By Aggrey Baba
For nearly 40 years, President Yoweri Museveni has often chosen forgiveness over revenge, a pattern that many say has kept Uganda stable. However, whether he will ever reconcile with his former comrade, Dr. Kizza Besigye, remains an answered question in everyone’s mind.
According to analysts, Museveni is a pragmatic leader, mixing firmness with empathy. He has often extended an olive branch to those who once opposed him, turning enemies into allies, an approach which is not just political strategy but part of how he governs.
The roots of this attitude stretch back to the bush war between 1981 and 1986, where, mong the fighters was Col. Fred Mwesigye, now Uganda’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, who according to this week’s Saturday monitor recalls how, as victory neared, many NRA soldiers wanted revenge for lost relatives, but Museveni stopped them, saying revenge would only prolong the cycle of blood and urged forgiveness.
This philosophy continued in governance. One notable example is Chris Rwakasisi, Obote’s former security minister, sentenced to death for kidnapping and murder. Museveni pardoned him in 2009 after 20 years in Luzira and today, Rwakasisi is a senior presidential advisor—a symbol of how forgiveness can turn enemies into partners.
Over the years, Museveni has included former rebels and political opponents in government roles. Former rebels like Gen. Moses Ali and the late Maj. Muhammad Kiggundu found roles in the UPDF after renouncing rebellion.
Political rivals also joined the NRM, with Norbert Mao becoming Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and Beti Kamya, who even attempted to oust Museveni, becoming minister for Kampala, and later IGG, a position she held until a few days when Museveni appointed Justice Aisha Naluzze, following Kamya’s contract expiration in September. Betty Amongi became Minister of Gender, despite being formally a UPC member.
Former IGP John Kale Kayihura, now walks freely in the hills of Kisoro despite a bitter fallout with the government in 2018, and facing court charges shortly after, but still he was acquitted and rumor now has it that the two army generals are now in good terms.
Observers say this shows Museveni believes there are no permanent enemies, only temporary disagreements.
Even those who once challenged him politically, like Amama Mbabazi in 2016, were eventually reconciled.
This year, Independence Day celebrations saw former NRA commander Samson Mande, who spent 20 years in exile, return home and receive a warm pardon from Museveni. Over the years, the Amnesty Act has reintegrated more than 28,000 former fighters from rebel groups like the LRA and the West Nile Bank Front, helping stabilize previously volatile regions.
Yet one reconciliation has not
happened, between Museveni and Dr. Kizza Besigye. Besigye once fought alongside Museveni in the bush and served as his personal physician and Minister of State for Internal Affairs. But by 1999, he had fallen out with Museveni, accusing him of abandoning the ideals of the struggle.
Since 2001 (when he first challenged Museveni on the ballot), Besigye has faced multiple arrests and treason charges, often drawing public attention and protests. As we speak now, Besigye has for nearly a year been in incarceration, together with his political aid Hajji Obed Kamulegeya, on charges if treason. Many attempts by his lawyers to secure him a court bail have failed.
Some analysts say this is where Museveni’s forgiveness seems to stop. Others note his history of reconciling even after long conflicts, saying reconciliation with Besigye is still possible, comparing politics to a river that bends and changes course but always finds its way to the sea, noting that Museveni prefers settlement to destruction.
During the bush war, Museveni and Besigye were like two faces of the same coin, sharing the same hardships and dreams. Their later fallout was as much personal as political. Besigye accused Museveni of corruption and ambition, while Museveni worried Besigye’s impatience could harm unity.
Besigye later formed the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), which for decades gave Museveni the toughest opposition of his career. Yet Museveni has sometimes spoken of Besigye with a mix of criticism and nostalgia, calling him a good man who lost direction, hinting that reconciliation is not impossible.
Museveni’s leadership has long been about co-opting former enemies to maintain stability. Some praise him for ending cycles of violence, while others criticize him for blurring the line between opposition and cooperation.
One political scientist said Museveni’s approach is rare in Africa, combining Christian virtue with strategic patience, adding that forgiveness, for Museveni, is a tool for peace and power, not weakness.
His approach was clear again in July 2024, when he reminded the nation that while his government uses soft methods to solve problems, it takes firm action on matters of life and death. This mix of toughness and conciliation defines his rule.
As Uganda moves further into the 2020s, two old comrades, now in their 70s and 80s still stand on opposite sides of the political divide. If Museveni could forgive rebels, traitors, and opponents, could he extend the same hand to Besigye? For a leader who began preaching forgiveness in Luwero, this gesture could complete his legacy. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com
