By John V Sserwaniko
Hours after winning the disputed 2016 general election, President Museveni who (still at his country home in Rwakitura) called a news conference to rebuke western diplomats (mostly EU) who had exhibited solidarity with his challenger Kizza Besigye. For insisting he had won the elections, Gen Kayihura had put Besigye under house arrest. There was a lot of anxiety arising from military presence on the streets that made Kampala seem like a garrison city in one of those war-torn Middle East countries. Along with US’ Deborah Malac, who had just been posted to Kampala, the diplomats walked over police barricades to access Besigye’s house. They said this was to show solidarity with the tormented politician from Rwakabengo. This sparked furious reaction from government. So quite predictably, Museveni used his Rwakitura news conference to say he had won fairly but to also rebuke the western diplomats whose imperialistic interference he said wouldn’t be tolerated. Hours earlier, he had hosted ex-Nigerian President Obasanjo whose observation report had discredited his victory. It was here that Museveni first declared his plans to ensure opposition is wiped out before 2021 and inadvertently referred to Hillary Musoke (aka Jr Kisanja); the younger brother to late singer Paul Kafeero who 3 years earlier had defected from Gen Sejusa’s camp.
M7 UNVEILS MUSOKE;
The media event lasted hours and, in a bid to explain how he intended to economically empower the urban poor and placate them against political manipulation by Besigye and Amama Mbabazi who was about to file his election petition, Museveni made inadvertent reference to a one Hillary Musoke aka Junior Kisanja. He said he had a very comprehensive program to deny opposition political support among low income earners dwelling in Kampala’s poor slums. He explained his intention to harness the fishing industry to create lucrative job opportunities for the youths. More fundamentally, he announced the Shs500bn Innovation Fund which he said would economically redeem educated and uneducated youths in Kampala and districts within its hinterland. “I have my young man called Junior Kisanja. He has all the details and we are going to be working together,” said Museveni before aides told him Musoke, with whom he had traversed the country, was actually not present in Rwakitura at that moment. “Ooh okay no problem he will get the opportunity to explain to these people [journalists] later.” It turned out as Museveni spoke at Rwakitura, Musoke was somewhere along Entebbe road putting final touches to the new posh office M7 had facilitated him to open for the post-election activities. This well-fortified office is enclosed in a large complex off Entebbe Road. To get there, you branch off at a place called “Ku kisajja” in Lweza. It’s on your left as you drive to Kampala. It’s in that office that Musoke operates a full bureaucracy. He has over 30 young people, most of them University graduates. It’s a place that is well known to the Boda riders at Ku kisajja and they know it as the President’s private office. It’s stuffed with new furniture and 24 hour internet access. Musoke can only be accessed there on appointment. He naturally has massive security and the President’s direct line. When he fails to access Museveni he goes through State House comptroller Lucy Nakyobe Mbonye who is always within spitting distance from the big man.
THE NAJJERA MODEL;
Yet Musoke’s first meeting with Museveni one of the most unintended and it indeed was very dramatic. In May 2013, Gen David Sejusa fled to UK exile after writing controversial missives including one in which he claimed existence of a plot to liquidate government officials opposed to the “Muhoozi project” as he called it. He got enormous publicity (like Bobi now) including being regularly hosted on BBC to bash Museveni. The local media had a field day and a crisis of sorts was created for Museveni and his handlers. As has become norm, Museveni reacted viciously after realizing that his tours of Luwero Triangle, where he donated billions to NRA veterans intelligence reported were the Sejusa cells, had failed to kill off the Sejusa media frenzy. Media houses (Monitor, Red Pepper, Kfm and Ddembe fm) were closed and their premises besieged by police.
