Presidency | Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Alengot Oromait Becomes one of the Best PR Museveni has ever pulled!

14 Sep 2012 4 Comments

by semuwemba in Museveni and NRM, parliament, Politics, Presidency

Friends,
One of the more apparent truths of life is the old adage that it is easier to go downhill than uphill. Similar incantations observe that breaking something is easier than putting it back together. Perhaps all this may be explained by the election of Uganda’s youngest MP-elect Proscovia Alengot Oromait who was born in 1993 when I was still doing my O’ levels. For me, this is the best Public Relations (PR) Museveni has ever pulled such that the opposition are gonna find it difficult to put this one in the bin. NRM couldn’t have hired a better public relations person than Alengot.

This is way up there with the best I have ever seen in politics such that If anybody in the opposition tries to shoot this development down, the world will look at them as: ‘freedom hating, bigoted honourables’. The best way out of this for the opposition is to compile some evidence that may probably lead to cancellation of results, thus, another by-election.

This regime (I mean the whole regime, not just president Museveni) has unlimited funds for public relations, and they have been hiring the best, including Andrew Mwenda’s so called reconciliation series in his magazine, but this is the best they have done so far. I can see all the youths jumping up and down dreaming about becoming MPs and presidents in future. Every young man and woman is going to dream now to become something because of Alengot’s election as MP in Usuk. What better way to pull the youths towards NRM than this?

If this had happened in 1994 when I was secretary and Vice chairman Kibuli.S.S Political Education Club, I would have jumped my A’levels to stand for MP straightway. Why not? I’m also allowed to dream, right?

Just to keep this preposterous public relations ploy in perspective, I have compiled a handy list to show people how Museveni is going to use this young girl to promote himself and the party among the youths: Arengot will appear in HIV/AIDS campaigns; Arengot will appear in the 2016 newly branded ‘Mpekoni’ song; Arengot will probably become a state minister after 2016 and M7 will appear to be promoting a leader within for the first time; Arengot will probably become married soon to promote the accepted moral structures, after all she is already promoting the de-facto national dress(Buganda’s gomes), Arengot will be on our TV and newspapers so often, e.t.c

The debate over whether she has enough experience to be an effective MP obscures the real questions: When is a vote for a young candidate reasonable? Why has NRM turned to the young ones to produce their base in parliament? Is Museveni trying to repair what he has broken? Is Museveni becoming wiser in the old age?

These are questions we should be asking ourselves, after all, the world has seen young people becoming something big before. For instance, Dr.Besigye was in Museveni’s cabinet at the age of 28, I think. USA’s newly elected Republican representative Aaron Schock, is the youngest member of Congress at 28. Donald Rumsfeld is a Princeton graduate who became the youngest Secretary of Defense in the history of USA. Dr. Condoleezza Rice graduated high school at the age of 15 and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Denver in 1974 (at age 19); her master’s from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. Additionally, Dr. Rice began piano studies at age 3 and took up competitive figure skating in high school (rising at 4:30 am to practice before school).

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro was at a Democratic Party Convention as Keynoter a few days ago. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School (like his twin brother Joaquin, a Texas state representative), and in 2009 he became the youngest mayor of a top 50 U.S. city. I watched him on TV seated next to Michelle Obama during the convention and I thought: ‘ouch, some people are lucky!’

Basically, at the age of 18 all parental responsibility is legally ended and the person is considered to be an adult, fully able to make, and take responsibility for, all of their choices. If Arego was 17 years old, the critics would have a point but 19? Well I suppose it’s really only matters if you are in the opposition and realise that Museveni has scored where he was least expected to score. It looks like all the opposition wins in byelections have been overshadowed by this PR stunt, and i really feel sorry for them. I bet few people are now talking about Butambala and Muwanga Kivumbi yet it was a massive achievement for Ssubi and DP.

The right to vote, to drink, to smoke, to drive, etc. are all restricted to those who have reached 18 years old. The reason primarily is that it is assumed that until one reaches a certain age they cannot be trusted to act responsibly in regard to these things.

The best thing for a child is what the parent says is the best thing for their child (excluding physical and sexual abuse) but Arengot’s dad is dead, and his death seems to have given the daughter a life line. If she can survive questioning without contradicting herself, and can produce any developments in her constituency, then she will be MP for a good number of years.

All she needs to do is to be open with her thoughts and willing to share what information she can, and remain guarded – cautious and thoughtful in a manner critics will mistaken as cold.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

NRM Is The Most Unethical Administration In the History of Uganda

05 Jul 2012 Leave a Comment

by semuwemba in Museveni and NRM, Politics, Presidency

Friends,
Some of you sound disappointed when Ugandans never chip in on the debates about:”forms of electoral malpractice and correcting the accompanying processes”, but i think this is to do with the fact that we have got the most unethical government in power such that whatever we propose, it will be a wastage of time. In any case, the government knows what they need to do to make elections free and fair but they are not willing to do it. Basically, they are not bothered as long as they retain power.

The more we know about president Museveni, the more it is obvious he was really a bad deal for us from the start. The scandals that have dominated his leadership for the last 26 years shows that there is an absolute abuse of Presidential power at the highest levels. Iddil Amin was a mediocre at best President but a lot of Ugandans are probably appreciating him now more than President Museveni despite his weak points. I know of few, if any, historians who rank him as great!

Museveni’s clinging to power(using all means necessary) have not only paralyzed him as a leader, but have also created a great schism in this nation. Now, I see a nation where a few people support Museveni’s job, and the majority frustrated ones wondering why the public isn’t getting mad, and why they can’t dent M7. It’s really rather amusing to observe. When the W2Work started, i guess a lot of people on this forum thought: ”this is it”, but i knew it wasn’t gonna bring him down. Yes, some people made political capital out of it but that is where it ended.

Good leaders know how to build bridges between disparate constituencies. To me, Mao, is one of those leaders that have learned on the job to do this despite various unconfirmed sources that he is an agent of NRM & Preident Museveni in opposition. His statement on the ‘Ugandans at Heart’ forum that he was gonna learn how to eat ‘amalewa’ because he is soon visiting Mbale’s Nandara Mafabi to mend fences over the fall out in East Africa General Assembly elections, spoke volumes. That is why i think the DPs should give him a chance to rebuild their party. Museveni, on the other hand, is a typical male who likes to display male rhetoric full of male hormones, as in like:’ndi musajja nyo, oyo Besigye namuwangula’. Now, if you are Besigye, how would you feel about this – very well knowing that the man cheated you in 2001, 2006 and 2011, and he is chest thumping about it.

And Museveni’s hatred of his domestic opponents has led him to create the secret “plumbers” and to corrupt the ISO, the CMI,the UPDF and the police – such that wherever one runs to after being unfairly treated by the system, they would lose to the president. Judging from what I sometimes hear on the radio and TV and see in the papers, I must be among the few Ugandans alive outside Uganda who don’t think that elections will ever take Museveni and NRM out of power. So, even discussing ways of stopping the rigging is a headache to me, to be honest.

Museveni controls everything in Uganda. If he was a media company, i would equate him to CNN in USA. CNN owners create wars, confusion, scandals,………… to get something on their TV. The choppers are owned by Ted Turner and he uses them to foment discord somewhere once his news teams are in place. Thus, he insures CNN of yet another Emmy/Pulitzer prize for covering the latest “breaking news.” Similarly, in Uganda, Museveni is capable of creating infighting both in NRM and other parties, and he would later come in as a peacemaker. Uganda is basically Museveni’s personal Island, if you know what i mean.

One of the most enjoyable things about being over 30 years old is watching the younger generations make the same dumb mistakes, the same stupid assumptions,buy the same political scams and fall for the same societal gimmicks and not having a clue as to what is really going on. The fun is seeing that look on their faces, when the truth finally hits them. For example, i used to tell my young brother not to waste time on girls when he was in secondary school but he never listened to me, but he didn’t know i was talking from experience.So, he missed out on a good course at university yet he is a brilliant guy because his head was always between the legs.

Museveni became a president when i was arguably a kid and i kind of supported him, but i have come to learn that i was really a real kid/naive. I should never have had hopes in the guy in the first place. As a result, I have learnt not to have hope in anyone especially if im not in position to influence that person directly myself. It appears no matter who gets in power, there ends up being some individual who will then think he does have a govern program to cure some natural process, or some operation, to make the life of others extremely unbearable.

It appears that our greatest enemy at this point in time and history seems to be a psychological phenomenon known as “cognitive dissonance”. Recognizing this, I now struggle to see some means of overcoming it, with great frustration and no real answers. Although I’m sure you are familiar with it, I offer you some information on this disease below.

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe, and new information or interpretation. It therefore occurs when there is a need to accommodate new ideas, and it may be necessary for it to develop so that we become “open” to them. Beyond this benign if uncomfortable aspect, however, dissonance can go “over the top”, leading to two interesting side-effects for learning:

If someone is called upon to learn something which contradicts what they already think they know particularly if they are committed to that prior knowledge they are likely to resist the new learning. So, when you are a NRM supporter and someone tells you that Museveni rigged the election, evenif you know it is true, you are going to come up with all reasons under the sun, to dispel it. It is only when people admit it ,at both local and national level, that rigging is a reality, that we will come up with agreeable solutions.

Counter-intuitively, perhaps if learning something has been difficult, uncomfortable, or even humiliating enough, people are less likely to concede that the content of what has been learned is useless, pointless or valueless. To do so would be to admit that one has been “had”, or “conned”. So there is the reason the people of Uganda won’t see what is staring them in the face. Some of them are simply too ‘Musevenised’ to admit they’ve been duped, even though their survival depends on it. I have used the word ‘Musevenised’ to avoid using the word ‘stupid’ but my intentions, all the same, are honorable.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Semuwemba

Besigye-M7 Pending talks is a ”Bone-head” idea but a bit exciting

03 Jan 2012 1 Comment

by semuwemba in Corruption, FDC, IPC, kingdoms, media in Uganda, Museveni and NRM, Politics, Presidency

The Observer front page headline on 02/01/2012

Friends,

The story in the Observer about Besigye and Museveni planned talks is more like a replay of what happened between Zanu-PF and the MDC in Zimbabwe a few years ago. You remember those talks that were mediated by then South African president,Thabo Mbeki. The difference here is that Mwenda and Conrad Nkutu seem to be the big players in this whole thing which is a bit strange. I know Andrew Mwenda is a bit influential in the Museveni government but he is also someone who is not in good books with Besigye at the moment. So, anything where he is involved may raise suspicions.

It is also obvious that the story was intentionally leaked to the press to see the reaction from both camps: Besigye and Museveni’s, and the elites who read such stories published in English. So far, both sides have remained silent about it which confirms that something is in the pipeline. Even the big ‘mouthed’ Tamare Mirundi has not come out yet with his ‘bullets’ to shoot those ‘Nagendaising’ the situation, which shows that this is a big thing in the corridors of power in Uganda. The story has appeared both in the Newvision and Observer newspapers.

However, the whole exercise of these talks is a misdirected effort because the majority of Ugandans would be happy if president Museveni offers a quick time frame to step down from the presidency, but this is not something we expect from these talks. Museveni is not ready to give up power to anybody soon despite the recent Daily Monitor headline of ‘I will not stay in power forever’. The man has no intention at all to give up an inch of power, and I’m sure Besigye is aware of it, and we assume he (Besigye) is bothered by it .So what will be the basis of these talks, I wonder.

On the other hand, senior FDC officials are increasingly aware that there is a need to start planning for a political future after Dr.Besiggye, but do not quite know how to achieve that end. Besigye has already announced his intention to stand down from the FDC presidency despite his undoubted popularity among Ugandans. So, why involve himself in political deals he may not be there to supervise and see to it that they are fully implemented? Let’s say, for instance, Museveni agrees to a power sharing interim government, what will be Besigye’s and the new FDC president positions in the new government? Who will be the superior decision maker in the new government? This whole thing may ultimately weaken FDC if not handled properly.

Seriously, I don’t have a problem with the idea of talks between the opposition and Museveni government, and it is indeed encouraging to see that some people want it to happen, but there is a lot of water under the bridge at the moment- which makes it a bonehead idea at the moment.

A lot of people are in prison or exile because of the fights that have been going between these two guys, and I’m wondering if they have got any stake in these talks. Will there be an unconditional amnesty granted to all those perceived to be enemies of the state? Will all political prisoners be pardoned and let back on the street to do whatever they want before or after these talks? What about other stakeholders, such as the Mengo administration and Ssubi, which formed an alliance with Besigye in 2011 elections to see that Buganda achieves its demands from the central government? Will the Kabaka be involved in these talks? What about the religious leaders who are tired of corruption in government offices and would like the government to also get tough on homosexuality? What about those who just want to see the back of president Museveni for good as soon as possible and Besigye was seen as a representation of such feelings?

That’s why I think that the idea of talks between ‘Ajja Genda’ and ‘Mpekoni’ or ‘do u want another rap’ guy makes very little sense. Yes, looking for the “good”, or looking for the “truth” both proceed by talking and also by investigation and neither, in and of themselves, result in the creation of a sustainable political climate. However, looking for good as opposed to truth is precisely what has led Sub-Saharan Africa to its present downward spiral. Instead of recognizing truths which require little study and even less talk, western governments, media and academe have consistently tried to see good at the expense of recognizing such clear and obvious truths. The damage that this has done is just as evident and all in the service of a corrupt concept of natural equality.

If, therefore, we are to have meaningful talks between the government and opposition, president Museveni must publicly state that he is going to resign from the presidency at a specific date. Short of that, we may as well say that Besigye has betrayed the people who put too much trust in him. All the truth about everything evil this government has done must be put on the table as enough reason for the president to hang his boots as soon as possible. Truth is truth and looking the other way helps no one.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Semuwemba

Bidandi:Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming but prepare for a Muhoozi presidency!

20 Sep 2011 1 Comment

by semuwemba in media in Uganda, Museveni and NRM, Politics, Presidency

Guys,
Bidandi ssali’s letter to Major Muhoozi is a land mine for the former but it just confirms what I have always told people that there is no serious opposition in Uganda. I don’t know what Bidandi and former DP president, Kawanga Ssemogerere, see in letter writing as far as changing Uganda politics is concerned, because these two guys have been writing letters to whoever is in power since 1980s. I’m not surprised that both of them are going to die without ‘tasting’ the presidency. You don’t become a president in Uganda by annually writing letters in the media. Bidandi is not a serious opposition leader. He once called Paul Semogerere ‘docile’ on one of the FM stations (when he was still in NRM) but I see no difference between them now.

Yes, Bidandi urges Muhoozi to prove to himself, to his family, and to the world, that he makes his own decisions, and that his being the son of president Museveni has got nothing to do with anything, but I cannot see Muhoozi doing so because he has become what he is because of his father. Bidandi is inviting him to walk through a land mine here because Muhoozi cannot afford to start rebelling against his father. Such advice is ok for sons of leaders in developed nations but not Africa. A label like ‘being son or daughter of a big man in government’ can help one gate crash anything. If, for instance, Muhoozi opens up a facebook account right now, several Ugandans would rush to become his friends because he is simply the son of Museveni. People create ‘ghost’ friends and enemies when they are in that kind of position.

To be honest, I just hate all of Bidandi’s letters because they seem to do a PR for Muhoozi and Museveni than anything else. He wrote one during the previous presidential campaigns which I again thought was more of a PR for Museveni than anything else, especially where he sneaked in the issue of Museveni visiting his son in the hospital. The leader of a supposedly a national party (PPP) writing to the president of a nation about national issues and then concludes the message with a personal note….. I thought this was either an intended political miscalculation from Mr.Bidandi or he was just overwhelmed with parental emotions when writing this letter. In all fairness, President Museveni visited Bebe Cool to tap votes of the musician’s supporters.

