Charles Peter Mayiga speaks truth to power in a country ruled by absolute militarist Gen. Museveni. Photo: Facebook
[View From Uganda]
In Uganda the central region of Buganda has a hereditary king referred to as the Kabaka, and a prime minister called the Katikkiro.
Now the Katikkiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga, has placed himself in the crosshairs of the country’s dictator Gen. Yoweri Museveni.
During the festive season, he made the fatal decision to appeal to government to release the two opposition members of parliament who were falsely accused of being behind machete-wielding thugs who killed over 30 civilians in a string of unexplained murders in the Greater Masaka region. The Opposition MPs in question are Allan Aloysius Ssewanyana, commonly known as “Omusajja wa Bwino”, the elected Member of Parliament for Makindye Division West and a representative for the National Unity Platform (NUP), the party led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, a.k.a. Bobi Wine who is regarded by many as the legitimate winner of the Jan. 14, 2021 presidential election. The second MP framed for the murders is Muhammad Ssegirinya, fondly known as “Mr. Update”, who is the Member of Parliament representing Kawempe North and is also of the same party, NUP.
The two were arrested on September 8, 2021 on charges of murder and terrorism.
Military dictator Gen. Museveni. Photo: Facebook.
Katikkiro Mayiga made his appeal during the Christmas celebrations at Kitovu Cathedral in Masaka City where he was joined by several NUP stalwarts such as the Leader of Opposition in Parliament and Masaka Municipality MP, Mathias Mpuuga. “We don’t want police to only arrest those dressed in red. If there are those dressed in red, police respond as quick as possible but we want police to arrest the criminals who have been terrorizing the people to ensure that Buganda is back on top,” he said.
The “dressed in red” refers to the colors of the Opposition party NUP. This comment by Mayiga will rattle Gen. Museveni into painting a target on his back.
For Mayiga is three things that Museveni fears. Namely, he is a Muganda, he is influential, and he is sympathetic to NUP. To make matters worse, he is talking about Buganda being “back on top”. Yet we all know the “top” is reserved for one person alone: dictator Museveni.
To compound matters, Mayiga pressed government to reveal the “true” cause of the killings in the Greater Masaka Region. “We want to know the truth and the motive of the machete-wielding men who have been murdering people since 2017 in various districts. There are those who have been arrested but also we don’t know much regarding their issues,” he said.
This demanding for the truth implies that Gen. Museveni’s arrest of the two MPs is trumped-up and his allegations of “terrorism” in Buganda region is a figment of Gen. Museveni’s warped imagination. Tragically, we are sure Museveni’s fallacious logic will label Mayiga a NUP sympathizer and thereby a “terrorist.”
Museveni’s syllogistic thinking has made him lump those who disagree with him and those who oppose into one camp. This quickly becomes a concentration camp as he persecutes and terrorizes both.
To be sure, Gen. Museveni is an expert in the politician’s syllogism, also known as the politician’s logic or the politician’s fallacy. It is a logical fallacy which takes the following form: (1) We must do something; (2) This is something; (3) Therefore, we must do this. Or as the classic British satire, “Yes, Prime Minister”, explained the term: (1) All cats have four legs; (2) My dog has four legs; (3) Therefore, my dog is a cat.
Gen. Museveni doesn’t wait to connect the dots, he just acts arbitrarily and militarily. That’s why he’s arrested opponents and then dropped charges soon after. Cases in point are when the state—a.k.a. Gen. Museveni—dropped money laundering charges against leading human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo and the Director of Public Prosecutions—a.k.a. Gen. Museveni—withdrew charges of inciting violence against then FDC president Dr. Kizza Besigye.
Mayiga must therefore watch his back as Gen. Museveni’s twisted political will bend his words in order to accuse him of what he never said and punish him for what he never did.
