Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Makerere Institute of Social Research
Student evaluation of the MPhil/PhD interdisciplinary program
April 2017

  1. Courses:
Please describe the usefulness and meaningfulness of the courses that
are currently offered at MISR, evaluating:

  1. How meaningful you think they are in developing your theoretical engagement with the debates;

Answer: I must be very frank, while I appreciate the courses I have so far covered viz: SSR 7101 Major Debates in the study of Africa, SSR 7102 Pre-modern Social and Political Thought and SSR 7103 The History of Economic Theory, I do not think I have benefited a lot in terms of the grasp of issues and the debates.

I also have found some thinkers very contradictory which to me is alright. People are not supposed to think the same way. What I have found disturbing though is that some of the instructors want to push their views and ideas onto us. I think this is not only unethical but also unacceptable and defeats the whole purpose of scholarship.

What I expected is that I should be exposed to different schools of thought and paradigms with the purpose of taking my own stand without the fear of being in any way penalized. My considered view is that I have not performed well in the two courses (SSR 7102 and SSR 7103) in the responses and I do not expect to perform better) simply because I am nonconformist. I am convinced that we have an ideological conflict with one of the instructors if not with both.

I am socialist and believe in equality and social justice which I know can be attained by adhering to the Golden Rule (Luke 4:31) that is strongly enunciated in Thomas Hobbes Philosophy (the Leviathan) which states “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. I refrain from harming anybody and other people. I fight fiercely and ruthlessly when anybody harms or attempts to harm me.

Prof. Mahmood Mamdani knows very well that I sent him what I called my statement of purpose telling him, I join the programme with solutions not problems. I am solution-oriented not problem-oriented. We have problematised for so long to the extent that we (scholars) are beginning to portray ourselves as utterly irrelevant and a liability to society.

I am an admirer of Julius Nyerere’s school of thought. Education should prepare us to serve society better not to confuse society. I have for all my life benefited from the Ugandan society having been brought up collectively by the people of Bitereko and Kanyabwanga. Different people paid my school fees and I joined Makerere as a state-sponsored student. My tuition and living expenses were met by Ugandan taxpayers’ money. I have a duty to account to my sponsors.
This PhD programme I am pursuing is sponsored by donors whose stated mission is to build capacity for people (scholars) from third world countries or LDCs to enable them think critically and provide solutions to the problems afflicting their societies.

And yes, a de-colonised education system is the one that enables post-colonial state thinkers to get out of the malaise into which their societies are entrapped. I am first and foremost a member of the global human family; secondly, I am a Christian; thirdly I am an African, fourthly, I am a Mukiga. Being a Ugandan is neither here nor there. After all Uganda as a project and concept is a colonial creation. As a member of the global human family, I take every other person to be either my brother or my sister – not uncle or aunt. This denotes equality. I have been shaped by the trade union movement and the Pan African movement. Both movements are leftist. In the trade union movement, we address each other as Brothers and Sisters. The idea is to create a sense of equality.

In the Pan African Movement we address each other as comrades. Still the idea is to create a sense of equality. That I am an ardent promoter of equality does not mean I do not appreciate that we are different. That is why I embrace the Platonic concept of justice. And yes, my firm belief is that we must be led by philosopher kings for they are sharp thinkers and are well-endowed with virtue.

If one doesn’t understand Plato very well they might think all highly educated people such as professors are philosophers. Professors who brazenly do wrong things do not qualify to be called philosophers or philosopher kings/queens. It means either they do not know that what they have done is wrong in which case their intellect is in dispute or they deliberately know that things are wrong and continue to do them which means impunity. Anybody who presides over the dehumanization of another; anybody who condones the abuse of another’s rights cannot be called a philosopher king. It also means the education they got did not liberate them. Such people would need to be liberated.

As a Christian, I am bound by the Golden Rule in Luke 6:31 which goes: DO TO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD WANT THEM DO TO YOU. I want to be loved, so I give love to others. I want respect from others, so I must respect everybody. I want to be treated humanely so I must be humane. I love Prophet Amos' exhortation, Amos 5:24, "Let justice flow like a river and righteousness like a stream that never runs dry"

As an African and a     Mukiga, I am bound by the values of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a derivative of Rukiga word Obuntu which means being humane. Among the Bakiga, we say “Wagira Obuntu, nibukuha abantu, abantu bakuha ebintu”. To me a decolonized PhD should focus so much on the Ubuntu philosophy. It should teach us how to marry theory with practice.

