Opinion: Succession when talking about Mzee is nonsense!

“You do not lead by hitting people over the head — that’s assault, not leadership.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

There is an ancient saying that you cannot teach old dogs new tricks, neither can you do with President who has been running a republic since 1986. Therefore, with this in mind, the new comic relief from the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is hard for me to take serious. Certainly, with the knowledge of all the men and possibly woman who could have become the leader of the party and the Executive of Uganda.

Still, in 2017, we are at the same crossroads, the same junction and nothing has changed. The partners and participants are practically the same, unless some new cronies and sugar-babies of the Movement comes into the mix. Perhaps, the most stunning fact is that old men like Gen. Otafiire steadily sink the world with his endless wisdom.

It is as if Museveni still is the Shepard and the Ugandan people is helpless sheep needing his guidance. The reality is that the belief that he can do something he has not done is pointless. The only card he has left is to destroy more kingdoms with force and kill more his opposition. If he had proved some sort of democratic figments in his in body, it has surely died with age. As his words are now more important than legislation.

The President handpicked elite and cronies, the suiters and the ones trying to eat while can. As they know not what will happen when their master stop breathing. The plans and the succession plans has not been official or even portrayed, there been rumors of Maj. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, those leaks turned into a besieged offices and depleted staff at Daily Monitor, back-in-the-day.

Still, if he is the viable candidate to takeover and the family dynasty that the President tries to create is hard to know. Since none in public can read the mind of the old man with the hat. So that the “news” that NRM Members of Parliament finally planned to talk about the succession seems far-fetched! Should it been done a decade or two ago, if it was a serious attempt?

He is on his unofficially seventh term as President and leader of the NRM. The founder and current leader of it. Not as he has given in without weapons in the past and instead of dialogue, he still sends Special Force Command or the Flying Squad to doze of possible enemies. Not as if it is an open discussion, more like a ruckus of who can get first to the brown envelopes and get the license to blead the state out of more funds.

Therefore, here I am, and not believing one single bit that President Museveni or the NRM NEC or any other parts of the NRM have the slightest care in mind to change him for somebody else. NRM and the NRM elite needs Museveni and his cronies, the crony system is there because of him. No question and no one with a clear mind would not see that. He gives and takes away as he sees fit. When he needs you he pays you and your extended family, but when your aspirations or goals to become bigger than him. Then you securing that you become a fringe candidate.

Museveni and his family, Museveni as his business partners does not need succession. The ones asking for it now will become renegade NRM MPs and could end up independent in the Parliament, as in the past when MPs has taken a stand towards the NRM NEC or the almighty himself. I doubt there will be change of guards, as there have not been for decades upon decades.

What we can be sure of is that President Museveni and President Mugabe are doing the same thing in their nations, holding the power without hesitation of what will happen when they leave and what sort of power vacuum that will be unleashed. What we do know is that the NRM will use all of their tricks and manipulation, all sort of writings and public display to make this sort thing normal. Peace.

Opinion: Uganda government doesn’t need a Presidential Handshake Committee, it needs a strong IGG, PPDA and AG!

In this times and days with the Oil Cash Probe, there are talking of making more government bodies, instead of using the legal authorities and institutions that is already there. We can that as the stalwart organization that even signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Public Procurement And Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), Office of Attorney General (OAG) and the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) on the 25th January 2017 as these offices wanted to collectively investigate the corrupt and ill behaviour in government.

Justice Irene Mulyagonja Kakooza, the Inspectorate General of Government (IGG) is part of the agreement, still the mission of the IGG is this:

“The Inspectorate of Government is an independent institution charged with the responsibility of eliminating corruption, abuse of authority and of public office. The powers as enshrined in the Constitution and IG Act include to; investigate or cause investigation, arrest or cause arrest, prosecute or cause prosecution, make orders and give directions during investigations; access and search – enter and inspect premises or property or search a person or bank account or safe deposit box among others” (IGG).

So when the IGG has this mandate, should determine the procedures and the abilities to the institution and the legal authority to look into corruption inside the government organizations. Therefore it is worrying when the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) and the Minister Matia Kasaija who had to say this about the Presidential Handshake!

“Kasaija also proposed guidance on presidential favours and donations, saying there should be a system to ensure that the president’s directive does not break the law” (…) “We need to develop a system that can quickly tell the authoriser that one; you are authorising this money it is in accordance with the law. Being busy, and I have to sign almost 100 documents per day that could be a problem. You might find something has escaped [through unchecked]. On presidential favours and donations, I think also there should be a system when the president orders me or directs me particularly to pay, there should be a system that verifies that what the president has asked doesn’t break the law. Maybe it can be instituted on his own side before he writes to me, but I doubt if he has that kind of system. [His directives shouldn’t] break the law and that it is in order according to government policies and practices”, Kasaija said.

