By the beginning of
2015, I had informed the Uganda and international publics of my intention to
stand for President of Uganda in 2016 using my Facebook account (William
Kituuka) and blogs I have on Internet.
Day by day I was building on to show how determined I was to contest and
how I would deal with different issues/situations as they arose; this is reflected
on: www.billkiwanuka.blogspot.ug
I least expected
that the State of Uganda would intervene and make it impossible for me. As I write, it is sad that all the effort I
put into the project went to waste. The
tangible outcome of my effort would have initially been shown in the response
to my appeal for fundraising having sent out hundreds if not thousands of
emails to prospect donors. It is true
some of my appeals bounced back due to email interference (blockage) by the
State machinery.
The lesson I have since
learnt is that an opponent of the NRM Government cannot successfully use a
media where Government can intervene and he/she succeeds in getting funding
reach him/her even if donors do actually send the funds. It can
be remembered that despite the vehement Opposition
protestations over lack of quorum in Parliament, the Anti-Terrorism (amendment)
Bill 2015 was passed into law. The Bill
was passed after numerous failed attempts by the Opposition to convince the
Speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, to adjourn the House to allow further consultations
on the contested provisions of the draft law.
However, in the
same year, I thank God that two of my children graduated from Makerere
University.
I have learnt
one big lesson. I thought I was a small
animal, but I am surprised that my ideas are treated as a threat by the NRM
Government; otherwise they would have left me to have the funding if I was a
non – issue. 2ndly, on a number of
instances, the computers I have used in my communication (not less than 3) have
developed technical problems mostly with the RAM due to externally generated
interference meant to make communication impossible for me. This left me to the mercy of about 8 Internet
cafes where I do my communication from.
The experience
in the cafes has not been easy. It is
not once or twice that all of a sudden the Internet got off as I worked. In some of such cases, on knowing that the
Internet got off due to my communication, I would just leave the café. The most recent was on Thursday, December 24,
2015, as I was posting on Facebook: “Museveni’s most irresponsible statement in
2015”, the Internet connection got off.
My neighbor raised the matter to the owner of the place, however,
shortly after, the Internet was re – connected.
This experience has gone on throughout the year.
It has not been
easy bouncing at Barclays bank just to check on whether there is any credit to
my account in respect of the appeal.
It is true I did
not focus on fundraising locally from Uganda.
I have my reasons though equally I have got a good understanding of many
of our people who have money. For them,
it takes time to be convinced that it is ‘ideas that can work’ that matter not
accumulated wealth. I may have no wealth
accumulated to show, but upstairs, I have the focus on what can work for
Uganda, and my problem remains how to be able to get funding through so that
the State will not have a hand to interfere with such a channel.
I have had
opportunity to put to the attention of the patriotic Ugandans the big
likelihood of the NRM to rig the Presidential polls on the grounds that the
assumed number of members they allege to have who are not real, could actually
be used in enabling the duplication of voting by some people through having
more than once the names of some people on the register, and that it is true some
Sudanese were registered for Uganda National IDs and could easily be on the
Voter Register among other non – Ugandans believed to be there, yet, also the
technology promised which will eliminate double voting could have loopholes
that may favour the NRM in addition to the possibility that the system could
also easily fail . What this means is
that there is need to verify the so – called Kiggundu ‘final voter register’
and be able to point out the people who are believed to be non- Ugandans and
those not known is localities where they appear to be included as voters, and
the pointed persons should be managed by the Electoral Commission so as to
avoid possible violence on the polling day.
In the final
analysis, it has turned out to be a very frustrating year. The State can really frustrate. You can even hang yourself. I invested in political ideas; I have not harvested
anything tangible. I pray that those who do this to me (given
that it is continuous) get a worthy ‘reward’ or pay from God.
I am meanwhile
regaining strength to see the struggle continue with God’s guidance.
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