By Aggrey Baba
Senior presidential advisor and head of the Office of the National Chairman (ONC), Hajjati Hadijah Namyalo, has accused some senior government and security officials of being behind the gang that terrorised Kampala over the weekend, saying they are working to frustrate her and damage President Museveni’s image.
Speaking on NBS TV, Tuesday night, Namyalo said she recognised some of the youth who were involved in the attacks, which left several people injured and one woman dead. The mobile money operator was stabbed along Nasser Road after resisting robbers believed to be part of the gang.
The violence took place on Saturday, the same day President Museveni picked nomination forms to contest for re-election as NRM party chairman and presidential candidate in the coming general elections.
According to Namyalo, the gang included people who had previously approached her for help after missing out on funding from a government ghetto support programme. She explained that although she had no budget to give them money directly, she had tried to place some in opportunities to earn a living.
She now believes that the attacks were organised by powerful individuals within the police and other government institutions who are pretending to work for the President but are actually working against him.
Namyalo said these officials are using ghetto youths to cause violence and then shift the blame onto her or the opposition. She described them as people who serve both the NRM and the opposition depending on where their personal interests lie.
She warned that some of these actors falsely claim to operate under instructions from the State House, yet the President has never sanctioned their actions.
Following the attacks, Namyalo reportedly met with Museveni and reported her concerns. She said the President assured her that if there was ever any order concerning the ONC, he would communicate directly with her or through official channels.
Although she did not reveal names, Namyalo said those behind the gang are senior individuals with access to security operations and political networks, accusing them of trying to destabilise her office by giving power to criminal elements under the cover of political mobilisation.
She also criticised the practice of handing control of vulnerable youth to security actors who have personal political motives, saying it has allowed criminality to return under the guise of NRM support work.
On the same day as the attacks, Namyalo said she had seen some of the same youths near Pastor Kakande’s church, wearing NRM yellow T-shirts. They told her they had been brought to the event by someone, but she was later shocked to see them on the streets attacking people.
She rejected claims made by Minister Haruna Kasolo that the opposition was behind the violence. Instead, she insisted the real problem lies within the NRM itself, where people misusing their positions are damaging the party and the President’s efforts.
Namyalo also warned that the same individuals behind the weekend attacks have plans to cause further disruption during the upcoming campaign period. However, she said her office is aware of these plans and ready to respond.
While expressing regret for the suffering caused, Namyalo apologised to the public and said that the youth involved had been misled by self-seeking individuals.
She described them as part of the President’s broader “Bazukulu” support base but warned that unless internal sabotage is addressed, more such incidents could occur during the election period.
