Gen. Museveni. Washington’s political prostitute.
Hoping to ingratiate himself to the U.S., the Ugandan dictator Gen. Yoweri Museveni will be “temporarily” hosting 2,000 Afghan refugees.
The dictator is hoping this will be a propaganda coup to shift the narrative from the ongoing campaign of terror against Ugandan citizens that escalated after Gen. Museveni stole elections on Jan. 14, 2021. Since then his security forces have been kidnapping, torturing and killings civilians. The regime hopes to intimidate the populace and pre-empt a possible popular uprising. The campaign of terror has been condemned by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The BBC recently broadcast a special report on the campaign of terror which has also been covered by The New York Times.
The dictator was overwhelmingly defeated by Bobi Wine, leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP) but Museveni’s hand-picked election commission declared him the winner. The U.S. in a statement on April 16 said the election was “neither free nor fair.”
The regime announced that the Afghans, fleeing their country’s chaos since the Taliban seized power on Sunday, will be brought to Uganda “at the request” of the United States, a highly unlikely scenario given the U.S. reaction to Museveni’s election theft. The regime will be showing hospitality to the Afghans while continuing to kidnap, torture and kill Ugandan citizens.
Museveni and successive American governments have been enjoying a quid pro quo relationship in the 35 years the dictator, widely regarded as a U.S. puppet, has been in power.
The corrupt dictator has also been able to turn refugee crises into a cash cow. Uganda has hosted well over one million refugees from South Sudan. Yet, the South Sudanese never would have fled to Uganda had it not been for Museveni’s military intervention in their country to side with President Salva Kiir in the civil war with Vice President Riek Machar’s forces. Gen. Museveni, the arsonist, then becomes host to the victims.
Millions of dollars sent by the international community to help the South Sudanese refugees were embezzled by Museveni regime officials. As reliable as the sun rises, funds sent to help Afghan refugees will also be stolen. The U.S. knows Museveni’s resume very well. In December 2018, a Chinese national was convicted in federal court in New York for bribing Museveni and his foreign minister Sam Kutesa $1 million as a downpayment for more deals in the oil industry.
At the end of the day, no matter how many Afghan refugees Museveni hosts, it won’t change the fact that he’s an illegitimate and unpopular ruler who stole the Jan. 14 presidential election.
Columnist Kakwenza is a victim of Museveni’s torture chamber. He can be reached via [email protected]
