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Lessons for young politicians from the late Dr. Ssemogerere
Dr. Kizza Besigye pays his last respects to former boss and later political idol the late Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere who passed away aged 90
Leaders in Uganda, especially those in the political arena have been called upon to emulate the late Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere’s style of politics and leadership that was based on patriotism.
The former Democratic Party President and two-time Presidential Candidate Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere died last week at the age of 90. The late Ssemogerere was laid to rest on Monday 21, 2022 at Nkumba, Wakiso district.
Eulogizing the late Dr. Paul Ssemogerere, the National Economic Empowerment Dialogue party spokesperson Moses Matovu said that the greatest tribute, the young generation and other leaders can pay to the late Dr. Ssemogerere is to learn and practice his principles of unity, rule of law, tolerance, advocating for peace and human rights.
“The young people have lost a great pillar of democrac. He was a unifier. You remember in 1996 during the general election, it was Dr. Kawanga Ssemogerere who came out and said that the people of Acholi and Lango are our brothers and sisters because President Museveni had insinuated that Obote and the people from those regions were very bad people,” Matovu.
Matovu went on to say that even when his election victory was stolen in 1980, Ssemogerere rejected the use of violent means to get justice.
“During his time in politics, Ssemogerere used to fight his wars in the courts of law and somehow he achieved justice because then there were no cadre Judges like we see today…secondly what we learn from him a young crop of leaders is his advocacy for peace, he never wanted to shed blood.” Matovu stressed.
NEED Secretary General Asuman Odaka said that it is unfortunate that some leaders who took part in the 1980 liberation struggle that resulted in mass killings are now in agreement with what Dr. Ssemogerere told them, then.
“Everybody knows how Dr. Ssemogerere resisted politics of violence. While at a funeral service at church, I saw people who disagreed with him on the approach of politics then, now going back to the exact things he was telling them in 1980 ….that now…guns cannot change our politics for better, that is what Ssemogerere told you in 1980, this is 2022 it is when you are going back to what he told in 1980. This only shows how good he was at politics,” Odaka concluded.
Nearly all Uganda’s opposition leaders have hailed Ssemogerere as a peaceful man through his advocacy of non-violent means.
Dr. Kizza Besigye, the former President of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and also Ssemogerere’s former junior as State Minister of Internal Affairs, said: “He’s been the colossus of Uganda’s struggle for democracy and Human Rights. Fare thee well.
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