By Our Reporters
That President Museveni’s political machinery directs hostilities aimed at economically crippling a political foe isn’t news to those who have keenly been around seeing the ruthlessness with which he characteristically devours his political adversaries. And in the case of Kyaddondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu aka Bobi Wine, whose Boxing Day concert was brutally blocked, it’s the victim who is new but the orchestrator and methods aren’t new. This is why this article reflects on how Museveni has ruthlessly dealt with political foes since 1986 with specific emphasis on financially subjugating and crippling them.
UPC/MOF SAGA;
The first to face the NRA/M wrath was UPC party whose MOF-registered properties like Uganda House and others were targeted for capture. UPC lawyers like Peter Walubiri and Okumu Wengi were tasked by the party leadership to run to court where the State machinations to take over the properties (on grounds they had been built on the taxpayers money) were defeated. The State didn’t give up that easily. Their next move was to have government ministries operate at Uganda House as tenants without paying rent. And Jaberi Bidandi Ssali’s Local Government Ministry was one such example. This forceful occupation without rent payment for long crippled UPC financially and the GoU only left after realizing the building had become too dilapidated without UPC being able to afford any repairs on it. And more recently when uncooperative Olara Otunnu became Party President, the State deployed lots of security at the building which scared off many would-be tenants and thereby hurting the rental collections by MOF which is the economic wing of the party. MOF suffered even more when its leaders like Ignatius Barungi, Oyepa and others refused to recognize new Party President Jimmy Akena whom they despised as a Museveni proxy. Efforts by the Walubiris to get justice in court failed up to this day and the continued presence of security men (clearly aimed at bolstering Akena) continues to hurt cash flows for the MOF which remains opposed to Akena. At some point the state used a one Nicolas Banya from West Nile to claim ownership of all MOF properties but the judicial processes, which those days were still very strong, blocked this on being petitioned by the UPC legal teams of Peter Walubiri and Okumu Wengi.
CHAPA KARUHANGA SAGA;
The FDC founding member is easily the wealthiest Ugandan that remains politically active in the opposition. Karuhanga, whose NDF merged with PAFO and Reform Agenda to form FDC in 2005, has been very consistent in opposing President Museveni and has paid dearly in the economic sense. When we called him to inquire, Karuhanga freely shared his experience detailing ways in which he has economically had to be crippled for his political views. He revealed that his CEREFACO consultancy firm had along with two British partners won the international bidding process (worth $1.5m) to do work for prisons on the relocation of Kigo a deal that was cancelled on the political orders from above. The contract was to be the transaction advisor to design the plan for the newly relocated prison and also get the financiers. “And I have lost many other lucrative deals which had been awarded after my firm emerging the best through international bidding but I can’t tell you more. These other ones are very sensitive and confidential,” said Karuhanga who ironically funded Museveni’s NRA war. “I don’t really know why I had to be targeted and made to suffer under NRA because the Obote II government cancelled a contract I had won to supply 24 brand new inspector vehicles for UTC because they said I was NRA rebel collaborator. Yet when NRA took over, they looted 49 pickup vehicles I was keeping in Freight Masters Warehouse that was owned by Bosco Oryem.” Chapa also refers to his 3.5 acres of prime land near Kiruddu hospital which some months ago was forcefully occupied by armed men “and yet all my efforts to get redress in court haven’t yielded.” The men occupying the land forcefully had claimed to be Salim Saleh’s agents but Brig Jacob Asiimwe, an influential aide to the General, vehemently denied this being true. FDC founding President Dr. Kizza Besigye hasn’t been spared the Museveni economic cripple as his private security company was the first one to be closed in the early 2000s following his fleeing to the safety of South African exile. The claim used to justify closure of the security firm was that the retired Colonel, basing in South Africa, was using it for rebel recruitment & training in West Nile & other parts of Uganda.
GARUGA’S FATE;
Yet Chapa isn’t the only one to be financially targeted and crippled. There is Mzee James Garuga Musinguzi whose multi-billion business empire in Kampala and Kanungu almost collapsed until he met President Museveni and promised to scale down on his participation and financial contribution to Besigye’s FDC party. Otherwise before that his efforts to expand his business, including putting in place a modern airfield to boost commercial farming and tourism-related flights in Kigezi, had all been frustrated politically. Though he maintains he is back on his economic feet, Garuga’s business empire would be very far without the political interference he endured mostly in the early 2000s following Besigye exile to South Africa. There is also Besigye’s personal friend Prof Bwogi Kanyerezi whose efforts to complete his multi-billion state of art Kampala Hospital in Kololo were for long frustrated due to failure to secure the government’s no objection for international partners that were willing to avail him cheap financing. He faced all these frustrations even when his Hospital was to save GoU lots of forex annually lost in seeking specialized treatment abroad.
