By Mulengera Reporters
Former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya on Monday joined other powerful leaders, including current and former Ministers and MPs, to declare support for Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s 2031 Presidential ambitions.
Deputy speaker Thomas Tayebwa was also present and called on Ugandans to stop criticizing Gen MK for prematurely taking part in politics before retiring from the military. He said the first son’s absence from events like Monday’s was indicative of his discipline to deliberately avoid such participation in such controversial political moments before being retired from the army.
Tayebwa said MK has been a very good leader of the military whose impending 2031 presidential candidature enjoys full support of the President and all NRM CEC members. Tayebwa said this is why no Minister should be afraid of associating with PLU openly for fear that the same might anger the President and make him feel betrayed. Tayebwa, who sits in CEC of both PLU and NRM, said there is no contradiction between the two organizations regarding the CDF’s 2031 political ambitions. He also said MK was being urged and dragged into the race by people like him.
“It’s not true that he is imposing himself on Ugandans. It’s us the Ugandans who are imposing ourselves on him,” Tayebwa declared while calling on critics to stop targeting the President’s son. Tayebwa was speaking at the Monday Naguru event where the PLU official website was launched.
He was the guest of honor and for the first time, all people who matter in PLU were physically present with exception of Gen MK who serves as the national chairman for the pressure group. Tayebwa came with a large number of MPs who couldn’t even get where to sit.
There were more complications when the hundreds of MK-backing MPs were asked to have a group photo with PLU NEC members. The MPs were so many that they failed to fit in one group photo, prompting organizers to put them into small groups. MK’s 2nd in command, Andrew Mwenda who rarely comes for such functions at Naguru, was also present.
Chairman Toyota Nuwagira announced that very soon a baraza dedicated for the MPs will be convened at Naguru to enable the people’s representatives to freely discuss and give their views on how PLU can achieve its objective of having their 2031 candidate Gen MK win the race with over 90% of the vote. Toyota also declared that the MK Movie had finally started and that people like himself were starring in it big time as the expendables.
He said he himself is playing the role of Rambo and that the Movie must be embraced by all Ugandans because the next few days, weeks and months are going to be very interesting. He thanked the new General Secretary Fadhil Twala for being active and for making the PLU headquarters busy and accessible to all stakeholders.
Gilbert Bukenya, the former VP, was also present having positively responded to the organizers’ invitation. There was a clear attempt by the Monday event organizers to depict PLU as an inclusive organization. The religious leaders were also represented with Pastor Aloysius Bugingo being one of the most conspicuous attendees.
The Kampala business community was also represented with Sudhir Ruparelia and Godfrey Kirumira being present. It was claimed that the duo represented the Kwagalana Group which represents rich men and women who own up to over 80% of the private sector businesses and commercial buildings in the Kampala CBD. In a brief speech, Kirumira made it clear the business community is on board and can’t wait to have Gen MK become President, taking over from his dad Gen YK Museveni.
Gilbert Bukenya, who was invited to speak by Tayebwa who surrendered part of his time to him, agreed with Mike Mukula who had spoken earlier that indeed Gen MK is Uganda’s transformative political idea whose time had come. Bukenya said he was proud to be associated with Gen MK and PLU whose rapid growth he likened to that of the NRM itself.
He recalled being called upon by Gen Museveni, those years when he was still VP, to sign the founding documents of NRM party in the year 2005. “Today I’m proud that the yellow party we started is everywhere which is why I’m seeing yellow everywhere.” He predicted the growth of PLU to dominate the Ugandan political space will exactly play out the same way like NRM’s.
Saying he likes the enthusiasm, the energy, the vibe and everything else that PLU stands for, Bukenya called on Andrew Mwenda and Balaam Barugahara to take his message to Gen MK that he badly wants a PLU number so that his membership of the League can be authenticated. He called on the organizers of the PLU barazas to involve thousands of jobless youths especially in his native Wakiso district and other parts of Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.
Mike Mukula asserted now was MK’s time to become President, saying he is a fierce warrior who (as a younger soldier) had risked his life to secure this country when he fought besides them, as Arrow Boys, and resisted Kony’s LRA rebels in the areas of Amuria in Teso. He read out his proposed version of the PLU 10-point program which he submitted to Fadhil Twala calling on PLU members and officials to give suggestions to come up with an improved version.
Mukula claimed that the presence of several CEC members, Ministers, MPs and cultural leaders, who Balaam had earlier on introduced, was indicative of the fact that the whole country had unanimously bought into the MK 2031 bid for Presidency. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