The way Bidandi sounded in the letter to Muhoozi one would think that he was talking to a son of Martin Luther King, sr. You see Martin Luther King, Jr. was a son of a preacher but despite his unprivileged Negro background, everybody could see that he was a man on a mission to save a certain group of people. So who is Muhoozi really going to save? He is basically looking at the presidency as the highest he can get after being put on a speed boat in army promotions.

Like I said, there is nothing in Uganda at the moment that can stop Muhoozi from becoming the next president of Uganda. Letter writing, wiki-leaks cables, restoration of term limits, media interviews by NRM old guards,……. are all not going to stop the Muhoozi project. It is only the UPDF and foreign nations that can stop it if they decide to do so.

In any case, what Museveni is doing with Muhoozi is not that much different from what George Bush, Sr. did to help his son to become president. Actually, somebody wrote a damaging and well researched book: ‘Fortunate Son’ by J.H. Hatfield, to open the eyes of the Americans on what they were electing into the White House, but it did not stop Bush, Jr. from becoming the president. The book showed Bush’s weak academic performances, his three known arrests, his alcoholism, the failure of all of his oil companies, you name it, but he still made it to the presidency.

This same Bush did not even give a damn on how the public perceived him before he became the president. At one time during a conversation with Hartford Courant associate editor David Fink, he was asked at the 1988 Republican Convention: “When you’re not talking politics,” Fink asked the vice president’s son, “what do you and [your father] talk about?” “Pussy,” George W. replied. I’m sure he made a lot of people to long for one then.

So, those who think that because Muhoozi was allegedly involved in some shoot outs at Kasubi tombs where two people lost their lives, the ‘’massacres’’ in Karamojja or whatever, then it is capable of twisting the minds of Ugandans in rural areas when he is presented as NRM presidential candidate, they should plan for something else. Such propaganda does not stop sons of former presidents from winning the presidency. In any case, Muhoozi has already done a PR of his own by writing a book, whose title I even don’t know up to now, because I know why he wrote it. He will also be helped by the fact that NRM and the government now control the radio space in the country which can reach out to the biggest masses. If probably Ugandans At Heart was a radio station that covers at least 60% of Uganda, he should have been worried.

Byebyo ebyange
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Mike Mukula Was Right about the Muhoozi- Museveni ‘presidency’ and the opposition cannot stop it

16 Sep 2011 1 Comment

by semuwemba in Politics, Presidency, UPDF

Friends,

Muhoozi in the middle of president Museveni and Cabinet minister to Karamoja

Yes, it was good for president Museveni’s son, Major General Muhoozi, to come out and clarify on the comments reportedly made by Mike Mukula as revealed by wiki-leaks. Muhoozi hides behind the curtains a lot like ‘omugole’( a bride) yet people want to know what he is thinking. Tugumizemu Vernon, the leader of the ‘’Muhoozi Generation Network ‘’ on facebook, told us recently that he ( Muhoozi) follows Ugandans At Heart[UAH] but he should come out a bit more. We don’t know him and what he is in his head. So maybe we are wrongly judging him.

If I’m being honest with you, there was a time I believed that Muhoozi will automatically be Uganda’s next president, but from what I have observed in the last 9 months, I think this project will prove to be disastrous for president Museveni if he goes ahead with it. I’m not saying that it is not going to happen but it will bury him if he is not careful. The world has changed so much and everyone is looking for an excuse to attack someone, and there will be no better excuse for the ‘big boys’ to kick Museveni’s butt in future if he goes ahead and promotes his son to the presidency.

Having said that, I have come to believe that one does not become a president in Uganda because of mere elections. May be, it will change in the next 10-20 years but not now. So if anyone thinks that elections will stop Muhoozi from becoming our next president, please think again.

Museveni knows that he will meet resistance within NRM, the UPDF, and parliament if he imposes Muhoozi on Ugandans but this will not stop him if he is determined to pursue this project. Of all the institutions that may resist this ‘’Muhoozi project’’, it is only the army he is afraid of. Muhoozi will not be fielded as NRM candidate if president Museveni senses that the military, and in this case UPDF, may cause huge problems. Forget about the rest and their problems. It is only the military that may internally stop it but not elections of any kind.

Elections are useless in Uganda because president Museveni can use them to get whatever he wants. Without going into the presidential rigging that is often rightly cited by the opposition, Let me give you an example of the two referendums to either stay with the Movement or Multiparties, and the vice versa.

The first one was held in June 2000 and the second was held in July 2005. Those who voted ‘‘Yes’’ to Movement system were 4,471,681 that represented a 90.7% according to the Electoral Commission. Those who ticked or voted ‘‘No’’ to Multiparty system were 442,843 which represented 09.3% of the total votes.

The second referendum was held after less than 4 years but the results again came out as President Museveni wanted them to be. Those who said ‘‘Yes’’ to Multiparty system were 3,736,367 which represented a good 92.4% of the total votes cast. Those who ticked ‘‘No’’ to Movement system were 297,865 representing 07.6% of the total votes.

So basically elections in Uganda cannot stop Museveni from being the president of Uganda even if 90% of Ugandans vote for the opposition. Similarly, they cannot stop his son or anybody he wishes, from becoming the next president.

Apart from the UPDF, international pressure or intervention would also be able to stop the Muhoozi project, because there is nothing on the ground that is capable of stopping Muhoozi from becoming the president of Uganda if Museveni wants him to. The opposition is weak, parliament can easily be twisted, the media is under his control, the old NRM historicals have accumulated a lot of wealth and have got no appetite to wage more wars, and the man with the ”hat” on his head almost controls everything in the country.

Let’s face it: Muhoozi is President Museveni’s project with a lot of money behind it, and Captain Mike Mukula was so right in his remarks to the Americans though I read somewhere that he had started backtracking for fear of the ‘big eyes’ from the big fella in state house angrily rolling all over him. Having Muhoozi in state house is like having Museveni in another form. We don’t need that anymore. We need to find a break from all this NRM, musevenism, Janet Musevenism, Muhoozi Musevenism, e.t.c

If you ask me, I would tell you that I respect poor people who join the military so much but it is not something I would recommend to anybody. It is too much sacrifice taken by the young men and women out there who join this service to serve their country. The military men are paid so poorly worldwide apart from obviously the top bosses yet they sacrifice so much.

However, the military training tends to give people some kind of discipline and routine in their life. So I think it is good for the sons of the rich, monarchies, the privileged, e.t.c. That’s why sons of royals in the UK all enlist in the military at some point but I would not recommend it to anybody from a poor background. It is not easy to become successful in the military when you are under privileged though some few people have made it and eventually became great leaders.

But obviously I cannot say the same thing for Muhoozi who joined the UPDF as soon as he graduated at university. Since then, he has been on a variety of courses abroad including in the prestigious Sandhurst in the UK. I think he is the most paper qualified UPDF soldier at the moment.

Abbey

Not Excited by John Nagenda’s Interview to Sunday Monitor

05 Sep 2011 4 Comments

by semuwemba in media in Uganda, Politics, Presidency

Dr. John Nagenda

Friends,

I’m not so excited by Nagenda’s interview because I believe he is now a ”nobody” in Museveni’s political ambitions.In any case, there is nothing he said that is not already known to Ugandans. Some people in the media and opposition will try to hype it a little bit but I’m sure Nagenda has already received a phone call telling him to ‘calm down’. If the interview had been made by one of the big guys in the army, Museveni would have lost his sleep but not a presidential advisor. The army is the main thing that terrifies Museveni now but nothing else.

However, Nagenda’s interview in the Sunday Monitor is full of foundation rattling comments that would seem to deserve a reaction from State House. The smart money suggests that this is only the beginning of the fall out of Museveni with the old guards or so called NRM historicals – that similar comments will be made by others in the next few years. It is only natural if somebody has been in power for such a long time.

Nonetheless, the interview has raised Nagenda’s stakes but that is as far as it goes. He may either be promised something better than presidential advising or he is going to be pulled down by the very system he helped to build. I think as presidential advisor he’s scaled new heights of slime and outrageousness.

Nagenda’s interview is a bit confusing, though, because he is very skilled at dancing around the periphery of issues. Any answers he delivered to the Sunday Monitor can survive a thousand interpretations. He is a very intelligent man who is very good at framing, positioning and spinning ideas. He can, therefore, easily turn the whole interview around depending on how the president reacts to it. He obviously made this interview to get the president’s attention and Tamare Mirundi was very right on this.

But he runs the risk of being punished by the president because I don’t think presidential advisors are supposed to advise the president through the media, and I think they have got certain binding agreements in their contracts that don’t allow them to behave the way Nagenda did. This doesn’t require elaboration. If Nagenda broke certain stuff in his job contract knowingly, it’s a misdemeanor, and it may be punishable in the courts of law or may lead to his dismissal as presidential advisor.

However, any Presidential advisor must have the freedom to be allowed to give the President honest and straight forward advice without the danger of being cited by the president during a witch hunt for political reasons. Nagenda may reason, as he stated, it is no longer easy to meet the president. More so, the president never listens to anyone anymore apart from his wife who is a cabinet minister.

TAMARE MIRUNDI

I was not surprised that Tamare Mirundi butted in as soon as Nagenda gave a negative interview to Sunday Monitor. He’s doing his job. Wouldn’t you agree that Nagenda’s role in this government is relatively insignificant compared to the role of presidential spokesperson who is participating in the presidential affairs on an on-going basis? Yes, it may true that a presidential advisor outranks any presidential spokesperson but in Uganda’s case, presidential advisors are more or less useless. That’s why Tamare referred to them as people with ‘financial difficulties’.

Nevertheless, Tamare’s comments may not go down well with other presidential advisors but he was telling the truth. I wonder what Chris Rwakasisis is thinking right now. He should have found a better way of addressing this issue.

Anyway, Tamare himself is just a guy trying to make a living by pandering to the propaganda needs of the very rich and powerful. Being spokesperson is not the best paying and most secure job in the world but it’s usually a pretty good living, actually. I don’t how much Tamare is paid annually but I’m sure his life has financially changed ever since he got this job.That is why he looks and sounds so excited.

Yes, he still mangles the English language but most of us- Ugandans in central, are like that. It would be better if he is usually given a script tree to follow which will allow him to respond to most topics of concern. I think they do it with spokespersons of developed nations. If a spokesperson lies, then the person he speaks for lies as well, unless the spokesperson is immediately corrected or removed from the organization. When Tamare Mirundi speaks Luganda, he is actually a pleasure to listen to though he is very arrogant and disrespectful. I also hate it when he belittles our Kabaka and other elders in the society. However, he seems like a smart guy when he talks in Luganda but his body language gives him away as a man who is angry, revengeful and always looking for recognition. The way he straightens his neck when talking to the media- points to a man with less confidence.

–
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

http://ugandansatheart.org/

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Museveni Will Not Give Away Mabira. He is Simply using it to take ”Economic Heat” off himself

19 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Agriculture, Corruption, Politics, Presidency

Dear friends,

Mabira forest is back in the news and, this time around with a seemingly determined president who is ready to give away part of the forest for sugar cane growing. Speaking as someone who grew up on a farm in Bugerere, and who lived somewhere nearest to Mabira forest at Kangulumira, I would have to say president Museveni don’t have a clue about the environment. President museveni’s argument that giving away part of Mabira in 2007 would have prevented the current rise in sugar prices is so simplistic. His insistence that he will give away Mabira regardless of people’s cries is another confirmation that big people with big power do big evil and know they are doing it.

Yes, some people have argued that Mabira is just one forest in Uganda and in any case, it is very easy to replace a forest but Isn’t that like saying that because an individual locust doesn’t mean to wipe out the entire crop that we should try to stop the hoard of them. Cutting down trees or rain forests, bodes ill for the long-term survival of the human species. Some 25% of the world’s oxygen is generated in the rainforests. As a matter of our own survival it is imperative that every resource not be used up, but that instead sustainable methods be implemented.

What use is short-term success if it guarantees long-term failure? Isn’t it better to implement methods that are good for us now and later? The fact is that cutting down a forest affects the environment. If we lose forests, we lose the fight against climate change. Global warming and increased temperatures are causing higher winds as well. I read somewhere that Sahara Desert was once a rain forest before man started heating the earth with campfires to cook meat, and suddenly the Desert formed. In this 21st century, we are doing a lot of things to destroy these forests. For instance, we’re ruining the rainforest by using too much toilet paper. It may sound funny to a lot of people but it is true. The sky is just falling into pieces on a daily basis and we are doing very little to revert the process.

For Mabira Forest, there was an abrupt forest loss of about 24% between 1976 and 1986 (27,421 to 20,977 ha) due to encroachers. I guess the rebels against Iddil Amin and Milton Obote 2 governments might have also cooked a lot of food in the bushes using firewood at the time. The encroachers originated from the neighbouring districts of mainly Kamuli and Iganga. The trend of encroachment was reversed between 1988 and 1989 when all the encroachers were evicted and an ambitious programme of rehabilitating the forest through re-afforestation was embarked on by the forest department in 1989. We are now surprised that the same government that saw the need to protect the forest is now gearing towards destroying it.

Fact is, the economy is entirely too large and complex for human minds to comprehend. Government policy does have noticeable and to some extent predictable effects on the economy. President Museveni ‘cleaned’ up the treasury during this year’s presidential campaigns and he has been dishing out a lot of money to save his men , particularly, Basajjabalaba, whose businesses are always in trouble. May be the money has run out, and now it is time to dish out state land. Our Nation is being sold down the river to save Museveni’s legacy of mismanagement of resources.

Mabira is a tourist attraction and it cannot continue to generate us income with leaders who see it as a cancer to sugarcane production. Mabira is endowed with about 312 trees and shrub species. Approximately 47% of Uganda’s tree species grow in Mabira, including five rare species. There are more than 287 birds including the threatened Nahan’s francolin (Francolinus nahani); 23 small mammals, vervet monkeys and baboons as well as two arboreal primate species; 218 butterfly species and 97 large moth species. It is illegal to practice medicine without a license in Uganda. It is too bad that Museveni, simply because he is president, is given a license to manage forests he knows nothing about, and cares even less about.

It is suspected that government’s interest in Mabira is mainly Timber. The timber companies usually cut down the large, mature trees for their profit and what Museveni is attempting to do is let loose the timber companies to make the environmental decisions for us all. Both the timber and sugar companies are simply taking advantage of a poor nation with a corrupt system. Which stable country really gives out land like that as if we are a charity case? They also pay peanuts to the Basoga who are doing most of the sugarcane growing but because our people are poor, they still go along with it.

Profits by definition, are the difference between the market value of a product and the cost of its production. Paying workers little and selling the fruits of their labor for a high price is one way enormous profits can be generated. For instance, if Madhvani can sell a 20 kg sack of sugar in the South Sudan for $150, made in Uganda for about $7 in labor and materials, then the labor was actually worth many times what the laborer was actually compensated for the work. Nonetheles, SCOUL is the least efficient of Uganda’s three main sugar producers – the others are Kakira and Kinyara. Their demand for ‘free’ land is abysimal and should be rejected by all free minded Ugandans.

What the government should do is to turn people already owning land around Mabira and sugar factories into fulltime and -state- supported sugarcane growers. There are a lot of people who own large pieces of land in these areas but it is idle. By transmogrifying a group of such people into market-oriented consumers and laborers in factories, they become sources of Profit. In Mabira Forest, many of the deforested portions were turned to smallholder agriculture (sharp increase of agriculture in 1986 and 1989 compared to the 1970s).