Our Political Though instructor told as in the very first lecture that philosophy is about praxis. She called it doing the works. On a serious note, she is a very brilliant woman. Anybody who has read the letter of St. James agrees that faith and talking without actions is dead.

The question I want to ask: with all intellectuals in the world, have we failed to diagnose our problem as Africans and as humanity? I read all the Hare series in our home library. I remember in the world of Mr. Hare it is written in black and White that any problem once it has been diagnosed has a solution.

Seriously, I don’t want to concentrate on problems – that is why my work methods are unconventional because the conventional ones have failed miserably. And in any case, is there a one size fits all methodology in academia? Why should we hold same views or articulate them in a similar manner?

If God wanted us to be the same in all we do, he could have created all of looking the same such that even a mother wouldn’t distinguish her children. By the mere fact that we don’t have the same facial appearance, we are meant to be different in all aspects. What we need to do is to tolerate each other’s differences but strongly emphasize the ground rules and those ground rules must be underpinned by virtue. And to me virtue is nothing other than the GOLDEN RULE. I sharply disagree with my own mother on many issues. But she understands me and I understand her. She will never harm anybody, I will never harm anybody.

  1. Their relevance in light of you research and scholarly development/interests;

Answer: I am yet to know the relevance of the courses I have done in light of my research and scholarly interest. While I appreciate that the courses I am doing are handy in light of my scholarly interests, I have been challenged openly in class by my two instructors as to why I am doing a PhD. I was told on Easter Monday by my instructor that a PhD is for people who want to do only academic work. I totally disagree. Most of the public intellectuals are not academicians but also academic work cannot be confined to the Ivory Tower.

I am a trained researcher and I have all my post-university days done research – academic and non-academic. I have done academic research under the mentorship of Prof. John-Jean Barya and I have done non-academic research with human rights organisations. I also do personal research and publish either on my blog or with print and electronic media houses.

Each time I have been challenged as to why I am doing a PhD I have said, I need to raise my profile, amplify my voice so that I can be a better voice of the voiceless. To be a voice for the voiceless you need a voice – a loud and clear one at that. Accordingly, I need a research advisor to help me tailor what I am studying to suit my research interests. My major research interest is justice which encompasses equality and non-discrimination and respect for the inherent dignity and worth of the human person.

  1. Their strengths and any perceived weaknesses;

Answer: I think their strength is that they expose us to various paradigms and theories. This means if well grasped we shall be strongly theoretically grounded. The main weakness is that we are given too much to cover in too little time. Prof. Mamdani told us that we should read for fourteen hours a day if we are to grasp the issues and do the responses and semester papers. I contend, it is practically impossible and ill-advised. If you read for only eight hours every day (I say eight because the working day comprises of only eight hours) most likely you will have a mental breakdown or a physical breakdown or both.

Both the body and the mind require adequate time to relax. As for me, I must say, it is impossible to over read. If I read for all those hours, when will I write and when will I think? When will I relax my mind to generate fresh thoughts? This is a very big weakness. Nobody grasps the message in those readings fully besides academic publications are the most difficult and most boring publications. They have caused me serious headache. It has been like a punishment to read some of the publications.

  1. Their theoretical and methodological soundness.

Answer: The authors whose works I have read give their original thoughts. Some of those theories and methodologies are sound, others not so sound while others are outright outrageous. Again that does not surprise me. Human beings are not equally sharp, equally intelligent and are not uniform. Human beings are equal but not similar. They should be united but not uniform. On a serious note, I have found politicians and political activists more relevant than academic/scholarly theorists.


  1. Subject clusters:
Four clusters are currently offered for student majors and minors (Political Studies, Cultural/Literary Studies, Political Economy, Historical Studies):

  1. Are they reflective of the range of scholarly and intellectual inquiries in the humanities in general?

Answer: Yes, the clusters are reflective of the range of scholarly and intellectual inquiries in humanities but they are insufficient. My honest view is that the PhD was not well-crafted. It is not a fully-fledged PhD in social sciences (which some prefer to call social studies). I would expect the programme to have options of sociological studies, psychology and legal studies. A PhD in sociology or Psychology would be more relevant to me than a PhD in political science which is what I am doing given that my major is political studies while my minor is political economy.