KANYOMOZI NOT SPARED;
Yona Kanyomozi (who famously shunned FDC in protest after Wandera Ogaro was favored to take their 2nd slot for EALA besides Gen Muntu) one time struggled to get buyers for one of his prime residential properties in plush neighborhood of Mbuya simply because all would-be buyers feared to annoy the State. Apparently he needed some cash for treatment and to generally look after himself. Capt Dan Mugarura’s fuelling stations business was crippled to one station (Oryx Bukoto) largely because the State was avenging his covert support for Dr. Kizza Besigye. Mugarura had to lose all his contracts on top of being incarcerated on subversion charges which were subsequently dropped after he was decisively crippled financially. Nasser Sebaggala’s business successes (running super markets and forex bureau) ended with the vast political challenge he mounted humiliating the State-backed Christopher Iga in the 1998 Mayoral elections.
TACKLING NANDALA;
FDC Secretary General Nandala Mafabi too hasn’t been spared. A few years ago, his vast property in Naguru was being rented by a wealthy Chinese firm whose top executives resided there. On picking the intel, State agents interfered and put the Chinese on pressure to relocate to a better facility belonging to a strong Museveni supporter. In their relocation, Nandala lost the more than $15,000 he was being paid monthly in rent. The building remained vacant for a while prompting Nandala to turn it into a modern campaign office which TDA eventually rented from him. It became TDA headquarters and after TDA crumbling, Nandala is now stuck unable to make as much as he used to make from his prime property. The long hand of the state hasn’t spared his auditing business along Clement Hill road and radio business in Mbale.
THE GREENLAND THING;
The Suleiman Kiggundu story and his Greenland Bank is well known because his lawyer Erias Lukwago has lately been articulating it pretty well on the different media talk shows. He was perceived to be a potential political threat in the years to come and this came to pass in 2005 when he joined/led others to form the FDC party for which he became national chairman. Our research also disclosed that a few years ago, FDC iron lady Joyce Sebugwawo paid heavily when her well stocked and equipped piggery farm (with 5,000 pigs) was raided by unknown people at night who poisoned all the pigs to zero and security agencies let her down by failing to arrest a single suspect. The piggery farm was in Nkumba along Entebbe road! JEEMA’s Imam Kasozi also says all his businesses, including stationary, have gradually been crippled because of his political views. Lawyers Erias Lukwago and Asuman Basalirwa separately told this news website how their law firms had to lose rich clients after security operatives threatened them to avenge their firm political stand against bad governance. Lukwago says Betty Nambooze is another of his many clients that were initially threatened by state agents to stop hiring him for any legal work.
WAFULA OGUTU;
The experience of Monitor newspaper in the early 1990s is equally instructive because, fearing their independent journalism, the state directed all its entities to starve them of advertising revenue and this resulted into a cash squeeze that forced them to call on Aga Khan to buy into the company and recapitalize it. Onyango Obbo, Wafula Ogutu’s co-founder, says even the merger with Aga Khan’s Nation Media Group was vehemently fought by people in government. UPC strongman Olara Otunnu missed the opportunity to economically shine as Secretary General of the UN largely because of the sabotage of the Ugandan state that denied him backing which was all he needed to get the job. Justice Kanyeihamba too was blocked from becoming a Judge of the African Court simply because the Ugandan state considered his political views very discomforting. The lesson in all this is that the Museveni government will seek to economically cripple anyone they perceive to be a threat regardless of where one comes from.
MENGO’S TURN;
Buganda kingdom, powerful as it is, had to pay heavily for their prolonged hostilities to Museveni’s central government regarding the Federo issue, a promise they accused Museveni of reneging upon. Mengo had to patiently wait for its Ebyaffe and rental arrears (in billions) to be paid. Central government revenged their political hostility by refusing to pay rent yet its key institutions like the Supreme Court continued occupying Kabaka’s buildings without paying rent. But the moment Mengo relented, following Mayiga’s appointment as Katikkiro, the Central government not only paid the rental arrears but also returned many of the properties that had been held for decades. The normalized relationship enabled economic projects like Etofali and for projects like BBS Terefayina to be licensed and permitted to commence as part of Buganda’s efforts at economic emancipation.