The Sejusa media publicity was being coordinated by city lawyer Joseph Luzige through whom the General sent daily missives from London. There was political excitement and Mike Mabikke, Moses Bigirwa and others from DP positioned themselves as Sejusa’s Kampala mobilizers. Kayihura clamped down on them. This prompted Luzige and Sejusa to agree to rely more on disgruntled NRM youths that operated under Uganda Youth Platform (UYP) for which Sejusa was patron. They fronted Hillary Musoke, a procurement teaching assistant at Nkumba University. Musoke would give those media exclusives in Luzige’s office. They also used a hotel in Rubaga in case Sejusa sent missives on Sunday. That’s how Musoke distinguished himself as a Sejusa spokesman. Being one who never underestimate anyone, Museveni sent for Musoke. Having been told Museveni was very angry and would shoot him on first sighting, Musoke went into hiding. He had been told that one of Sejusa’s civilian aides (also an NRM active youth) had told Museveni many bad things. “He is very furious I even doubt he won’t shoot you at first sighting,” Musoke was told about how furious Museveni was regarding the Sejusa treasonous activities. He was told M7 had been told Sejusa wanted to assassinate him in a plot coordinated by him as UYP chairman. Sejusa preferred Musoke to the Mabikkes because being NRM, it would be hard for Musevenists to dismiss his UYP pressure group as mere propagation of traditional opposition against NRM. He hoped to use Musoke to appear to be leading an NRM splinter group. On realizing he couldn’t hide forever, Musoke was convinced by Luzige to go and face Museveni. In total betrayal of Sejusa, it was agreed Musoke goes and pleads guilty for treasonous things which he actually didn’t know anything about. He was told only apologizing would sooth Museveni’s anger and that’s what happened. “I will serve that man for the rest of my life and I will never allow to be misled by any of these disgruntled generals. His kindness has touched me,” Musoke told pals on return from the State House encounter.
GETS FACILITATED;
As he left State House, Museveni offered to facilitate Musoke to convert all the other youths that were part of Sejusa’s UYP network. Apparently as the man leading the Sejusa counter-operations, Gen Kayihura had convinced Museveni that the renegade General had covered a lot of ground and resources had to be availed to decisively isolate and neutralize him. This actually was a blessing in disguise for Musoke. Museveni offered to facilitate him and he indeed followed up through Lucy Nakyobe. Both Museveni and Nakyobe were enthused by Musoke’s intellect & depth. They also liked him for being more enlightened than many of the struggling NRM youths they had previously encountered. He had his teaching job at Nkumba and didn’t seem money-minded.
WRITES CONCEPT PAPER;
Musoke, who later became Museveni’s spy on big headed government technocrats, offered to write a proposal detailing all poverty reduction ideas he had articulated to Museveni in subsequent meetings. He for instance wrote a paper that metamorphosed into the Najjera Model Museveni unsuccessfully used to politically annihilate Kiira Municipality MP Semujju Nganda. Convinced Sejusa was done, Musoke had advised Sevo that to tame Besigye, his key mobilizer Nganda had to politically fall first. And this had to happen in his Kiira backyard. Najjera Model delivered billions of cash grants to economically empower informal sector groups like wielders, carpenters, metal fabricators, garage workers and women running small restaurants in Kiira. The goodies were delivered, many benefited and economically transformed though the objective of defeating Nganda failed. The man from Bijjaba-Kyazanga won more easily than 5 years earlier (2011). Nakyobe, who had been releasing the cash through Musoke, became so angry and beneficiaries were forced to return the goodies. They were told the President was so disappointed with their political treachery. Musoke, philosophical as ever, insisted to Museveni there was no need for relenting because even Rome wasn’t built in one day. The model was expanded and that’s how Musoke-mobilized groups continued accessing goodies in Nsambya, Mulago Kubiri, Katwe, Kawempe and other parts of Kampala. Ministers like Beti Kamya and Nakiwala Kiyingi, who had just defected to NRM, tried to hijack the initiative and sideline Musoke but Museveni shunned them. “He is the originator and the one who knows this thing; he has the blue print,” Museveni said on getting reports Musoke was being fought. Musoke supporters became afraid when Kamya shone at the Kawempe rally (as if she was the organizer) where she vowed to deliver 85% votes to Museveni. Being one who hates intrigue, Musoke avoided direct confrontation with the two ministers who then had Gen Saleh’s backing.
GIRL CHILD PROGRAM;
He sat with his godmother Nakyobe and conceptualized the Presidential Initiative to Skill the Girl Child. This has seen modestly educated unemployed girls graduate with vocational skills. Musoke, supported by Nakyobe, has been coordinating their mass training in Wandegeya market, Nakawa and other places. This is how the President last month graduated over 10,000 girls each of whom got a sewing machine and Shs1m as start-up capital. “Mzee likes Musoke because he has so far proved incorruptible and well-intentioned. He is also not politically ambitious, an attribute Mzee likes him for,” sources said of Musoke who Museveni has been sending to world capitals both for training and on espionage missions.
