“It is you, Sir, who has left undone what you ought to have done, and did that which you ought not have done. There is no truth in you. Just take a long, hard look in the mirror” (Bobi Wine, 24.08.2023).
That Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine wrote a text and published it today. This is telling the importance, because Bobi Wine is the leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and the biggest contender for the Presidency at the moment. The 2021 elections if it wasn’t a rigged affair. It would have been his and he would have won it. However, we know the game is rigged and there is no true will of the people.
In this regard it is interesting to see what sort of retort Bobi Wine uses. Because, we know the drill and I have also retorted to President Museveni. Though this was a long awaited call, but a useful one.
Bobi Wine starts with this: “Gen Museveni, Your recent outburst about the World Bank withholding future assistance to Uganda is a clear indication of your ideological disorientation and policy nomadism that has characterised your four-decade rule. You wasted twenty-seven pages trying to distort history and divert reality, that an average reader was left wondering who is (or has been) in charge of Uganda” (Bobi Wine, 24.08.2023).
He is speaking facts, but you see how he calls him. That’s telling of the vision and how he perceives Museveni. His a General and not the President. A man of the guns and arms. Museveni was telling porkies and making a mockery attempt to swift blame elsewhere. However, that’s been his game since the start of his career. That is all Museveni knows and what he does to make himself look better.
Bobi Wine continues: “To date, you cannot account for the demise of the country’s textile, public transport, food processing, leisure facilities, agricultural cooperatives, and manufacturing capacity that made places like Jinja, Bushenyi, Masaka and Mbale shining beacons of the potential that our young country possessed. You have replaced Uganda’s public capital with miserable gimmicks like Operation Wealth Creation, replaced hitherto thriving agricultural cooperatives with non-starters called SACCOs. The NRA is not and was never the innocent, well-meaning, and foresighted actor that you portray it to be. It was and remains – as NRM – a corrupt, violent force that has played a major role in the delayed socioeconomic transformation of Uganda. Neo-colonialism is alive and well under you, Sir” (Bobi Wine, 24.08.2023).
Here again he issues the cold hard truth. The reality of what the reign of Museveni has brought. There is little to show for it and Museveni’s men has dismantled a lot of possible “value additional industries” across the Republic. That’s been done through incentives and with the hands of the neocolonial institutions after the Bush-War. As the subsidizes and the Co-Ops, and even vital agricultural boards was destroyed. So, Bobi Wine is right and Museveni is just trying to pin this all on them, instead of taking the blame himself for accepting the stipulations in office. Museveni has sold off and destroyed a lot potential for a quick buck. That’s why industries has failed and no real long-term policy has been enacted, which could have made a vast difference.
Bobi Wine further states: “Out of the nine men who have occupied the office of the President in the past 61 years since our supposed independence, you’re the undisputed champion of neo-colonial and neoliberal agendas. It is under your regime that the sale of public service infrastructure – under the guidance and encouragement of the same World Bank that you are blaming now – occurred. You have presided over the reckless liberalisation, extreme de-regulation, and sacrifice of our public sector at the altar of foreign interests. We can see through your hypocrisy” (Bobi Wine, 24.08.2023).
It is just rich reading this. The talking points and the way Bobi Wine describes things. This shows political maturity and deep understanding of things. It is commendable. The way that he debunks and says what Museveni contributed too. Which we all have seen and Museveni was a donor darling for a reason. He played and danced to their songs. Because that was easy money and he could eat of their plate. That’s why he accepted the stipulations and played with them. He didn’t have to work and still he could live lavish. Therefore, Bobi Wine undresses Museveni perfectly here.
Bobi Wine writes: “Your prioritisation of regime survival has destroyed, among other things, the district, national referral hospital system, and public health infrastructure generally. As a result, the formerly reliable hospitals in Iganga, Itojo, Mbale, Soroti, and Lira are now moribund, understaffed and under-equipped death traps that you replaced with equally miserable health centres. Your salvation lies in the fact that the United States Agency for International Development subsidises your failures by supporting critical public health needs, including catering for our military’s health and medical needs. So who is the neocolonialist here?” (Bobi Wine, 24.08.2023).
It is like Bobi Wine just shoots a hole in any argument or reasoning Museveni had in his piece. His just piercing through it. Making enough holes to call him a Swiss Cheese. Bobi Wine is cleverly telling the tale of how Aid, Loans and Grants are the saving grace of the regime. Which has been stated by plenty before him. This is nothing new, but special that someone of Bobi Wine says it this openly. As it undermines the story and the tales that Museveni wants about himself. Museveni wants to be supreme and the all-knowing leader. The man with all the answers, but like always he needs other people’s money to foot his bills. That’s why Bobi Wine’s words are so rich and detailed and utterly destroys the reasoning of Museveni.
Near the end, Bobi Wine wrote these fitting words: “Accordingly, it is the height of fiction and deceit, for you to make the deliberately false prediction that “in a few years” Uganda’s economy will hit the half-a-trillion dollar mark. A cursory look at the revenue collection challenges the URA has experienced over the past several quarters, and the high mortality rates of SMEs tells you everything you need to dismiss this baseless projection. The truth is usually brief, so I need not elaborate these self-evident points in the same way you wrote nearly thirty pages to explain your ‘successes’ after almost 40 years in power! That you even had to ‘highlight’ for the country your supposed successes should tell you everything you need to know” (Bobi Wine, 24.08.2023).
As I did discuss in my retort to Museveni. It showed that the lack of domestic revenue was a reason for the failure of progress and development. That’s why the World Bank loans, grants or aide hadn’t sufficiently created the purposed goals of investment or value of money. This is why it’s a well drafted and expose to say these things. Museveni knows his at fault, but easier to blame a neocolonial institution, than take blame himself. Because, he has had the time to do so and get things done in a proper manner. However, we all know that he prefers the get-rich schemes and eat of the plate of others. That’s what he has done and it’s the reason why the World Bank loans haven’t been enough.
Bobi Wine wrote a splendid piece here and shows political maturity. The ones underestimating him… they should fear him. He proves his calibre here and it should be respected. Bobi Wine could have taken plenty of avenues, but picked this one. Peace.
MinBane 