  1. How satisfactorily do you think they incorporate and engage with the range of existing and new debates in the field(s)?
Answer: I think we need to be given what the new debates are. But as for decolonizing the university education, I am convinced that this programme is not satisfactory. Why don’t we have the Ubuntu studies for instance? Why is there no focus on African morality and African knowledge? We have bone-setters and herbalists for instance, why are they taken not to be educated yet we know education starts from the cradle to the grave? But also, aren’t the so-called uneducated people more relevant to society than those with western education? Am I in any better than a bee keeper or maize producer if I don’t condemn the brazen injustices in our societies?

  1. Are there suggestions you can make towards reformulation of the existing subject clusters that would benefit the MPhil/PhD program? Answer: integrate sociology, psychology and ubuntu studies into the programme. But also provide us with advisors to work with us throughout the five years. The MISR PhD programme does not have advisors.


  1. Can you comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the existing subject clusters?
Answer: I can only give an informed comment after I have covered all the subject clusters. But my earlier disenchantment with the failure to teach sociology, psychology and legal studies can partly answer this question.


  1. Teaching:
How would you evaluate the mode of delivery of the different courses on offer:

  1. How effective do you think the teaching tools and methods currently being used are with regards to imparting knowledge?

Answer: The teaching tools are effective to some extent but not so effective. My experience is that the university instructors should not confine themselves to imparting knowledge (most times their biased views). There must be interactive sessions. The role of an intellectual is to generate knowledge, synthesise knowledge and disseminate knowledge. Accordingly, we should be doing community outreach. The undergraduate school of law students are better than us in this area because under the stewardship of Dr. Christopher Mbazira they do community outreach, they visit slums and do work for the communities. If someone asked: How relevant is the MISR PhD to the Ugandan communities? I would not have an answer. I beg that you help me answer that question. I deal with professors most of the times.

Professors are ordinarily humble people who give a chance to everyone to express his/her thoughts. It is from that humility that professors learn from the very ordinary and sometimes subalterns or what may be called “lumpens”, or “The wretched of the earth” according to Fanon. Such people, John Naggenda christened them “The unwashed of society”. Ironically, our instructors hardly listen to our views. I learnt very long time I think when I was in Primary three that a University is a place of liberty, a place of light and a place of learning. I later found out that this definition is attributed to Benjamin Disraeli. I think the environment should not be tortuous, we should freely express ourselves without fear of reprisals in any form; we should be the light to society by working for them and we should continuously learn from each other. Knowledge is not an exclusive preserve of professors. Even some of us know some things.

  1. Can you comment on the time allocation per week for each course?
Answer: The time allocation is perfect. It is standard as far as I know. The problem is that what we are given to read and respond to is too much for a normal human being to handle.

  1. What is your view on the student-teacher ratio, and how do you think this ration impacts on the learning process?
Answer: The student-teacher ratio is good enough. But practically because of the amount of readings, we have no time to consult with our teachers. But also MISR should give teachers five or ten years’ contracts. We need teachers with whom we shall work until we finish.

  1. Please describe your experience as a student with specific reference to the classroom learning experience.

Answer: The content covered in three hours is too much to grasp. In fact, teachers should share with us their power-point presentations if we are to remember any of what they have taught us. Frankly, I have not gained from the classroom learning experience as it is currently structured. That is not to say it is useless.

In fact it is very useful and very much needed. But more time should be put in interactive discussions than what other people say. In comparison to my undergraduate experience, this is the worst. The undergraduate experience allowed us more time to critique and debate and raise our personal opinions. This one is based on readings some of whose standpoints are not clear.

  1. How would you rate the learning environment and facilities available at MISR, including library, technology, classrooms, reading facilities, recreation, etc.?
Answer: The facilities are inadequate. Up to now we have no computers yet of the four computers in the library only one or two is okay. The four not so good computers serve all the users and subscribers of the MISR library who include students across all disciplines and members of the public. The wireless at MISR is erratic and unreliable. Whenever I am to access internet I have to go to Dag even in the middle of the night. This means my security is at stake. We have no laptops – we have to call friends if we have any work to do. The classroom hours are overstretched since the amount of work to cover is too much. We have no time to even learn from each other as students.

In Makerere students are represented on academic boards to raise the concerns of the students. This is what was called the Students’ Union for which Charles Prempeh was a President. Here at MISR I am told students are not allowed any more to be represented on the board. Personally, I was a student representative on the faculty board of social sciences. I was an equivalent of the former MISR student union president in the Social Sciences Faculty during the tenure of Prof. Edward Kirumira as Dean while Dr. Simba Salie was chairman staff-students’ liason committee. As a board member I would attend all the meetings of the staff-students’ liaison committee chaired by Dr Simba. Before I was on the board, students could not use the computer lab. People would pay to access the lab yet students would suffer as they wouldn’t search material on the internet or even own an e-mail. I raised the matter and the chairman told me the problem is that students want to use the lab to read pornography and soccer. I told the board that abuse and misuse don’t disqualify use. I added, “that some people would use computers to read soccer and whatever you say does not mean that others will use it to do academic work.” Since that day, it was unanimously agreed that students use the lab. Many students opened emails, learnt how to type and so forth. I remember me myself taking Bruce Balaba the current University Appointments Board chair to teach him how to use a computer.

