By Our Reporters
President Museveni wants Nakawa MP Micheal Kabaziguruka (who allegedly made an attempt on his life) to die in jail and he hasn’t been pretentious about his wish. Kabaziguruka was for months jailed in 2012 after being implicated in a treasonous plot to bump off Museveni at his Kisozi ranch in Gomba district. He was presented for formal indictment in Nakawa Court where prosecution alleged that he worked with disgruntled members of the armed forces and deserters in trying to orchestrate his move. It’s alleged the prosecution case only became compromised and weakened when then IGP Kale Kayihura sought to use the same to implicate and overcome longtime political foes like Kizza Besigye, Amama Mbabazi and David Sejusa. He wanted them implicated and charged along with Kabaziguruka yet prosecution couldn’t find sufficient evidence implicating the three lead Museveni adversaries. The desire to buy time to obtain some evidence directly linking them to the Kabaziguruka group made it hard for prosecution to expeditiously prosecute Kabaziguruka but it’s also true that fear that the full blown trial would expose loopholes in the big man’s security caused the State to be cautious proceeding with this case. In the end, Kabaziguruka’s lawyer Medard Segona applied for and obtained bail and his client has been free since that time. But in 2016 after winning the Nakawa MP seat for his FDC party, Kabaziguruka was once again brutally arrested by a police squad led by Nixon Agasirwe and was this time confined in Kigo and tried in Court Martial. This time round he was being accused of using money to manipulate some army officers to stage a coup against Museveni, a man he admits hating passionately.
M7 NEW DEMANDS
So in the recent past, Museveni has twice met Kabaziguruka at public functions and openly demanded his re-arrest. The first time was during a mobilization political meeting State House Comptroller Lucy Nakyobe organized to enable the President reach out to the poor ghetto youths in Nakawa Division. As Museveni arrived, the announcer enumerated names of elected leaders present including Kabaziguruka. As the wheelchair-confined MP stood up for recognition, Museveni furiously flagged him down saying “I don’t recognize that man as a leader because he tried to kill me from my home in Kisozi and I don’t know why he isn’t in jail because that is where he belongs.” Throughout the function Museveni menacingly looked at the legislator as if to say “you man you are so monstrous I hate you.” After the event as he prepared to leave, area leaders lined up to see off Museveni and among them was Kabaziguruka with his clutches. Museveni went around the queue of the leaders shaking hands and bidding them farewell. When he reached Kabaziguruka, he refused to shake his hand and vehemently skipped him saying “you man you don’t belong here but to jail.” The MP reportedly kept quiet looking out of place and embarrassed. The next occasion was last month during the inauguration of the URA headquarters to which Kabaziguruka was invited in his capacity as area MP. Museveni went around greeting the leaders present who had lined up to receive him. When he reached Kabaziguruka, he angrily shoveled off his hand and said “I don’t know what this man is doing here at my public function because he is an adhuyi [enemy] who should be in jail.” Renowned for his fearlessness, Kabaziguruka quickly turned to look at the large group of uniformed security operatives who had come with the President and sarcastically told Museveni “you are the commander in chief and there are enough army men here at this function; why don’t you direct them to arrest me?” Museveni simply said “you just wait you will see.” This very traumatic experience has cost Kabaziguruka dearly not only emotionally but even socially because he has had to be shunned by very valued political friends fearing that the man might be a 5th columnist working for the State. It has been complex business for many of them to understand why Museveni only stops at complaining at public functions yet he has the capacity to cause the arrest and detention of anybody given the absolute power he wields. But it’s also possible that Museveni is cautious about the public response because of the frail frightening state in which the Nakawa MP is. In 2017 he got an accident and multiple fractures as he drove one of his voters to Naguru Hospital after an emergency at home on a Sunday morning. Herding him into prison would make the Museveni state look inhuman which certainly explains why Museveni continues to be advised to control his anger and desires to have him rot in jail for crimes he officially maintains he didn’t commit. Majority voters in Nakawa believe that Kabaziguruka is paying the price for ousting the NRM from Nakawa the only MP Seat that had firmly been theirs in the whole of Kampala which has 8 MP Seats. Indeed since winning the seat, Kabaziguruka has been oscillating from one problem or misfortune to another.
