By Mulengera Reporters
Following the November 2017 violence in Kasese, President Museveni sent his envoy Anita Among who delivered Shs250m. This was to support the widows and orphans of the Royal Guards who died in the violence security forces unleashed onto the Rwenzururu kingdom palace. The Bukedea MP dully delivered the money through Kasese Municipality MP Robert Centenary who lobbied for it from the President. He later got misunderstood and accused by his own FDC local leaders who construed his efforts as selling out to the President. They looked at it as an act of deal-making and in some way, this diminished Centenary’s popularity in his constituency. The MP initially kept the money on his bank account rightly insisting that the widows first form SACCOs and become organized since this was meant to be a revolving fund to benefit other victims. In the end, Shs50m was put aside for 34 widows as the rest went to Boda groups and wives of close to 200 Royal Guards who were detained with their king Wesley Mumbere. According to a report in Sunday Monitor, Peace Kabugho who chairs the SACCO for the 34 widows, confesses it wasn’t possible to use the Shs510,000 each of the widows got to do successful businesses because they had more pressing needs. She says many widows had nothing to feed orphans at home and there was also school fees to be paid. The women admit they ate Museveni’s Shs50m just like that and they are demanding to meet him again and ask got more cash. Centernary, who can reach Museveni very easily, has refused to take them back to the President on grounds that by eating the money (Shs50m) they embarrassed him as their MP to the President. This disgruntlement by the widows threatens diminishing Centenary’s popularity even further.