Again, one day students woke up in a fighting mood. They were to fight over faculty allowance which they believed they were entitled to. Because I was on the board, I stopped that looming strike. I told them that faculty allowance was abolished in 1990/91 and that two students were shot dead in front of the Social Sciences Faculty.

We did so many other things such as organizing symposia and later the idea of exhibitions was my brainwork. Accordingly, students’ representation on the MISR Board is very crucial. It helps both the students and the administration. In Kigezi and Ankole we say, the fate that will kill a dog begins by blocking its nostrils. The administration must listen to the students and the other way round. I studied conflict management and peace keeping under diplomacy and IR and I still want to apply it. The question here is: Why are students not represented on key decision making bodies. We used to say that there can be nothing for us without us.


  1. Research:
Development of strong research perspectives and capabilities is a core component of the MPhil/PhD program:

  1. What is your experience of the different research groups and their value in developing your research perspective?
Answer: I do not have any experience of the obtaining different research groups because I have worked with none. Nevertheless I have expressed interest to work on the Higher Education project. My primary interest was my passion for positive rights of which education is later I learnt that we shall be focusing on decolonization of the university. I find this a very interesting area and I beg to be helped by whoever is the project coordinator.

  1. For students in Year 3 – how would you rate the contribution of the Research Colloquium towards the development of your research project?

  1. For students in Year 5 – how would you rate the contribution of the Dissertation Colloquium towards your final year of study?

  1. What is your view of the research outputs at MISR, including: publications, research seminars, workshops, and policy forums?

Answer: They are good but MISR needs to focus more on the pressing issues. Not much attention has been put on human rights, justice, decolonization of education, ubuntu and Pan Africanism for instance.

  1. Describe your fieldwork experience and level of support for research.
Answer: This is not applicable to me who is still in first year I would imagine.

Saturday, February 25, 2017

A WARNING TO THE PEOPLE OF BITEREKO, KANYABWANGA AND KIYANGA


I have painfully come to learn that the meager land that we have, your so-called MP is telling you to use it to plant tea. Please be extra careful. Tom is a capitalist and he is now telling you to support his business.
Wherever tea grows, matoke also grows there. The market for matoke is assured all the time. Note that Matoke can be processed into flour and preserved.
Wherever tea grows, sorghum, millet or maize also can grow there. I am now aware that because of this tea craze some of you no longer have where to grow beans. We cannot eat tea leaves when famine strikes.
But Tom has a contract to supply tea seedlings to the people and he is minting millions of shillings. It is this money that he wants to use to bribe the likes of JB Twekwasomwe to play underhand tricks to block opponents like me Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba.
Our people are wise. They had started planting sugar cane. Remember, those who studied economics know that supply creates demand. At least if I am thirsty or hungry and go to a sugarcane garden, I will quench my thirst and overcome the hunger. Not even goats like tea leaves. What if there is no more market for tea, what will you people who refused to plant matoke, beans, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, etc ?do
In fact anybody who encourages our people to plant tea as opposed to other crops is no leader at all. But I told you early enough. Thomas Tayebwa is a typical capitalist. He can be defined by individualism and exploitation. Tom's other names are exploitation, individualism and selfishness. You may need to ask yourselves. Tom brags that he is super rich and that he has a string of businesses. I want to ask: How many of his business partners are from Bitereko, Kanyabwanga and Kiyanga? I have studied Tom properly since 1996 when he was expelled from Makobore and found us at Kigarama SS, I must assure you, I know the man inside out. He is incorrigible.

MY DISAGREEMENT WITH THOMAS TAYEBWA IS IDEOLOGICAL


Neema Thomas More, my difference with Tayebwa is ideological. And like you said, do not think I knew you yesterday. I knew you back then when you were still a teenager visiting Uncle Daudi's place. I know your sisters and for your information, you are from our family in Nyandago - from the late Laurensio Katarahweire, the Archangelos, Manuel and Gervase all of whom passed away were my very good friends and family members.
So Neema Thomas More, you have no right whatsoever to tell me on my wall to find myself as if I am lost. If you want to do it, do it on your wall and we debate. As for me, I cannot block you and I hope you will not. Just like Tayebwa is your brother, I am equally your brother. Debate ideologically. Tell Tayebwa to unblock me and he joins the debate. Otherwise, I am soon giving him a killer punch.