So with the recent financial laws there still needs amendments and need more structures as the Public Finance Bill of 2015 Act and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) of 2015, these bills and acts has set the financial regulation, also opened the financial systems for less accountability, therefore the idea from the Daily Monitor editor is fine idea, but shouldn’t be needed!

“Executive practice could repeat its departure from known policy and established procedure, since Uganda is teeming with vampires constantly plotting to exploit a generous ruler who is too busy to study every case in detail. Why not develop a hi-tech gadget to aid the President?

The Concept: A piece of digital hardware on which the President’s cash handouts over the last 10 years are listed, indicating those that have and have not been fulfilled.

Filed, too, are the implied (financial) numbers computed from the current national Budget.

Filed, too, is a map of the citizens’ socio-economic condition.

Filed also are a range of constitutional alarm and barrier-wall features.

Applying the latest algorithmic wizardry, installed software would rapidly survey the data and resolve whether a cash handout the President had just announced was fair, legal and viable. (Voice recognition technology is of course on board.)

Linked to State House, Parliament, Finance and the Auditor General, when the gadget clears or blocks a presidential gift (wherever he announces it), the signal is instantly fired to those destinations” (Tacca, 2017).

So the Daily Monitor wants a direct digital archive of the Presidential Handshakes and instant check-up of the funds. The Oil Cash Probe has revealed lots of inaccurate practices of payments and bonuses to civil servants. Certainly, Presidential Handshake Committee would be nice idea, but isn’t there enough institutions and enough government bodies to fill the void.

That the Inspectorate General Kakooza should have an idea and should fill her mission of the government body she has been running since 2012. There is also the PPDA and their Executive Director Cornelia.K. Sabiiti should use their mandates to stop the corrupt behaviour of government officials and civil servants. Either when it comes through the mandate of the IGG or the PPDA, they are both looking over the government institutions and their use of the public coffers. Why should it then be needed for a separate unit who looks into the handshakes at the State House, unless the President was opting for creating laws accepting the presidential bonuses at any given time for any given work for the government.

A PHC over a IGG, PPDA and Attorney General, is just confusing the mandates, the legal authorities and also, the meaning of what is actual just behaviour. MoFPED has proven they do not have the capacity or the will to show their true records, if so the IGG and other agencies of the state would have found out about the transgression and the will of doling out oil cash willy-nilly. Therefore, to create another unit to counter this specific way of misusing funds seems far-fetched, shows really the weakness of the leadership and the will to question the legality of maladministration. However, if you get even more hands into the cookie-jar, than there are less will to investigate, as the hopes that you are next up to get a free cookie. That is how this seems.

IG Kakooza, should have the focus and the mandate to investigate the Oil Cash probe, unless the Attorney General William Byaruhanga has taken the case or said his authority will investigate the ill-intent themselves, instead of the IGG. So there should be enough hands, and bodies to make sure the breaches of trust and breaking of laws should be taken through tough and just action. That shouldn’t be too hard when all of this already created to be safeguards of society and of the laws. Still, when men of the nations doesn’t trust this and needs to make specific committees for certain types of maladministration, than you know there is weakness of leadership and lack of will to fight the misuse of power. Might even be fear to question the old man with the hat. Because if you do so, you might lose your job and you might not be hired again. Peace.

Reference:

The Inspectorate of Government – ‘mandate’ link: https://www.igg.go.ug/about/mandate/

Tacca, Alan – ‘And now… a Presidential Handshake Control Unit!’ (12.03.2017) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/689364-3845488-t492pv/index.html

The Observer – ‘Oil probe: MPs query double payment to US-based law firm’ (12.03.2017) link: http://observer.ug/news/headlines/51726-oil-probe-mps-query-double-payment-to-us-based-law-firm.html

Opinion: Democratic Party and Uganda People’s Congress turns more and more into NRM-Lite!

Akena M7

“Power is a curious thing. Who lives, Who dies. Power resides where men believe it resides. It is a trick, A shadow on the wall.”  ― Lord Varys (Game of Thrones).

Adjective: Denoting a low-fat or low-sugar version of a manufactured food or drink product” (…) “Origin: 1950s: a commercial respelling of light, light” (Oxford Dictionary – Lite).

This here isn’t something based on evidence, but more a genuine feeling I have is not only one I share, but many others. There is something at stake and someone who has agreed the negotiations so these so-called opposition parties isn’t really so. That is why the Uganda People Congress has some MPs in the Cabinet and the same with Democratic Party. The same can be said that both of these parties, still have slots or parts of the delegations to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha.

What we do know is that James Akena, the newly concurred leader of UPC could easily do some trade-off with NRM in 2015. That isn’t just mere speculation as his party did decent and there haven’t been any controversy or lashing out from NRM MPs towards the UPC in ages. Secondly, the DP has become the good DPs and the ones that even are parts of NRM Celebrations. There is something up with these two parties, just like Uganda Federal Alliance and Beti Kamya all of a sudden is a bigger support of the NRM government than the former NRM historical’s and the NRM hardliners.

