As members of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) are preparing to table a bill intended to remove the upper age limit to allow Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni to rule beyond the age of 75, another party MP has come out to reject the bill.

Kabarole District Woman MP, Sylvia Rwabwogo has come out to give her stand regarding the bill, which is expected to be tabled today by Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi.

Hon Rwabwogo says she is standing with her colleagues on the side of protecting, preserving and strengthening and defending the Constitution.

She joins fellow NRM MPs including Muhammad Nsereko (Kampala Central), Theodore Ssekikuubo (Lwemiyaga), John Baptist Nambeshe (Manjiya), Felix Okot Ogong (Dokolo South), Barnabas Tinkasiimire (Buyaga), Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East) and Alex Ruhunda (Fort Portal Municipality) among others, that have rejected the deletion of article 102b from the Constitution.

Read MP Syvia Rwabwogo’s full statement:

“Today Ugandans, especially we the leaders in Parliament face enormous responsibility.

The country is looking to us to make a major decision on whether we should change the constitution to remove age limits.

It’s no simple burden we carry. I attended the NRM caucus meeting that purported to endorse the idea that Hon. Raphael Magyezi presents a private members Bill on the matter.

I also attended the Thursday session held under the circumstances that you all witnessed. Since then you have seen the flood of notices to the Speaker from MPs uncomfortable about sections of our constitution.

The big question is, can the constitution cater for every individual Ugandan’ s interest? No one says our Constitution is perfect but how do some of the proposed amendments help it become a better document?

I have reflected on that question deeply, reflected particularly on Article 102 (b) admittedly the last safeguard to peaceful change of power that this country has never seen in now almost 55 years since independence.

I have heard mixed voices from the people of Kabarole whom I represent but as a leader they expect me to lead from the front not behind.

I think the country and we as MPs owe it to President Museveni and those he struggled to bring the current peace, stability and prosperity, we owe it to them to see their original ideals to fruition, we owe it to the framers of the 1995 Constitution to firm the country on a democratic Constitutional path.

We owe it to ourselves and our children and grand children, for those reasons, I see no value in helping the President tear down everything he fought for, I know he wanted to see a country where leaders retire and continue to give guidance to younger leaders, we owe it to him to realise that.

The only means to achieve that is building more safeguards into our constitution comprehensively not vice versa.

That is why I am standing with colleagues on the side of protecting, preserving and strengthening and defending the Constitution. If it ain’t broken, don’t mend. Keep the constitution as is especially on critical

Power management questions.

Rwabwogo Sylvia ( MP) Kabarole”