Whew! The heat has gone up in the kitchen, as President is acting funny these days but won’t say it. President Museveni has suffered a well-deserved media thrashing this week after he unnecessarily tried to help Alintuma Nsambu to win in Bukoto South byelections but his PR people have been a disaster so far apart from obviously Andrew Mwenda.
Mwenda’s so called ‘reconciliatory’ articles in his Independent magazine should have been better authored by someone like Pamela Anakunda or Tamare Mirundi or any of those guys at the media center. What he’s basically doing is some form of PR for president Museveni, and he is making a lot of money out of it through sales. For instance, his introduction in the article entitled: ‘Meeting Mama Miria ‘ gives it all away particularly where he says:’’ What has not been said is how and why, over the last two years, President Museveni has been on a quiet journey to reconcile with former friends turned foes.’’. Mr. Mwenda is doing damage control because a lot of scandals have ruptured the Museveni administration and running such series is supposed to give a different side to the Museveni people have come to know. A visionary!
Andrew Mwenda is trying to justify and rationalize his hero’s sorry record by not smearing any of Musevenis’ arch-rivals in the process, apart from obviously Dr.Besigye whom he keeps portraying more as a mob leader. Anyway, he can stick that mirror someplace where his gerbils can see themselves but some of us are not buying into all this. He is trying to justify and rationalize Museveni’s sorry record of having the most corrupt administration since independence, something we’ll be consumed by it for a lot longer than expected.
You see PR is a very important thing for any administration anywhere in the world, and I think Andrew is tactically doing it very well. For instance, George Bush Junior spent at least $88 million in fiscal 2004 on contracts with major public relations firms. The Clinton administration spent $37 million in 2001.Here in Britain, Tony Blair used to have a lot of PR people and they went into gear when he the British masses were protesting against the bombing of a madman in Iraq.
However, Mwenda’s articles raise a lot of the issues that Ugandans are talking about, that president Museveni knows when to use, surprise, torture, and reconcile with anyone when they least expect it. His article about how Museveni came to reconcile with UPC’s notorious Rwakasisi Chris speaks volumes of how influential Andrew Mwenda is in Museveni’s administration. I think the main issue these articles raise is just how gullible Mwenda and Museveni obviously think Ugandans are to be fooled by this naked propaganda produced, directed and marketed by a loyal journalist who is capable of influencing the president in any direction he wants. It also raises more questions about the ‘old Mwenda’ who used to write stuff that antagonized the government but he is now a bedfellow of president Museveni. The question is: how many people are going through the same cycle as Andrew Mwenda went through- pretending to oppose the government when in actual sense they are working for president Museveni?
Of course some UPC guys love Andrew Mwenda’s ‘re-conciliatory’ articles as much as anyone else in the NRM. It makes them feel like there were/ are the real opposition against president Museveni but the fact is UPC is so weak at the moment. All Museveni needs right now to finish them off is to turn the north into NRM’s favorite spot, something he is probably working on. It won’t matter who will be the leader at Uganda House as long as a wedge is created between them and their main base(the north).
Anyway, as they say: ‘when you have lemons, you make lemonade’. May be with the gullible in the Uganda media center, it’s time for president Museveni to make ‘gulliblenade’ out of them. Ms.Lydia Nabusayi is a member of the Ugandans At Heart(UAH) forum but it is only Pamera Atukunda and Ms.Phionah Kesasi that grease the engine when its needs greasing. Shame!!!!!!!!!!
Byebyo ebyange
Abbey
WB Kyijomanyi
Jul 15, 2012 @ 12:52:58
Abbey:
Mwenda is only doing so for his pockets. Remember how he used to call YKM’s regime corrupt compared to Rwanda where he made a fortune doing PR for Kagame, first in the Monitor and now Independent. BTW, I met a Rwandese Ob who told me how Mwenda has used his connections to Kagame to recruit several people in the Ugandan media and academia to write positive stories about Rwanda. He mentioned names, but that is something for another day.
Yes, The Media center is asleep. I said that it was mistake to bring in new people rather promote Ms Pamela Ankunda or my friend Ms. Phionah Kesaasi who moved on. They used to say something in UAH but these days no one says anything. Recently it was the IGP who was trying and he is still trying. To be fair the IGP is one of the most hardworking civil servants. He is all over the place putting out fires started by NRM crooks who are busy lying to YKM so they can get money. Their interest is more chaos and not less because that is when they get more money.
I think Mr. Mwenda and Mr Kateregga are doing the same thing only that Mwenda seems to be benefiting a lot more financially.
