Article 102 (b) of the Uganda’s Constitution forbids anyone below or above the age of 35 and 75 respectively from contesting for the presidency of the country.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who is currently 73, will be 77 years old come 2021, when Uganda will hold general polls again. This fact makes Museveni very ineligible to being a candidate in 2021, because it is against the Constitution.
However, as sources have proved, through his NRM, the ruling party’s members of the parliament who are the majority, the President plans on lifting the age limit through changing that article in the Constitution.
The issue which has caused insecurity in the country for the past few months since demonstrations have been carried out and several arrests have been made.
On Tuesday 26 September, 2017, the parliament of Uganda decided to table the issue in a discussion. Members of the opposition parties attended with red bandanas tied around their heads, which they say is a sign of their resistance to the long ruling President Museveni, and lifting of the age limit.
During the parliament session amidst exchange of words, an opposition party member accused an NRM, ruling party member of carrying a gun to the parliament and threatening to kill him.
With the already had been high tempers, a fistfight broke out in the parliament. Lawmakers threw punches at each other, pushed each other and they were also filmed throwing chairs at each other, the brawl lasted for 20 minutes or so, according to the sources.
The speaker, Rebecca Kadaga ordered body searches and according to the local news, no gun was found with anybody.
It is reported that the proceedings about lifting the age limit did not go further because it was interrupted by the opposition parties’ members, who repeatedly sung the National Anthem.
Rebecca Kadaga, the speaker, adjourned the session until Wednesday.
Outside the parliament, on the streets of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, students of Makerere University, the country’s main University led the protest against the same issue.
The students as well wore red ribbons and bandanas as they marched around the University campus and around the streets of Kampala.
The police fired tear gas at them and as the demonstrators kept the protest on, the military police intervened.
Colins Tumukunde, the students’ leader informed journalists that they must fight for the Constitution, because it is the soul and character of Uganda.
“Our Constitution is not written in pencil, it cannot be amended just like that,” Tumukunde informed.
Videos of President Museveni’s speech of the 1986, and videos about his say in accordance to the Constitution of Uganda have gone viral on social media.
In the videos, the President is heard saying that “Africa’s problem is the leaders who want to over stay in power”. When clarifying his words, President Museveni was later reported saying that he meant ‘the leaders who were not elected’.
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu
