By Joachim Twino
More details have emerged regarding what transpired in the stormy meeting President Museveni held on Sunday at Nakasero State Lodge. Sources at the meeting have disclosed much more showing that, besides the controversial list of RDCs whose mishandling is most likely going to cost Presidency Minister Esther Mbayo her cabinet job, the President also devoted significant time on what must be done for the NRM to decisively win the upcoming LC1 elections across the country. There are slightly over 60,000 villages and a chairman will be elected for each village and there is nervousness the ruling NRM isn’t adequately prepared yet time isn’t on their side.
LUMUMBA, TANGA FACEOFF
During the meeting, Museveni brought up something NRM Secretary General Kasule Lumumba had shared with him in confidence only a week earlier. She had met him just last week and tabled a proposal asking for Shs40bn to enable the Secretariat come up with a candidates’ list and a comprehensive plan to decisively trounce the opposition in the LC1 and women councils’ polls. She proposed she was going to work with MPs and other elected leaders to create countrywide momentum that would see NRM candidates overshadow opposition foes and win everywhere. Museveni told her he would study the proposal and get back to her. He didn’t and instead brought up the matter during the Sunday meeting at Nakasero State Lodge. Lumumba was in attendance along with PPS Molly Kamukama, Presidency Minister Mbayo, RDCs’ secretariat head Martha Asiimwe and a few other State House departmental heads and Presidential assistants. Tanga too was called in and Museveni repeated what Lumumba had told him about the belligerent history Professor’s mischief clearly calculated to undermine the ruling party’s victory in the upcoming LC1 polls. Lumumba had told Museveni work had to be done starting from scratch because, despite being a well-facilitated Party EC Chairman, Tanga hadn’t done anything. Neither does he have any plan nor record profiling potential candidates that can win for the party, Lumumba had reportedly informed Museveni a week earlier. “Your excellence the situation is really bad because as NRM we don’t have any candidates in place to win for us those LC1 positions. We need to start and we need facilitation for the work,” she reportedly told Museveni who confessed to members in the Sunday meeting that he had become worried at Tanga’s failure to have any strategies in place. When called in and told about all this, Tanga hit the roof. Characteristically burning in a rage, the man from Kisoko raised his hands in the air and said “Mr. President this is why I have always had a problem with madam Secretary General.” He went through what his office had done so far repeatedly saying “and Madam SG is duly briefed about all this moreover in writing.” To corroborate his utterances, as Lumumba and her sympathizers at the meeting nervously looked on, Tanga showed the President received copies on which Lumumba’s Secretariat PA called Charles Engwau had acknowledged receipt. Swinging like a simple pendulum, Tanga triumphantly said “you can see for yourself how it’s not easy to work with Madam SG.” Sources say that on being overwhelmed with the facts Tanga put on table, Lumumba recomposed herself and offered to apologize. “Your excellence I’m sorry then the mistake was done by my office staff because they have never brought this to my attention that Mr. Tanga had submitted all those things,” Lumumba reportedly apologized manifesting unprecedented levels of humility. As if not satisfied, Museveni sent for the Secretariat assistants. Secretariat Administrator Hassan Galiwango and Charles Engwau came in. Because he had nothing to do with much of these allegations, Museveni decreed that Galiwango remains silent and Engwau explains. Mr. Charles Engwau then owned up admitting he inadvertently never brought this otherwise very important matter to the attention of his boss Kasule Lumumba, the Secretary General. The President praised Tanga for this efficiency and ruled that it’s now clear there was no need for him to release the Shs40bn to fund the mobilization plan SG Lumumba had tabled before him a week earlier. “He was by the way suspicious of the Shs40bn proposal right from the day the SG tabled it before him. He considered it too generic and too high and has been reluctant to release so much,” said one of the State House aides we spoke to for this article. Museveni who clearly appeared bitter and frustrated by the NRM Secretariat’s failure to make any serious preparations thus far regarding the LC1 elections, made it clear he wouldn’t release the Shs40bn. “I will perhaps mobilize and get for you some Shs15bn for your secretariat teams to carry out countrywide mobilization,” Museveni reluctantly told Lumumba who was already subdued by Tanga’s endless bragging that “today I have exposed these people and the truth has finally come out.” The President also indicated to the meeting he wasn’t relying on the Secretariat that much and clearly said “I’m personally going to handle this myself.” He directed his PPS Molly Kamukama to work out a schedule according to which he will be meeting groups of candidates NRM is going to be sponsoring for the LC1 and women council polls. “You [Secretariat] can have your parallel program and the rest I will directly handle with my staff to make sure our NRM people win majority LC1 positions,” Museveni was quoted as saying as if to politely ask the conflict-riddled NRM Secretariat bureaucrats to keep off. For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755.
