Museveni will go this time, Besigye reassures Masaka

Presidential candidate Kizza Besigye addresses a rally at Masaka Golf Course Grounds yesterday. PHOTO BY MARTINS E SSEKWEYAMA 

By MARTINS E. SSEKWEYAMA
Posted 


Saturday, January 30  

2016 at 

02:00

In Summary

Hopeful. The FDC flag bearer tells Masaka voters that President Museveni’s roots have now lost their strength.

MASAKA. The Forum for Democratic Change presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, has reassured his supporters in Masaka District that he is a few days away from accomplishing his mission of ending President Museveni’s rule, a pledge he made in his first presidential contest in 2001.
“Today, I want to reassure you that its high time you prepared for that opportune moment (of Museveni’s exit) which is only not too distant,” Dr Besigye told a cheering crowd on Friday.

Dr Besigye was addressing a rally at Masaka Golf Course Grounds, the same venue where he made a similar pronouncement 15 years ago.
Since 2001, Dr Besigye has told voters in Masaka that they will have a golden opportunity of seeing Museveni driving back to his home in Rwakitura in Kiruhura District after getting defeated in the elections.
However, the FDC founding president has not delivered on his pledge. He said his promise still stands and will be fulfilled soon.
Dr Besigye told the voters that defeating a ‘dictator’ was a hard task, equating it to uprooting a huge tree, which according to him, has this time lost its strength and awaits a slight push to fall off.

“Over these years, I have been shaking this aging tree. The roots have weakened; its branches have already started breaking off and simply needs a small push, and it is a matter of days,” Dr Besigye told the cheering crowd that donated cash as facilitation funding for his campaigns.
The cash donations have been common practice in many other districts he has been to on the campaign trail.
Earlier in day, Dr Besigye held rallies in Kawoko before proceeding to Butenga Town in Bukomansimbi District where he addressed more crowds.

He promised to improve healthcare and education services in the country, which he said have been messed up by the NRM government.
“This is the reason they are deploying at these facilities to prevent us from exposing the rot in there. But this time, Ugandans have proved ready to claim their rights through a transitional election,” he said .
Kampala Lord mayor Erias Lukwago told the voters to be fearless and turn up in big numbers on polling day and cast their votes.
“Despite all the harassments meted out on us on instructions of President Museveni, our government will pardon him and instead accord him a decent retirement,” Mr Lukwago said.

Meanwhile, copies of Dr Besigye’s recorded speeches at his rallies has become hot selling items at video and CD booths that are playing around Masaka Town.
On his arrival in the town, businesses momentarily came to a standstill as wild celebrations rocked the streets with FDC supporters dancing to Besigye’s campaign songs which were played in his campaign fleet trucks.
Shops closed and the verandahs and streets filled. Most streets were decorated with banana stems, banners with Dr Besigye’s portrait and those of other FDC candidates.

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