’s independence in 1962, the Democratic Party (DP) unwisely walked out of the proceedings. I suspect DP has not fully recovered from that historic mistake. One hopes that DP has not forgotten the lessons learnt from that blunder.
I hardly need to remind all heads of Uganda’s political parties that due to the lack of credibility of most Ugandan politicians, barely 30 per cent of Ugandans are duly registered members of all Ugandan political parties!
Never mind the shameless, ignorant and laughable claim by some mediocre NRM leaders that their State-funded organisation is a mass party. Who does not know that NRM is a one-man band? If you doubt, ask former premier Amama Mbabazi.
National dialogue issues
Following nationwide consultations, IRCU and TEFU have identified several issues which will form an agenda for the national dialogue. The issues, grouped in eight clusters, will be discussed at a variety of forums.
The issues include a desire to build an economy that works for everybody; national consensus on and access to land and natural resources; national minimum service delivery consensus; political consensus; constitutionalism and the rule of law.
The national dialogue is an idea whose time has come. Ugandans of goodwill must participate actively and fully in the process in the spirit of our national motto: For God and my Country!
Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.
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