By Mulengera Reporters
During the Thursday NBS Frontline debate, PFF Publicist Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda wildly claimed that Gen Museveni is a cunning leader who privately facilitated, enabled and encouraged both Rebecca Kadaga and Anita Among to stand for the 3rd most powerful position in the ruling party’s CEC, while at the same time publicly calling for dialogue so that one pulls out for the other.
Two big name Movementists, Ofwono Opondo and Okwir Rwabwoni, were on set but never contradicted him; creating an impression in millions of viewers that this was true.
Nganda added that he had it on good authority that Museveni privately engaged with Rebecca Kadaga in the heat of the CEC race and offered her Shs800m as campaign facilitation on top of offering her his chopper to use to fly around to go campaign and meet the delegates whenever she felt like.
“That one I’m very sure of and I don’t yet know how much he gave to Anita Among. Imagine him sitting at Kololo through all that chaos and watch them fighting and destroying each other while pretending to be hurting,” said Nganda who is also the MP for Kira Municipality.
Nganda also faulted Kadaga for keeping quiet, indifferent and playing along for all these years as Gen Museveni, who she naively believed genuinely wished her well, persecuted and herded fellow senior leaders out of the NRM.
He referred to the experiences of Kizza Besigye, Amama Mbabazi and others whose harassment the likes of Kadaga cheered and enabled. He said the purging of senior leaders started from the military and now nearing completion in the politics.
Nganda also registered his contempt for the new leaders who scaled CEC positions during the turbulent electoral exercise at Kololo, making it clear none of them would even be shortlisted for a middle level manager position in a properly functioning organization like MTN Uganda or even Stanbic Bank. He contrasted that with the cream that comprised the leadership of the Movement 20 years ago.
“It’s so bad I can tell you. As a journalist, I joined Parliament in 1998 and the front bench we had those days had the likes of Rugumayo, Wapakabhulo, Amanya Mushega, Amama Mbabazi and others. Today you have Robinah Nabbanja and others who can’t even get the job of receptionist at MTN.”
Nganda concluded that the latest re-alignment and re-deployment of forces at the CEC level is indicative of the fact that anything that can go wrong in a political organization has happened to NRM. He said no Ugandan should expect much when the apex organ of the ruling party is stuffed with actors who can’t even compete and get shortlisted for the job of middle level manager in a properly-functioning private company.
He added that whoever genuinely wants to understand the extent to which the ruling NRM has gone to the dogs simply has to listen to what Rebecca Kadaga, Chris Baryomunsi and Mike Mukula (all of them senior leaders full of disgruntlement) have been saying in the past couple of days.
Salaam Musumba, the Speaker for PFF Federal Council, put up a spirited fight making it clear that the maltreatment Kadaga endured at Kololo was an attack on the entire Busoga, which is home to more than 4m people. She elaborated that the ouster of Kadaga was evidence of a regime that is determined to viciously push Basogas away from the eating table from where all the consequential decisions are made.
Musumba rejected claims that removing Kadaga amounted to paving way for someone with more vibe to get into the Central Executive Committee of the ruling party and infuse the party with new energy. She asserted that none of the new people who came in can be said to be synonymous with the word vibe. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
