Mao’s rise within the party has not
come out of nowhere. He has always been around and has, by all means, steadily
worked his way up.
There is absolutely no need for hyping the few unhappy members in the Party,
since individuals who did not think that Mao was a good and better leader had every opportunity
to prevent him democratically. That they did not, or now that they were democratically defeated, is only an indication that the delegates
saw in Mao a better man and a more proficient leader. Indeed in UYD we believe he is..
Mao’s service and political record is unrivaled
by any of his contemporaries, and even so, by most veteran politicians. In 2006,
he stepped down from the high office of Member of Parliament to the high calling
of local council chairperson. Again, Mao surprised and puzzled many by this
seemingly act of retrogression. He would become obscure and get lost from the
national scene which was vital for his presidential ambitions, we argued.
But for Mao, two things were at stake; first, the people of Northern
Uganda who were floundering in poverty and insecurity at the hands of the LRA.
This was the high calling, and he understood it only too well. He felt that he
could serve the people better by being at the grassroots, and immediately sought
to engage in groundbreaking peaceful means to resolve the conflict. We are all
aware of what these efforts achieved the resolution of the conflict
notwithstanding.
Second, but perhaps equally as important, Mao was very
keen to guarantee that his word was as good as it gets. You see, he had vowed
not to stand for a third term for the Gulu Municipality office and was devoted
to stand by his word. Today, the Uganda political community is mired in a
morass. Honesty and good public office values kissed them good bye. Yet, hope is
not lost; for in men such as Mao we still have a few of the lot that can be
trusted, who have no single corrupt record and who are just after a good name,
not possessions. Such people can take us to the place where we ought to be.
This is the type of man that Mr. Besigye and the said IPC (Inter Party
Cooperation), and predictably Mr. Museveni and the NRM must
have to contend with.
Posted by Samuel Muyizzi Mulindwa (SECRETARY GENERAL)
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 March 2010 )
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