Recently, members of the National Unity Platform (NUP) during the delegates’ conference that took place at their new premises in Makerere, Kavule, amended their party constitution and imposed a two-term limit policy on all party leaders, this also included political leaders elected on the party’s ticket.
Ideally, this meant that the party president, (even the regional presidents), chairperson or secretary general will always serve two terms and leave. The same applies to the politically elected party representatives such as Members of Parliament, councillors, Local councils’ leaders as long as they hold NUP’s ticket.
While amending their constitution, members said that imposing term limits is one of the ways to prevent the vice of overstaying in power by some of the political leaders. According to sources that attended the delegates’ conference, members unanimously agreed with the suggestion.
However, NUP’s Member of Parliament representing Masaka Kimaanya/Kabonera Constituency Pastor Abed Bwanika poured cold water on the amendments saying that the party rushed to pass such amendments without consulting with senior leaders and those well versed with the law of the land.
According to Bwanika, Uganda’s book of the law (constitution) contradicts with the party’s new amendments which makes the party’s amendments to be null and void because Uganda’s constitution does not support term limits.
It must be recalled that in 2005 June 28th the parliament of Uganda overwhelmingly backed the removal of presidential term limits and the constitution was amended, a move that gave the green light to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to contest for presidency in the general election that was at the door.
“There is no anywhere in the world a company or a political party will have a constitution which is completely parallel with the constitution of the land or the country’s constitution. And in any case, if such a constitution exists it is invalid because all laws governing companies, organizations and political parties must rotate around the constitution of that particular country because it’s the reflection of the country,” he said.
Bwanika added that by the time the conference was taking place, he was absent; however he promised that he would soon take his proposals to the party’s top leadership.
“Secondly making a valuable leader is the process and currently we have few credible leaders, when I talk about credible leaders I know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about leaders that can firmly transform this country, in NUP we have few of them and they are the ones mentoring the young ones, so if you dispose them like that ! You stand a risk of losing them. Yet those leaders are the ones that will make way for the newcomers,” he said.
Bwanika also noted that he is not against the party’s new amendments, but he will not at the same time let the party overlook the supreme law book of the land.
In the same spirit, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga also bashed the term limit amendment, saying that the party must know that political leaders are elected by people and if the constitution remains as it, NUP stand a chance of losing credible leaders in the next 10 years.
Like Bwanika, Mpuuga was also not in the country when the party passed the said amendments, he however said as one of the leaders in NUP, he will have to sit with the leadership and discuss how such amendments can be made better in the spirit of not eyeing at some individuals.
“The top leadership passed and I respect it and the amendments came at the right time however there was an unexpected hurry in bringing the term limits because apart from one spending two terms in office, Uganda normally votes for people based on different issues. In this current Parliament, there are not more than 50 MPs who have served more than two terms, so this tells that people can vote you out if they want,” he said.
Mpuuga added; “Secondly, we are still a young party and still building muscles. This is not easy work. We need credible people with different talents, as much as we advocate for change, at times especially now, those we have that know that if we let them go because their terms are over, we shall have a void and again start looking for who can substitute them. I would think that this time let’s focus on training and empowering leaders who are credible, that is when Ugandans will respect us.”
Political analysts like Makerere University don from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mr Ndebesa Mwambutsya advised NUP to only impose term limits on the leadership at the helm of the party but not councillors and MPs. “I think the ordinary term limits are normally imposed on the main leaders because they are very influential and you would want to diversify ideas and ideals at that higher level,”
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