The President and his NRM CEC must see their State House visits as a blessed and ease ways of figuring out how to undress the opposition and how to deal with them. All needs a meal-ticket, the question is who will give in to the regime and at what cost. Therefore, the arrangement and the deals behind the close doors show the conning way of the illegitimate regime who uses all sorts of methods to undermine the opposition. The FDC has clearly given in too, in my book, with even becoming the shadow-government in Parliament. Something the FDC NEC shouldn’t have considered and agreed upon, because when NRM together with the President agreed to get a UPC minister and DP minister, it would be hard to have shadow-government with members from these parties. That would be rare and weird to explain.

DP Mao

We can even wonder if Norbert Mao even cared of losing his slot as Member of Parliament in the 10th Parliament, as the DP was behind Amama Mbabazi Presidential Candidate through the The Democratic Alliance (TDA). Why I say that now? Since he is snickering and defending the NRM on NBSFrontline, attacking Lord Mayor Lukwago and the FDC when he can, just as we would expect Akena, since he has been bought sometime during the 2015. The price and the value of the UPC is for him and his closest allies to know.

DP’s Mao on the other hand is worrying, that Fred Mukasa Mbidde went so easily and elected into the EALA, also how little care the DP has given to the DP Cabinet Member Florence Nakiwala. Who could have thought the party would trade these folks that easily? That without any worry and without care has let it go, that they have set the standard of being a mediocre party who has no courage and no fighting spirit.

Maybe, Mao has gotten tired of fighting as the campaign he himself has a Presidential Candidate was sour, it wasn’t a joyful journey as the promises and the ride against the police force wasn’t ideal. Therefore, the battle even for his own MPs place got lost and as a leader who isn’t in Parliament, while the ones in Parliament are getting cosy with the NRM. That might be why Mao is complied with the forged friendships and trading in Parliament, to make sure they can gain the most. Still, the value and integrity of DP is dwindling, with every forged agreement with NRM makes them more and more alike, less different.

The NRM regime and NRM caucus in Parliament is adding DP and UPC, they are just turning into branches of the regime instead of being rooted on their own and on their own framework. It is just like Mao and Akena, just shift-bosses instead of being their own factory leaders. They work less for their own product and delivery, more and more to please the Executive through agreements and negotiations.

That is why the NRM has swallowed their paths and the lacking spine of DP and UPC has given way for this. Therefore, the current affairs and state makes them like a light version of the NRM. For this reason DP = NRM Lite and UPC = NRM Lite. Both parties are old and have a long history; they were established long before NRM, still the abolishment from Obote, made the other obsolete. So Museveni’s trick of being in the shadows of these parties before and after the parties, this is essentially killing of the multi-party system. That the NRM are tarnishing the DP and UPC to becoming NRM knocks-offs.

NRM UPC Arua 16.11.15

All of this is mere speculation, but still, there aren’t any official agreements in public between UPC and DP towards to the NRM, but their friendliness and co-operations are evident of certain negotiated deals. You will not hear Akena or the UPC complain about the NRM, just like Mao suddenly defends on national TV their position towards NRM and attacks Lukwago. There is just some uncertainty of how and what they have done behind closed doors. Beyond a shadow of a doubt some worrying signs that can and should be questioned, especially not accept as the acceptance of these parties to the NRM gives way to establish deep concerns of the value of opposition at all in Uganda. Since the DP and UPC have been thresholds for such, now it is FDC, even with a FDC NEC who doesn’t concern their legitimising the Parliament.

We all should ask and question the recent efforts from DP and UPC as legitimate opposition, even as parties without connections or how possibly they have accepted agreements with Movement. This surpass the judgement and the recognition of their existence, it is more the mere fact of lacking attention to transparency and accountability, as they are giving way to a regime who certainly does not care about procedures or acts or rule of law. The parties are therefore giving the Movement acceptance and are silently supporting their rule with these sorts of acts. Certainly, something the founders of these parties would turn in their graves and wanted to resurrect to adjust the malfunctions of these parties. Peace.

Opinion: Forget the Presidential Handshake, the Oil Revenues not been remitted since 2010; so what value have the Norwegian Oil Development Programmes in this mess?

ntv-01-03-2017-oil

“Oil Cash Probe: About 2.4 trillion shillings of oil revenues received since 2010 has not been remitted to Bank of Uganda” (NTV Uganda, 01.03.2017).

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the National Resistance Movement and all the other civil servants that has been working and living with the knowledge of the unaccounted funds. The 2.4 trillion shillings is above $ 663m dollars. That is massive amount funds that could be used to all sorts of government programs. However, there been programs to secure the revenue and the progress, which is done in collaboration with the Norwegian government. I address these programs and wonder if they only exist on papers to make the ugly truth look decent. Since, the revelation of the funds that gone missing without a trace.