There is plenty we can do now to preserve human livelihood both now and later. Education, international cooperation, debt forgiveness, technology transfer, introducing sustainable farming methods, setting aside more protected lands, passing and enforcing laws that both protect the environment and encourage economic growth, providing job training, follwoing the Cuban experiment, etc. All this would be much cheaper in the long run than sitting twiddling our thumbs and then having to pay the price later.

Personally, I still don’t believe that Museveni will risk giving away Mabira because what happened on April 12th 2007 will be made to look like a picnic if he goes ahead with this idea. He has tactically created a situation that takes the heat completly off him as the economy is in a totally bad shape. So people have simply forgotten other issues and everybody has jumped on Mabira. Anyway,the Mehta family should look for the 17,540 acres elsewhere, and they need to pay for it. It should not be free as it looks the case now with their current and past demands. In any case, it requires an act of parliament for Museveni to give away this gazette state land. I don’t believe that all the current NRM MPs will allow themselves to be used again and again just because the president serves them food and wine whenever they visit him at State House under these circumstances.
–

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

http://ugandansatheart.org/
http://twitter.com/#!/semuwemba
http://jjanguonkwekule.blogspot.com/
http://semuwemba.wordpress.com/

Current Justice Minister,Otafiire, Should release the contents of the CIVHR report

28 Jul 2011 4 Comments

by semuwemba in history, Legal issues, parliament, Politics, Presidency

Dear Ugandans,
A lot of atrocities have been committed against Ugandans since independence and this subject is dominating almost all debates among Ugandans on a daily basis. The real problem is that we have never had a real truth and reconciliation commission to help put certain questions to bed. More so, it would have helped if the current Uganda government had released the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into Violations of Human Rights perpetrated from 1961 until 1986. The Commission’s role was to inquire into “the causes and circumstances” surrounding mass murders, arbitrary arrests, the role of law enforcement agents and the state security agencies, and discrimination which occurred during that time.

Justice Arthur Haggai Okelo Oder.

The commission was chaired by Justice Oder and it was also supposed to suggest various ways in which we were to make sure that such human rights violations did not happen again in our country. Nevertheless, going by what has happened so far since 1986, it looks we shall need another commission for the period NRM have been in power. Apart from Oder, the other five commissioners were: John Nagenda(NRM),Dr. Edward Khiddu-Makubuya (now NRM),Dr. Jack Luyombya(NRM and he was in the bush with M7),John Kawanga( Neutral but I guess he is now NRM),Joan Kakwenzire( Women advocate and historian). I think the current Vice president, Edward Ssekandi, was also part of the commission.

Dr. Makubuya was not affiliated with any political party in 1986. He valued his Yale academic credentials so much then that he did not feel the need to join anything that might taint his good name. Remember, he had got a 1st class degree in Law at MUK before he went to Yale on a scholarship. He was just lecturing at MUK at that time, but he later joined the NRM after the findings of the commission. Mukubuya also later became the Minister of Education and Sport in Museveni government. I don’t know what he is up to now since the cabinet reshuffles this year.

Others like Naggenda John and Luyombya were later given heroes medals by the Museveni government. John Nagenda and Joan Kakwenzire later also became one of the many of Museveni’s special advisors (‘’NKUSIBIDE AWO KASITA NKUSASULA’’ meaning ‘’I have tied you there, after all, I pay you’’). Naggenda has also been keeping himself busy with his regular Newvision columns but I wonder what he exactly does in terms of being productive to the nation at the moment.Oder died of cancer in 2006 and he was among those judges that agreed with Besigye that the 2006 elections had been rigged.

So, I doubt whether any of these people can help us access the contents of that report. They have all been given positions that don’t allow them to say anything bad against the govt. But the guys in the media should help us please to dig the contents of this report.

The then Minister of Justice, Mulenga, who appointed the Commission in 1986, promised that the government would not bury the findings of the Commission. So, we can still push the current minister of justice, Kahinda Otafire, to release the report to the media. Ugandans deserve to know what is in that report. I believe that the Uganda Human Rights Commission have got a copy at their offices but I wonder how the rest of Uganda can access it. I’m sure it has got a lot of revealing information that could be interesting to read, and also help us find a way forward. The Danish embassy has also got a copy because they sponsored some of the commission’s work. But it’s up to us to demand that the government releases the official copy of this commission. However, I sometimes wonder why the current Opposition MPs do not pick on these issues and raise them in parliament. Ugandans deserve to read what was put in this report.

The report was tabled in October 1994 but I’m sure it’s one of those time and resource wasting projects governments in Africa don’t take seriously. As a result, we are all in darkness about some things that happened in our country’s history. I understand that Museveni’s heart is/was not in this commission. He introduced the Amnesty Commission before the 1986 ‘’Truth and Reconciliation’’ commission had finished their job. The commission lacked both political support and adequate funding.

Some people have been asking me why Muslim leaders are not bothered with finding out the atrocities that happened to fellow Muslims in the past but this is not true. Muslims are also searching for answers just like any other Ugandan. Muslims have been kind of disorganized and divided since independence such that it has been difficult to bring them together to discuss matters of importance to their community, but they have started sorting this out slowly.

Muslims have been killed under different regimes but it is very difficult to gather all this information together to bring it into the public domain. All Uganda’s leaders, apart from Iddil Amin, have been dividing and using Muslims to achieve their own political aims, but with more organization and unity, Muslims will eventually put a stop to this nonsense.

For instance, there were some Muslims killed in Bushenyi district and president Museveni mentions this in his book (Sowing the Mustard Seed) on page 113. Museveni said that there were killed by fellow villagers who had been incited by someone whose identity was known. Museveni does not mention the name of the villager in his book though he gives this as one of the examples why Godfrey Binaisa had to be dislodged from power.

Imaam Iddi Kasozi also presented a paper at the Uganda Muslim Youth Assembly (UMYA) in 2008 and he talked about human rights and the murder of Muslims in Ankole and Arua. We saved the contents of this paper on the link below if anybody wishes to read it:

http://ugandamuslims.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/human-right-in-uganda-the-fate-of-the-1979-muslim-massacres-in-arua-and-ankole-paper-presented-at-umya-ramadhan-seminar-2008/

I wish more Muslims present this data to us such that we keep it on records instead of dying with all this knowledge. The Torch Newspaper has also been conducting weekly interviews among the Muslim elders in Uganda to help us gather information here and there. I don’t know if they have stopped doing this as I have not seen any more interviews posted to us for a while, but I reckon they were doing a good job, and they should be supported.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey.K.Semuwemba

President Museveni should Come Out on Kazibwe and Ssebagala

26 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by semuwemba in Corruption, Kampala, Legal issues, Presidency, security

Dear Friends,

The current reports that former vice president, Dr.Specioza Kazibwe, has been suspended over another financial mismanagement of micro-finance resources is so sickening. Several Ugandans warned the president against reappointing the lady in any financial position of authority after the Valley Dam saga, but he went ahead and did so for reasons only know to him.

It is even more sickening that Ms.Kazibwe reportedly said that it’s only president Museveni who could fire her, an indication that she is one of those who no longer respect the institutions in the country. She looks at president Museveni as everything in Uganda, and she is probably right, but as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) explained that the ‘perfect nature of man’ could be defiled by a corrupt society. He believed that individuals willingly enter a ‘form of association’ with already known criminals because there is a mutual benefit of protecting all participants in this association. If president Museveni, therefore, does not come out to distance himself from Dr. Kazibwe’s actions, we will fairly believe that whatever Dr.Kazibwe did was sanctioned by him one way or the other.

The corruption in Uganda has spread to several institutions including the Kampala City Council such that it was again very embarrassing on the side of the president not to publicly come out to distance himself from another known crook in the names of Hajji Nasser Ssebagala over the Town Clerk’s residence issue. Just like Kazibwe, Ssebagala also claims that it is only president Museveni who can evict him from this house.Oh, i almost forgot another former Vice president,Dr.Bukenya, who rightly said that whatever he did during CHOGM was on behalf of the president. It seems Musevenism is everywhere now and state insitutions are dead.

Anyway, Property is such a very important issue such that it is always painful for anybody who lawfully acquired a piece of land or built a house to be unfairly evicted, but in Ssebagala’s case, I don’t know because the whole thing has got Museveni’s ‘good’ hands on it. We should only feel sorry for those small property or land owners that are continually evicted by the rich as Rousseau also said in his book: ‘the social Contract’:” the right of property is the most sacred of all rights of citizenship, and even more important in some respects than liberty itself; either because it more nearly affects the preservation of life, or because, property being more easily usurped and more difficult to defend than life, the law ought to pay a greater attention to what is more easily taken away; or finally, because property is the true foundation of civil society, and the real guarantee of the undertakings of citizens.’’(p.138)

I have heard old men saying: ‘these guys have stolen more than anybody before but they still want more’. This avarice among some of the current crop of NRM leadership is so scaring. It is, therefore, very important that we support those that use the law to bring these irregularities into the public domain or to be questioned. On this note, I would like Ugandans to support the mayor of Kampala and Executive Director in their efforts to follow the book as they sort out the mess in the city.

Otherwise, the high state of corruption reported daily in the media is likely to make us a bit more isolated on the global stage if we are not careful. Most of the great nations we have got today are building special relationships with one or two countries as a survival mechanism for the unpredictable future. For instance, Britain and USA have got a ”special relationship” which every leader of these two countries tries to defend regardless of some policy differences, something Sydney Blumenthal, one of President Clinton’s advisors, emphasized in 1998 to a meeting of the World Policy Institute.

However, Uganda, on the otherhand, looks to be a bit isolated in both East Africa and world stage. Both the Kenyans and Tanzanians speak ill of our president. We used to have a special relationship with Paul Kagame’s Rwanda but it sickens to read daily in newspapers that we have sunk so low to the extent of accusing each other of certain rebel activities , as we have seen since the death of Colonel Muzora.And it seems nobody seem to be doing anything to revive this good relationship we once had with Rwanda. It is all now accusatiosn after accusations!

By the way, it is good that the government is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of colonel Muzora, and I believe their intentions are good. But I have read messages in different forums indicating that Ugandans don’t trust the government anymore when it comes to high profile murder investigations. Actually, General Tinyenfunza’s interview with the Daily Monitor recently in regard to Muzora’s murder has even made it worse because some people now believe that the whole investigation is meant to directly pin Dr.Kiiza Besigye . Some Ugandans seem to agree with what the American Professor, Thomas Stephen Szasz, once said in 1993 that the law makers do not uncover but ‘’invent crimes’. He also held the view that killing only becomes a crime if it is not sanctioned by the state, and I think he was right to some extent especially in developing countries such as Uganda.

But overall, those who think that Uganda is a special case whereby leaders will continue to unfairly imprison and kill political opponents without any international actions, are living in a dream cave. The world has changed and our leaders should find a way to change with it as soon as possible or they are gonna be run down by their own citizens and the international community at some point.We should all feel safe while in our country.

Byebyo ebyange

–

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

http://ugandansatheart.org/
http://twitter.com/#!/semuwemba
http://jjanguonkwekule.blogspot.com/
http://semuwemba.wordpress.com/

Presidential Age Limit Should Be Scrapped From The Constitution

24 Jun 2011 6 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Africa, parliament, Politics, Presidency

Dear Friends,

I may sound a bit weird on this but I think age limit should not be applicable to leaders born before the computer age. This is something i have been thinking about for a while. In all honesty, I find it awkward to ask an African man their age because most of them don’t know when they were born exactly. Just look at our African footballers in the premiership, some of them look older but you find the media here in the UK reporting their age as in 20s. Every time I used to watch Kanu( Nigeria footballer) on the pitch- when he was playing for Portsmouth, I used to see an old man in his late 30s but the media reported something less than that.

I just wish people lay off age limits as far as presidency and the current generation of African men are concerned. Most Africans don’t know when exactly they were born. So there is a possibility that president Museveni may even be younger or older than 63. The reason for ending Museveni’s perpetual presidency should not be based on his age but on his ability to lead the country. As far as I know, Museveni should not have stood for presidency in 2011 because I think he has lost the credibility to lead the country but I would not pin this on his age or something like that- because it’s kind of a useless argument.

No wonder, age is literally becoming even useless in the western countries as I have seen kids here who are supposed to be 16 years old but they look like they are in their mid 20s. Age should not be a determinant for the presidency, and I think it should be scrapped from the constitution for now. Let’s just restore presidential term limits but leave age out of it. We are Africans and most of us don’t know when exactly we were born.

The reason why I’m saying that it should be removed temporarily is because we have got people with leadership ambitions but they don’t know when they were exactly born. So, the more we keep it in place, the more we force people in this category to either keep unnecessarily deceiving us about their age or finding ways of changing the constitution to protect their rights. This article or whatever about age limits for presidency makes our constitution to look a bit unconstitutional, i.e. it is discriminating people who don’t know their DOB yet it was not their fault. I’m surprised there is no lawyer who has gone to the courts yet to challenge it.

It is not like here in the developed nations where every child born or dead has got to be registered with the registrar’s office. Even ladies who have still birth have to register such babies. One cannot burry them before they are registered. So the issue of DOB is easy for them here in developed nations- unlike us.

In Uganda, people manufacture birth certificates on Nasser road when some people request for them because they don’t have any and don’t know when they were exactly born. It is only kids who have been born in this computer age that will be ok with age limits in the constitution but not people in our generation. For instance, that baby whose mother was pregnant and she was shot during the ‘Walk to work’ protests, he will know his age because it is in every computer in the world. I think some Ugandans on the Ugandans At Heart(UAH) forum nicknamed him ‘RISASI’’ if my memory serves me right. But what about guys who were born when the only thing governments in place were interested in was how to murder Baganda, Westnilers and keeping themselves in power?

Yes, I know there is a risk of some people misusing this well intentioned gesture but that is a risk we gonna have to take to protect the spirit of constitutionalism in the country. We should not look at this issue in the Museveni angle alone because with him, he can change or bring any articles he wants in the constitution regardless of what Ugandans want. This plan is merely meant to save the very constitution we are trying to protect from some form of unconstitutionalism.

Some people have accused me of suggesting this for the benefit of ‘my boss”(whatever this means). First of all, President Museveni is not my boss because he never brings any cent on my account. Actually, he has never brought any cent on my account.

Secondly, there is nothing novel or radical about this idea of scrapping presidential age limit. People who came with the 1995 constitution reportedly consulted people during CA before they came up with all this stuff we are reviewing now, but I can tell you right now that nobody consulted me or any of my friends. So I don’t know what they based on to come up with some stuff in the constitution. If you ask me, I would tell you that Uganda has got a good constitution but some things need to be reviewed, and I think this is one of them.

It was selfish for the parliament to remove presidential term limits and I think they should be restored, but age limit should be temporarily put to bed and rest.

Abbey

MBABAZI PM APPOINTMENT IS A TACTICAL WIN FOR M7

25 May 2011 3 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Corruption, International Issues, Politics, Presidency

Dear folks,
Disturbing as the Mbabazi appointment as the new Prime Minister(PM) may be, however, it is only an unusually visible sign of something that has been going on quietly for a long time — the struggle for leadership in NRM. Mbabazi has been shifted to the post of PM to be weakened, and political observers will judge his political tactics as weak if he accepts this position.

A prime minister is appointed by the president and is sacked by the president while the NRM Sec General can be recommended by the president but it’s the NRM delegates that elect him. So a party Sec General can easily defy the president while a PM cannot do so. So Mbabazi risks becoming a total poodle for president Museveni the moment he accepts to become his PM. He will be almost the same age as Museveni when he retires in probably 2016. So he will not be a threat in the post Museveni era.

An NRM Secretary General is capable of building a political base of his own if the tools for party promotion are in place and effective. Even if Mbabazi will never become the president of Uganda, being Sec General gives him some sort of a say on influencing the successor to president Museveni and NRM affairs. That is why Gilbert wanted this post but Museveni knew his moves, and instead decided to play chess with Mbabazi.

