By Faruk Kirunda
On October 9, 2022, former Kawempe South MP, Hon. Mubarak Munyagwa Serunga, while appearing on “NBS Eagle” programme made various allegations targeting the person of the President and I wish to respond accordingly;
Hon. Munyagwa, for reasons best known to him, stated that H.E the President paid and ordered Mr. Wafula Chebukati, the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of Kenya to rig the recent General Elections in favour of H.E Dr. William Ruto.
First of all, Hon. Munyagwa should produce empirical evidence to prove his allegations. How did the President do as claimed and how come that it is Hon. Munyagwa who claims to know about it? Was he (Munyagwa) involved? How much money was involved, how was it transmitted, and so on? Secondly, after the Kenya elections, there was a petition filed by the Raila Odinga side in the Supreme Court. Did this issue arise in the proceedings? Why didn’t Munyagwa present it and adduce the accompanying evidence to benefit the Kenyan people and the cause of democracy? What is the benefit of going on TV and “gossiping” about it? I call upon the Government of Kenya, that of Uganda and Mr. Chebukati not to take this allegation lightly. It must be subjected to legal scrutiny. The allegation depicts Uganda meddling in the Kenya elections. If this gets into the ears of those who lost the election, it can start a dangerous response from them which may culminate into civil strife and destroy the much-fostered efforts for East African Integration. Could this be one of the aims of agents like Munyagwa? This is the potential effect of this propaganda and it should not be taken lightly. The former MP should be granted or invited to a forum where he should substantiate his allegations.
However, the continuous silence by some of our leaders on such sensitive issues is what is causing this unfounded propaganda to be fanned to grow beyond caution. The Government actors should not first wait for His Excellency the President to rise up against such propaganda. They should wake up and defuse these negative claims from elements such as Hon. Munyagwa whose motives are suspected to be seeing Uganda being isolated and the East African unity collapsing. Uganda is land locked. We need Kenya as much as we need all our neighbors. By saying what you say, Hon. Munyagwa, you should know that you are endangering your brothers and sisters who are doing business with and through Kenya. These remarks do not help Uganda and neither the future of our Integration.
Hon. Munyagwa also claimed that H.E the President forced the Kenyan President, Dr. William Ruto, to talk about removing borders among the East African countries during the 60th Independence Day celebrations yet countries like Rwanda and Tanzania are against the move; this is a straight forward matter. When you talk of the East African Common Market, and generally East African Integration, you are actually talking about opening boarders. When you talk of the Standard Gauge Railway, the East African Oil Pipeline Project and many such others you are indeed talking about opening boarders. Unless it is the language Dr. Ruto used that you did not understand. All the East African Presidents are supportive of Integration. Hon. Munyagwa should take off time and understand the mission and objectives of Integration.
But the claim is also an insult on a leader of a sovereign country. Is Hon. Munyagwa averring that Dr. Ruto, a holder of a PHD- and a veteran leader at various levels- has no mental capacity to grasp the concept of Integration on his own and address it accordingly? Even if it were true that some countries are opposed to Integration, does that stop others from vouching for it? If Munyagwa…
