Kyagulanyi says that before he took up arms in 1980, Museveni himself wondered what else can one do when a Government has closed all ways of peaceful change, except resigning to slavery.
The
former National Unity Platform-NUP presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi
Ssentamu has rallied Ugandans to protest peacefully, saying it is their
constitutional right.
Kyagulanyi, whose address was broadcast live on
Facebook and viewed by at least 23,000 people on Sunday evening, said although
they had gone to the elections to change the leadership of the country, the
the process was marred with lawlessness, brutality, and violence that have
persisted.
He said that even as they went to the Supreme
Court to challenge the results of the 2021 elections, which he believes they
rightfully won by 54%, the courts where biased looking at the way the judges
were behaving.
He added that although Museveni insists that he won the
elections, in Sudan, the former President Omar Al Bashir gave himself a winning
percentage of over 90% in the elections but the same people who reportedly
voted for him removed him through peaceful protests.
Kyagulanyi says that articles 3 and 29 of the constitution give Ugandans the right to protest peacefully and this is what Ugandans need
to do. He also says that peaceful demonstrations according to his research have
been very successful in removing dictators compared to violent elections.
Article 29 of the constitution guarantees the
freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully and
unarmed and to petition, while article 3 says that every Ugandan has a right
and duty to defend the constitution if any person tries to destabilize the
constitutional order.
He says Ugandans should take up various forms of
nonviolent protests, noting that although President Museveni will stop this, they
need to persist, as he cannot jail all of them.
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Kyagulanyi says that before he took up arms in
1980, Museveni himself wondered what else can one do when a Government has
closed all ways of peaceful change, except resigning to slavery.
Kyagulanyi also read from Museveni’s book
Mission to Freedom where he stated that the right of rebellion against tyranny
has been recognized from the most ancient of times to the present day by men of
all creeds, ideas, and doctrines.
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Kyagulanyi called for discipline among Ugandans
especially in regards to those who malign people they do not like. He says this
gives President Museveni a reason to curtail them. He, however, did not give a
timeline and form of organization that the protests would take. Kyagulanyi’s
address coincided with that of his rival, president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