CRIPPLING BOBI;
Before Bugiri & Arua elections, Museveni saw himself as accomplishing his dream to annihilate the opposition ahead of 2021. Having created a storm in FDC to demonize KB, Museveni started relaxing but from Arua, emerged Bobi Wine and People Power Movement. Museveni strategists has erroneously concluded that Bobi Wine was incapable of pulling crowds beyond Kampala and other Bantu-speaking towns of Uganda. But Arua proved the man from Magere was actually bigger than previously thought. As he planned counter-offensive, Museveni concluded it had to end in Bobi’s ghetto backyard. He called up his man Musoke who has since conceptualized the ghetto offensive. “It has to be done urgently and now as opposed to waiting months to 2021 elections,” Musoke reportedly told Nakyobe before the two went to discuss with Museveni who immediately bought in. That is how Nakyobe asked Musoke to rejuvenate his down town networks. Days later, Nakyobe was in Nakawa addressing real drug addicts whose exact experience Musoke lived as a young boy growing up in the ghettoes of Kazo and Maganjo. Nakyobe told them Mzee had sent her to understand their plight. Musoke insisted she goes where they work and reside as she prepared to update Mzee. This was days after Bobi travelled for treatment in the US. As Nakyobe spoke in Nakawa, Musoke (who operates incognito in order to move unnoticed) was at a place called Kisenyi Costa preparing another crowd to receive Nakyobe later that same evening. The two called up a friendly tycoon in Ndeeba and turned up with 4 motorbikes which they said were a curtain-raiser offer Mzee had sent the ghetto youths ahead of his return from China and visit himself. And it’s on the Musoke script that Museveni has already been to many Kampala ghettoes dangling all manner of groceries to the poor inhabitants. The real invisible hand & architect of all this is Hillary Musoke who likes clandestine operations. He is able to execute all these errands for the big man because he has direct access to him and Nakyobe who officially controls all the cash in State House.
PSYCHIATRIC PROGRAM;
It’s again Musoke who advised Museveni to invest in psychiatric rehabilitation of the ghetto youths to overcome drug addiction. And this program, according to Gen Proscovia Nalweyiso (another influential M7 assistant), will see thousands of ghetto youths herded into the Bugologi complex that formerly housed CMB and AGOA. They are to remain there for 6 months whereafter Museveni will drown them in billions through his right hand man Hillary Musoke. The same Musoke has previously been used by Museveni to discredit Ministers like Prof Nyira who was for fisheries. Musoke is the reason why we haven’t had a Fisheries Minister since May 2016. And the enormous influence he wields is proof of the informality with which Museveni has opted to run this country in his later years. He listens to such people than government-hired technocrats. In 2016, Musoke (who partly grew up in Mukono landing sites) wrote a dossier exposing grand corruption in the fisheries sector. He had done research there for his masters. His dossier implicated Prof Nyira in that corruption and his predecessors. He told Museveni there was a huge forex potential in fisheries sub sector that was only being squandered by MAAIF corruption. That is how Museveni revoked (UPC) Joy Ruth Aceng’s appointment as fisheries minister. He instead deployed soldiers to pacify fishing just as per Musoke’s advice. Musoke’s proposal was that you just need a unit and not a ministry to clean up fisheries and reap its full potential to employ the youth. He insisted with just modest investment by Museveni, fisheries would bring in billions of dollars. To this day we have no fisheries Minister and this is because Museveni is taking his time to see the viability of Musoke’s recommendation.
