Gen. Muntu to Government prepare for transition

Former army commander, Maj Gen Mugisha, whose new Opposition Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), was recently registered by the Electoral Commission, has told the ruling National Resistance Movement not to waste time harassing change-seeking opposition politicians but prepare for an inevitable political transition. Gen Muntu said the government should learn from the current wave of change where citizens in different African countries are rising up to get out-of-date regimes out of power. Gen Muntu was on Tuesday speaking at ANT head offices in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb. “When time for change comes, you can’t stop it. Those in power would be planning how the transition is going to be done. We think that they should be seeing what is happening in Sudan and Zimbabwe,” he said. Gen Muntu said that there is a wind of change in Africa which cannot not be stopped by anyone or group of people, no matter how powerful they are. He described the harassment of former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Dr Kizza Besigye who was recently pulled out of radio talk shows by security operatives and the arrest and imprisonment of Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, as desperate efforts by the government to suppress change. Gen Muntu said that his ANT party will be launched on May 22 at Serena Conference Centre where their political, social and economic transformation agenda will be announced. Asked about his preparation for the 2021 general elections, Gen Muntu said the ANT party has been allying with various political groups like Bobi Wine’s People Power platform, the Democratic Party Bloc and the Justice Forum (Jeema). “We have been briefing these leaders to know where we have reached and to build a coalition for the 2021 elections,” he said. He said that the ANT party will work within the remaining time frame to mobilise for the 2021 elections. He said the interim leadership of the party will be unveiled at the launch, whereas the substantive leadership will be elected during a national conference that will be held after a countrywide recruitment drive. He said the constitution of ANT does not provide for traditional structures similar to those of other parties adding that it will not have a party president. Government spokesperson, Mr Ofwono Opondo, however, said recently that What Muntu is saying is a vote of no confidence in himself and his group.