I think Amama is too arrogant to be in any political office. He may have some good ideas but his demeanor simply kills him. He has also been reported in various corruption scandals. His appointment as PM is a total display of lack of class on president Museveni’s part and confirmation that the office of the presidency means a lot to him.

With both Bukenya and Mbabazi out of the way, Museveni can get somebody to run for this post on his recommendation, and implement ‘’project Muhoozi’’ without any problems. Some people reported that Charles Rwomushana may be appointed in this position but I cannot see this happening because this guy is known to be ambitious from Makerere University days. I wonder what he is up to nowadays. He used to make a lot of noise in the media but he seems to have gone underground.

Yes, president Museveni may console Bukenya Gilbert with some other ministerial post or government job, and knowing Bukenya the way I have come to know him, he will accept any deployment anywhere because he is,i guess, one of the types that are afraid of working outside public service. Gilbert’s Poverty alleviation program was possible because he was in a big office. If Museveni makes him the minister of Agric, then he can continue with it, but I don’t see it happening. He and Carlo Ancelloti seem to be looking ‘elsewhere’ now.

Ssekandi as VP

Like I said yesterday, selfish politicians tend to appoint people in these positions that don’t present any threat to them. So Mr.Sekandi Edward fits this profile very well. Ssekandi is being looked in Buganda as another ‘Judas Iscariot’ such that he even struggled to retain his parliamentary seat in Bukoto, but president Museveni looks at him as a safe pair of hands because he does not harbour presidential ambitions. Even if he did, few Ugandans would even want to associate themselves with him after a lot of bad laws were passed under his stewardship as the speaker of parliament. Those who want to associate with him are the usual sellers of ‘burger and chips’ for NRM. Just like Mbabazi, Ssekandi will end his political career with Museveni. So no surprises here!

Appointing Ssekandi as VP also confirms that Museveni nolonger regards Mengo as a big problem anymore. Ssekandi supported and presided over two controversial bills: 2007 land and the Traditional leader’s bills, both of which put the president and Kabaka on a parallel platform. Therefore, Museveni is basically giving a ‘finger’ to Mengo by publicly confirming this appointment which Mengo can do without.

America Kyambadde

I was hoping that president Museveni will make a ‘’mistake’’ (unselfish act) and appoint a younger person, like Ameria Kyambade as VP. Ameria is an ambitious person however much she tries to smile it off. She has got that nice smile that can hoodwink anybody to think that she is just trying to keep Janet Museveni in check, but she is ambitious in her own way.

Being a woman and a long time confidant of president Museveni, gives her some sort of political clout over her opponents and she can use this to her advantage in future. I have been very impressed with her ability to make her intentions known while the other NRM leaders are back peddling and looking for the tall grass. She is one very smart, and tough, cookie.

Muslims

Muslims continue to be marginalised in Museveni’s cabinet as has been the case for the last 10 years. Most of the big cabinet positions, apart from probably finance where Saida Bumba may be retained, the rest have been occupied by people of other faith. I don’t know the merit the president bases on to chose his ministers which most Muslims cannot fulfil. Obote 2 did not have a single Muslims in his cabinet. It is like Muslims are somehow the forgotten species in the cabinets of Uganda.

In USA, for instance, members of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Trilateral Commission dominate key positions in America’s government, military, industries, media outlets and educational foundations and institutions. CFR was founded in 1921 to make Americans more aware of their international responsibilities. It is a much large network of people with power and they are almost everywhere and help each other into juicy positions in both public and private sectors. So the question is: who helps president Museveni to nominate certain people in juicy positions where Muslims end up always on the peripheral of things. I dont think it’s the NRM caucas as the media has made us believe recently.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Gilbert Bukenya Did Not Deserve To be Treated this Way But he’s also To Blame

24 May 2011 8 Comments

by semuwemba in Corruption, Politics, Presidency

Friends,
There are no surprises as far as the sacking of vice president (VP), Bukenya Gilbert, is concerned. He knew that the axe was coming. Actually, it should have come earlier than this but obviously president Museveni had his own reasons.

Anyway, ever since Bukenya was ‘defeated’ by Amama Mbabazi in the NRM Delegates conference for the post of NRM Sec Gen, things have not been the same for him politically. He became weaker politically but he also became bitter at the same time. He was not the same man anymore from that point. I don’t see any political future for him now because he hates them (NRMs) but he cannot come out to say it because opposing Museveni has proved to be a landmine for those who try to take that path.

If president Museveni needed a weaker VP, Bukenya is way up there at the moment, but I think he has been sacked for a pattern of things that have been happening over time- including his unending internal battles with the NRM historical such as Otafiire and Mbabazi. The later, Mbabazi Amama, is like a Jew in Museveni’s government. Those who fight him end up being shown the way out faster than anybody else, a reason I’m watching now how president Obama is going to get re-elected after that stunt he has pulled over the Jews recently.

I’m also still wondering how Hon.Ssekikubo has managed to stay on top of things after declaring ‘world war 3’ on Mr. untouchable or rather super minister, Mbabazi , a couple of years ago. Every time, I look at YouTube videos of Ssekikubo with his wry smile, I think to myself:’ I think this man may die some unexplainable death soon’ but, to my surprise, he is still breathing, making noise in parliament and walking about properly.

Yes, Bukenya may console himself by saying that he will continue with his efforts to fight poverty, but I don’t believe him for a second, because he never used to tell us that he would fight poverty before he became the vice president. There are statements people sometimes make after losing something not to look as losers in the eyes of the public, and I think this is one of them. Most of all, Bukenya is not a Bill Gates to start a serious charity foundation, so his income from his small investments is going to benefit mainly him and his family. So nobody will be expecting him to make any more big donations towards private income generating projects in the country, like he has been doing while still VP.

Bukenya is no longer very popular with the Catholics and Baganda in the country as he used to be because his little romance with president Museveni has turned him into some form of ‘Judas Iscariot’ to the people he was supposed to be loyal to. That is the truth, however uncomfortable it may be to those whose religious faith needs government support.

In any case, Uganda is changing rapidly as far as religious- political support is concerned. People are learning to support good political candidates regardless of their religious affiliations. For instance, Michael Mabike attempted to decampaign Erias Lukwago by saying that his mayoral candidature represented Muslims but this did not stop non-Muslims from voting for him and protecting his votes.

Basically, what Uganda is going through is more of what used to be like in Europe centuries ago. Spain had been Catholic since 586; England since Henry VIII had separated from the papacy and established the Church of England; and Germany, since Luther, catered to the Protestant faith, but religion is no longer such a big factor in European politics. Back in the days, at any rate, if you lived in a country which did not share your faith you were subject to persecution. It could be minor, as simple as being turned away for a job, or major, you could lose your life.

Bukenya’s political survival is, therefore, relying mainly on the strings of him remaining as MP in Kakiiri provided the guy who petitioned his re-election in courts of law does not get his way. You see, when you build a home upon a weak foundation, being a fantastic mansion worth millions doesn’t mean it is going to last forever. That is how I look at Bukenya and his political career. For instance, there is no doubt in my mind that Bukenya was a better candidate for NRM in that delegate conference but his winning strategy lost to a weaker candidate in Mbabazi with a lot of problematic baggage, because he did not have Museveni support. I don’t believe , even for a second, that Mbabazi could beat Bukenya in a free and fair election in NRM, and I think this is what is hurting Bukenya most. I believe that Mbabazi and Moses Kigongo are the main brains behind all the rigging tactics that have marred Uganda’s elections since 2001. Mbabazi, in particular, seem to have unerring radar for detecting the wrong thing to do, so he can do it. He has been implicated in a lot of corruption scandals but he is always protected by president Museveni.

The truth is that Museveni himself does not care about the long-time survival of NRM as a party because if he did, he would have tried to support his now former vice president instead of Mbabazi for the position of Secretary General. This is one of the reasons why I admire US president, Reagan. Reagan never tried to sabotage George Bush’s presidential ambitions despite the later challenging him in the primary elections. Bush had some support in a minority of the delegates. Reagan’s objective was to bring the party together. His objectives were good; his choice of Bush was one of his more marginal decisions.

Yes, a vice president is usually not a major factor in the success or failure of an administration. Many great administrations have had mediocre vice presidents. However, I find it painful that Bukenya has been a VP for eight years but he has ended it as a joker rather a serious political opponent. This kind of selfishness by some presidents should stop. For instance, despite winning two presidential elections, George Bush junior failed to nurture political talent to provide for a presidential succession. His vice president, Dick Cheney, was too old to run in 2008 while his senior cabinet posts included older men such as Donald Rumsfeld and secretaries chosen for loyalty rather than political ability. If I can guess the next VP Museveni is going to chose, I can comfortably say that he is either not going to be so many years younger than him or he is going to be of the same age as him- such that when he retires, they retire together. That is how selfish politicians work.

Abbey

USA is not yet sure of Besigye.That’s Why M7 is Still the President of Uganda

13 May 2011 4 Comments

by semuwemba in FDC, International Issues, Politics, Presidency, Riots and genocide

Folks,

It is believed in some quarters that the west or developed nations are not yet sure of Dr.Kiiza Besigye and that is why Museveni is still the president of Uganda but surely he(Besigye) would not be what he is today without their support. For instance, the UK government did a great deal to help FDC out financially in the presidential campaigns last year. Besigye attended the Conservative Party annual conference and was glad to show pictures of him and the Prime minister together on his blog during the campaigns.

David Cameron and Besigye seem to be on the same table as far as Uganda issues are concerned unless the oil deals change this relationship. The FDC 2011 election manifesto received a lot of input from the Conservatives such that some people accused the party of plagiarising it. I’m not a supporter of the Conservatives because i dont believe in right wing political ideologies where the poor means less to the person in power. I also partly believe in egalitarian societies.

The media in the UK seemed to be preparing us for anything in Uganda especially at the start of the ‘walk to work’ protests, and that is how the UK government usually works or at least it has been like that ever since I moved here. Whenever they are planning something, the media tend to be handy in terms of psychological preparations of the population. In addition, Rupert Murdoch who owns most of the newspapers here in the UK and USA is a big influence in the politics of both countries. He influences foreign policy through his media outlets. So when you start seeing Besigye stories in the Daily Mirror and The Guardian here in the UK on a regular basis then you know something serious is cooking. If I was Museveni right now, I would be spending more money in finding out where things have gone wrong than wasting time on those guys in the intelligence. They are feeding him more ‘poison’ than facts.

On the other hand, the Russians, French, Germans and Japans are usually in no- man’s land as far as foreign intervention is concerned in Africa. They tend to go with the flow. The Chinese are on Museveni’s side as they always side with whoever is in power. It is the Americans who have not supposedly endorsed Besigye and that is why president Museveni is still in power. The Americans seem to have a lot of influence on UK’s foreign policy but if shit hits the fan and Museveni is confirmed as a liability in the eyes of most Ugandans, the Americans can go with anybody. I can bet on that! Washington politics is so complicated for anyone to predict anything, though.

It is a fact that US has got more influence than UK on international matters but they need each other. When USA wanted to attack Iraq under Saddam, it needed some form of legitimacy to do so, and usually UK is always the first to support their foreign wars, and the vice versa is true. So, assuming UK wants to kick Museveni’s ass, more presumably because of Oil in Bunyoro, the Americans will not hesitate to support them because that is how international politics and diplomacy plays out- ”you scratch my back, I scratch yours”. All it needs is for Besigye and others to create a humanitarian situation in the country that requires foreign intervention and then that will be the end of Museveni’s dictatorship. Under international law it is permissible to act in self defense and it is permissible to intervene in another country’s affairs for humanitarian reasons. To intervene for other reasons is a war crime.

Besigye Supporter throws back a Teargas canister back to the police

Mr. Otunu is the weakest link among the top three opposition leaders. Yes, he has got international contacts and all that, but he is not popular on the ground. He is ”Mr.Smiley” and this does not sell in African politics. The US has a basic mythology that basically involves appeasement of some dictators, squeezing some and getting rid of others. For example, Bush used to give praise to Egypt’s Hussein Mubaraka very well knowing that he was a dictator, but when protests started they nicked him in the bud. Actually, there is nothing like a favourite opposition leader for USA unless if one is ready to protect their interests if helped to gain power. So the myth that Otunu is USA’s preferred candidate was built by him and the media in Kampala. It is something in the heads of those in Kampala but Otunu knows the truth now. He is a good guy,Otunu, but he is not anything more than just a UPC president right now.

Yes, Otunu was in such an influential position at UN but his position was not more powerful than that of Mohamed ElBaradei. The latter was the Director General of Internal Atomic Energy Agency and his job exposed him to the international media and influential people all over the world. But when it came to the Egyptian protests, he proved to be unpopular with the protestors and he ended up not providing the leadership desperately needed at the time despite seemingly endorsed by the Americans. The west abandoned him when they realised that he was not popular on the ground. The key here is being popular among the ‘’wananchi’’ before anything else.

Right now, there is no way anybody would form a transitional government in Uganda without Besigye in it, whatever his weaknesses, because he is more popular than the rest. Besigye’s biggest enemy now is not Ugandans but some FDC leaders and some in opposition who harbour leadership ambitions. They are actually not happy that he still has more ‘pull’ power than them after losing the presidential elections for the 3rd time and openly declaring that he was retiring as FDC president.

Overall, I can’t see the Americans abandoning Museveni soon because he is doing a good job for them so far. There are Uganda troops in Somalia and the US mission in Kampala is appreciating this gesture, but they are also keeping tabs on the situation on the ground. When they shout orders to him, he obliges without any resistance, for instance, they reportedly told him to abandon the homosexuality bill and he indeed did that; they allegedly told him to let Besigye go for treatment in Nairobi and he gave him a ‘weekly flight pass’ which he wanted to cancel later on. Nevertheless, if there is any sense that Museveni is losing control of things on the ground, the Americans will kick him like a puppy in the house. They are very good at it, just ask Brother Gaddafi who opened up his boarders to them and showed them where he even keeps needles.

To be honest, I don’t see Museveni going at the expense of the Americans. Obama has so far done well than Bush but he is slow to make decisions and that is his main weakness. He has captured more terrorists than Bush. He even captured and killed the biggest fish in Osama Bin Laden but I can’t see him directly declaring a war on president Museveni however much he presumably hates dictators. President Museveni is doing everything the Americans want. So why would they wanna get rid of him?

However, I can see Europe knocking him out if Britain does a PR on the whole issue. There is a strong sense in the UK that there is chaos in Uganda and the population has been prepared through regular media publications and reporting on Besigye and riots. We have been seeing this on BBC and Channel 4 news almost every week.

So don’t be surprised if things change faster than we thought especially if president Museveni continues with his policy of ‘chest thumping’ (e.g. I can’t share power with Besigye(NEWVISION) or I will create Vietnam(DAILY MONITOR)). President Museveni has not really helped himself as he keeps falling in Besigye traps all the time. Why is he acting the way he is acting now? Is it bad intelligence briefings or there is some unfinished personal business between the two? It is so confusing! He should let Besigye and his ”Activists for change” walk as many miles as they want without any police interference if he doesnt want to give them anymore ‘killer’ headlines.

Oil is basically president Museveni’s biggest enemy right now because even the rich businessmen in the world have assumingly started looking at Uganda as a ‘target’. If we did not have oil, he would have led Uganda till his death despite the number of Ugandans that have died and suffered under his regime. Some of these rich people are capable of financing coups and wars that topple a dictator in favour of the leader of their choice. For instance, I don’t know whether some of you have heard of a man called George Soros, a Hungarian born American citizen. He uses his vast wealth to meddle in foreign affairs. He helped to bring down three foreign governments; the Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and Soviet Georgia. It is easier to bring down governments through individuals rather than wage a full scale war against a small country like Uganda.

