By Aggrey Baba
Long before Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba became Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), and one of the most powerful figures in the country, he was simply a young man who could walk into the office of one of his father’s sharpest critics without any fear.
Veteran journalist and former Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP) Philip Wafula Oguttu recalled the encounter during a Thursday podcast interview with Mulengera News, saying Muhoozi visited his office at The Monitor (now Daily Monitor) in the early 2000s and spent several hours with him, with journalist Andrew, his long time friend Mwenda around.
“He wasn’t a general. He was just a young man,” Oguttu said.
According to Oguttu, Muhoozi was not wearing military uniform when he came to the office, and during their conversation, Oguttu offered him something to drink and Muhoozi asked for a soda, prompting Oguttu to instruct his assistant, Agie, to bring different types of soda.
It was while he was taking the soda, Oguttu said, that the first son made a comment about what would happen if people at State House learnt where he was.
Muhoozi reportedly said they would be upset because they believed Oguttu hated them.
When Oguttu asked who he meant by “them”, Muhoozi reportedly explained that some people believed Oguttu hated Bahima.
The former Bukoli Central MP said he found that perception difficult to understand because he had close friends from the Bahima community, including Gen Kale Kayihura, Eria Kategaya (late), among others.
“The Muhoozi was a simple, humble boy,” Oguttu said.
He said that Muhoozi has since changed significantly, and when the interviewer Aggrey Baba asked him what could have changed the CDF, Wafula said its particularly because of the political, military and financial power he now commands.
“He has power. Political power, military power, and money power. He has that,” he said.
He said the media should consequently do a better job of allowing Ugandans to understand Muhoozi beyond his public political and military persona, suggesting that journalists should ask him about his family and personal life, including “his children, his wife, his cows”, alongside the difficult questions surrounding his public career, for the General public to know and clearly understand him, plus what really turned him into the aggressive man his social media posts portray.
“Journalists should present that man to the public,” he said.
Oguttu said he was particularly interested in seeing veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda conduct such an interview because of his long relationship with Muhoozi, urguing that it should be a serious and courageous interview capable of bringing out Muhoozi’s views rather than simply praising him like Mwenda does.
Oguttu argued that excessive praise can also undermine his (MK) credibility.
“When you do like that, people don’t believe you,” he said, further adding that the first son and PLU leader should be allowed to answer for himself so that the public can judge him on the basis of his own words and record.
Oguttu’s comments about Mwenda were also rooted in their years at The Monitor, where he remembers the journalist as much more confrontational.
“Mwenda would come and oppose me in my office, or oppose me in the meetings of Monitor,” he recalled.
Oguttu said Mwenda was comfortable or even disrespectful enough in his (Oguttu’s) office to sometimes put his legs on the table or lie on a sofa, but he valued his willingness to disagree.
He recalled Mwenda as a journalist who wrote tough stories about President Museveni and his family while at The Monitor, urging that he subsequently became “very soft” after leaving the newspaper and founding The Independent. Oguttu said he is totally disappointed in the man Mwenda has now become.
Justifying his claims that Mwenda changed after leaving Daily Monitor, Oguttu recalled one day hearing reports that Mwenda had received money from Rwanda for an advertising deal in his Independent Magazine. According to Oguttu, the money, was reportedly paid to Mwenda through a U.K bank account, something which did not sit well for Wafula, because he believed Mwenda was avoiding to pay taxes. But when he confronted him about the allegations, involving a figure of about £200,000. He said Mwenda responded that it was his business and none of Wafula’s.
The former MP said the change in Mwenda’s approach was relevant to the way Muhoozi is currently presented to the public.
He nevertheless maintained that Mwenda, or any other journalist, can still subject Muhoozi to the kind of tough interview that allows the public to understand him. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
