By Mulengera Reporters
In a political statement, that is unprecedently blunt, the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi has put the gloves off and made known his contempt and opposition to the indifference with which the Electoral Commission has so far acted as the rights of Presidential Candidate Robert Kyagulanyi’s & his supporters’ continue to be violated.
The Kabaka, whose veiled statement doesn’t reference Kyagulanyi directly, in his statement directly enumerates several violations, injustices and acts of political persecution that have daily been occasioned onto the NUP Presidential Candidate and his supporters by way of being physically beaten, teargassed, jailed and blocked from traveling or driving on Uganda’s roads located in major cities and urban centers.
In his Tuesday 23rd media statement, the Kabaka personally enumerates all these in very clear language and makes it clear that they are all violations that are unacceptable under the country’s.
The brief statement, that is written in Luganda, shows growing resentment towards mistreatment and persecution of Kyagulanyi and other Ugandans who enthusiastically have embraced and supported his agenda of a New Uganda, while rejecting the veteran leader from Rwakitura’s perpetual rule, which is now 40 years and still counting. The Kabaka is always disguised and veiled in his criticisms of social injustices but on this occasion he has been more blunt than he has been in recent memory.
Even at the height of tensions between him and Gen Museveni, which peaked in 2009 when he refused taking the President’s phone calls and had himself blocked from freely traveling around his Kingdom (read Bugerere/Kayunga & Buruuli/Nakasongola etc), the Kabaka never made such overt political statements at such a sensitive moment.
In a written message that has the potential to embolden Gen Museveni’s opponents, the Kabaka (who equally doesn’t directly mention Byabakama’s name) calls upon the Electoral Commission, which Justice Simon Byabakama chairs, not to stop at merely condemning the blocking of Presidential Candidate Kyagulanyi but to also assert itself, as is mandated under the law, and stop the mistreatment of Kyagulanyi, his supporters and other regime opponents.
The Kabaka also makes it clear that the growing brutality of security forces towards Ugandans with dissenting views isn’t only in violation of the country’s laws but is also morally repugnant. This latest development is happening amidst reports that a small team of NUP leaders, led by Kyagulanyi himself, a few days ago had a private meeting at Kabaka Mutebi’s residence (not just Bulange) where the recent hosting of Kyagulanyi by the Katikkiro was directed.
Sentamu Sewandagi, a public-spirited Ugandan lawyer who is always out on several YouTube channels analyzing major political issues of the day, and is an insider renowned for having good contacts at Mengo, claims that the only regrettable part is that the Kabaka later on was concerned when it emerged that one of the persons on the NUP delegation leaked the entire secret discussion details to State House and that Gen Museveni rung the Buganda King to register his dismay that any Ugandan cultural/traditional leader would ever do such a thing.
But all said and done, Kabaka’s latest controversial missive will most likely enlist a furious rebuke from his old friend Gen YK Museveni who naturally will construe it as a hostile act to his own political interests as he seeks to use the January 15th elections to seek re-election and cruise on towards being President for 50 years, which will make him the world’s longest-serving President.
Should he win, by the time he takes oath in May 2026, Gen Museveni will have been President for 40 uninterrupted years and will only be 10 years shy of ruling for 50. Not many leaders, globally, have reigned that long yet from the way things seem, there isn’t much that one can current see and believe is going to ever stop Gen Museveni from being President of Uganda for 50 years.
All said and done, one only hopes and prays that there won’t be an escalation of tensions between the President and the Kabaka because the consequences of that belligerent confrontation, as we saw in the past, will only produce two losers-and not even one winner. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