WITH ERIC SABIITI AND JENNIFER ANGEYO AT THE HELM OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION LEGAL DIVISION, UGANDA NEEDS FERVENT PRAYERS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Now, my brother Eric Sabiiti (whom I initially thought was a friend until he came out publicly to savage me when I declared my intentions to stand against Thomas Tayebwa) needs to come and give an explicit explanation.
I have been told that Thomas Tayebwa bribed Badru Kiggundu and his team with sh 200 million. And that it is you Eric Sabiiti who struck the deal. You remember when you called Tom in your office and he told me on your phone that if the EC nominates me he would stand down for me?
By that time I was confident that I would get nominated for I thought the EC was law-abiding. What does section 16 of the Parliamentary Elections Act say? Eric Sabiiti, it is you that I am asking. You often brag that you are a well-informed lawyer.
Tell us please, was Badru Kiggundu bribed or you misled him? Remember it is you who called me and gave me the letter from Kiggundu alleging that :(1)I had arrived late, past the nomination hours and (2) that I never had the requisite 10 signatures to support my nomination.
When I wrote back asking you to adduce evidence to support your claims, I never received a reply. For argument's sake how would the commission know that I never had the requisite nomination signatures if they never received my forms since I had arrived late? Secondly, if they received my forms (which invalidates the claim that I arrived late) and they are sure they were not filled why can't they produce copies of those forms to back up their claims?
Eric Sabiiti and Jennifer Angeyo, be informed that I now demand to be nominated. I no longer need a refund of my nomination fees.
Jennifer using the police commanded by SSP Besigye caused the deprivation of my USD 4000 by the police. This is not the first time I am deprived of my property at the Commission. In January last year, my phone was shattered by the police and I lost it. They detained me at Jinja Road Police station and later dumped me into a psychiatric hospital to subject me to pharmacological torture. Now, Eric Sabiiti, you and your boss Jennifer must answer for your sins. It seems clear to me that while at campus you were submarine students, a reason as to why you are now submarine lawyers. I call upon comrade Gimara Francis to pay attention to this gross criminality orchestrated by lawyers. I will also formally complain to the law council so that you are de-registered from the list of practicing Advocates. My brother Eric Sabiiti, with you and Jennifer Angeyo at the helm of the legal department at the Electoral Commission, Uganda needs fervent prayers.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THOMAS TAYEBWA

