By John V Sserwaniko
Major Gen Proscovia Nalweyiso, a Museveni advisor on security, says behind the face to face confrontation between the Bobi Wine crowd and the President’s convoy during the Arua fracas was a well-orchestrated plot to assassinate the Head of State. Speaking in an extensive media interview (that lasted 2 hours) Thursday evening, the influential State House guru said as security they have obtained details showing that people in Kassiano Wadri/Bobi Wine’s camp held meetings to plan the chaos that locked the North Western town of Arua that day. The interview was conducted by UBC’s Kisubi and was aired on Radio Star’s Sekanyolya program 7-9pm. “They planned everything that day and the plan was to kill the President. That’s why people carried pavers for stones in their convoy cars. It wasn’t a spontaneous fight. It was something they took days planning. Where could they have got pavers to throw at the President? They knew being General Museveni, he would come out of his vehicle once the paver was thrown at his vehicle smashing its rear screen. They would then throw more pavers and kill him in the process. Baalina plan okulaba nga kiggwa kw’olwo [they had planned to finish him off & end his presidency that day],” a tough-talking Nalweyiso said. “We were there and in fact at first he [M7] pondered coming out and personally command the response against those violent Bobi Wine people but some instinct told him not to. He realized many lives were going to be lost if he commanded…I’m now 64 years old; I’m even sickly and can die anytime. I can’t tell lies but the truth is we, as security people, aren’t going to allow you those people to mess up with Mzee. He is the President of Uganda. He was given to us by the people in 2016 elections to be president and that’s our duty as security to make sure he is safe. What could we tell Ugandans if something wrong happened to him? Those uncomfortable with him should wait until 2021 when they will have a chance to tell their reasons to the voters.” Nalweyiso said the problem many of the opposition figures aren’t electable because they tell only lies. “How do you say there is poverty and no electricity in Uganda when people are seeing electricity in their villages where there was none before? This is why people refuse to vote for them and they resort to violence to coerce people to elect them. Why would you wish the President to die in such circumstances? Simply because he has overstayed in power?”
BASHED MAYIGA/NOT FEARING BOBI;
Nalweyiso downplayed claims that key government officials like herself were very frightened seeing Bobi Wine’s global appeal eclipsing everybody else in Uganda. “If we indeed feared Bobi Wine as government, we should have stopped him from the Kyaddondo MP Seat. But we allowed him to come up because we aren’t afraid of anyone,” said Nalweyiso who also had no kind words for Katikkiro Peter Mayiga who recently scorned government while defending Bobi Wine and MP Zzake’s right to freedom from torture. “I always watch my leader the Katikkiro on TV but I didn’t like what he said recently. He must stop speaking with anger because people say Bobi Wine and Zzake were targeted for torture because they are Baganda,” she said. She added: “As Katikkiro he is for all of us in Buganda. He should stop speaking using proverbs that are out fashioned in order to belittle other leaders. Proverbs of the old days can not apply any more. Why use proverbs to demonize fellow leaders and prophesying bad things on fellow leaders?” She went on: “I have his phone number and I call him sometimes. If there is anything let him call me because we can go to him to be criticized and corrected in confidence.” She accused the Katikkiro of enjoying people clapping for him when making speeches that bash and demonize authorities in the central government which isn’t a good act of leadership. The vehemence with which the usually calm Nalweyiso spoke created the impression that the Museveni innermost circle members are out on the offensive to counter the Bobi Wine effect. State House Comptroller Lucy Nakyobe, another powerful official in the Museveni innermost ring, too has been out meeting the poverty-stricken drug addicts of the Kampala ghettos. On a mission coordinated by Dr. Hillary Musoke (a defector from Gen Sejusa’s camp aka Jr Kisanja), the latest ghetto offensive by State House has seen powerful Nakyobe drive to Nakawa, Kisenyi Costa and Taxi Park to see herself where the ghetto poor youths stay and work from. She has promised them material support from the President who she says will soon be moving around the Ghettos of Kampala. Days earlier, their boss PPS Molly Kamukama was on twitter downplaying the extent to which Bobi Wine was bruised and she threw angry words at his lawyer Nicolas Opio for countering what she was saying.
