A European Union (EU) envoy has responded to claims by Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni that foreigners were rewarding activists and other agents money and awards to malign the country and its government.
Museveni vowed to deal with ‘foreign agents’ who have made it a habit to use newspapers and social media to damage the image of government and its officials for awards that come with juicy monetary offers.
Some of the Ugandans who have been awarded by the US and the EU for defending human rights include social media activists Prof Jimmy Spire Ssentongo and Agather Atuhaire. The duo was instrumental in exposing corruption, abuse of office and misuse of taxpayers money at Uganda’s parliament in an online exhibition.
Speaker Anita Among claimed that those exposing alleged corruption at Parliament were gays or supporters of bum-shafters. President Museveni defended the speaker. (See Details Here and There).
After Museveni’s threats against ‘foreign agents’ working for awards to malign officials in his government, Prof Ssentongo joked that he would task the EU, which has previously awarded him for defending human rights, should give him the money the president talked about on top of the award.
“The President said that he is aware that those who are exposing government are given a lot of money by foreigners through Awards. The President can’t be telling a lie. I trust his sources. I’m therefore going to sue the EU for giving me an award WITHOUT A SINGLE CENT,” wrote Ssentongo.
“The President has intelligence that the award came with a lot of money. I’m going to use that as testimony in ICC. The EU swindled my money, and I won’t allow to be broke with this knowledge of what transpired. If they don’t give me that money I worked for, I’m returning the empty plaque as well. Mr President, kindly accept to be my witness.”
Ssentongo, tongue-in-cheek, further asked Museveni to share intelligence on how much money the EU was supposed to give him for the Human Rights Defender Award and where it was deposited, thus:
Mr President, as I follow up my case (among others who work for foreigners) to demand for my Award money from the EU, I have a small request from you to help build my case. How much was that money? I want to demand with exact figures, from those EU swindlers. And I hope they don’t tell me that they are only corrupt ‘by mistake’.
You know they could argue that they only took the money by mistake out of excitement, and that they should be given AMNESTY. For me a thief is a thief, and the EU must be punished for swindling my money. I want blood. My friend here is advising me to let go. He says that “if we punish all the EU, whom shall we work with?” I don’t buy his opportunistic defence of thieves, and I know you support me.
Kindly help me trace that money. Was it deposited on the personal account of the EU Ambassador as CSR, or his officers’? Was it delivered through Government? If the latter is the case, I give up on the money. For it might have ended up where our taxes go. I will move on to another gig for foreigners. They surely should pay me for talking about what we deserve as Ugandans. How on earth could we expect a Ugandan to demand for better services and accountability without being paid to do so!! This is Uganda, we must be paid for whatever we do. Patriotism is nonsensical utopia.
Ambassador of the European Union to Uganda, Jan Sadek, made it clear that the professor’s Human Rights Award does not come with money.
“Dear Your Excellency President Museveni, and dear Dr Jimmy Spire Ssentongo, let me remind that the Human Rights Defenders Award, while priceless and invaluable, is actually non-monetary,” wrote Sadek.
“I wish both of you best of luck in your noble fight against corruption!”
Museveni has vowed to crush corrupt officials – but saluted sanctioned speaker Anita Among. (Read Story Here).
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