y Nuwagaba with Atumanya Samuel and 44 others.
My brother Thomas Tayebwa (who currently sits in the 10th Parliament though illegitimately for he was not voted and neither did he stand unopposed like he claims) celebrated his 8th anniversary in marriage on Tuesday 14, February. While he received very many love and congratulatory messages, I was unable to congratulate him upon a journey of eight years well traveled with his sweetheart Anita Rukundo Tayebwa. I was there on that Valentines' day at Saint Augustine Chapel Makerere when the two said, "I do". I was there at Sheraton Hotel where we were hosted for a sumptuous meal and rounds of drinks. I witnessed the pomp, pageantry and ostentation displayed on that very day and I was really happy for my brother.
Tayebwa and I grew from two neighbouring localties of Karangara and Bitereko in Kigarama Parish, Bitereko Sub-county. But we both came from Kamabare. I grew up in Kamabare of Kigarama, Bitereko and he grew up across in Kamabare of Karangara, Karimbiro, Bitereko. The name Kamabare is derived from Kamabare River/stream.
Tayebwa and I used to fetch water from the same point at Kamabare. Tayebwa's family, the Daniel Tiruhongyerwa family and my family, the Fabiano Bifabusha family were like one extended family together with the Gabagaya family.
Our home was the most easily accessible with adequate facilities. Accordingly, it was the most used home by all of these families. Tayebwa's uncle who is also my uncle Deogratias Kamugisha was a businessman, a serious one at that. Uncle Kamugisha used our house, Mukaka Susanna's house to load and offload his sacks of maize and jerrycans of Waragi.
At my other (paternal) home in Nyandago Kanyabwanga, we are from the same extended family with the Tayebwa's. Tayebwa and I are ABAJUNGA of the Bahimba of Bamugiri clan. My late grandpa Francisco Ruhindi was an uncle to Daudi Bangirana, Tayebwa's father. In fact, while in senior two at Kigarama Secondary School, my grandfather took me to Vincent Mukiga the then headmaster and told him, "Vincent is your son, make sure he studies and finishes at your school. I have given him to you". Vincent Mukiga and Daudi Bangirana are bilogical brothers. My late uncle Engineer Emmanuel Rwamacumu did business together with Kamugisha selling Matoke at Rweshama fishing village in Rukungiri District. Almost all the Matoke they sold was from my grandma Veronica Bakeine matoke plantation.
Since 2001 when we joined campus together to pursue the same programme, Tayebwa and I have almost been as close as conjoined twins. Tayebwa's friends are my friends and my friends are his friends. Tayebwa and I are from the same families both from Bitereko and from Kanyabwanga.
However, THAT HE PLAYED DIRTY TRICKS AGAINST ME TO THE EXTENT OF DENYING ME NOMINATION FOR A PARLIAMENTARY SEAT CAUSED A RIFT.
Now, this post was provoked by my brother Hon. Odonga Otto who posted on Tom's timeline that "...be careful, you have haters in Makerere". Many people thought, he was referring to me and I think it is prudent I clear myself. Hon Otto and I have been close since I joined campus as we were together in DP and later together as members of the Ekimezza. I just cannot comprehend (if he meant me) how he could imagine that I can hate anybody.
I was never programmed with hate. I hate the filthy, rotten and decrepit character of my brother Tayebwa just as I hate what Museveni, Kayihura and Mamdani among others do. But I love those people because they are creatures of God created in HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS. I have no time to hate people for even the time I have to love them is very limited.
MY SINCERE ADVISE TO MY BROTHER TOM TAYEBWA.
I went to Bitereko over the weekend and prayed at St. Charles Lwanga Kigarama Catholic church. While there, after mass an announcement was made that all students who got first grade should go to Bitereko Sub-County Headquarters to receive mattresses donated by Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, their MP. I must say, at first I was impressed. I was seated next to aunt Teddy, Tayebwa's mum and I beamed with a smile. She can testify.
What disappointed me is when they said, "Please note that those qualified to receive mattresses are only those that studied from the constituency".
First of all, that is not how schools in the constituency should be promoted. Tayebwa as an MP (though illegitimate), should encourage his constituents to send children to topnotch schools including but not limited to schools such as St Mary's College Kisubi, Namilyango College, Namagunga, Gayaza, Immaculate Heart, Ntare School, among others. I heard people say because they must target gifts from politicians they will now have to only send their children to Kigarama, Kanyabwanga and Mahungye. Please, please, we studied from these schools not because they are the ones we loved most but because we had no alternative. When you discourage parents and students from studying outside the constituency, the other people will also not bring their children to the schools in your constituency.
Secondly, whoever advised Tayebwa to give students mattresses got it wrong. Students want textbooks and pamphlets not mattresses. In fact, I met young men and women who picked mattresses but were saying, they can never give you their votes when you stand because you are trying to patronise them.
As for me, I am starting a crusade of donating books to students in Bitereko, Kiyanga and Kanyabwanga. Let Tom use all the monies he gets from parliament to buy textbooks and pamphlets for our students. After all he said, he was not going to Parliament to look for money since he was already a billionaire.
The other advise to my brother Tayebwa, please concentrate on business. Otherwise, when you stand astride like you have done, you will be torn into two parts. Please, quit politics and concentrate on business, after all you are a self-professed and declared CAPITALIST. Capitalists are exploitative, selfish, greedy, individualistic and capitalism is the highest form of oppression. AS FOR US PEOPLE OF BITEREKO, KIYANGA AND KANYABWANGA, WE ARE SOCIALISTS and if you remember the resemblance model of representation, our people can best be represented by chief socialist, Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba.

