Ugandan Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga
This amidst uproar over President Museveni’s role in the mediation process with many raising eyebrows on the Museveni’s own campaign to run for a fifth term in office.
However Kiyonga insists that Museveni has the moral authority to be facilitator of the crisis mitigation efforts. The impasse was triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to run for a third term, a move his opponents deem a violation of the country’s Constitution.
Fielding questions from reporters on Wednesday night at the EAC headquarters, Kiyonga said extension of the presidential term limit in the Pearl of Africa was a non-issue adding that Burundi’s unrest was not attributed to term extension.
“In Uganda we do not believe in term limits neither do we think Museveni is a problem, the most important thing is to look what we have set out to do and achieve and not delve on term limits,” asserted the defense minister.
According to Kiyonga, extension of term limits is also common practice in European countries, maintaining that President Museveni has the right to lead the mediation.
Last year, the US questioned Uganda’s role in the mediation after its president relegated his role as mediator in the crisis to the backburner while he concentrated on his re-election campaign.
US assistant secretary of state for African affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield previously told a US Senate panel that the Ugandan leader's re-election bid this year had "very much distracted" him from his role as EAC mediator of the crisis.
Uganda's state minister for international affairs Henry Okello Oryem was however quick to reject the accusations saying Museveni maintains a keen eye on Burundi because he receives intelligence briefs on the situation.
He added that based on such reports, if the president "evaluated the situation in Burundi as degenerating into genocide, he would not hesitate to deploy Uganda People's Defence Forces (armed forces)".
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