By Black Star:
Just as Gen Yoweri Museveni lifts the lid on who should succeed him after ruling Uganda for 45 uninterrupted years by 2031, his past-immediate Government Spokesman and now ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) lawmaker, Ofwono Opondo, has rallied Ugandans to wake up. In an October 27 Paper to the NRM’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), Museveni let the proverbial cat out of the long-awaited, but expected bag. CEC is the cabinet of the NRM.
“Therefore,” Museveni told CEC, “when we are discussing the issue of the revolution beyond 2031, we must assess the candidates against these considerations. As the father of [Gen] Muhoozi [Kainerugaba], a resistance fighter and the one who encouraged him to join the army, I know him to excel on most of these considerations.”
As usual, Museveni has always claimed that his Chief of Defense Forces son, who doubles as Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations, is a Pan-Africanist, quickly defends the son’s controversial posts on X (formerly twitter): “Even his tweets when I get time to read them, they are about Africa, Uganda and their future. You should, therefore, frankly discuss, in the right forum, Muhoozi’s suitability vis-à-vis these considerations. If you are satisfied with Muhoozi’s record on ‘the what’ and ‘why’, then you look at ‘the how’.”
Gen Muhoozi’s tweets, “because they are not part of the usual procedures,” according to Museveni, “worry some people. I need to point out to the Africans and Ugandans, in particular, that procedures without substance, are barren. That is how Africa has been betrayed for the last 70 years (since Sudan’s independence in 1955) protocol, parades, speeches, conferences, etc, good procedures but no substance.”
Said to be the world’s second-longest-serving Presidential Advisor, Museveni’s Senior Presidential Advisor on Political Affairs, Moses Byaruhanga, cues in: “The President’s message is very clear; we need leaders who are talking about what is good for Uganda, East Africa and Africa at large. If we are to assess leaders and those who are intending to lead, we must do so along those lines.”
Byaruhanga was debating Museveni’s succession vis-à-vis peaceful political power transition in Uganda post-Museveni’s long reign on Kampala-stationed Capital Radio’s political accountability program, The Capital Gang on October 31.
But, according to International Business and Political Strategist, Leonard Egesa, Uganda is not a monarchy but a republic. “Succession is more appropriate in a monarchical society, but we are not. Uganda is a Republic. We are talking about the Republic of Uganda. We have been talking about so-called succession, and we have been informing Ugandans that the President should not be discussing succession. We should be talking about transition because we aspire to be a democratic State,” Egesa submitted on the Capital Gang, “not a monarchy.”
Egesa contends that the next President of Uganda must be someone who meets the threshold required to uphold the rule of law and constitutionalism. “Better still,” he added, “it would be nice if that person were a civilian and did not carry the baggage of the military.”
Ofwono Opondo, he who is a senior NRM ideologue, exudes confidence on the Capital Gang: “I can assure you that we are going to engage with this debate on succession and transition thoroughly and forthrightly. We, the leaders, are the ones failing ourselves. Otherwise, the NRM has created the space to discuss whatever we want to discuss.” Ofwono Opondo regrets that in the corridors of Parliament where he represents Older Person from Eastern Uganda, some of his fellow lawmakers whisper to him that they wish there were about 15 or 20 courageous Members of Parliament like him (Ofwono Opondo) to speak out the truth to power and the feared leadership in the country. Others have reportedly warned Ofwono Opondo that he risks being taken to the “basement”; the euphemism for the currently alleged but truly feared torture dungeon in the country.
In his CEC Paper, Museveni addresses NRM ideologues like Ofwono Opondo, too, thus; “Regarding the senior cadres of the NRM, once they confirm that people like Muhoozi are firm and reliable on the historical missions that are undone, they should cheer and encourage the younger leaders. Indeed, this is what I have been waiting for all these years.”
But it is most very unlikely that senior NRM cadres like Ofwono Opondo will cheer Muhoozi for leadership and sing-along Museveni’s tunes endorsing and hand-picking his son to succeed him instead of discussing peaceful transfer of power in a democratic country. Ofwono Opondo rather encourages Ugandans to wake up. “The President together with NRM, brought us democracy. It is us who are failing ourselves. The President can have his wish, but must his wish prevail? You Ugandans, wake up! If he has brought the discussion on succession and transition, let us engage.
“If there are people who are underestimating the intelligence or steadfastness of Ugandans, the best we can do is wish them well,” Ofwono Opondo appears to be telling those bent on using short-cuts to ascend to power and leadership positions in Uganda.
Gen Muhoozi, meanwhile, in the October 31 tweet, likened his political vehicle, the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) to the Make America Great Again (MAGA) Movement of US President Donald Trump: “PLU is a sect, faction or pressure group within the NRM religion. We are a denomination that has zero tolerance for corruption. We are similar to the MAGA movement within the Republican Party of the USA,” Gen Muhoozi claims.
Following the MAGA Movement declaratory comparison, PLU General Secretary, lawmaker Twaha Fadil issued a statement halting book endorsements and switching to online approvals of Gen Muhoozi for the presidency. “The Chairman of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), General Muhoozi Kainerugaba Museveni, has issued guidance regarding the organization’s endorsement exercise and ongoing activities as follows: All endorsements in support of General Muhoozi Kainerugaba Museveni as the next President of Uganda shall henceforth be conducted strictly online through the PLU’s official website,” Fadil announced on October 31, “We are going to open offices at Regional and District level to facilitate the online registration, endorsements and issuing Patriotic Cadre (PC) numbers, …That also implies that we have stopped issuing endorsement books.”
PLU opened endorsement books in August in which the group targets 20 million signatures cheering Muhoozi to succeed his father.