MUSOKE PROFILE;
Born 36 years ago, Musoke hails from Ngogwe Kyaggwe in Buikwe district. He is younger brother to fallen Kadongo Kamu singer Paulo Kafeero. A former street child, Musoke was brought up by a single mother in the slums of Kazo, Kawempe Division. To many in NRM he is simply Jr Kisanja. This is so because he (along with Sr Kisanja Edward Sekabanja) coiled the term Kisanja in early 2000s and in his S6 vacation he used to sell dry banana leaves at Museveni’s rallies to symbolize 3rd term. That is how he bought his 1st car. Earlier on, he had been recruited by Henry Tumukunde (then heading ISO) who stumbled on him in Maganjo slums. Tumukunde was strategizing on how to market Museveni amongst youth in Kampala slums. Besigye had just launched his challenge on Museveni and many young people had characteristically shunned the old man from Rwakitura. Tumukunde, who was heading ISO, was scouting around to understand the dynamics popularizing KB in the slums along K’la-Bombo Highway. That is how he learnt of Musoke, a vacist, who was popular in Maganjo as a trainer of holiday kids for karaoke purposes. Musoke is an entertainer having taken cue from his brother Paulo Kafeero. At that time, over 200 kids from Kawempe slums were under his tutorage for karaoke. Tumukunde sought to use his network to infiltrate the Besigye strongholds in slums. He later introduced him to fellow senior army officers like Sejusa and Gen Aronda. He was eventually introduced to an initially indifferent Museveni as a very innovative young cadre. When Tumukunde fell out with Museveni, Musoke didn’t follow him partly because of Sejusa and Aronda influence. It was different when Sejusa fell out. Musoke followed cue and used to be flanked by lawyer Joseph Luzige to read out Sejusa’s press statements to the media. He is a self-made person who used to sell small items on the streets to raise school fees. He went to Kitante High School and Agha Khan SS for his O & A’level education. He switched to business training after failing to get Medicine on government. He studied at Sir Apollo Kaggwa Rod-based MBI where he got a diploma in business before doing a procurement degree at Nkumba. He had two jobs one as GM for Farmers Pride in Maganjo and also as a volunteer at Wakiso district. Being the best student, Nkumba gave him a teaching assistant job. Nkumba sponsored him for a master’s under its staff development program. He is currently a PhD student. Museveni found him particularly useful because of the course unit he was teaching at Nkumba-strategic logistics, supply and procurement management. He is also eloquent in his value addition gospel, a thing that fascinated Museveni the day he first met him as a leader of Sejusa’s UYP. He has since introduced to Museveni Denmark-trained nutritionist Dr. Jessica Nanyunja with whom they were meant to oversee the Shs500bn Innovations Fund aimed at detoxicating unemployed youths [Nanyunja is very entrepreneurial & was recently profiled by New Vision’s Pakasa magazine). Musoke’s oratory is the reason Museveni preferred having him take 10 minutes at every rally to explain the message of hope to the youths during his 2016 campaign trail. In his short time at State House, Musoke has helped Museveni pacify wrangles between rival taxi drivers’ groups (KOTDA & UTRADA) on one hand and KCCA ED Jennifer Musisi on the other. He has also seen many taxi drivers, previously prosecuted by KCCA, released from Luzira. This has increased his popularity before Museveni.
Musoke is now Museveni’s contact person with leaders at KCCA (and K’la Ministry) regarding the matter of public transport (Boda riders and taxis) in Kampala. The ever vote-hunting Museveni sometime back created a 30 members national task force and made Musoke chair it with specific instructions to pacify public transport in Kampala. The team initially comprised of three directors from police and 6 directors from KCCA. Its meetings were initially held in KCCA board room and Musoke would report to Museveni whenever any progress was made on this pacification. He was behind the populist scrapping of road toll and other levies taxi drivers were being made to pay. Museveni believed such taxes diminished his popularity among the urban poor in 2016. Musoke is also the man through whom Museveni abolished all the enforcement operations on Lake Victoria that were being implemented by the fisheries department. Musoke also chaired another fisheries task force that diminished MAAIF’s involvement in fisheries docket. He is sophisticated unlike other modestly educated cadres Museveni has previously trusted and deployed and this could explain why technocrats are increasingly becoming hostile to the idea of having him deployed as a Museveni contact person in their ministries. Technocrats find him hard to manipulate. Having operated in Kampala long enough, Musoke also has contacts of all Kwagalana tycoons who as well need him to plead their case to the President. KACITA also values Musoke and have been using him to lobby Museveni to press Beijing on better treatment of Ugandan business importers in China. For comments on this story, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
