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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 29898, member: 2262"] Uganda's opposition lawmakers plan to change how the country picks its top military leaders. They believe the president should not select these powerful people alone. Their new proposal would force the government to let parliament check and approve anyone chosen as Chief of Defence Forces or deputy chief. They included this idea in their defense budget plan for next year. These lawmakers worry that military leaders control way too much power and money without anyone watching them. Derrick Nyeko, who speaks for the opposition on defense matters, says parliament needs to ensure these leaders have the right education, skills, and character. He points out a strange difference in the rules: Police chiefs and prison leaders need parliament's approval, but not military commanders. The current system lets the president pick whoever he wants to lead the military. This seems crazy to the opposition since the armed forces get almost all the defense money. Nyeko plans to fix this problem by changing the military law next year. Joel Ssenyonyi, who leads all opposition members, agrees. He says President Museveni made the military chief's job even more powerful as part of his plan to hand control to his son. Ssenyonyi worries about what happens when nobody checks these appointments. The current military chief has caused problems with neighboring countries and insulted various groups. The opposition wants to make the review process much more open. They suggest announcing nominees ahead of time and letting the public watch the entire process on TV, just like Kenya does. Ssenyonyi believes good leaders should welcome public scrutiny instead of hiding from it. He also complains that the current military chief disrespects parliament because he knows they have no power over him. When lawmakers called him to answer questions, he insulted them as "clowns." The committee did nothing about this bad behavior, simply excusing it because he's "Museveni's son." The push for these changes shows growing concerns about military influence in Uganda's politics. Many people worry that power has become too concentrated with the president alone. This effort might signal an important change in how Ugandans talk about government accountability and constitutional rules. The opposition believes everyone with power should answer to the people through their elected representatives. [/QUOTE]

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