At the moment, Besigye has got president Museveni where he exactly wants him: political rat hole. For example, Besigye generated more than 99 headlines internationally the day he was barred from boarding a flight from Nairobi back to Uganda, if anyone bothers to Google it. This is the dream of every politician all over the world. If I were an honourable head of state somewhere, I would not have bothered to show my face on Museveni swearing-in day. No wonder Zimbabwe’s Mugabe was the star man on the occasion in Kololo.

I know some Ugandans have got some kind of beef on Besigye but he still remains the best ‘olive oil’ to fry with at the moment. He has been subjected to a lot of things that even UPC’s Obote never did on Museveni in 1980s. Those who want change have now got a job to convince the Americans that he is the real deal. If they get convinced then we shall see some serious changes in Uganda even if Museveni remains the president for now. I highly doubt that president Museveni is capable of making a mistake to openly give a ‘finger’ to the Americans when they tell him to share power with Besigye. Museveni never jumps unless he is sure there are no thorns on the ground. So when the game is over, he will be the first to know it before most of us. He is not dumb, you know.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

The ‘Remote Control’ Film Has Ended. Now What is next For Ugandans??

22 Feb 2011 12 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Corruption, FDC, IPC, Politics, Presidency

Dear Ugandans,
Like i Prophesized, the film entitled ‘Remote Control’ (part1) (as far as the presidential elections are concerned) has come to an end. Let us now gather ourselves from our seats, throw away the popcorns in the bins, and do other things instead of sitting in the cinema Hall forever.

I’m a lover of psychology despite the fact that students who solely major in it don’t usually get jobs in the UK where i live. As a way of explaining the psychological input involved in this month’s elections , let us look at some theories, and I would like those who know that this month’s elections were rigged but continue to proudly raise the national flag, to take more notice of the following theories.It is very important that we understand why some people are cheering president Museveni as others are mourning for his presidential win. As they say:’Man can easily disappoint man’.

In around 1900, a certain Russian physiologist called Ivan Pavlov, developed what most people believe was the first scientific explanation of our behaviour. While he was studying the physiology of digestion, he found that his experimental dogs began to salivate every time he entered his laboratory carrying their empty food dishes. He concluded that the dogs had in some way learned an association between seeing the dish and being fed, and were responding to the dish as it contained food. If we are to link this dog behaviour to the behaviour of some voters and supporters of president Museveni, we see a pattern between the money that was spent during these elections and their voting choice. This does not necessarily mean that all those who were bribed with money voted for Museveni or that they are ‘dogs’, but it somehow explains why president Museveni had to use a lot of money to buy off votes. It also explains why voters ‘salivate’ every time they see a politician on a campaign trail.

In otherwords, we have lost a whole population out there whose morals are not different from the ‘dogs’ in the laboratory. Put it flankly, most of the current elites in Kampala are no different from the peasants in the villages. They are more like ‘peasant in suits’ but they wont obviously accept this because they think they are educated with degrees and PHDs. The parliament of Uganda is a typical example of ‘peasants in suits’ who can be bribed with anything from state house and get them to pass anything the president wants without wasting too much saliva.

The operant theory also states that behaviour that is rewarded, or reinforced, will continue or increase in frequency. Behaviour that is punished will reduce in frequency or cease. In the same spirit,the people benefiting from the financial muscles of the NRM government would be less willing to participate in any activity that is going to bring the current government down because this will mean the disappearance of the rewards they get from the government.

It is no surprise; therefore, that corruption has become acceptable in Kampala because those involved in it are not as punished as it should be. For instance, we are so likely never to hear again of the global fund cases against NRM big fish, such as Mike Mukula and Jim Muhwezi, whose hands were caught in the till at some point. Actually, Mukula has bounced back into the next parliament without any scratch and he is gonna proudly represent his people as everything against him seems to have totally gone out of the window.
Going back to the just concluded election, it was intended to show that there is some form of democracy in Uganda despite the irregularities that we have read about, and I think the Kampala regime has already achieved it. As a result, the future of Uganda remains unpredictable, and that is why some of us have got reasons to be worried of what is going to happen next. My hope is that president Museveni takes note of what is happening in North Africa at the moment, and usher in some reforms as soon as possible. Otherthan this, Uganda is a walking timebomb waiting to explode.

As for Dr.Besigye, he has won the respect of many including those in the NRM. He has been saying things which even those in Museveni’s cabinet would not say to his face, yet they needed to be said. Besigye pointed out some of these issues casually without any fear. There are a lot of people both in NRM and opposition who make noise on the outside but when they face president Museveni, they cannot tell him his weaknesses. Besigye is not like that, and we hope that whoever takes over from him will do the same.

Paradoxically, he is the best thing that has ever happened to Uganda politics in the last 10 years. He has played his part and history will judge him as one of the greatest men Uganda has ever had. Nobody in Uganda could have stood up to Museveni casually in the way Besigye did. My worry now is how FDC will hold itself together after Besigye leaves the political scene. He has managed to keep the party together despite being surrounded by mainly‘’moles’’ all the time.

Nonetheless,we should all agree that president Museveni is a very lucky man. May be he has got some Jewish blood in him. For instance, he has openly rigged this election but most Ugandans have already accepted it and moved on. The opposition had a chance of uniting against him and push him out, but then Mao comes in and starts decampaiging the opposition instead of the president; President Museveni has drained the national coffers for NRM campaigns but the EC chairman,Kiggundu, will never seriously ask for accountability and NRM source of funds; e.t.c. The man is just lucky. May be leadership comes from God? May be there is a reason why Allah chose Museveni to be our president?. I dont know. The man is lucky. He seems to get away with everything! May we should just give up and leave the matter in the hands of God.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba</strong

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Political Murders And Commissions of Inquiry

23 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment

by semuwemba in Corruption, history, Legal issues, Politics, Presidency, UPDF

Political murders happen all over the world, including Uganda, and in most cases such decisions are made by a few high profile people in the government. Obviously, those of the NRM cadre will keep telling you otherwise. Compared to Uganda, Kenya has got more stable military institutions such that even the murders of Tom Mboya in 1969 and J. M. Kariuki in 1975 did not lead to political instability.

Kenya’s political stability rests on several things: a balance within the military system, on the centralization of power within the state structure and on the neutralization of potential organized opposition. The way Kenyatta set up Kenya after independence has contributed to its long-term stability. Moi weakened the government institutions but Kibaki strengthened the principle of respect for institutions–despite his problems with corruption. If he had not done this, probably the Kikuyu and Luo would have fought each other indefinitely after the recently disputed presidential elections.

On the other hand, in Uganda, just losing a UPDF General has got a lot of tongues wagging. If a person like Salim Saleh or the president himself is murdered or assassinated it could destabilise the whole country, because of the way the UPDF is set up. Most of the institutions in Uganda are personalised around the person of president Museveni. Without him, we are in trouble!

Nevertheless, we can categorize all murders that happen between now and the 2011 elections as political murders because the NRM and Museveni have lost popularity among the wanaichi but wish to stay in power at all costs. Many Ugandans agree with Timothy Kalyegira’s version of Kazini’s death on the Uganda Record website because they have lost trust in the regime in power. That’s why we need an independent commission of inquiry to investigate into both Byran (Dr.Bukenya’s son) and Kazini’s death regardless of those who cheer brutality and murder of these NRM Generals.

Again I would like to say that all murders are about hate at some level. Even the guy who kills the cop trying to escape from a crime scene or riots- has hate in his heart. There must be a good reason why Mukyala Atim Draru decided to bat Kazini’s head to death. At what point did she decide to kill him?

As part of the murder probe, police must investigate the friends of lady Atim to see if she had premeditated thoughts to murder the General. Her mobile phone must be in police safe custody by now to establish the people she has been in contact with for the last 6 months. MTN and other communication companies can help on this one. The only problem is that the government does not set commissions of inquiry for purposes of getting to the bottom of the matter. That’s why Kazini’s family and friends should do their own investigations. Most African governments are corrupt. Anybody can murder anybody and get away with it. When governments agree to set up official investigations, they usually hope to divert public criticism of human rights abuses. They hope either that public interest will have waned by the time the inquiry is complete or, better still, that the investigation will find in the government’s favour.

For instance, in 1986, the Museveni Government set up a Commission of Inquiry headed by Joseph Mulenga, to investigate human rights violations from the country’s independence in 1962 until it seized power. Up to now, we don’t know the conclusions and recommendations of the report. Yet if they had made everything public, probably some Ugandans, like some UPC supporters, would not have continued to accuse the NRA rebels of murdering people in Luwero and blame it on the Obote two government. Mulenga later became our Attorney General in the same year. I wonder why he was given this post after heading such a sensitive inquiry.

Another example is when in June 1974, President Idi Amin Dada established a Commission of Inquiry chaired by an expatriate Pakistani judge, Justice Mohammed Saied, to look into the ‘disappearance’ of large numbers of Ugandans since his government came to power on 25 January 1971. But the report never came into public domain though the Commission concluded that the Public Safety Unit and the State Research Bureau, special security bodies set up by Amin, bore the main responsibility for the ‘disappearances’. It also criticized army officers for abuse of powers, as well as the activities of the military police and intelligence.

The bottom line here is that the current government should facilitate murder investigations into the country and reports from these inquiries should be made public. This builds public trust in the government. There is no point in the president ordering a probe into Bryan and Kazini’s death if the public never gets to see it.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

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Kinkizi Radio and other FMs are Breaking the Law by banning the Besigye Adverts

15 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Corruption, FDC, Legal issues, Politics, Presidency, Tribalism

Dear readers,

I rarely watch TV or listen to radios unless if there is a football match on but I normally compensate this by watching a lot of Uganda music during my leisure time ,which I find more entertaining than even UK’s X-factor or TV shows. However, I was appalled by the report in newspapers recently that indicated that nine radio stations in Uganda had so far refused to run FDC’s campaign adverts because the stations are owned by NRM ”big boys”.

The banning of Besigye radio adverts on some private Fm Stations has been a typical NRM character since 1990s, and in all fairness, it shouldn’t be part of us anymore as a growing democracy. As some of you may be aware, 1n 1993, the government stopped government offices from giving any advertisement business to the Monitor newspaper, just because they wanted to run it down, which some in the NRM call ‘dying naturally due to mismanagement’. The monitor lost about 70% of its advertisement revenue till when this decision was reversed in 1997. So this business of saying its ‘free will’ for those stations that ban Besigye adverts is a non- starter. We should encourage radio owners to contribute to the fairness of these elections by according the two biggest candidates the same level of exposure to the voters as much as possible. There is no harm in this as long as they are not breaking any laws in the process.

Radio discrimination by private owners has got no place in a proper democracy. There are certain standards expected of private radio owners, and therefore what Amama Mbabazi’s Kinkizi fm and others are doing is proper discrimination. It’s like opening up a private shop and deciding to sell goods only to a certain tribe as the Asians reportedly used to do before Amin expelled them in early 1970s.

All these forms of discriminations by private enterprises should not appear to be promoted by the political elites in our country as is the case with Ofwono Opondo doing exactly this in an NTV YouTube video released a few days ago . To my surprise, the chairman of the Electoral Commission,Dr.Badru Kiggundu, who is always assumed to be on the government side, appears to be also disagreeing with what these private stations are doing. The fact is that we should cherish and guard the right of free speech in Uganda. We know NRM does not love it when they put up with people saying things they absolutely deplore but we must always be willing to defend people’s right to say things we deplore to the ultimate degree. That is the way forward!

In USA, they have got the ”fairness doctrine” introduced I believe in 1940s and it requires broadcasters to cover important controversial issues and to provide an opportunity for contrasting views on those issues. The rules state that radio or TV stations that sell air time to a political advocate must give free air time to an opponent to respond. This was rectified by the ”Cullman Doctrine” in 1960s which holds that a station broadcasting a sponsored advertisement or program on one side of a controversial issue thereafter may not refuse to present the opposing viewpoint merely because the station could not obtain paid sponsorship for the opposition presentation. The Americans have also got the ‘equal time’ rule which requires radios and TVs to give equal time to qualified candidates for public office.

What Ofwono Opondo was talking about in the video of radios or newspapers endorsing candidates in developed nations, is true, but it has got no relevance to the radio discrimination going on in Uganda at the moment. By the way, even newspapers that have endorsed candidates are required by law to give space to the opposing views in these countries. For instance, in the UK here, the Daily Mail is a known Conservative newspaper but it always finds space for the Labour candidates because the law requires them to do so. Please, Let us stop promoting wrong things because Uganda does not end in 2011. President Museveni will one day be history but Uganda will remain.

Finally, the state should start taking their Access to Information Act (2005) seriously to help bridge the gap between the government and Ugandans. Any information from government and non-governmental organisations should be made public to avoid more surprises. This encourages openness and transparency in public institutions. For instance, here in the UK, we have got the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Data Protection Act 1998 under the office of the Information Commissioner who reports directly to the parliament, and it is helping everybody. I have got as much right to know how any ministry is being run as anybody else in the country. Of course, they are some exemptions, but most of this information is not concealed to anybody in the UK. This should be the same in Uganda as it will also help in reducing the levels of corruption in the state system.There is no point carrying out all this public enquiries into the deaths of big personalities and now we are doing the same with the burning of the Kasubi tombs issue, but the public never gets to know what is found out. We should have transparency in government dealings everywhere or we gonna have an ‘American Assange’ in Uganda doing a wikileaks for us one day.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

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Being a former Student Leader does not necessarily make one a presidential material

30 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Africa, FDC, IPC, Museveni and NRM, Politics, Presidency

Dear readers,

We will never know if FDC’s Kiiza Besigye lost or won the 2001 and 2006 elections because of the rigging that was reportedly involved in both elections. This rigging is partly mentioned in Dr.Kobusingye’s book: ‘The Correct Line’. So it’s unfair for one to justifiably determine Besigye’s failure in politics basing on the elections that were reportedly rigged unless if some people wanted him to fight his way to the top, just like Museveni did, by waging a war against the government. But then again, the same voices would end up accusing Besigye of ascending to power using primitive means of violence. So what do these people exactly want, a conference room and aeroplane politician, like Mao, or the guy who bends it like Beckham, such as Besigye?

Some Mao supporters have also been telling us that he was born a leader and that’s why he has a story to tell, and that it was not by mistake that he was Head prefect at Namiryango and later on, the guild president at Makerere University. But the fact is that Norbert Mao’s story in leadership is one of those that can send anyone to sleep because it does not really involve anything extra ordinary. First, anyone with sheer luck can easily become a guild at Makerere University or MP in Uganda. It’s not rocket science or such a huge responsibility as exemplified by some of the sleeping MPs in the parliament. With due respect to our MPs, I think so many Ugandans are probably more qualified to be MPs in that parliament than the ladies and gentlemen there. So I don’t think there is any big deal there as far as Mao’s CV is concerned. He only became Gulu chairman with the help of FDC and UPC but he is probably too arrogant to publicly admit it.

If presidents were picked based on their prior performances as student leaders, then we would have had many of those in Uganda. Uganda got its independence in 1962 and we have had more than six presidents but none of those were guild presidents,partly because student politics tend to be totally different from the national politics. So I was amazed to watch Mao on YouTube making this a big deal in one of his rallies as if he won some sort of a lotto by having one leg over late Mayombo while still at the university.

