For months now, a silent war has been brewing between President Museveni’s powerful PPS Molly Kamukama and Milly Doka Babalanda, a Busoga-based NRM mobilizer who a grateful Museveni recently elevated to national level. Prior to her appointment as PPPS, Molly Kamukama always served as PA to Museveni in his other capacity as ruling NRM national chairman. Museveni’s office as party chairman is situated atop Mbuya hill-just within spitting distance from Defense and CMI headquarters. Right from inception, Molly always occupied this office and had the last word on all Museveni errands relating to NRM. Amiable Molly controlled a classified budget bigger than Gen Proscovia Nalweyiso’s at State House. She also naturally attracted a lot of hangers on who always hang around for any emergency assignments and errands. In fact the 2016 campaigns was the time this Mbuya office became more pronounced with powerful Molly taking center stage. Even when Museveni was seldom there, all big people always drove to Mbuya to register their campaign-related needs many of which were always facilitation-related. You would find hundreds of people seated in the waiting rooms and compound just for an opportunity to have a face to face moment with Molly Kamukama. Among them were powerful military generals that were hitherto thought to be very powerful. Some of them had financial problems and we always found them there languishing in the line waiting to meet Molly who, because of the busy schedule, would sometimes dismiss them urging them to return the next day.
THINGS FALL APART:
As we all know, after campaigns Museveni elevated Molly and made her his PPS meaning she had to leave the Mbuya office. However, being the very ambitious Molly she couldn’t let go just like that. She sought at minimum to influence Museveni’s choice of the successor who would occupy this Mbuya office. Museveni had totally different plans. He appointed Molly Doka Babalanda, something Molly wasn’t exactly very comfortable with. With the assistance of more experienced friends like Faruk Kirunda, an overwhelmed Babalanda took on the job. However, it appears Molly wasn’t prepared to just let go without a fight. Whereas Museveni likes and appreciates Babalanda’s mobilization prowess, hurdles remained as she would be starved of funds to run the office and execute activities in the field. But Babalanda’s moment to shine came with the Togikwatako campaign which Museveni sought to counter through revitalizing that Mbuya office. To the chagrin of Molly, Babalanda was facilitated and empowered to move around the country bolstering MPs that were very frightened to market the Magyezi bill. Babalanda constituted a team which had Tamale Mirundi, Abdul Kitata and others. They went around the country re-energizing Mzee’s supporters and they did a good job. This ofcourse hurt Molly’s supporters who reacted by undermining Babalanda even more. Awel Uwihanganye was recalled from abroad to do the assignment of coordinating anti-Babalanda surgical operations as Mirundi would say. Money was found and Awel, who previously worked with Molly at Mbuya, was facilitated to open an even more posh office for the NRM Chairman in Kololo to rival Babalanda’s activities in the Mbuya office. Molly-backed Awel works with John Mulimba, the former Samia Bugwe MP to run NRM Chairman Yoweri Museveni’s errands under Molly’s direct supervision. The third person initially in this Kololo office was Irene Mugisha Birungi, the wife of the NTV news manager. Before Irene Mugisha was shifted to Entebbe State House to serve as Principal PA to Molly Kamukama, the PPS arranged for the trio to meet Museveni before whom they tabled a budget to execute their countrywide mobilization activities to popularize the amendment resulting from Magyezi’s bill in Parliament. Three more follow up meetings have since been held but Museveni hasn’t been forthcoming. He is yet to release the money insisting he wants to see how to harmonize the two offices first. This conditionality by Museveni has fermented hateful feelings towards Babalanda who remains stuck in the yet to be facilitated Mbuya office. Watch this space for more updates on this high level feud around the Presidency. For comments, email us on mulengeranews@gmail.com
