Ms Maria Mutesi, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) taskforce deputy spokesperson has said President Yoweri Museveni will not participate in the second presidential debate slated for February 14.
Mutesi said the NRM presidential flagbearer will be making final pitches to Ugandans before campaigns close on February 16 a move that is likely to crush Ugandans’ hopes of seeing him debating the other seven candidates.
“He can’t participate in the debate because of his tight campaign schedule,” Mutesi said.
Asked why President Museveni is shying away from debating his opponents to account for the three decades he has been in power, Ms Mutesi argued that most of the questions have been asked by journalists and Ugandans and that answering the same questions during the debate would be a repetition.
President Museveni who also snubbed the inaugural debate on January 15 dismissed it as a childish event that wasn’t worth his time. He also skipped debates in 2011, 2006 and 1996 when Uganda held its first-ever elections since Museveni had taken over power 10 years earlier.
Peace and security, foreign relations, East African integration, the Great Lakes region and terrorism will be the main focus in the February 14 debate.
