Although the Constitutional Court last week upheld the removal of the age limit from the constitution, the man behind the amendment, Igara West Member of Parliament, Raphael Magyezi has been having it rough since the bill was passed on December 22, 2017.
In an exclusive interview with Matooke Republic, Magyezi revealed, that the motion to amend the constitution to remove article 102(b) that initially capped the years of president at 75 years for the upper age limit and 35 years for the lower was not his idea.
The legislator revealed that the proposal arose from an individual at a constituency conference Magyezi had organized for his constituents on August 29, 2017.
At the conference which was held in Butare in Igara, Bushenyi district, Magyezi said that his constituents entrusted him with the responsibility to move the motion in Parliament. “They said we have heard this thing about the age limit.
We want to discuss it. They put it to a motion and actually voted on it. The video is there. After the vote, the said you’re our MP. Take this to Parliament and I came did some research, consulted and I came up with a proposal to move a motion to move a private members’ bill,” he said.
Age limit removal justified
Magyezi argued that not only was it within his mandate as an MP to move a private members bill, the research he did prior to tabling the motion convinced him that the age limit was a “stupid law.”
To begin with, Magyezi noted that in the Odoki Commission report that shaped the making of the 1995 Constitution, there was no age limit. According to Magyezi, it the Constituency Assembly (CA), the precursor of Parliament of Uganda that introduced the upper and lower age limits.
“The framers of the constitution did not limit ages. It was the likes of Noble Mayombo who introduced it to stop Milton Obote from running for another term. From the beginning basically, the age limit was motivated by power,” he said.
Magyezi further argued that much as the Constitution disallowed some of 75 years from running for the presidency, it allowed for someone who was 74 years and 10 months to get nominated for the office.
This means that some of 74 years can rule till he is 80 years but someone of 75 years cannot. To him, this was stupid. Magyezi also explained that the lower age limit deprived the country of young, competent and capable leaders.
“I was in Parliament with a girl of 19 years. Countries like Austria voted a president who is 31 years old. Imagine Bobi Wine – he is very popular now – was below 35. Our constitution would bar him from running for president. I found this wrong,” he said.
I was assaulted by a university professor over age limit
Magyezi further revealed that his life and family has come under constant threat since tabling the motion.
Often, the legislator receives death threats and insults right, left and centre to the extent that the President, Yoweri Museveni, took it upon himself to beef up the legislator’s security.
But this did not deter some bold people from making their moves on the infamous legislator.
One morning, as Magyezi was having his morning coffee at a hotel in Bugolobi, Kampala, a certain man walked to him and sent a blow to his face accusing him of selling the country.
“This is the Magyezi everyone is talking about,” the man who later identified as a ‘highly read’ university professor said mockingly as he pocked Magyezi in the face.
The legislator said that he had developed a thick skin and thus, abuses and insults hurled at him did not mean much as he firmly believes in what he did describing it as “my small contribution to having a better law than I found.”
“Of course Museveni will benefit from the amendment but I did not do this for him. How long do you think he will be president? Utmost 10 years. And then what? People need to think about what is ahead than focus on the present,” he noted.
Meeting with Museveni
Although the media was awash with news that Magyezi’s age limit motion was President’s Museveni making, Matooke Republic has learnt that the two did not meet until the bill was ready for the first reading in Parliament.
After making consultations with external lawyers and the Parliamentary Legal team, Magyezi convened a meeting of NRM MPs in the Parliamentary Conference Centre and told them about his bill.
“The MPs welcomed it and asked me to move it in Parliament. The NRM Chief Whip took the proposal to Cabinet but the idea was welcomed with hostility. Ministers questioned why the idea was coming from me and what not so I sought the attention of the President,” Magyezi added.
At around midnight, the President met with Magyezi and his team at State House Entebbe and the president was visibly tired until the MP engaged him on the nature of the law and why the issue should be on the individual capability of an individual, not their age.
“I told him that there are people who are 30 years but cannot even fight someone of 70 years. And some people – like the president are almost 80 years but he is in better shape that most of us the MPs. Why should a man with that ability be limited by his age?”
“He woke up and started to lecture us instead. At around 2 am, we parted and the next time I heard from him was when Red Pepper ran a story saying that he (Museveni) had given me Shs600m and a house in Kololo,” Magyezi narrated.
According to Magyezi, the president wanted to take Red Pepper to Court for the story but Magyezi declined but instead called a press conference at Parliament and cautioned Namanve-based media house to desist from the irresponsible stories lest he goes to Court.
Although Magyezi denied receiving any money from the president, he admitted to having received more security personnel from the Commander-in-Chief. Since the bill was passed and accented to, Magyezi said that President had not thanked him since he was originally opposed to it.
“There was no negotiation with Museveni. If he wishes to say thank you, he will do it but he knows I did not do it for him and from the results from the LC.1, Parish and Mayoral elections in my constituency, I have passed the litmus test,” he added.
I am coming back in 2021
Despite being arguably the most hated man in Uganda, Magyezi is confident that he will come back to Parliament in 2021.
“NRM won 22 of the 23 villages in the LC.1 elections in Igara East. We won 8 out of 9 parishes and town council mayorship. Why would I not come back to Parliament?” he wondered.
Magyezi said that he is only hated in Kampala and social media where there elites are mostly concentrated but at the grassroots, he enjoys overwhelming support.
7 years was a mistake
Although the constitutional amendment to increase the tenure of Parliament was introduced into at the second reading of his motion, Magyezi said it was moved by Mbarara Municipality MP, Michael Tusiime, in error.
Magyezi said that it was an error to for Parliament to pass an amendment that was not consulted on, violated the social contract between the voters and the MPs and did not have an appropriate Certificate of Financial Implication.
“It is like me giving you a job at my firm for two years and after your time is over, you continue working without telling me. Where do you derive that mandate to work when me who gave you the job did not agree to it,” Magyezi said hailing the Constitutional Court for “reigning supreme” and “doing their homework.”
Magyezi, however, said that he would not mind serving an extra two years in Parliament since most the MPs send less time on electioneering than legislating.
“Five years is a very short time to do much. That is why you hear that some MPs have never said anything in Parliament. If we had put this amendment to a vote, I am sure
even those opposition MPs would have voted for it.”
Legacy
“I am not here to be loved. People will love you even when you’re not there. I am here to have faith in myself to do the right thing and I am convinced that what I did was right and justified. When I am no longer here and people will have moved from abusing me to appreciating the logic behind my amendment, they will thank me,” he noted.