By Stephen Lwetutte
LONDON-UNITED KINGDOM/NEWSDAY: It beggars belief that, after almost 36 years as Head of State, the doctrine of separation of powers remains alien to President Museveni. It was quite embarrassing to hear him blatantly declare the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation innocent even as the parliamentary committee set up to investigate the allegations financial misappropriation against her was yet to start its work. In a normal country, such conduct by the President, who should know better than breach the constitution, would be actionable. But this is Museveni’s Uganda, where anything goes.
The doctrine of separation of powers, which we purport to uphold in Uganda, divides the tasks of the state into three interdependent but separate arms: legislative, executive and judicial. It presupposes the principle of non interference in each other’s remit of activity to be able to maintain their respective roles.
On Wednesday 10 November 2021, however, while officiating at the Science, Technology and Innovation exhibition at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, President Museveni was reported to have strongly warned parliament to desist from their planned investigation, which he termed to be an attack, against Minister Monica Musenero. Earlier in the week, parliament had resolved to set up a select committee to investigate the allegations and evidence already tabled against the Minister relating to missing COVID-19 funds for research. Mr Museveni warned that Parliament had “no right” to attack Dr Musenero, and that he would go after them if that happened.
Mr Museveni’s utterances as President and Head of the executive branch of the state, have had the effect of interfering wuth the work of parliament, the legislative branch, a conduct which is unconstitutional in Uganda. Moreover, the investigation should have provided timely opportunity for President Museveni to demonstrate his oft heard resolve to let or even support institutions robustly to act whenever and wherever concerns about corruption arise regardless of the status of those being investigated.
Instead, he just missed the opportunity yet again to walk the talk and show that he would be prepared to go where the investigations led him in this matter. Dr Monica Musenero should also be decent enough to publicly respond to the President that she would be able to defend herself without his undue influence, if she is really clean and has nothing to hide. Instead, she is seen as rising and nodding to the President’s unfortunate and unlawful utterances.
In Museveni’s Uganda, though, the executive, legislative and judicial roles tend to be blatantly blurred as a matter of routine by a strong-man mentality President, who would like to see himself as acting the Alpha and Omega of everything in the country with impunity, in contempt of our Constitution.
This is further evidence, as if more was needed, that no meaningful and effective fight against corruption can happen in Uganda while President Museveni is still in office. There is conceivably nothing more he can do this late in the day and with such a cavalier attitude towards corruption that he has been unable to do in 36 years. He has tolerated it enough to be able to fight it.
President Museveni must still understand that it takes much more than repeated hollow rhetoric to fight corruption, establish the rule of law, promote and protect fundamental human rights and adhere to good governance. He should withdraw his threats and apologise to Parliament, because he has no right and it is unconstitutional to intimidate it.
It is disappointing that, instead of guiding other institutions about their respective roles in the state given his longevity in office, but also because he is constitutionally the ultimate guarantor of our Constitution, he is the one to flout them. He would be in trouble in a democratic society. There should also, however, be no surprises as to why Uganda continues to score absolutely poorly in all international governance indices, and has consistently done so over the past three decades.
The writer is a Multilingual Human Rights Practitioner, formerly at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London for over 20 years and now Legal and Human Rights Consultant.
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