THOMAS TAYEBWA HAS NO MANDATE TO BE IN PARLIAMENT, PERIOD! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Prof Enock Twinoburyo Nyorekwa, you did not understand me. I love my brother Tayebwa with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind. But I hate his rotten, filthy and decrepit capitalism. I also hate his NRM dirty tricks that he employed to ensure I did not appear on the ballot paper with him for he knew that he would not even garner 10% of the vote from Bitereko, Kanyabwanga and Kiyanga. On a lighter note, the late Fabiano Bifabusha not Bikafabusha is my grandfather and Tayebwa's grandfather who shared land with Bifabusha is Daniel Tiruhongyerwa.
I can assure you, nothing of what I do will be brought to naught. I was never programmed with hate. Just like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would say, darkness cannot drive away darkness; it is light that drives away darkness. Thus, my light will drive out Tayebwa's darkness. Martin Luther King Jr. again said, hate cannot drive away hate, only love does. My love will surely drive away Tayebwa's hatred of me. If Tayebwa never hated me, he would not use that chief goon of all the goons JB Twekwasomwe to confuse me that he was my supporter working to ensure that I win the parliamentary race and ultimately lead to the blockage of my nomination. One could argue that almost all politicians would block their opponents. For the case of Tayebwa, it was never the case. He felt, I shouldn't have thought of vying for a parliamentary seat. That is why he inboxed my brother Moses Khisa telling him that many people approached him (Tayebwa) telling him to refund my nomination fees but he flatly refused.
So, he wanted me to feel the pain of losing 3million shillings. For your information, before nomination day, I had already spent not less than shillings 30 million and much more money was to come after nomination. When he blocked my nomination, no coin came my way. I was to have the vehicles, the posters, the Tee shirts, copies of my manifesto all following my nomination. And I was to show Tayebwa that he is not my match. He blocked me. The EC illegally refused to nominate me and I later gathered that it is Yoweri Museveni Kaguta who ordered the E.C not to nominate me. That is why the likes of Eric Sabiiti should come here and explain why I was not nominated even when I submitted to the commission fully commissioned nomination forms, with all the requisite signatures and receipts of payment of nomination fees.
During the NRM primaries, Tayebwa bragged that his opponent then my brother Patrick Musinguzi was not educated. But everyone knows that I am more and better read than Tom. WHAT ELSE WOULD HE SAY? I will not rest until Tayebwa is ejected from Parliament. What you people should do is to join the crusade of ejecting impostors such as Tayebwa from our August house. How does he account for the taxpayers' money that he illegally and illegitimately pockets each month? Tayebwa was not voted and he was never unopposed. He could not have been unopposed when they blocked me. Simple and clear.

CATHOLIC FOUNDED SCHOOLS SHOULD PROMOTE SOCIAL JUSTICE.


Benedict Musaasizi, my very good brother that I fondly call Bens, all Catholic founded schools should promote social justice. Education is not a commodity but a human right. The Catholic church starts these schools to aid the promotion and enjoyment of the right to education.
Sadly, when the church becomes capitalistic and begins charging exorbitant fees, the church itself becomes a violator of the rights that it is otherwise supposed to defend and promote. And our biggest problem maybe has been leaving church matters to the bishops and high ranking priests that are very highly feared. These people are not democratic at all. On ordination they make priests take vows of submission to the bishops.
There are some priests who are more visionary and certainly more intelligent than the bishops but those priests more often than not are not given positions of responsibility. St. Josephs University has started well with a fellow Biterekoan Peter Kanyandago. I am hopeful it will be a university with a distinction that aids the Catholics to attain education at the cheapest cost.
I do not know why the church does not hire some of us as consultants to write proposals and establish education funds and bursaries to the needy. How does my nephew Arinaitwe from Kigarama for instance go to SMACK and get quality education from the leading Catholic church founded school without being hampered by the demand for millions of money. Ultimately, Catholic schools are no longer benefiting the poor Catholics but the decrepit capitalists who can afford to exploit the poor and get huge sums of money to educate their children at Namagunga, SMACK, Namilyango College, Namugongo SS, Trinity College Nabingo and so forth. I think even the church leaders must repent and promise to undo this injustice to the poor.
As I criticise my church leaders, I acknowledge that the church is one, the church is holy, the church is catholic and apostolic. Those who have quit the catholic church have practiced apostasy and syncretism. We should guide our leaders in the church. Maybe the priests can be subservient but for us the flock, we need to remind our shepherds that they are taking us to a direction where there is no grass. I remember one Sunday we were still praying and worshiping from AVEMAR in town. The late Fr. Betunguura said that front seats should always be reserved for ministers and MPs. I told him off frankly that what he was saying was antithetical to the gospel according to Saint James chapter 2 which condemns partiality and discrimination against the poor. Please, take time to read St. James' epistle chapter 2 and appreciate what I mean.
Finally, let us read the bible. I recommend that all Christians worth the name must read Sirach, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Proverbs, James, Amos, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Job, and Daniel at least for the start. Even non-Christians should read these books. Otherwise how would you criticise out of ignorance. As I indict my mother church the Catholic church things are worse in other denominations. The so-called balokole have confined themselves to the prosperity gospel and miracles most of which are as a result of the handiwork of the devil.
I hope you know that Satan also has power to perform miracles. I swear the pentecostals are already burning in hell and they do not know. At least for us Catholics we have schools and hospitals whose (mis)management we challenge. If our leaders pay heed to our wise counsel, the Catholic church will pray a significant role much more significant than the state plays. Honestly, I have often said, the Catholic church is richer than the state. Why should our bishops receive pajeros from Museveni to have their conscience compromised and divorced. I will be glad if all our priests and bishops and nuns and brothers became loud against injustice like Gaetano Batanyenda does. He is almost a lone voice in the wilderness. Let us all be prophetic for we are called to be prophets.
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UNMASKING THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION HEAD OF THE LEGAL UNIT, JENNIFER ANGEYO


