By Mulengera Reporters
Former Makindye East MP Ibrahim Kasozi Biribawa, who was key in the coming up of the Bobi Wine Kyagulanyi phenomena that took the Ugandan political scene by storm from August 2017 onwards, has spoken out in defense of the NUP boss regarding exactly what happened during the Arua by-election campaigns.
Kasozi, who personally convinced a reluctant Bobi Wine to plunge into the Arua campaigns which became chaotic and bloody resulting into the assassination of his own driver Yasiin Kawuma, dismisses Kassiano Wadri’s weekend narrative downplaying Kyagulanyi’s role as opportunistic, false and untrue.
In his weekend online media interview, Kassiano Wadri (who the NUP foot soldiers have been castigating for being ungrateful) claimed that he was never Bobi Wine’s candidate all along and that the man from Magere was forced by circumstances to come to his rallies after realising he was the strongest in the race.
That the former 2021 Presidential Candidate was induced to travel to Arua after receiving Shs6m from the NRM-leaning independent candidate and moneybags by the names of Robert Ejiku. Wadri said the Shs6m was delivered through Kampala lawyer and renowned deal maker Caleb Alaka who allegedly personally delivered the money to Kyagulanyi.
Wadri says that, on reaching Arua, Bobi Wine (who was desperate to be associated with a winning candidate as had been the case in Bugiri where he successfully backed Asuman Basalirwa and used that to demonstrate his popularity outside Kampala and to eclipse Kizza Besigye) realised that his Ejiku was weak and was unlikely to win because the masanyalaze (the political momentum) was with him (Wadri).
He stood as an FDC-leaning independent and was loyal to the Gen Mugisha Muntu faction which even Ibrahim Kasozi had initially sympathized with before crawling back to FDC mainstream at Najjanankumbi. Kasozi had a problem with the pro-Besigye status quo inside FDC, which Wadri was equally uncomfortable with.
So, they had a lot in common and as of that, Kyagulanyi was still nervous and a political amateur who depended a lot on veterans like Ibrahim Kasozi to make political decisions on who to support, where to go and not to go.
Simply put; as of that time, Kasozi, who had used his money to fund Bobi Wine’s own Kyadondo East campaigns, had more influence on the singer from Magere than anyone else among the political class. Indeed, it was at his instigation that Bobi Wine plunged into the Arua campaigns where Wadri was the man for the Muntu camp. This was at a time when the Muntu group members were moving towards forming their own New Formation which evolved into ANT.
Now Kasozi says that Wadri is a dishonest old man whose narrative is defective and should be disregarded. In a taped message sent to Mulengera News in response to our earlier story replicating what Wadri had said in his video interview over the weekend, a clearly intrigued Kasozi stated as follows: “I remember vividly very well when Gen. Muntu called me to ask Kyagulanyi to go and back Wadri.”
He adds: “I sent Kyagulanyi a message which I still have in my phone asking him to go and back Wadri for the future political plans of his presidential ambitions.”
He then concluded with: “If Wadri was strong [as he claims] why did Gen. Muntu ask me to call Kyagulanyi? Politicians should learn to be honest even when honesty is not on [their] side. Just wanted to put the history straight. Thank you. Hon. Kasozi Ibrahim Biribawa.”
We shall be engaging Hon Kasozi for a more detailed interview because these are historical facts which shouldn’t be distorted especially when there are people or actors who know and have the truthful and more helpful version of what exactly happened. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
