Sam Amanyire
19 February 2006
Bushenyi — Lands, Water and Environment Minister Kahinda Otafiire has said that Uganda will not compensate DR Congo for having invaded and plundered her resources. "If they think we are going to pay them, they should forget it. Let them first pay for the lives of the Kichwamba students who were burnt by ADF rebels," Maj. Gen. Otafiire said here on Thursday.
Otafiire, who is standing against FDC's Chapaa Karuhanga for the Ruhinda county seat, was addressing a rally at Karimbiro.
He vowed thus: "We will not hesitate to go back to Congo if the situation warrants it." He said Uganda was more aggrieved because the DRC gave sanctuary to ADF rebels who attacked Uganda leading to loss of life and property.
Otafiire's remarks come barely two months after the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, ruled that Uganda must compensate the DRC.
Otafiire said that it doesn't make logical sense to accuse Uganda of stealing from the DRC because, according to him, Congo is the poorest country he has ever seen.
"If they are rich, why do they resort to eating snakes, and why are we not rich after plundering them?" He added that he personally looked for something to steal from there "but there was nothing".
Renowned for his acidic tongue, Otafiire also said: "Chapaa deserves to be shot for spreading rumours that I am a womaniser." He also described him as "a first class coward" who would flee at the sound of a gunshot.
Otafiire also scoffed at FDC leader Kizza Besigye's attempt at the presidency. He said people should not fear "Besigye's wide and intimidating eyes because he can't do any thing." He appealed to the electorate in Bushenyi not to vote Besigye.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2006 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
