By Mulengera Reporters
Not very long ago, Gen Museveni got concerned about persistent intelligence reports he keeps getting indicating growing intrigue among NRM top leaders who hail from Bunyoro sub region.
The veteran leader from Rwakitura is fearful that this infighting, if not mitigated, might hurt party cohesion and negatively impact performance of NRM candidates including himself at the coming elections. He is fearful that what happened in Busoga (where Bobi Wine defeated him in 10 out of 12 districts) might be replicated in Bunyoro come 2026.
Intelligence reports indicated to the President that his mobilizers and lower level party cadres were getting split up along the lines of Prime Minister Robinnah Nabbanja vs. Finance Minister Matia Kasaija. Museveni had also established that less prolific cadres like State Minister Fred Byamukama were becoming collateral damage as other subordinate cadres continue categorizing themselves as Nabbanja or Matia Kasaija loyalists.
It’s his view that the situation must be deescalated and urgently. And as part of this much-needed de-escalation, Gen Museveni convened a private meeting in Kampala to which Byamukama, Nabbanja and Kasaija were all invited besides a few other leaders from Bunyoro sub region.
Speaking candidly, Museveni demanded that Kasaija and Nabbanja both explain their role in the ongoing clique formation among NRM cadres in Bunyoro. He cautioned them against intrigue which he asserted can be costly to the party and themselves as individual leaders. He assured them that this must stop or else there will be consequences for each one of them.
But in his intervention, Museveni inadvertently created more problems when he showed more preference and respect for his fellow old man Kasaija to go organize and chair several other lower meetings to make sure that cadres get reconciled and cohesion deepened.
He demanded that Kasaija chairs all those difficult meetings and subsequently report back to him on the progress being made. This made the Nabbanja supporters to feel belittled because they thought the Kakumiro Woman MP should be the one to chair such meetings and subsequently report to him given her seniority as Prime Minister. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
