DP president Nobert Mao while appearing on the NBS TV Frontline program yesterday 16th September 2021 said that there is no dictatorship in Uganda but rather a hypocrisy.
According to Mao, when something is prohibited in Uganda, it’s what people resort to doing instead.
“Uganda is not a dictatorship because in a dictatorship when something is said, people tremble. Here when they say no encroachment on wetlands, it is like they have said encroach. Uganda is hypocrisy in my view,” Mao said.
He then said that he told NRM MPS of how there is no democracy in Uganda since people sell their votes for as low as 500 shillings.
Talking about NUP’s refusal to join IPOD, Mao said that the narrative of people saying that NUP has threatened to pull out of IPOD should be clipped because the party has never been part of the interparty organization.
Mao, therefore, wondered how one can pull out of something they have never been part of.
The DP president also said that many of IPOD’s shortfalls are justifiable but it’s not totally useless.
For Ofwono Opondo, he wondered why NUP is avoiding meeting in IPOD yet they meet in Parliament.
“The same people who can’t meet at IPOD are meeting at Parliament. Why are they avoiding IPOD?” Ofwono Opondo wondered.
The government spokesperson added that because people don’t obey the 10 commandments, it doesn’t mean they don’t go to church.
He also cited FDC which he said first downplayed IPOD but later got involved in the activities.
“The fact that we have not obeyed the 10 Commandments of God doesn’t mean we don’t go for prayers.
Has our Parliament achieved all that we want? Can we say we won’t participate in Parliamentary activities? No. I suspect these antics are for convenience.
FDC, for example, said they will not participate in IPOD but have been low-key getting involved in IPOD activities, including getting funds,” Ofwono Opondo added.
Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago also however re-echoed NUP’s sentiments saying that the body was captured by NRM to hoodwink the public and serve its purposes.
Lukwago then said that an audit of IPOD is needed because it has veered off the core issues of it’s formation adding that it’s now a liability that is not needed.
NUP Secretary-General Lewis Rubongoya on the other hand said that the body is a joke that one doesn’t first need to join to see.
