SEJUSAS FULL STATEMENT ON WHY HE HAS ABANDONED FUF ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE UGANDA 22-07-2014 REVIEW OF THE UNITY CHARTER THAT CREATED FREEDOM AND UNITY FRONT (FUF) Brief History of Unity between Free Uganda (FU) and Citizens for the Defence of the Constitution (CDC): When Free Uganda originally met on 29 June 2013, many leaders and several groups, some in exile and others from Uganda, many things were discussed and the general theme was – “how do we work together to bring about change in Uganda.” In regard to the question of Means, we needed to harmonise the means through which to bring about liberation There was also the critical need to unite all groups, so that we form a critical mass of the liberation forces. It was in this spirit that many cooperation arrangements were agreed with various groups. In the same spirit, Free Uganda and its leader General Sejusa conferred on numerous occasions with Lt. Col. John Ogole, who was head of Citizens for the Defence of the Constitution (CDC). After many deliberations Lt Col Ogole mooted the idea of unity of his CDC with Free Uganda, with a view to galvanise the local support in Uganda. On the 9th of October 2013, Freedom and Unity Front was born, with the view that the new liberation organisation would enable Ugandans involved in the liberation struggle to “transcend tribe, cynicisms and all the old tendencies which caused disunity among the people of Uganda.” The core mission of The Freedom and Unity Front (FUF) was “the total emancipation of Ugandans and confronting our past since independence.” Challenges Since the establishment of Freedom and Unity Front, a lot has been achieved in terms of progress of the struggle in general terms. But there have been a number of challenges which have become increasingly difficult to surmount under the current FU / CDC unity arrangement. 1. The death of the Lt. Col John Ogole. There was never any intergration of the operatinal structures of FU and CDC as sch. Hence the operations have been more or less cooperative than unitary. However,with the passing of col Ogole, many things even those not necessarily operational have become unclear. This is beginning to be disruptive. . 2. IDEOLOGY/GORVERNANCE Overtime, there has cropped up some key ideological differences between the Unity parties, for example, The question of how to relate with other opposition groups. Should we be part of the larger liberation effort or pursue an exclusionist agenda where everything must rotate around FUF. To what end would this be? How do we treat and ultimately relate with those people who keep abandoning the regime progressively and even others who may still be stuck in the NRM AND UPDF but who serve the resistance in other forms? Even on the important question of WHO IS THE ENEMY IN UGANDA? For instance, is UPDF as an institution THE ENEMY etc. Becuase for Free Uganda, the question of defining the enemy correctly is of huge ideological significance and should not be glossed over. . NATIONAL VISION These ideological differences have resulted in different approaches within FUF to the question of a collective National Vision and how to provide a linkage with those gallant Ugandans who are facing the brutality of the regime each day. THE QUESTION OF MEANS: Another problem has been the lack of constructive discourse between the two unity partners and with the rest of our citizens about the question of the ‘means’ to liberate Uganda. The Question of the Means to achieve liberation is a crucial one to the overall drive of the Struggle. This entails the means themselves, but also how to harness and operationalise those means effectively and productively – meaning that those engaged in ground operations are fully facilitated and supported. But crucially the harmonisation of the Means through which to bring about liberation has not been attended to satisfactorily, as was envisaged at the very beginning of the journey of unity in the struggle. STRATEGY AND TACTICS: In addition there have been differences in the approaches by the two entities (FU and CDC) On matters relating to STRATEGY AND TACTICS. For example, on the question of how much attention do we give to on-the-ground operations, in comparison to mobilising members living in the diaspora. There are other issues of deference in approaches and perceptions that have cropped up within Freedom and Unity Front, but which we do not intend to discuss here in public. . In view of the above, it has been found necessary to put an end to the unity arrangement between Free Uganda (FU) and Citizens for the Defence of the Constitution (CDC) Consequently, Free Uganda has been reconstituted and all its structures activated. Way forward The Free Uganda has proposed to the Chairman Prof amii Omora to chair a committee to work out an arangement for future cooperation We want to assure all Ugandans that FREE UGANDA stands for a broad liberation platform, where all are encouraged to participate and the leader who shall emerge must go through a democratically conducted process for all to own the liberation. More to follow The struggle continues Signed Gen David Sejusa Chairman Free Uganda
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 13:52:15 +0000
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