Mao’s guild presidency story at Makerere University is more of a fable than anything else. I don’t know of many student leaders that have made it to the top office just because they were student leaders. More importantly, I don’t know of any great leaders of the world that became so because there were student leaders prior to that. At least, I know George Washington,Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Churchhill, Nyerere Julius, Mandela Nelson, Kenyata, Obote Milton, Sir Edward Mutesa, Kwame Nkrumah, Fidel Castro, Gadaffi(Libya) and others in that category were not some university student leaders. Bill Clinton was a student leader and musician in primary and high schools but I don’t remember watching a video of him on TV telling people: ‘you see me here, I defeated MN at university elections when a few people expected it and now I want to make KB and YM history’’.Nyerere founded a group to bring together TZ students at Makerere University but I don’t think he went around singing about it when campaigning at rallies in Tanzania, and I’m sure he made it to the presidency because voters looked at other things other than his student involvement at MUK or Edinburgh universities

Jan Bubenik was a student leader during the Velvet Revolution but he did not make it very far in Czech politics.

Li Lu was a student leader who later turned himself into a politician and an activist after going to exile in USA, but that did not bring him anywhere near the presidency or prime ministerial offices in China. Actually, after going into exile, he only managed to sneak back into the country this year in September, under the wings of US billionaire, Buffet, for the Chinese car manufacturer annual business meeting in Shenzhen. The government saw no need to arrest him since he was bringing them business and profits instead of politics. Li is actually spending most of his energy in business and working closely with Buffet instead of wasting time with Beijing politics. He has tried to make peace with Beijing after realising that some times dogs can only be chased by fellow dogs, something which will take some DP supporters a long time to understand.

Another famous former student leader in USA called, Sam Brown, was only very instrumental in helping one of the Democratic presidential candidates, Kerry, in raising funds in California in 2004 but he never became a president. He also served in Carter and Clinton administrations.

In France, there was Daniel Cohn-Bendit who was a student leader of the May 1968 student protests in Paris. The best he could become was an MP for some party but not the presidency.

In Britain where I live, Margaret Thatcher was the only student leader who made it to the Downing Street as PM but Labour’s Charles Clarke looks like he will never be anything bigger than a cabinet minister in politics despite his endless campaigns on TV against Gordon Brown when he was prime minister.

In Iraq, Iyad Allawi was a student leader in Britain in 1960s and he only became a PM because of his connections to CIA and M16.He established these links when he started opposing Sadam Hussein.

As for his being Head prefect, Mao should not be mentioning this on rallies too because there are lots of head prefects I know who are now grassing. Actually, these things of ‘head prefect’ or whatever don’t really matter that much or determine anybody’s future prospects or potential. President Museveni was reportedly one of the bumless and unrecognisable boys at Ntare Sec School -constantly involved in political debates but he is now our president. Late Obote was a university drop out but he died being called a president and a doctor. Sematimba peter is a school drop out but he may become our city mayor if Lukwago and Mbaike don’t sort things out.

So ,it would only be reasonable if Mao stops wasting time attacking Besigye because he is not going to become anything bigger than Besigye, at least not in the next 15 years, unless if he later decides to join NRM.

Byebyo ebyange
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

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IPC & DP Should Not Dump Weak Candidates on Ugandans

11 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, FDC, IPC, Politics, Presidency

Dear readers,

We should applaud DP for withdrawing their candidate, J.B.Kakooza for mayoral elections but if rumours that they intend to back Mike Mabike over Erias Lukwago are true then we are back to square one. DP is not doing this in good faith if it’s true. They are just trying to punish Erias Lukwago for going AWOL on Mbale’s Mao but things may not work in their favour and this should not worry anybody supporting Lukwago for mayor because all indications are that the mainstream DP (MAO) has lost control of its supporters. So under the circumstances, DP supporters will support the best man for the job who happens to be Erias Lukwago.

Nevertheless, we hope that DP go an extra mile and do the same elsewhere in elections like they have done with the Kampala mayoral elections. For instance, Mao should also stand down for Besigye as soon as possible because this ”mix-up” in the opposition does not make sense to a lot of people I have spoken to so far. It is obvious that Besigye is a stronger candidate than Mao in this race such that if they work together, they are in position to pull this thing off, at least on a paper.

Personally, I’m getting fed up with having a lot of political parties in the country because they tend to misrepresent what voters want. The IPC or any other political party will be making a big mistake to endorse Mabike for Mayor because I’m sure that’s not what the majority of Kampalans want. In a book called ‘The Politics of the Real World” by Jacobs(1996), some organisations in the UK expressed dissatisfaction with the formal political system or main stream political parties because they seemed to be out of touch with what people wanted. As such they formed their own organisation in that year (1996) which they called ‘The Real World Coalition’. This was an alliance of over 40 national and international civic bodies, charities, NGOs, and agencies, covering issues such as poverty, community, economics, environment, pollution and development.

So, similarly, we would not be surprised if Ugandans start losing faith in certain political parties and start their own organisations that will fight for what they want. The formation of Ssubi was a starting point in that direction. We expect to see groups such as the businessmen or traders in Kampala forming organisations that will end up turning political. In all honesty, why should we allow IPC or DP-Mao to tell Ugandans to vote for Mabike yet there is a better alternative to him. I therefore ask the supporters of Lukwago to go ahead and form organisations that will help him become a mayor if the IPC goes ahead and endorses a weaker candidate.

As a certain writer called Boulding wrote in his book:” Three Faces of Power”, power is the ability to influence the behaviour of others in a manner not of their choosing”. This is exactly what some leaders in the IPC and DP are doing as far as dumping Mabike on us is concerned but Ugandans should not allow it. If Mabike’s SDP decide to quit the IPC as they are threatening, it will affect their leader more than anybody else because it means IPC have to nominate a candidate against him in Makindye, something which will affect everybody in the process. Mabike will not like it to campaign against almost three strong candidates from DP, IPC, and NRM. He needs to think this through before he makes any further threats. Life does not end with becoming the Mayor of Kampala. He should look at the bigger picture here instead of blackmailing the IPC leaders.

We should also accept that Mao is equally matching Besigye in terms of the number of supporters abroad, if we are to believe the online polls done so far. So why can’t they work together if their intention is to represent what majority of Ugandans want?

Some in DP are deluded that there would be a rerun in these presidential elections but they are bound to be surprised because I can’t see it happening. It has not happened before and it is not going to happen this time. In Museveni’s Uganda, it’s either a Museveni win in the 1st around or he finds a way to remain the president.

As for Besigye, he is serving his last term as FDC president or presidential candidate. I’m sure that he won’t tamper with the party constitution at the end of his term and he will set a precedent in Uganda politics which we have not seen for a long time. So Ugandans should support him for his last term by persuading all the other candidates to stand down. If the likes of Mao and Otunu continue being in this race and they don’t want to listen to our cries of cooperation, and then by December Ugandans should be told to shun them and vote for someone who has higher chances of beating the incumbent.

–
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Blogs:

http://ugandansatheart.wordpress.com/

http://semuwemba.wordpress.com/

http://ekitibwakyabuganda.wordpress.com/

http://ugandamuslims.wordpress.com/

”We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society.” (Hillary Clinton, 1993)

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Dr.Gilbert Bukenya Was Simply Shown a Copy of the Animal Farm

18 Sep 2010 16 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Buganda, Corruption, IPC, Museveni and NRM, parliament, Politics, Presidency, Tribalism

Dear readers,

Following the end of the NRM primaries, I would like to congratulate president Museveni as one of the brilliant political brains Uganda has ever produced because he managed to get rid of one his future opponents in his vice president, Bukenya Gilbert, without firing any bullet or anything like imprisonment. President Museveni has ended Bukenya’s political ambitions in the most extra ordinary way possible which may not bruise him (the president) that much and I’m still shaking my head over it. What a genius!

Gilbert Bukenya

There is no way the current Secretary General of NRM, Amama Mbabazi, could have beaten Dr. Gilbert Bukenya in any fair and free election unless if there was some underplay somewhere. Obviously, I’m basing this on Mbabazi’s previous abysmal performance as the Secretary General of the party. However, I remember watching a YouTube video where Mbabazi laughed off Bukenya’s challenge in simple words, and some of us called him arrogant, but maybe he knew something we didn’t know. Actually, the Observer newspaper went with a big headline about Mbabazi Vs Bukenya for the Secretary General, and it was all arrogance throughout.

I therefore made a prediction sometime this year that Bukenya was going to win the post of Secretary General but I had underestimated the powers of the ‘remote control’ in this process. I apologize to the Vice president, Bukenya, if he got a snooze about it and also got excited about the whole thing. The way I see things now is totally different after the NRM primaries and I would never rule out Amama Mbabazi or anybody from becoming my president in the post Museveni era.

Now, let’s face reality: If Bukenya was told not to stand against Mbabazi before the delegates’ conference but he insisted and lost, what does that say about NRM? It means that there is a ‘remote control’ – controlling everything in NRM, and this time the button ‘BG’(Bukenya Gilbert) was not pressed. Somebody decided that this is the best way to dump him, and to be honest, I think he is gone after this.

Bukenya’s Life after NRM primaries

This is my simple prediction as far as post Namboole-Bukenya is concerned: He is going to accept the results and move on, just like Honorable Ssekikubo(Lwamiyaga) did. He will accept the advice from the Animal farm: ” All men are equal but some men are more equal than others’. Probably he may be consoled with some simple post somewhere if he does not wreck the boat or make too much noise but we should accept that Bukenya’s political ambitions are over. If he is maintained as the vice president, it will be because he is a catholic and there wasn’t a single catholic elected in the top five powerful NRM positions. Honorable Kaddunabi Lubega (Butambala) and honorable Sempijja (Masaka) were also among those ones that were humbled using the NRM ‘’Super’’ Electoral Commission and now I think they have leant their lessons. Sometimes I wonder what is going in these guys’ minds!

If anybody wants to enter that parliament, they better run to state house and get endorsed by president Museveni. I think his hands are everywhere and my hats off to him. You become stubborn, he will always find a way to humble you which my Rwanda friend I hosted for Iddil Fitri called ‘MUSEVENI’S DIPLOMACY’ which he wants president Kagame to borrow as far as his enemies, the Nyamwasas, are concerned. The same diplomatic skills have worked on the Kampala Mayor, Alhajji Nasser Ssebagala, and now he is singing ‘long live Museveni’.

Amama Mbabazi,NRM Sec Gen

Baganda in the NRM

It’s also wrong for some people to blame all this jiggery and thuggery we witnessed in the NRM primaries on Baganda delegates who did not support Bukenya. Baganda in the NRM are not as powerful as some people think. They control nothing and if you control nothing, you cannot control an election. NRM have got their way of doing things which has got nothing to do with any particular tribe. Somebody is controlling everything on a remote control and I think this is the time to think twice about the whole 2011 election thing because the opposition may be wasting their time.

Bukenya did not lose because of what he uttered about Buganda riots and CBS last year. There are those Baganda in NRM that didn’t approve the closure of CBS and condemned the riots but the ‘remote control’ again did not want them on the scene, and so they are gone. For instance, Brother Hajji Kadunabi was shown the one way ticket out of Butambala, and also got disqualified to stand against Alhajji Moses Kigongo for the post of vice president. In simple terms, he was also shown the copy of the ‘Animal Farm’?

If a man controls the system in Africa, then he controls the elections. If you control nothing, you cannot determine the outcome of an election in most developing countries. As things stand, Ugandans should be prepared for anybody to become their president starting with 2011 elections. As for me, I will be watching a film entitled ‘Remote Control’ while eating popcorns with a cup of tea in next year’s elections.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

United Kingdom

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‘TUKUDENDEREZA’(praising) president Museveni’s mistakes is not necessarly

15 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Museveni and NRM, Obote and UPC, Politics, Presidency

Dear readers,

We all once loved president Museveni because we thought he was going to give Uganda a better foundation than Obote did. Actually, he tried in the first 10-12 years of his leadership to put things right. Both his political and economic policies were sound. I know people particularly some UPC members have always criticised president Museveni and late Dr. Kiggundu(Former Governor of Bank of Uganda) for devaluing the Uganda shilling in the 1980s but this was the right thing to do at the time. Actually, this was one of the measures IMF/World Bank came up with to enhance the scope of the private sector, contending that private enterprise was more effective. So nobody was going to get IMF/World Bank money before fulfilling these conditions. Therefore privatisation and devaluing currencies were IMF/World Bank policies and we would have benefitted from them if the whole process had not been messed up by greedy people in the NRM government. Donors overall aim was to shift the governments of Africa from consumption to investment.

Museveni’s economic policies from 1987-1997 were not bad. It was the implementation process that was abused. For instance, during privatisation, several ministers sold themselves state enterprises on the cheap.Salim Saleh and Sam Kutesa were among those that enriched themselves during this process. The state property prices did not reflect the actual market value. Privatisation itself was not bad

Those now close to president Museveni should advise him to go back to the Museveni of 1980s, at least for the remainder of his current term. There is no need to praise him even when he is clearly making mistakes. President Museveni himself criticises people who praise leaders all the time without pointing out their mistakes in his book sowing the Mustard seed on page 48. While in exile in Tanzania, he met Akena Odoko and Sam Odaka whom he described as among the many ministers and colleagues of Obote who were busily flattering Obote at the Uganda Club in Kampala while he was making mistakes. Ministers used to sing TUKUTENDEREZA( to quote Museveni) to Obote.

So NRM members, be aware that president Museveni himself may not be impressed by guys who praise his mistakes all the time. If he is making mistakes, please do us a favour and expose him like some of us are already doing.

Let me also tell some people in the opposition now in Uganda that being in opposition does not mean opposing even a good policy when you see it. For instance, I live in the UK and there are several times when the opposition here decide to support the prime minister on several issues in parliament. That is how it should be in Uganda. If the opposition thinks that they are going to oppose everything Museveni , then we are doomed as a nation.

Thank you.

Abbey.K.Semuwemba

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Massive Industrialisation in all East African countries will reduce the dominance of Kenya

23 Jul 2010 1 Comment

by semuwemba in East Africa, Economics, federalism in Uganda, history, international, Presidency

Dear people,

The remake of the East African common market or community (EAC) is the utopian dream of all good globalists / global socialists like me. “Community” is sometimes called “space” for everybody to enjoy but the EAC goal is clear: a common economic space for all people in the region, a space in which trade, capital, and people flow freely. Therefore, the EAC’s “integrated” strategy calls for a more open border for the movement of goods and people.

However, it is absurd to believe that suddenly we can create a global free trading area, a common market with, for example, Kenya, without massive changes leading to consequences that we cannot anticipate. For example, in common market countries college education is free but where is the room for this in our EAC recently reborn.

The East African Common market was started in 1917 at a pre-industrialisation stage in the region. It was also started to serve the British business interests and those of settlers in Kenya. Therefore, it came as no surprise that when joint services were established in 1945, Kenya benefited more than Uganda and Tanganyika.
Kenya benefitted in terms of :value added to their Gross Domestic Product(GDP); more employment benefits and revenue. For instance, according to the Common market & Economic Affairs Secretariat, in 1971, the East Africa Railways employed: 55% Kenyans, 33% Tanzanians and 12% Ugandans.Kenya also had a higher manufacturing base than either Uganda or Tanzania, a situation that has not changed up to day. Our system is second rate at best, we are far behind Kenya and Tanzania.

As a way of correcting this inequitable situation the British had created in the first place before independence, the colonial government established the Raisman Commission in 1960. According to Professor Brown, who was a member of the Raisman Commission, Kenya gained most from the common market, Uganda gained marginally and Tanzania broken even. Therefore, fiscal compensation to Tangayika and Uganda through the distribution tool was recommended, as one of the solutions to this inequity. Nevertheless, the fiscal compensation failed to solve this problem because the sums involved were far short of what would be needed to lead to developments of industries in the two marginalised countries(Uganda and Tanganyika), and the sums that would be considered adequate would be too great for Kenya to accept. I’m now wondering what exactly was negotiated recently by the architects of the East African community to solve this problem.

