By Mulengera Reporters
On his MK News link, veteran Kigezi journalist Wilber Muhwezi Kasibante a few days ago had a story published, indicating that former Premier John Patrick Amama Mbabazi (JPAM) one time ordered the execution of his Kinkizi West MP Seat political opponent, Dr. James Garuga Musinguzi who as of that time (2001) subscribed to Kizza Besigye’s Reform Agenda.
Garuga died last week and was buried at his ancestral home in Rugyeyo Kanungu district. As of 2001, Garuga had sharply fallen out with the Musevenist political system, which Mbabazi loyally and powerfully served at some point as NRM Secretary General, Security Minister, Attorney General, Defense Minister etc.
At the height of his power inside the NRM, Mbabazi had been christened “Super Minister,” by the media, and for long some people perceived him to be a co-President to Mr. Museveni.
Yet in 2001, Garuga, who had decamped to go with Dr. Kizza Besigye to found Reform Agenda which demanded reforms inside the Movement, felt Mbabazi was no longer effective as Kinkizi West MP. For him, it was time for force out Amama who he felt wasn’t prioritizing the genuine socio-economic transformation of the greater Kanungu area.
He stood against him hoping to ride on his personal achievements for the area to become the new Kinkizi West MP. The campaign was so violent and Garuga ended up claiming that his victory had been rigged.
He subsequently appeared on Andrew Mwenda Live Show on what became (93.3) KFM and accused Mbabazi and his boss YK Museveni of brutalizing Kanungu residents and rigging his vote in a manner that made former President Obote, who the NRAs accused of rigging the 1980 elections, “St. Milton.”
This contrast, as articulated by Garuga on Andrew Mwenda’s show, created a lot debate and news headlines for the newspapers in Kampala. On that show, Garuga spoke about his campaign agents whose eyes were plucked out by armed men who he said were in Kanungu to bolster the victory of his opponent.
Riding on what happened in that Kanungu election, Kizza Besigye while in the South African exile, appeared to debate with Amama Mbabazi on Andrew Mwenda Live show and asked the moderator (Mwenda) to never refer to him as a gentleman for as long Mbabazi was also describable as a gentleman on that same radio show.
“Andrew please, don’t refer to me as a gentleman and I won’t take any offence if that person you have over there in your studios can also be called a gentleman,” Besigye roared in a bid to demonstrate his contempt for Amama Mbabazi because of the violence his camp had unleashed in Kanungu to stop the Garuga victory.
Mwenda insisted and demanded to know why KB believed Amama didn’t qualify to be called a gentleman and the retired Colonel, who was speaking via telephone link while in South African exile, vigorously responded “how can you be called a gentleman when you are moving with people’s eyes in your pockets?”
Besigye went on to explain that he was referring to Garuga’s supporters and witnesses who came to Court to give evidence supporting his anti-Amama election petition, without eyes. These men and women demonstrated to Court how they lost their eyes in the pro-Mbabazi violence against the Garuga candidature.
These election violence victims were used by Garuga’s legal team to give evidence demonstrating the extent of violence that was unleashed to ensure that Amama Mbabazi, then a blue-eyed boy to Gen Museveni and key decision-maker in Kampala, retains his Kinkizi West MP seat. Erias Lukwago, Mohammed Mbabazi etc were some of the members of the Garuga legal team for that petition.
In the end, Court agreed with Garuga’s evidence and nullified Amama’s victory but Garuga stayed away from the subsequent by-election, making it clear that he did this to save his supporters from fresh violence the Mbabazi camp was going to once again unleash.
So, what all this referencing to history above demonstrates is the fact that the relationship between Garuga and Mbabazi got so bad at some point, many feared for the worst.
Days after his burial, Muhwezi Kasibante, who was an active Kigezi political journalist as of that time, comes out claiming that the soldiers, on whom Amama had immense influence as of that time, had been ordered to liquidate Garuga.
In his blog post, which has since been deleted and taken down as demanded by Amama, Kasibante claimed to have been the one who tipped off Garuga about the plot to assassinate him.
Amama Mbabazi, aware that such damaging social media posts can’t be taken for granted anymore, immediately came out to refute Kasibante’s claims. In his post, which the former Prime Minister personally posted on a WhatsApp forum called BUYINZA NETWORK 1, Amama Mbabazi admitted to having had political differences with Garuga but denied ever giving an order for him to be assassinated.
He says its not anywhere in his political DNA to cause his political opponents to be assassinated because disagreeing politically doesn’t make any of them an enemy.
He dismisses Kasibante as a mere attention-seeking blogger from whom he demands an apology and total retraction of the malicious news article, which has since been deleted off the MKnewslink.com news blog.
THE AMAMA VERBATTIM: My attention has been drawn to this story published on social media by one Wilber Muhweezi Kasibante, claiming that in 2002, during election campaigns, I ordered the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to arrest and kill my political opponent, the late James Garuga Musinguzi, and that his life was saved by Kasibante’s media campaign.
This is a completely false and malicious allegation. While it is true that I contested with the late Musinguzi on several occasions for the Kinkizi County West parliamentary seat, I never — at any time — gave an order to the army to arrest him, let alone to kill him. Such conduct is totally against my principles and my record in public life.
The UPDF has a very strict code of conduct and professional ethos. Even if such an unlawful order were ever given — which it was not — the UPDF would never have carried it out.
I have spent my career fighting for democracy in Uganda, and I have never regarded my political challengers as enemies. In fact, even after we found ourselves on different sides of the political divide, Musinguzi and I remained friends. Those who know me and my record would dismiss Kasibante’s claim without hesitation.
I therefore regard this publication as a baseless, self-promoting publicity stunt, and I demand that Mr. Kasibante withdraw the false statement and issue an unequivocal public apology to me. Amama Mbabazi, SC 14 August 2025. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
