Besigye Accuses
Aga Khan of Shs120bn Bri
Besigye Accuses Aga Khan of Shs120bn Bribery.
Kiiza Besigye is the president of Forum for Democratic Change in Uganda,one of the strongest opposition side that threatens the present
government of H.E excellence Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
The FDC leader, Col. Kizza Besigye has described the award of US$75m, roughly Shs120bn deal to His Highness the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims to
construct Bujagali
Dam as ‘an act of bribery’.
The government of Uganda recently awarded the tender to construct the 250 megga watts dam to the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a consortium of the Aga Khan Development Agencies.
Addressing the UNAA 2007 convention in San Francisco city, USA, on Tuesday, Besigye said the Aga Khan, who owns the formerly
independent Daily Monitor newspaper; was given the US$75m deal by government to ensure that his newspaper would not effectively give independent views that do not favour the NRM government.
“The government uses the control of information and misinformation of the public through press and broadcast media.
“The media in Uganda has been compromised by government through, among other things, controlling the two main newspapers and turning them into government mouthpieces.
“The Aga Khan, who owns the formerly independent Daily Monitor; was recently given $75m (US Dollars) by government to construct a dam at Bujagali, thereby ensuring that his paper would not effectively give independent views that do not favour government,” Besigye said.
He told over 1,000 Ugandans at the convention that the broadcast media in Uganda has been compromised and is used to spread propaganda and misinformation because most radios are owned and controlled by representatives of the government.
Besigye called for collective effort by everyone including Ugandans in the Diaspora to overcome the NRM’s tools of repression and that this could be done through using anyone’s positions to engage in advocacy for reforms.
“All Ugandans should put pressure on the system to advance reforms. Ugandans should raise funds to support those that are trying to reform the system in order to access channels of disseminating information to the public and resources for building structures to support reforms,” he said.
He said the government uses money because NRM is now a patrimonial regime that bribes the opposition and hires support and that it would not be wrong for the opposition to do the same.
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