In addition, the experience of the European Union and the World Trade Organization makes it clear that a common market requires a court system, so it will be in order for us to have an East African court as soon as possible where cases of higher magnitude will be settled.

But just as in Europe, where such a Common Market led to a European political union, a hemispheric EAC will mean an eventual end of Uganda’s separate identity and national sovereignty. Much as this is good, how do we integrate ideas such as: Buganda federalism or Uganda federalism instead of dreaming that they will just go away with the East African federation? This is something the architects of the E.A.C need to think about now instead of constantly brushing it under the carpet.

We also need a thought through East Africa Constitution that can, for instance, help with guiding the election process and rigging among member countries.Elections have been rigged in Uganda in 1980,2001 and 2006 and Uganda courts admitted this but nothing really changed.We probably need an East African court that can help such things. For instance, In USA, there was “free trade” or common market between the states from 1787 through 1865, and It was the whole point of the new Constitution.

Overall, the main way the East African common market will economically benefit all the member countries is if they all undertake large scale industrialisation projects, because with appropriate distribution, this can reduce substantially the inequality that mainly led to fall of the community in 1977.If we don’t address all this economic imbalances, Kenya will continue to benefit more than others and the EAC Common market will dissolve in future and every country will return to its everyone against everyone else mentality.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom

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Mao & and His Group Are as Fake as the Regime they claim to oppose

13 Jun 2010 8 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, IPC, Lule and Uganda politics, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Moshi conference 1979, Obote and UPC, Politics, Presidency, Tribalism

Dear friends,

How does DP expect to decampaign IPC but at the same time expect them to cooperate with DP at parliamentary level during the 2011 election? I listened to Mr. Mathias Nsubuga who is the DP’s Secretary General, today on London based Ngoma radio, and he quoted a lot of history, how alliances have historically weakened DP due to loss of members,blah blah. But he clearly missed the gist of the point why opposition parties in developing nations form coalitions: the incumbent always uses the state apparatus to frustrate the opponents and therefore it becomes difficult for an opposition party to win an election on their own.

Mathias Nsubuga rightly quoted the alliance made in 1961 between KY and UPC and what later happened afterwards in 1966, but he forgot to tell people that the alliance had received its initial objective which was to stop Ben Kiwanuka from becoming the Prime minister. Whatever happened afterwards can be attributed to other factors but not the alliance itself. It should also be noted that between 1961 and 1971,DP lost members to UPC despite the fact that they were not part of any alliance at that time. For instance, UPC catched a big fish in 1964 when the then DP Secretary General, who was also the leader of the opposition, Mr. Basil Bataringaya, crossed to UPC.

The alliance made at Moshi in 1979 also achieved its initial objective of removing Iddil Amin Dada from power. The different groups that were fighting Amin on their own could not have achieved this objective. On the military front, FRONASA, Kikosi Malumu and others had to combine efforts to fight dictator Amin. Whatever happened afterwards, like the forced resignation of Professor Yusuf Lule, cannot be attributed to the disadvantages of an alliance. But if we had people that reason like DP-Mao at the time, probably Iddil Amin would have remained a president of Uganda for longer.

After the 1980 elections where UPC openly rigged and denied DP a chance to take over power for the first time since independence, again a mother of all alliances had to be formed to kick out dictator Milton Obote . Before the alliance was formed, DP again lost its members to other parties particularly the ‘third force’ which was formed by former UPC members who wanted to fight Obote but did not want to join DP. For instance, the ‘third force’ recruited DP members such as:Matia Kasajja of Hoima, Bernard Buzaabo, Dr. Bwambale and several others. So the argument that DP only loses members after alliances had been formed does not hold water at all. Secondly, if different parties had not worked together, probably Late Obote Militon woul have died the president of Uganda since he had the support of Julius Nyerere who was controlling Uganda through a remote control from Tanzania.

DP claims that they lost a lot of members after 1986 through an alliance formed with Museveni at the time to form a broad based government but I think this is a fallacy meant to hide the internal weaknesses of the party. Those DP members who decided to remain in NRM other than returning to DP would have done the same if those very privileges they enjoyed while in NRM had been offered to them outside this alliance. For instance, president Museveni has managed to get on board UPC guys like Agrey Awori, without necessarily forming an alliance with UPC itself. He also unsuccessfully tried to recruit UPC’s giant lady, Cecilia Ogwal, during the CA elections when the issues of federo had caught fire in parliament, and he therefore needed UPC to be on his side to block Buganda from getting federo.

Let’s assume that we take DP’s reason to lose their members to other parties because of alliances as a bit weighing, but how does DP explain their hypocritical claims that they would be ready to form an alliance with the IPC if president Museveni does not get the 51% required for some to win all election. Will this not make them lose their members to other parties OR the party will be strong then after just a period of 7 months to the elections?

Finally, I’m still so skeptical about Mr.Mao’s presidential candidature and intentions because this is not the first time he is talking about a Nile Republic. He at one time wanted the north to secede from the south. He is a secessionist like JEEMA’s Hussein Kaynjo and this is not material for a Uganda president. He does not really believe in One Uganda, One people project. Secondly, because Mao has been elected DP president by one faction of DP, he is gonna affect the fortunes of the IPC candidate in the north since some people in the north believe in him. With this, president Museveni does not need to win the north to remain the president of Uganda come 2011 since Mao would do the job for him. If DP-Mao also fields candidates in Buganda in 2011, then the Buganda opposition vote will be divided between the IPC and DP-Mao candidates .It will actually be the same everywhere if Mao goes ahead to think in terms of ‘ONLY DP’ and ‘ONLY MAO’.

With that I can only conclude that by DP-Mao staying away from IPC, they are looking at themselves as bigger than anybody else and I find this arrogant and sickly. The reasons they give for not joining the IPC are as fake as the current regime in power. Therefore, any sane Ugandan who is tired of the Museveni regime should shan them completely. Only IPC candidates should be supported in the 2011 elections by opposition supporters. I hope the donors do the same thing.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom

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IPC Should not Boycourt Elections but Increase Parliamentary Numbers

22 May 2010 8 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, FDC, federalism in Uganda, parliament, Politics, Presidency, Uncategorized, UPC current politics

Dear readers,

I will never support anybody who boycotts elections in Africa because our African dictators don’t care whether the opposition is involved or not. As the Baganda say: ‘OMUZIZI AZIMBYA TWE NGA TWELILA‘. President Museveni will be so happy if the opposition boy courts the 2011 elections and I’m one of those who hate the kind of opposition that keeps a smile on his face. It’s actually one of the painful reasons why I have got a problem with Bwana Mao Norbert at the moment because his entrance into the presidential race has kept president Museveni smiling all the time. I’m totally sure that president Museveni has been smiling ever since Mao was elected as president of one the DP factions.

Mao knows that he cannot singlehandedly win the 2011 elections but I assume he is looking at 2016 where he assumes that he will have more political capital compared to his opponents. But I want to remind Ugandans that whatever will be happening in 2011 presidential elections will be the same story in 2016 when Major General Muhoozi(1st son) gets endorsed to become the NRM flag bearer. The only difference in 2016 will be that gates will be opened to all ambitious young men and women who wish to drive Uganda forward as most of the oldies will retire. For instance, FDC’s Anne Mugisha has already declared herself available for the FDC Presidential post , but I expect Major Mugisha Muntu to be around the scene again after losing out twice to Dr.Besigye. I also expect Winnie Byanyima to enter the race to succeed her husband as FDC president. So 2016 will be a very interesting year for many of us inishallah.

Nevertheless, Mao is being naive to think that he will be the only youths, if being youth means being in late 50s, who will be shinning in 2016. I know for sure that within DP itself, Erias Lukwago, has got presidential ambitions, and I’m still wondering why he did not stand for DP president in the recently concluded delegates conference. I guess it was because he takes the Mbale conference to have been organized illegally since it was not called by NEC. Among NRM, like I have already said, Major General Muhoozi, will be on the scene whether Ugandans like it or not. In UPC, we expect James Akena(Obote’s son) to bounce back though I don’t see him ever becoming the boss of that party in my life time, because UPC is rebranding itself away from Oboteists. So I will throw my coin on more youthful faces, like Robert Kanusu and others abroad.

As for 2011, as long as Norbert Mao is still playing in the hands of Museveni, the IPC should concentrate instead on increasing their numbers in parliament rather than wasting time on an already rigged presidential election. I think everybody can see it now that Mao has already helped Museveni win the 2011 elections. Those who are dreaming of a rerun should forget it. What Ugandans need to do is to punish bwana Mao in future when he starts knocking on their doors asking for votes.

For the meantime, I request all the IPC leaders who are still interested in politics to find a constituency to stand for parliament, with the exception of whoever will be chosen as the IPC flag bearer for 2011. This will help them increase their numbers in parliament after the 2011 elections. Personally, I would like Dr.Besigye to be the IPC flag bearer such that we say good bye to him for the last time, and we also expect him to use his popularity to help the IPC candidates in all local elections to be held. Therefore, Let Olara Otunnu(UPC), Kibirige Mayanja(JEEMA), Ken Lukyamuzi(CP) and Michael Mabikke(SDP) all go and stand for parliament somewhere. Actually, they should be already on the road campaigning in their respective constituencies because there is no time.

Meanwhile, i wish the Mengo administration finds a way to work with the IPC to sort out the candidates needed to stand in Buganda. Mengo should not do a Mao on IPC to work alone- because that will turn out to be constly for them. These things need a lot of money and a strong network for any candidate to succeed and that’s why Mengo needs to combine forces with the IPC. Mengo should secretly contact the IPC leaders to sort this out as soon as possible.They should all work together like they have done in Mukono north elections where Nambooze was endorsed by both the IPC and Mengo. Obviously, there are going to be some stumbling blocks like Beti Kamya who has got some personal wars to settle with some leaders of the IPC, but this can be sorted out amicably. Somebody needs to whsiper in Kamya’s ear not to ‘rock the boat’ for selfish reasons. We have seen enough of selfish politicians in the kast couple of years.

Byebyo banange

Abbey

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Both DP and UPC are split into factions and therefore need to rally behind Besigye

22 Apr 2010 14 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, FDC, Obote and UPC, Politics, Presidency, UPC current politics

Dear readers,

Those UPC supporters who say that nobody within the party is against Olara Otunu, i believe they are just in denial and anybody can see it. There is a section of UPC supporters that dont want Otunu in Uganda House and they could do anything to boot him out, but they are making a mistake, a big mistake. This group has come up with an excuse that Dr.Otunu’s election as UPC President was in violation of the party constitution, but of we flip the coins: assuming James Akena had won that election, would they still be crying over spoilt milk? Therefore, James Akena has got to come out and distance himself from the group working to bring Otunu down because this is gonna affect UPC in both the short and long term. There are no two ways about it.

The fact of the matter is that the two oldest political parties in Uganda are split into two factions. The Kampala DP faction is understandably and openly working against the Mao factions. There is also DP faction headed by Alhajji Nasser Sebagala which the EC refused to register. Then there is one headed by Mabike which he called the Social Democratic Party (SDC), and it was registered by the EC. Nevertheless, SDC has applied to join the IPC.

On the other hand, the UPC faction with no address is clandestinely working against Dr.Otunu. This is an open secret, bruv. The UPC faction with no address is the one that was against UPC joining the IPC and they are Oboteists. For them, without Obote’s ghost or his son or family member, there is no UPC, and probably that’s what was broken in the UPC constitution by Dr.Otunu. The legitimate faction headed by Dr.Otunu is pro-IPC but it has got some elements fighting Otunnu within, yet we are 10 months away to the 2011 elections.

Seriously, how can a party be divided internally and still think they can chip any votes off NRM in 2011? DP is in a mess as i write this and so is UPC. By the time, they sort out this mess; probably the 2011 elections would be over. That is why I request both DP and UPC members to rally behind FDC’s Dr.Kiiza Besigye for the meantime such that the opposition at least gains something in the upcoming elections. We may pretend as much as we want but Dr.Besigye is the best ticket for the opposition right now. I was impressed that Andrew Mwenda of the Independent has so far written two consecutive articles concluding with the same thing.

Let me leave you with a message posted on my blog from one of the most respected elders in UPC. Probably, you will understand what I’m talking about. It was posted on April 21, 2010 at 12:52 am:

”Semuwemba,The fact of the matter is UPC is split and no amount of trying to explain the split away in terms of Jimmy Akena misleading the people of Lango will help Otunnu. As WBK said earlier, in a large measure it is the people leading Akena and not the other way round. An example is what happened just before Otunnu went to Lira. Akena was told in no uncertain terms that he would open a major flood gate into NRM by merely standing near Otunnu. That is the reason you never saw Akena besides Otunnu in Lira, much as Lira Municipality is Akena’s constituency. Later when Otunnu met the elders in Lira they told him they would not accept Akena to hold sinecure offices in Otunnu’s cabinet.

Semuwemba, let me tell you: it is simply resources which is holding us up from opening a rival office to that Otunnu in Kampala. And let me assure you, were such an office to be opened, you would see a flood of UPCs flocking to that office and not 6th floor Uganda House.” Yoga Adhola.

Byebyo ebyange. Abagala okuwuliliza muwulilize

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

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Why Can’t MPs Impeach President Museveni?

16 Apr 2010 9 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, FDC, international, Legal issues, parliament, Politics, Presidency

Dear people,

The expulsion of two MPs from FDC was overdue and it may be interpreted differently by some people but I think it was the beginning of something new in Uganda politics: nobody is above the law in the country, and that is why today I would like to move this debate from those two MPs to the impeachment of the president of Uganda himself.

Apart from when in April 2009, Ken Lukyamuzi and CP suggested that the president get impeached following the re-appointment of Justice Faith Mwondha as the Inspector General of Government without the approval of Parliament, we have never seen parliament attempting to threaten president Museveni yet he has several times used his office wrongly. His removal through impeachment will be imperative to the survival of the nation.

We agree that under clause 4 of article 98 of our constitution that the President cannot be prosecuted for a criminal offence or sued in a civil action in any court. The sole exception being only the case of the Presidential Election Petition but an aggrieved party in any other civil or criminal matter will have to wait until the end of his term of office. The same constitution says the president, vice-president and all civil officers are subject to impeachment though there is significant disagreement on this issue.

Bribery and treason are among the least ambiguous reasons meriting impeachment, but the ocean of wrongdoing encompassed by the Constitution’s stipulation of “high crimes and misdemeanours” is vast. Abuse of power and serious misconduct in office fit this category, but one act that is definitely not grounds for impeachment is partisan discord. Several impeachment cases can confuse political animosity with genuine crimes.

Nevertheless, I happen to think that any president who commits a felony should be fired, ie, impeached. Seeking to impeach a politician is perfectly legal. It is a statement that the President has done wrong. That is why Impeachment is written into the Constitution .Impeachment itself is not a criminal procedure as in most cases the president is acquitted but being found not guilty doesn’t mean that you are innocent. He is just considered innocent in the eyes of the law. Not that this doctrine has any bearing on impeachment which is a political process.

Ugandans need to be educated that they can remove a president from office by using their parliament instead of thinking of fighting wars in bushes. Impeachment requires a majority vote of the House .This is one of the reasons why the opposition need to put a lot of effort in winning all grass root elections instead of just concentrating on the issue of the joint presidential candidate. If either Mao,Otunnu or Besigye fails to become the joint presidential candidate under the IPC, he should go and stand for parliament somewhere else to help boost the number of opposition MPs in the next parliament.

