Newly appointed Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister who is also the Democratic Party (DP) president general, Mr Norbert Mao, has said he does not regret accepting a ministerial position to serve in a government he has fiercely criticised over the years.
Mr Mao was last week appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to serve in President Museveni’s government.
Mr Mao pledged to serve all Ugandans, despite criticism from the Opposition, who have called him a traitor.
Mr Mao also lashed out at a section of NRM members, who claim he has done nothing for the party. He said he has sacrificed a lot, including staking his life for the better of Ugandans such as the negotiations with Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony in Garamba forests.
“This appointment is just the beginning of a new era. If it’s the wind then you are about to experience an earthquake. Uganda is for us all. I have not gone to fight President Museveni in his Cabinet, or oppose him but to work for Ugandans,” he said.
Mr Mao said the Opposition struggling for change should as well negotiate for change since the incumbent is clocking 40 years in leadership.
He likened the current political situation to a relay race. “Here members of a team take turns to complete the race. If someone is to give you a stick, you have to first run with him. In a relay you don’t give a stick to someone who is walking,” he said.
Mr Mao was speaking as a chief guest at the welcoming ceremony for the Western Region DP party president, Hajj Imam Makumbi, who was returning from performing this year’s annual pilgrimage to Mecca, at his home in Masha in Isingiro District at the weekend.
He dismissed claims that he took the decision out of selfishness, adding that many politicians don’t stand out in honesty for the good of Ugandans because they fear backlash.
“If you are a leader, be a leader. I don’t want God to ask me ‘Mao what did you do when Ugandans faced challenges?’ On a slope when the brakes were not working and the country was at the verge of getting finished. I now have what to tell Him,” he said.
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