Jennifer Angeyo head of the legal unit at the Electoral Commission is a total disaster. I wonder why taxpayers should continue footing the bills to sustain people like Jennifer Angeyo in public offices, offices they clearly are not qualified for.
Just on Tuesday, I went to the Commission to demand my money Shillings 3 million with interest which I paid as nomination fees on 3rd December 2015 and they refused to nominate me. I had received four thousand dollars from my Italian partners from Turin Labour college who want me to write for them a report on the status of workers.
I had that money with me. Can you imagine, Jennifer ordered the police to drag me out of the commission premises like a chicken thief and in the process they took my wallet and the dollars stashed therein.
I do not know whether I am unlucky or what but whenever I have money, that is when I become actively engaged in political and human rights matters and each time they have arrested me, they have often taken my money. The only exception is in 2011 in the aftermath of elections when I gave all my money to JK Zirabamuzaale to keep for me. Otherwise, they would also have taken it. The other day at NBS, my bag containing a computer and 20 thousand US Dollars was grabbed from me. To date, all the efforts to recover my money have gone futile. Do I have a right to live in this country without deprivation of my property and my dignity?
Jennifer Angeyo who is a lawyer and a wife to Prof.Venansius Baryamureeba should explain. I swear that woman and all other lawyers at the EC are quack lawyers. When we were at the School of Law we would call them submarine lawyers.
Meanwhile I reported my case of denial of my rights to participate in politics to the Uganda Human Rights Commission which referred me to the Legal Aid Project of the Uganda Law Society. Good enough, I found my Old Boy, fellow Elephant Besigye Aaron. I furnished all the necessary evidence to Besigye to prove that my nomination forms were duly and fully filled with the ten required voters as nominators and that they were commissioned. I would like to see the Uganda Law Society call the Electoral Commission to order and explain as to why in total disregard of the law they refused to nominate me.
In the meantime, university students hailing from the three sub-counties of Bitereko, Kiyanga and Kanyabwanga that form a constituency onto which my brother Tayebwa imposed himself are writing a petition to the speaker of parliament demanding that Tayebwa be kicked out of parliament for he is nobody's representative. He only won the NRM primaries and he was neither unopposed nor voted in the general elections.
Taineomwangire John My brother Vicent, I strongly condem Injustice and any thing that looks like it and for that I support your cause. However you may have to be a little more strategic in your approach. For example why would you carry such loads of money on you when we have banks. When you tell your enemies that you are coming for them it means that you are asking them to prepare for you.
Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba
Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba Taineomwangire John my brother, those of us who are fighting the dictatorship do not keep money in the bank. The Bank account I have is used to receive not to keep money thereon.
Taineomwangire John
Taineomwangire John My brother Vicent- You may then have to develop alternative safety mechanisms for your money. Get a locker safe in your house but not carrying huge sums of money around. You think a man like Besigye moves around with all the money that he has? Have never heard him complaining of any money stolen from him.
Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba
Samuel Oola Olara
Samuel Oola Olara I support you my brother Vincent.The entire public service in Uganda is being managed by crooks who have inadequate knowledge about their various fields or docket.We should demand for imminent public service reform or even call for the entire overhaul of government.
Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba
Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba Samuel Oola Olara, I am sure when you go to EALA you will be in position to condemn this kind of crookedness at a higher level.
Madern Juma Snr
Madern Juma Snr I wish to extend my heart felt sympathy to u my brother and pray that ur issues be solved as required.
Brian Mugume
Brian Mugume Next time hire me to keep your cash if u aint allowed to use Banks. On another thout, 98% of thiz story is.........😂😂😂
Vincent Vessy Nuwagaba