The best PR places mint money. I told you of the lawyer by the name of Mr lanny Davies, a Yale law school classmate of the Clintons who is one of the best in PR. If a scandal breaks out involving a senior Democrat, it is Mr. Lannny Davis who goes on the talk shows. As a lawyer he knows or is careful what to say and not say. That is what some young lawyers in Uganda should venture into. Doing PR on the side. The trouble is that most Ugandan law firms are made of 2 or 3 lawyers and thus lack the depth. The exception is Katende, Ssempebwa Advocates which is why the firm is still going strong and thriving.
Mr. Mwenda is exploiting the lacunae in YKM’s media team. Mirundi lacks the temperament so he is more of a PR disaster than the savvy type. Ms Nabusayi used to be good but is silent. To be a good Media person, you must have a lot of power and be member of the Kitchen cabinet for access purpose, which Tamale Mirundi lacks.
Compare him to Mr. Kabira, President Kibaki’s point man in the media. I understand he is treated like family and is untouchable. All the rest including young people like have gone but he is still standing . Kenya also has Dr Mutua the govt spokesperson who is decent and funny. Now he wants to be Governor of Machakos County.
Something tells me that Mr. Kateregga could be in the mix for something because honestly he would be a great improvement over Mirundi.
Mwenda is done. He can never fool anyone including the international community. Him and his team are only interested in money and of course generating articles for his Independent paper. I read somewhere that YKM had reconciled with Mzee Boniface Byanyima whose ranch he took away.
I suppose Mwenda tells YKM that he will have to write about those secret meetings in his paper. YKM looks good, Mwenda makes money. I mentioned here Mwenda’s brother who is colonel now based in Somalia. He is one who arrested Captain Rwaboni Okwir and dumped him on the pick up like sack of potatoes. Then Mwenda writes about lack of human rights in Uganda, when his brother is violating rights. Excuse me.
WBK
sarah
Jul 15, 2012 @ 15:03:16
it does not matter who communicates the content provided the msg reaches to the targeted audience.thus the communication was delievered and u reached and u got it clearly.
Richard Mukasa
Jul 15, 2012 @ 15:22:13
I am not Obote’s fun but I’m sure that he had no bad intent in whatever he did when he was a president. All that forced him to make terrible decisions like abrogating the constitution of Uganda and attacking the Lubiri were as a result of his ignorance about good decision making processes and the ignorance about normative ethical theories such as consiquentialism.
During the meeting between M7 and Mama Miria Obote Kalule, M7 should have apologised for NRA’s killings of Obote’s father Mr Stanley Opeto Anyanga and his mother Ms Imat Puli Obote’s. This meeting should have been an opportunity for M7 to do an internal search within his inner-most self to so as to ponder and to reflect on the foolish and silly actions that he took.
With all the love, respect, accepting, and dignity which Obote offered and treated M7 with, there was no reason whatsoever as to why M7 had to send troops to Obote’s fathers home to have him killed. As if that was not bad enough, NRA made sure that Obote’s mother was also killed. Obote is one of the few leaders who looked beyond one’s tribe or social class. He never discriminated people because his government was not based on tribes but on competence. Of course Obote failed to professionalise the army and also made terrible decisions like promoting Amin for a bad reason and using him to do dirty work. Any critical thinker would know that this does not mean that Obote’s parents had to be killed. All it means is that one should not do the mistakes that Obote did. There was no reason at all for NRA to carry out silly revenge against Obote’s parents and against the entire population of Northern Uganda.
M7’s reckless and un-thought-through actions against the people that loved, respected, and even accepted him for who he was goes even yonder than one can imagine. For example, what reason can M7 give for haunting Mzee Bonaface Byanyima, a man who loved him and even treated him like his own son. M7 was an under-class, a loner and foreigner who some uncharitable people would not have want to be around their families due to his social class. However, M7 made sure that he mistreated everyone that accepted him or treated him humanely.
In Buganda, M7 was l accepted by the people just as they trusted Obote way back in history. However, M7’s symptom of employing deception and betrayal could not allow him to sustain his relationship with them neither did it help him to avoid his old habits. Indeed, he refused the kabaka to go to Kayunga and even promised to harm him if he did. The people who demonstrated against this action were executed on the order of M7 Kaguta.
Instead of bribing the victims of his psychological dysfunctions, M7 should seek help from psychologists to help him with this issue. Because his dysfunctions, Ms Imat Puli Obote’s mother was murdered in March 1993 by NRA. The only crime which she committed was giving birth to Milton Obote. Now, if M7 is not mentally sick then why did he allow this to happen? Why on Earth would any sane person do such a thing?
