The National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine over the weekend vowed that he will never hold a dialogue with President Yoweri Museveni for the sake of setting free all political prisoners.
Kyagulanyi made his declaration on Saturday while at the burial of Godfrey Sserwanga, a father to Williams Ntenge commonly known as Kyuma kya Yeesu in Kyotera district where he said Uganda’s constitution provides many avenues through which the state can set free all people who have been put in prison. He added that he can not dialogue with someone spearheading torture and arrest of those not supporting him.
“In Uganda, rule of law is no longer respected many of our brothers and sisters are in jail but they did nothing, their crime is that they supported us. But we shall never be compromised and seat on the same table and beg Mr Museveni to set free Ugandans he has incarcerated for nothing,”the former presidential candidate said.
He added that when he was incarcerated, no one sat with President Museveni to set him free but it was the pressure from Ugandans and the western countries that made him (Museveni) and his men to set him free. In the same way, he said Ugandans must put pressure on the state so that it releases the political prisoners without any dialogue.
“I would have been dead, and the state was not willing to set me free but it was your power that set me free. So let’s not get compromised to the extent of begging Mr Museveni to set free our people who are innocent. The laws are very clear, let them be taken to court if they committed any crimes,” he said.
The idea of negotiating with President Museveni to set free all political prisoners was suggested by Kimaanya-Kabonera Member of Parliament Dr Abed Bwanika last month. He called on his party (NUP) leadership to seat on a round table with Museveni and negotiate to see that all political prisoners are set free.
Bwanika went ahead to say that he is ready to kneel before President Museveni if it will make him set free all innocent young people who have been incarcerated for over a year for political reasons.
“The lives of those innocent incarcerated youth, their families and relatives are as important as the struggle, we should not forget that. No wonder most people against this idea of negotiation are free and have not been incarcerated for over a year. I have had some people saying that if we negotiate with NRM we will lose credibility as a party, why should we focus on the credibility of the party at the expense of the lives of innocent Ugandans who have been tortured for our sake, we are in these positions because of them,” he said.
However, ever since he came up with this idea, no NUP party leader is willing to second it.
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