By Mulengera Reporters
Godfrey Kiwanda, a State Minister in President Museveni’s government charged with tourism, has said if opposition supporters don’t stop hiding behind Bobi Wine’s Engule hit to provoke the NRM, they too will resort to religious fanaticism in a manner the rest of the country won’t like. Speaking on CBS Parliament Yaffee (People’s Parliament) program this Saturday morning, Kiwanda said it was unwise for the opposition supporters to hide behind the song to trivialize religion and spirituality. “We have capacity to go to the extreme in everything and these colleagues should know better because we have been here longer. I have been MP for 20 years which none of my colleagues here has served. We know these things and we shall beat them at their own game,” said Kiwanda the only NRM supporter in the studio facing off with opposition leaders Joseph Sewungu, opposition Spokesperson Betty Nambooze and Dr Abed Bwanika. “We have the money, the political power and the numbers to implement things. Kindly just don’t provoke us because there is alot we can do. We can change things and come up with a changed Trinity in the name of Museveni the father, Muhoozi the son and Janet the Holy Spirit. We are the masters of the game. Everything you do we can do it also as you know because we are the masters of the game. There is nothing you can excel at better than us.” As Kiwanda, whose unusual pride shocked many in the studio, spoke Sewungu heckled while asking him “where does Kiwanda and his family fall in the Trinity you have just described?” Kiwanda said he wouldn’t allow Christianity, which he professed and relied upon to successfully join politics and become MP 20 years ago, to be trivialized by the opposition without the President’s supporters doing anything to counter them. “We too are practicing Christians and we read the Bible but we can’t allow them to use that song to confuse people as if they are the only ones who know God and matters to do with spirituality,” said Kiwanda whose Christianity Bwanika, who one time pastored him, testified about. “I know you are a Christian because it was me and other pastors who laid hands on you in Katwe Nkere (near Kampala) and it’s because of that prayer that you won the Mityana MP seat but I can’t take these to be the views of the NRM. These must be your personal views and that’s wrong. It’s an act of blasphemy,” Bwanika said. Kiwanda’s shocking utterances come at a time when ex-Minister (and former comdian) Nyombi Thembo is on the verge to release his own version of the Tuliyamba Engule song which will be a remix of the song Bobi Wine released on New Year’s eve. The pride with which Kiwanda spoke prompted moderator Med Nsereko to repeatedly ask why he has changed to become so proud in such a short time. Whereas Nambooze urged listeners to ignore Kiwanda sarcastically saying he is “after all a minister in the outgoing government,” Sewungu warned Kiwanda about the dangers of taking himself to be more Catholic than the Pope. “You have just been struggling to become a minister not very long ago. After campaigning for Oulanyah to become Deputy Speaker, you became stranded because they had forgotten about you. Do you remember the next two days when you were told your name isn’t on the new cabinet list and for two days you sweated looking for Gen Salim Saleh, Muhoozi Kainerugaba and Museveni himself begging them not to forget your role in Oulanyah’s election? I hope you won’t come to us crying again the day you are fired,” Sewungu lectured as Kiwanda protested saying the opposition has intimidated and provoked them for too long. “Clearly they have failed to defeat the NRM and have now resorted to inciting and criticizing the clergy for refusing to criticize government,” Kiwanda said protesting earlier opposition speakers who had criticized Ugandan religious leaders for not being actively critical of the government like their Catholic counterparts in the DR Congo. Responding to Nambooze who had claimed that President Museveni had aided Joseph Kabila’s efforts to split the opposition in DRC, Kiwanda proudly said: “This is why I’m telling you to emulate Beti Kamya and defect to NRM so that you don’t age with so much frustration. If we can cripple the opposition in Congo, going by your own submission as Betty Nambooze, how about the opposition here in Uganda? How can we fail to overcome the mere you?” For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164577.
