By Simon Turibamwe
The Kampala airwaves during the weekend are always very congested with political discussion and talk. And this weekend hasn’t been exceptional-and as expected, the DP Bloc MoU-signing ceremony was a major talking point. Mulengera news reporters endeavored to monitor discussions on a number of radios and majority panelists sounded skeptical about the DP event held earlier in the week at Hotel Africana. Tamale Mirundi maintained his stand that this was a false start his justification being that he has never trusted Mike Mabikke and Abed Bwanika (two of the Bloc’s Principals) to mean what they say. Branding them 5thcolumnists in the opposition, Mirundi says the duo are fond of preaching water during day and taking wine at night once in the comfort of their homes. Mirundi is widely followed because of the controversial views he generously gives on almost everything.
SIMBA PANELISTS
On Radio Simba’s Gasimbagane program, panelists were unanimous that the DP Bloc wasn’t something to write home about. New Vision editor John Kakande (renowned for his DP sympathies) said apart from Norbert Mao, the so-called Bloc Principals are lightweights incapable of adding anything to whatever political formation they join. “I hear of Abed Bwanika being called a Principal but who did he come with? Did you see his party members anywhere? Who does he have in PDP? Then Mabikke who did he come with in SDP? Does it still exist having been mortgaged to Gilbert Bukenya during TDA? They said this is a coalition of the willing but when Bush ruled US we had something similar to which Uganda belonged but what did we add to that coalition as a country? It’s what I’m seeing in this so-called DP Bloc: people without anything to add calling themselves Principals,” Kakande said. “Essentially this is the former DP the way it has always been just trying to inflate its size.”
, a panelist on the same show, said: “Mbabazi had potential as people thought he was capable of disorganizing the NRM but what potential does Lubega Mukaku have? Do you know there are people who don’t even know he was a presidential candidate just 10 years ago? He has no impact at all apart from speaking in some hard accent when he gets the microphone.
I have been keeping track of him and can say he has no work.” Rwomushana said it’s too early to write off Kizza Besigye and being hostile to him will most likely alienate many genuine opposition supporters from the DP Bloc. Eminent political writer Edris Kiggundu, an editor at Nile Post, says Mabikke is too smart to dissolve his SDP and fully return to DP. He says being recognized as the SDP President is how the former Makindye East MP survives and keeps being politically relevant. He predicts that Mabikke will take his SDP to any other formation that emerges and proves powerful in the run up to 2021 elections. Likening Abed Bwanika to a one Mawanda Scooter (a famous Express FC supporter and hatchet man), Haruna Kanabi says the crudeness with which Bwanika attacks KB is indicative he is working for someone interested in weakening rather than strengthening the opposition. A long term Museveni critic since the days of Shariat newspaper, Kanabi reflectively says it’s unfortunate many now perceive Bobi Wine has someone Bwanika has successfully recruited to attack KB while portraying Museveni as democratic enough to be defeated in elections and retire to Rwakitura. Bobi also defends Museveni against claims that he sponsors divisions in the opposition. Rwomushana says there are growing opposition voices against NRM status quo in Western Uganda meaning even if they succeed in galvanizing Buganda, the DP/People Power Bloc members can simply not afford writing off KB. He says there are many factors for the western region’s political awakening and Besigye’s relentless mobilization is just one of them. “We have all contributed to this awakening and credit can’t go to Besigye alone and this is something this so called DP Bloc members must study and understand before deceiving themselves that Buganda means opposition,” says Rwomushana a renowned Besigye critic. Kanabi says Bobi Wine shouldn’t inflate himself because Museveni’s prolonged transgressions, coupled with sacrifices the likes of Besigye have been making, have gradually led to Ugandans’ political awakening. To him, these growing anti-Museveni sentiments in the country have nothing to do with Mr. Wine’s political advent. Rwomushana agrees saying winning guild at Makerere and other Universities doesn’t mean anything very significant because “opposition groups like DP, FDC and others have always been winning those positions.” He also says places like Kyaddondo East, Jinja, Bugiri and Arua too shouldn’t excite anybody because they aren’t new grounds Mr. Wine has won for the opposition.
They have always been opposition garrisons. He says Mr. Wine & Co should wrestle new constituencies from the NRM (like Muwanga Kivumbi did Butambala in 2012) to show there is anything new he is doing to advance the anti-Museveni struggle.
KIVUMBI VS MAO
Muwanga Kivumbi, a panelist on Simba program, was equally very contemptuous of the Africana event whose organizers have been dismissing him as a 5thcolumnist hired by the NRM to undermine Mao. Muwanga (who funded much of the pioneer UYD/DP reunion event at Mak) said the original objective of the reunion activities has been hijacked by political entrepreneurs working for NRM. The Butambala big man, who had just returned from the US Defense College, said instead of bashing him the so-called DP Bloc promoters should thank him for exposing Mao’s 2021 plans clearly aimed at neutralizing Mr. Wine. He maintained he stands by his words and the anti-Bobi plan is still on. This is something many have hinted on saying Mr. Wine might in the end become very weakened as it will be hard to gain upper hand over Mao inside the DP Bloc arrangement whose MoU Bwanika says Mr. Wine will soon be signing up to. Abed says there will soon be a similar ceremony welcoming ANT’s Gen Muntu and Bobi’s People Power into the DP Bloc which he says will soon be registered with the EC as an alliance for purposes of 2021. Renowned for taking no prisoners, Kivumbi said he doesn’t regret anything he said about Norbert Mao “because these were all facts based on good intelligence.” He says if he is indeed a mad man as Mao portrayed him, then there was no need for the DP President responding to him. Saddam Gayira, a renowned influencer via CBS’ Mambo Bado program, says his PPP party isn’t comfortable joining the DP Bloc because they are suspicious of its objectives. He wonders why organizers wouldn’t restrain Abed Bwanika and Mike Mabikke at Hotel Africana MoU-signing ceremony from launching unnecessary attacks on Besigye and his FDC comrades. He predicts there will be war everywhere because the One to One formula isn’t going to be easy to implement. Indeed different actors professing both Bobi and People Power are already tearing each other apart for MP and councilor positions in Central region’s major townships yet there is simply not enough time and means to get them agree on one candidate between now and 2021. Abed Bwanika, on whom many are counting, is yet to prove skeptics wrong beyond just words. Many are reflecting on his promise to use the referendum to block the lifting of age limits, something he remains very uncomfortable giving accountability about yet many people gave him their signatures. There are those wondering why he always goes incommunicado when there is something that requires his leadership. Examples include the Arua fracas which almost cost Bobi’s life and more recently the Mao-Muwanga Kivumbi war. He went into oblivion for some two weeks only to resurface after the storm has settled and critics are saying that isn’t the leadership expected heading into a politically very complex season like 2021 is threatening to be with a fire-breathing Museveni preparing to obliterate anyone standing in his way. Even on the day Bobi returned from the US, Bwanika was nowhere to be seen when People Power supporters desired his leadership to face the military that was out to prevent his procession to Magere. Bwanika only keeps saying he is now a new person having learnt from his past mistakes.
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