A vote by the parliament is a form of censure which should be encouraged every now and then to punish the offender, and give relief to the citizens of Uganda. A President should be impeached for high crimes or misdemeanours, regardless of his popularity. If having been elected qualified as a defence against impeachment, almost no president would ever be impeached.

Impeachment is about removing from office an Executive who has abused his executive power, who has used his place, position and authority to subvert the functioning, practice and excise of constitutionally guaranteed rights. For instance, the constitution does not give the president the right to give a directive that the police should investigate a certain politician as we have recently witnessed with Besigye. This is the work of the IGG not the president. For God’s sake, under what Law did the president use to ask a radio station to apologise for hosting Dr.Otunnu.

In USA, the first official impeached was Senator William Blount of Tennessee for a plot to help the British seize Louisiana and Florida from Spain in 1797. Judge John Pickering of New Hampshire was the first impeached official actually convicted. He was found guilty of drunkenness and unlawful rulings, on March 12, 1804, and was believed to have been insane. Three presidents were seriously threatened with impeachment. The first, Andrew Johnson, escaped conviction in the Senate, and hence removal from office, by a single vote. The second, Richard Nixon, aborted the process by resigning. Nevertheless, that resignation was forced by the looming spectre of impeachment. The third one was William J. Clinton, the forty Second who was impeached but also survived the senate vote.

NRM MPs don’t need to save the president in parliament if they feel that he has done wrong. For instance, Clinton was impeached on two counts, grand jury perjury and obstruction of justice, with the votes split along party lines. The perjury charge failed by a vote of 55–45, with 10 Republicans voting against impeachment along with all 45 Democrats. The obstruction of justice vote was 50–50, with 5 Republicans breaking ranks to vote against impeachment.Similalry,NRM MPs just need to do the right thing here evenif president Museveni is the party chairman.

Therefore, the expulsion of Beti Kamya and Onzima from FDC displayed the first kind of ‘impeachment’ process among party politics which should be extended to the national level if we are to strengthen discipline in all organs of the government.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

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MUSEVENI HAS ALMOST USED ALL PARTIES IN UGANDA

06 Mar 2010 4 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Obote and UPC, Politics, Presidency, UPC current politics

Dear readers,

1. I agree that Andrew Mwenda is a ‘premier league’ journalist in Uganda and all Ugandans are lucky to have him. It saddens me to see that brother Ahmed Katerega (Newvision)has decided to keep himself in the ‘Championship’ of journalism, and went for state-supportive journalism where a journalist is always reporting in favour of those in the corridors of power. Ahmed’s path may not be bad if the state is already stable politically and economically but Uganda has still got bigger problems that need the attention of journalists to expose them. In other words, Ahmed may die without playing the ‘champions League’ or winning any serious trophy as a journalist. However, if both Mwenda and Ahmed are to stand for a political office somewhere and I’m one of the voters, I may find myself voting for the latter (Ahmed) because I feel a bit closer to him. Brother Ahmed has been a rock for Ugandans at home and abroad by putting in his time to update and discuss with us on the important issues affecting our country. Some of the debates he is involved in have got nothing to do with NRMO or Museveni and we do appreciate it.

2. When I wrote one time that ‘Something has gone terribly wrong with the whole opposition and media processes, I meant the whole opposition including your UPC. Museveni duped a lot of people in 1980s in the name of fighting Obote though he had his own personal political and financial ambitions. This does not mean that I didn’t support his fights against Obote dictatorship. The truth is that the 1980 Museveni-Obote situation is like a poor neighbour who rescues you from an assassin in your compound when his (neighbour) inner intention is to create calmness in your house, get closer to your wife and kids and then repossess your house and everything in it. So Buganda had to be rescued from an assassin called Obote and UPC and therefore supported their neighbour, Museveni. So it is unjustifiable to blame those who supported Museveni in 1980s for his mistakes now.

3. If one is analytical enough, one would have realised by now that Museveni has almost used or duped everybody to stay in power this long:

A) NRM historicals: how many of them can even make it to the cabinet positions or influential NRMO organs. In the current cabinet, I think they may be about 5 or 6 ‘historicals’ remaining there.

B) DP: It was the first to form a coalition government with Museveni in 1986 with semo as internal affairs minister. Most of them started falling out with Museveni during CA when they realised what game the man was up to. So he kept the DP members who had embraced the movement 100% and got rid of those ones whose two legs were still in DP.

C) UPC: UPC would be history by now if Cecilia Ogwal had accepted to be Museveni’s VP as reported by the independent newspaper on 13/03/2009. In summary, Obote and UPC accepted to ally with Museveni against the rebellious Buganda during the CA because of Buganda’s continuous demand for federalism. Everything was sorted and the deal was just waiting implementation when Ogwal told Museveni that she was not willing to take on the VP job. This year, Museveni has come back for UPC again because this is the only place left for any political party to tap some desperate personnel. There are now about 6 UPC members in the current Museveni cabinet. Hope he doesn’t go for our Ochieno Joseph before 2011. Otherwise, I will not be surprised to start reading Ochieno’s messages with NRM in the introduction, body & conclusions. The article related to this is available on the internet: http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/column/insight/67-insight/659-upc-old-guards-taking-over-from-nrm-historicals

D) FDC and Buganda: Both have been used very well and now know Museveni better anybody else. So he is more afraid of them than any of the above parties.The founders of FDC were mainly former members of NRM. Secondly, wothout Buganda support, Museveni would probably not be the president of this country now.

Abbey

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Mao,Mengo and Muhoozi’s promotion in the army

28 Feb 2010 20 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, FDC, Politics, Presidency

President Museveni with his son and wife

People,
I have been watching the carling cup final today and now that our rivals have already banged one cup in their cabinet, let me console myself by saying that individual opinions on Mao and DP should not be taken as FDC’s official position . FDC has got their official spokesperson in Mr.Wafula Oggutu and he will tell us the party position soon. Actually, he has already given us a hint that FDC will support any candidate that is fronted by the IPC. Since Mao’s DP is not yet a member of IPC, then he should be outside the area of the IPC support. If Mao-DP faction joins the IPC, then I’m sure FDC will not have any problem of cooperating with them, and FDC hopefully will accept whoever is presented as the joint presidential candidate of the IPC.

Nevertheless, we expect Mao-DP supporters to exercise caution when campaigning for their candidate because decampaigning Dr.Besigye will only divide the opposition more, and probably make a lot of people more confused. At the end of the day,there is no any other man benefits from this apart from president Museveni who is hell bent on retaining power whatever is thrown at him in the next few months.

Mugisha Muntu on Museveni’s son

The appointment of Museveni’s son as his Top security man should not be underestimated. The president is making a big statement here despite the denials of the UPDF spokesperson, Mr. Kulayigye, when addressing the press yesterday. I’m very sure that the top organs in UPDF already know what the intentions of the president are. There is no doubt in my mind that Major General Muhoozi is being groomed to take over Uganda at some point after his father. Anyone who does not know this is just hiding their heads in the sand.

I think General Mugisha Muntu is among the culprits hiding their heads in the sand because I remember him saying ; ‘He may have it in his mind to do that but he will fail. I am sure of that as I am sure that day follows night,’ in response to one of the questions he was asked in the Monitor Newspapers last year. I remember the Monitor newspaper went with the headline:‘ Museveni has to make a choice on how he wants to end- Muntu‘‘. Muntu also stressed this point in that interview by saying:’ Whatever his intentions are, they will fail; to think that he will step aside and may be escalate anybody else. Let me tell you, forget about it being a family issue”. So what is Muntu and others in his category gonna do about it because it seems there is only a few inches away separating Major General Muhoozi and the presidency.

Do we need a Mao in this situation?

As for Mao and DP, my feelings are already clear about this in the article on the link below: http://semuwemba.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/why-ugandans-should-not-vote-for-mao-in-2011/. If i may add, i have got nothing personal against Chairman Mao and i think he has got leadership qualities but i don’t think he is capable of saving Uganda from this situation. His chance will come in future inishallah ,afterall, he is only 46 years old. The men in FDC particularly Besigye, Ruzindana and Muntu have worked with Museveni before and we gonna need them to get rid of him, whether we like it or not. Besigye has suffered in the process of doing so and he needs to lead us to the Promised Land.

Mengo and Mao

I think Mr.Charles Peter Mayiga should make it clear if his statement run in the press yesterday was his personal opinion not that of the Buganda government. Otherwise, he risks being misquoted by some people in the media. But for the sake of debate, i think Mr.Mayiga should also tell the media that Besigye should not be blamed for Museveni’s mistakes just because he was once part of the regime.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

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Get rid of corruption by sorting out the poor politics first

25 Feb 2010 2 Comments

by semuwemba in Politics, Presidency

Ugandans themselves have got a job to get rid of these thieves and they can only do that by voting the current government out mainly on a corruption platform. This will prevent the coming government from adopting the habits of their predecessors as it happened in Kibaki’s Kenya. The institutions handling corruption in Uganda are selective on whom to target and this has affected their effectiveness. As for the World Bank and the international community, there are aware who the thieves are and if we pressurise them in time, they will help us recover our money back. The World Bank knows that 40 % of Africa’s private wealth is held in private bank accounts abroad. They know where the money is and who it belongs to. A report prepared for the African Union in 2002 estimated that corruption cost Africa $148 billion annually- more than 1/4 of the continent’s entire GDP.

The opposition in Uganda should create their own anticorruption offices to work along side the government’s IGG office. It is unfortunate that the FDC has been left to talk about corruption only during weekly or monthly press conferences. The opposition leader in parliament should pressurise the government to let them access the information obtained by the IGG’s office and they should have a say on the course of action to take against the suspects. The opposition should form some kind of working partnership with the organisations dealing with corruption internationally especially the UN. Talking about things in Press conferences is not enough.

Nze bwendaba banange.

Abbey.K.S

GOD BLESS

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Museveni’s mission is a lesson to Rwandese Haters

09 Feb 2010 4 Comments

by semuwemba in Bahima and Banyarwanda, international, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Presidency

Ugandans,

Please be careful not to get sacked into Museveni’s book:’sowing the mustard seed’, because it can have an effect on anybody after reading it. It shows a man who was on a mission from day one.It’s interesting because most people are only born with ambitions such as becoming a doctor, teacher or nurse or something like that- which are just straightforward careers but Museveni’s book portrays him as a man who wanted non of the above ‘give me a desk, suite and a pen’ careers. That’s why I keep telling people that ‘love him or hate him’, Museveni has got the ‘Reagan ‘ effect on the people of Uganda. Reagan also had that effect on the Americans despite keeping them in miserly. That’s why im not surprised that an FDC man like you is giving Museveni credit where it’s due.

May be this should be a lesson to people like Mr.Edward Mulindwa of Toronto- who keep portraying Rwandese immigrants in Uganda as scumbags. Yes,Museveni and Mugisha Muntu may have a Rwandese background but we should move ourselves above that if we are to move forward. The Californians voted for somebody with dual citizenship as their Governor’s in Schwarzenegger and there is now a movement pushing for the amendment of the US constitution such that he could ran for president in future. They want specifically Article II, which holds that a president must be a “natural born” citizen to be amended.

I don’t know if Museveni came to Uganda with anything apart from the clothes he had on but he has made himself somebody in the Uganda history and nobody in their right minds can deny this. I read somewhere that at least Schwarzenegger arrived in America with little more than a gym bag but he became a Hollywood star with lots of money and later a governor. So instead of people showering abuse to Rwandese immigrants in Uganda, may be we should instead do something about lives and compete with them.Abanyarwanda joined Museveni’s bush war in Luwero because they Obote and Rwakasisi was up inn their necks.Museveni gave them a home in Luwero. They later found a home in their country buy figthting Habyariman government. Abanyarwanda are still on a mission to strengthen their position in the great lakes region because they know that whatever they have achieved so far can easily be thrown out of the window. We should all be a mission or target human beings.

Nze Bwendaba

Abbey

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Dr.Bukenya has qualified for the Champions League spot

12 Jan 2010 6 Comments

by semuwemba in 2010-2011 elections, Politics, Presidency

Good people,
All i can say ‘wow’. For the first time, i have managed to unblock Proffessor Bukenya’s head because all that i predicted when the Observer broke his so called retirement story, have turned out to be true. Like i said, he has managed to get the CHOGM story off the front pages of newspapers in such a short period of time before the NRM delegates Conference. What a genuis political strategist! The Newvision yesterday gave him a front page to clear the air about his retirement story and his opponents like Mbabazi got almost nothing apart from ‘NRM fingerprint registration’ story which was inside with his picture on the side. A couple of days ago, it was also reported that Bukedde had also covered him. Today, both the monitor and Uganda Record have also put him in the spotlight about the same story.Not to mention The Observer which broke the story in the first place and also made a follow up on it by interviewing Mr.Otaffire. This is not a bad publicity for a man assumed to be retiring from politics and at the same time gearing up for top positions in the NRM party in the delegates conference this week.

I, however, wanna concentrate on the Newvision story which broke yesterday because it was mouth watering, to say the least, than even the original story in the Observer.Bukenya vowed to expose the enemies behind the retirement story but the truth is that there are nonexistent because Bukenya broke this story himself to be ahead in the political game and he is right now, as i write this down unless something happens very soon.I told readers here that Bukenya will deny this story and he has exactly done this, and who gives a damn anyway, apart from his political enemies. He also confirmed what some of us already knew that he was not about to retire from politics.

Nevertheless, Bukenya told lies when he said that he adores Museveni despite ‘the lies his enemies feed the President about him’‘. Bukenya probably only liked Museveni at the beginning when he had just made him the VP of the country but there is no way he can like him after being his VP for 6 years.Museveni is a control freak boss and nobody likes control freaks. All the people fighting Bukenya are probably closer to the president and more powerful than him(Bukenya). Sam Kutesa is Museveni’s inlaw and therefore part of the Museveni family.Mbabazi has been in Museveni’s life since the FRONASA days and can probably raise the ”two fingers” infront of Museveni’s face and goes away with it, but not our Bukenya. When Mbabazi’s ribs were on the walls during the Temangala saga, it was the president who saved him. When Kutesa was impeached by parliament over the privatisation mess in the 1990s, he was droppped from cabinet but he was later brought back as ‘Mr. powerful’ and ”Mr. richer” by the president himself. By the way, i would love to physically meet Mr.Kutesa one day for reasons i would probably give another day.

Bukenya also said something very interesting in the Newvision interview when it was reported:’…………… together with the President, had done a lot for the country but he does not broadcast it everywhere he goes because it is between the two of them.” This was meant to tell his political opponents that he has also got Museveni’s ears as themselves, afterall, there is nothing Bukenya and Museveni have done( Good or bad) that is not known by the public.If Museveni does anything good , he would love all Ugandans to know about it, like the way i always wanted my grandfather to read my report first whenever i was first in class during my primary school days.

Bukenya did not forget to throw another punch to Tamare Mirundi by saying:’“I am closely following Tamale Mirundi step by step. I want to know who is putting fire in him. When I get to know, I will call you here and name them,”‘.In actual sense, this was an indirect punch to president Museveni himself but he dodged it by putting Tamare infront of his face. Bukenya was basically telling the president that he should have the guts to say things to his face instead of sending small boys to do his dirty work for him. Oh Boy, i loved this one so much but im very sure that the president was incensed by it and we should therefore all watch out for Tamare Mirundi’s next press conference because im sure that will be the president himself throwing some ‘ghost’ punches.

Overall, i must give it to the professor though the game is getting more serious now. In footbal terms, he has qualified for champions league football but will he win the trophy next time, because his enemies are without a doubt rethinking the strategy, and therefore i can see the president either dropping him as VP after the 2011 elections or demoting him to some ‘do nothing but get paid’ office like they do people who have become dangerous to the USA’s FBI.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
UK

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