The elderly Major General Proscovia Nalweyiso serves as the President’s Private Secretary in charge of classified expenditures. That is an undisputed fact and she is the one to whom Museveni sends all manner of people that need to be facilitated or financially assisted or supported in any way yet they aren’t comfortable this becoming public knowledge. This places Nalweyiso in a position to handle hundreds of billions of shillings in every financial year. But the well groomed lady from Mukono correctly knows this is not her money but to be spent as assigned by the Principal. Nalweyiso has loyally served Museveni in this role and has never leaked a single secret for many years since the departure of powerful PPS Amelia Kyambadde. Because the H/E had known her for decades, when still working in State House Amelia was combining her PPS roles and the handling of Mzee’s classified expenditures the way Nalweyiso currently does.
When Amelia was leaving for politics in Mawokota in 2010, Museveni pleaded with her to stay fearing that turmoil would descend on State House in absence of a very strong technocrat in the PPS office but Amelia stood her ground. It was time to move on. As a trade off, she told Museveni she could identify for him someone who can do equally well at least in as far safely keeping his money and dispensing it as instructed was concerned. “She may not be that much educated in the formal sense but she is strong on values. She will keep your secrets and won’t steal your money because she isn’t a thief,” Amelia reportedly told Museveni about Nalweyiso. The grey-haired Nalweyiso, who is also the most elevated female military officer Uganda ever produced, had always worked closely with Amelia as PPS. She was then private secretary to the H/E in charge of veterans and serving soldiers’ welfare and that of their spouses. “I have been working with her very closely and my observation is that she is calm, experienced and you won’t regret working with her in my absence,” Amelia further told the President. There was a room on level 4 of the President’s Office near Parliament where Amelia operated a strong room of sorts and would lock all Museveni’s classified monies there.
Amelia offered to hand over this section of the President’s office to Nalweyiso after gradually training her. Museveni duly embraced the arrangement and said being someone he too had known for years, he had no doubt Nalweyiso would do a good job in Amelia’s absence. Knowledgeable sources say that because she did a good job, many feared she was even going to be made PPS. “However, that was abandoned because being a matter of public service commission, there was no way Afande Nalweyiso would pass because those guys would demand for academic qualifications to regularize her appointment,” says a State House insider adding that much as future PPSs were appointed in the post-Amelia era, Nalweyiso always remained the defacto PPS as far as the boss was concerned. Nalweyiso consolidated herself not only because she despises material things and does the boss’ work well but also because she is very respectful to the rest of the members of the President’s family who are part of State House and the presidency. “She minds her business and isn’t involved in any intrigue. She sits in her office at President’s office or even Nakasero or anywhere the President requires her to be and she never fights people over petty things. That is why the President likes her very much and has no regrets taking Amelia’s advice on her retention and elevation,” a reliable source told this news website.
M7 PRESSURED: When Molly Kamukama became PPS, consensus was that State House finally had someone substantive enough to match the very high administrative standards Amelia left. Some influential figures in the high office tried suggesting that the docket of classified expenditure be passed on to Molly. We are reliably informed Museveni flatly rejected this proposal insisting that Nalweyiso was doing a very good job and the status quo must remain. He went as far as arguing that doing such a thing would congest Molly’s desk yet her plate as PPS is already too full. “She has been here working for me for all these years but have you ever heard any problem? She is doing a good job and all we must all do is to support her continue doing a good job because it’s also not a very easy office. People target her all the time for character-assassination but they can’t go very far because I know Gen Nalweyiso enough and nobody can tell lies about her. Her track record speaks for itself,” revealed a credible source adding that Museveni even partly promoted Nalweyiso to a higher military rank to further boost her self esteem against Mafia cliques that were working to bring her down.
