The opposition Democratic Party, DP President Norbert Mao has described the inclusion of some members of opposition parties in the cabinet as nothing but despicable tokenism which they will not allow.
Addressing the media in Kampala this afternoon, the seemingly disgusted Mao said the inclusion of members like UPC’s Betty Amongi and DP’s Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi in cabinet falls short of any expectations Ugandans may have had that following a disputed election marred with unprecedented rigging and post election brutality and continued repression, an inclusive government based on a consensus reached through a national dialogue process.
“In a dialogue process, the direction of the country would be negotiated. We reject tokenism because it simply means trading a few crumbs for a fair share of the loaf of political power. As the Igbo of Nigeria say, “No one gets a mouthful of food by picking between another person’s teeth” Mao said.
Mao argues that the country is deeply divided, hurting and badly needs healing. “We therefore denounce the new cabinet as yet another lever in Museveni’s power arsena,” Mao added.