If M7’s parents were not killed when he was in the bush, why did he allow NRA to kill Obote’s parents?
Even Idi Amin who people regard to be a worse murderer never killed M7 or Obote’s parents. Reconciliation requires one to accept that he did wrong and then seeks forgiveness. It is not about bribing victims. Secondly because M7 has no explanations of his behaviours, he cannot benefit from reconciliation. All he has to do is to seek psychological interventions and that is the only thing that shall stop him from shedding blood.
Henry Ford Miirima
Jul 15, 2012 @ 15:25:43
It is now clear by the posting on the subject of the by-election in
Bukoto South which was lost to NRM although Museveni personally
campaigned for the NRM candidate. The posting says President Museveni
is losing rip on the politics of Uganda. It is possible he is on his
way out even before the 2016 elections which he plans to rig like he
has been doing before.
Two weeks ago I met the Senior Presidential Advisor, Omubiito Mulindwa
Birimumaaso who prides himself in describing himself as a grandson of
Kabaleega. He is indeed a Mubiito of Kooki.
We talked a lot and I reminded him how as a Senior Presidential
Adviser it is one of his duties to advise the president on any
subject.
Why has he not advised President Museveni to release Banyoro’s 900
million Pound Sterling Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth handed him and told
him to give it to us before he leaves office.
If Museveni does not give us our money, and now he has told us not to
talk about oil any more, how does he want to be remembered in
Bunyoro-Kitara. What is the legacy he is planning to leave in
Bunyoro-Kitara?
Henry Ford Miirima
WB Kyijomanyi
Jul 15, 2012 @ 15:37:57
Folks:
Well, what can you say about Mr. Mwenda. But what is his motive in writing about a supposedly private meeting?
It is clear from the article that Mr. Mwenda enjoys unlimited access to YKM. And he is an independent journalist!. Hello! And who is YKM’s presidential escort commander? How could he let the president to drive in his official car without escort? What an idiot. A presidential escort commander has the final word and he or she can actually override the president. His or word is final on the security of the president. I invite you to ponder the consequences of such stupidity.
Talking of presidential escort commander, maama Lucy Kibaki just got rid of President Kibakis escort commander Mr. Kitili (mukamba) for allowing her rival, the other woman to meet Mzee Kibaki at Haraambe House . For that lapse of judgment, the former escort commander is now head of the armory section at police headquarters, replaced by the former recce, the elite GSU unit commander.
Now it is the same Mr. Andrew Mujuni Mwenda who denounced the Monitor for trying to censor him supposedly on orders from HH the Aga Khan. How many in UAH cheered him then? Shame on you. He said some unpalatable words against the majority shareholders of the Monitor. Well, well.
Ugandans are funny and so deserve to be screwed kabisa. I know similar shenanigans were going on in the UK media as recent events revealed.
Here is the truth folks, Mr. Mwenda is now for hire. He is after mbesha/ssente/money period. The rest is secondary. He prefers taking akasheera/fufu or whatever the official food or drink in Rwanda to real journalism. He is in journalism as a decoy to hoodwink the ever gullible Ugandans. Oh, boy.
WBK
Robert Atuhairwe
Jul 15, 2012 @ 15:38:48
Abbey,
Mwenda’s kind of PR is dramatic unlike what Museveni’s official team
is capable of. Rarely can they innovate. They only react when there is
trouble. Personally, i don’t believe in PR stunts. They can’t help a
needy nation like Uganda. They simply try to cover the rot. So if it’s
PR, neither Mwenda and the official teams are helping the President. I
suggest that he instead empowers his intelligence system to uncover
the rot and address it before the bubble bursts. Then “Media Centre
and Co. Advocates” would just come out to flash the good things in the
air.
If Mwenda officially became part of Museveni’s whitewashers, he would
be as toothless as Government systems usually render. Let him just
stay where he is if he needs a new lease of effectiveness. Before
that, Museveni should remember that Mwenda played a big part in
damaging his regime’s image and should be held accountable before
coming out to claim to be the best advocate around. That sounds harsh
but we are baying for accountability all around. Enough advice for
today!
Robert Atuhairwe
0772468064
TURANZOMWE ELASMUS
Jan 10, 2013 @ 06:47:45
Let Mwenda not make a PR for M7 for the sake of his popularity!
isabel amrant baskets
Apr 15, 2013 @ 10:01:41
The sound also is great! I have had them for 3-4 months now without a problems and Chance to find the them to help you anyone coming from all ages.