MAYIGA’S BODYGUARDS;
During the Thursday interview, Gen Nalweyiso was specifically angry with Mayiga for insinuating that people are tired of Museveni and that’s why he is heavily guarded and fortified wherever he goes. “When you say people are fed up with Museveni because of ABC why then do you also have escorts if you are too popular yourself? If means you have realized that however popular you say you are, you can’t be liked by everybody,” ranted Nalweyiso who sounded to be itching for a verbal fight with Mayiga a renowned wordsmith. Stressing that UPDF, Police and other security agencies have a duty to keep all Ugandans safe and their property, Nalweyiso said not even the fear of being criticized by Mayiga will make security operatives ashamed of doing their work. “Yes we must have a good name as a country because that is good for the economy but as security we aren’t going to just look on when violent political groups unleash violence on innocent Ugandans simply because they support so and so. Not even the fear to lose tourists and investors is going to cow us not to restrain violent characters,” she said. Nalweyiso accused Bobi Wine and his ilk of deliberately working towards making Uganda a failed state. She said they are doing this by engaging in provocations with security forces in order to increase bad publicity about Uganda. Calling the Mityana incident, which saw police shoot innocent travelers, Nalweyiso said those are isolated incidences which shouldn’t worry anyone.
COWARDS IN NRM;
She was also asked to comment on the utterances by eminent NRM elders like John Nagenda and Capt Francis Babu who have been calling for transition from Museveni to another leader. She said the President is busy and will continue ignoring such advice because the officials giving it aren’t acting in good faith. She said some of them are frustrated because of personal problems. She condemned growing acts of political intolerance saying most of it is an outcome of alcohol and the marijuana vote-seeking politicians buy for the youths just for appeasement during campaign time. She also admitted that many NRM people are now timid and can’t even publicly come out to defend their party “because they think government is falling next weekend.” She emphatically said: “Batitizi [they are cowards] wanting to please everybody instead of defending their government.” She said the fact that opposition supporters could take so much risk to the extent of stoning the President’s vehicle had terrified many NRM cadres and pushed them to conclude that Museveni’s personal vulnerabilities were beginning to become exposed. “Many NRM people are now scared and have resorted to criticize their own government in order to appease the violent Bobi Wine crowds that keep attacking innocent people simply because of what they support,” said Gen Nalweyiso a serving officer who clearly struggled to speak cautiously lest she gets criticized for political partisanship. She was also asked about NRM Deputy SG Richard Todwong who lately has been very outspoken on the ills of government. He recently praised Bobi Wine for coming up with messages that appeal to the young people. But Nalweyiso contemptuously said “Todwong is just seeking cheap popularity because he wants to rejoin Parliament in 2021 having realized that there isn’t much money at Kyaddondo.” She said Todwong personally has financial issues and has now combined anger and hanger. “He has personal problems. He no longer gets money and decides to go on radio to show his anger but it doesn’t work that way,” she said about Todwong. “If he says NRM has leaders who cover up the truth and tell lies, why doesn’t he always bring up his concerns in NRM top meetings which he sits in? He says people are with Bobi Wine because he tells the truth about their problems but when has the President ever lied people? He goes to Karamoja to campaign but tells them the truth about carrying guns. He is always for the truth unlike people who have chance to speak in meetings but fail to say anything. They sit there and say nothing and they run to the public like Todwong is doing now.”
BASHES MPS;
The grey-haired woman from Mukono Ntawo was angry that even when M7 was the one stoned and therefore the victim, nobody is being sympathetic to him. She had no kind words for MPs whom she rebuked for buying ambulances instead of ensuring hospitals are stocked and function properly. She said that is more life-saving than the ambulance. “Unemployment, just like corruption, can’t be solved by the President alone. What have the MPs done? They are buying ambulances in which they travel themselves like we saw the other day [veiled reference to Nambooze who was delivered to court in an ambulance]. Instead of buying that ambulance why not buy sewing machines for the youths to fight unemployment? There is an MP we all know killed his wife but when you see him shouting in Parliament donned in that red attire, you may think he is an angel whereas not,” Nalweyiso said showing MPs have no moral authority to criticize Museveni. She also advised People Power adherents to take to the bush if they are indeed prepared to use force to oust Museveni “rather than using stones on innocent people.” Moderator asked her about service delivery and referred to bad state in which UPE schools & government hospitals are. She said just like Buganda’s Kyapa mu Ngalo which is optional, no one has been forced to seek service in hospitals or schools they consider not good enough. Moderator had asked why government officials don’t use these schools and hospitals themselves. She also condemned crowd violence against Bebe Cool and wondered why Bobi Wine too wasn’t stoned in 2011 when he was paid to perform at the President’s campaign rally in Luwero. She said tribalism was partly constraining the President’s decisiveness against the corrupt. “When he acts we constrain him ourselves by saying he is now squeezing Nalweyiso because she is a Muganda. He is a human being and gets deterred by such perception,” said Nalweyiso. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