This misdirection points to another explanation for the oil curse that is gaining favour: politics. Because oil money often flows directly from Big Oil to the Big Man, as Africa’s dictators are known, governments have little need to raise revenues through taxes. Arvind Subramanian of the IMF argues that such rulers have no incentive to develop non-oil sources of wealth, and the ruled (but untaxed) consequently have little incentive to hold their rulers accountable” (The Economist, 2005).

Norwegian Funding for transparent Oil development:

Cooperation between Uganda and Norway on capacity and institutional development has a long history through several successful Programmes. Norwegian assistance under Oil for Development in Uganda started in 2006 under the programme “Strengthening the State Administration of the Upstream Petroleum Sector in Uganda”. This programme ended in June 2009 after three and a half years of successful implementation. Total funding for this Programme was NOK 21,294,650” (…) “The Programme had three Pillars – Resource Management, Environment Management and Revenue Management Pillar, in addition to a Programme Management, and was allocated a total funding of 80,000,000 NOK for its five year duration (2009 to 2014). However, during the second and third Annual Meetings for the Programme that were held on 27th January 2011 and 31st January 2012 respectively, the need to expand several activities of the Programme and the addition of new ones due to the rapid growth of the oil and gas sector in the country, was presented and approved by the Embassy. Additional funding of 67,000,000 NOK was allocated during September 2013 and the addenda to the Programme Agreement and Institutional Corporation Contract were signed” (MoEMD, P: 7-8, 2015).

Oil Press Statement 01.03. P1Oil Press Statement 01.03. P2

Supposed Revenue Administration:

The Program supported the development of a system (the petroleum tax manual) which will be used to identify and harmonize activities in the petroleum sector for taxation purposes. This activity is in three (3) parts and has been supported by the Oil Taxation Office (OTO) in Norway. Consultative meetings were held and Part II of the manual was completed in April 2014. Parts I and III have been reviewed and will be completed in next phase of the program with support from OTO” (MoEMD, P: 16, 2015).

That means that the Ugandan Government gotten by the Norwegian Government the amount of 168,294,650 NOK, which if you convert it is the total 71,879,499,032.99 UGX or 71bn shillings. If you translate it into dollars it is above $18 million dollars. That is massive sum of donations for some common good. Therefore, it is insulting that the Oil Cash Probe is showing massive amount shillings are unattained or even can verify where the oil money is.

Therefore, that the Norwegian state continues to fund the Ugandan government with the new agreement of continued oil development on the 15th May 2015. That was in a signed agreement between Hon. Matia Kasaija of Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) and the Norwegian ambassador Thorbjørn Gaustadsæther. This was an continued effort to as the agreement stated: “The Impact of this programme will thus contribute to achieving the goal of the Uganda National Oil and Gas Policy (2008): “To use the country’s oil resources to contribute to early achievement of poverty eradication and create lasting value to society”. “The Program that the states agreed upon for the years from 2015 was 19 million NOK, in 2016 was 18 million NOK and in 2017 supposed to be 16 million NOK. In total the Norwegian Support for these three years are 53 million NOK” (Agreement between the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of the Republic of Uganda regarding development cooperation concerning “Strengthening the Management of the Oil and Gas Sector in Uganda – Phase II, 15th May 2015).

The Norwegian government have supported the Ugandan government over two periods with funds to secure the Oil Development for human resource, drilling technic and revenue stream. Therefore with the recent revelations shows that the works of the cooperation have been very fruitless or pointless; then even as the programs are in the works, you see the massive amount of petrodollars disappearing in thin-air. This is just to establish the amount of funds together before 2015 and after, that being the amounts of 221,294,650 NOK or 94,516,067,983.63 or 94bn Uganda Shillings. That is insulting lots of monies when the knowledge of missing 2 trillion shillings!

I start to wonder what they really did on this one and how they duped their European counterparts, as the results of the bidding is that funds dating back to 2010 is unaccounted for and not allocated in the funds their supposed to be at Bank of Uganda. This is a dozens loads of handshakes and giant robbery of the reserves.

presidential-handshake-2015

So now I am not so concerned with the “Presidential Handshake” worth 6bn shillings, which is bad enough that the NRM regime has been doling away to all civil servants and other loyal subjects after the “historic” tax settlement that we’re won in the courts. So 6 billion shillings turns into 2.4 trillion shillings, which is vast fortunes misspent by regime that clearly doesn’t care for accountability or transparency. The oil-deal between the government and the licenced in the Lake Albertine Basin!

Other than the little knowledge that was dropped in the 2014 report made by the NGO Global Witness that stated this: “Consequently it is not currently possible to track payments by international oil companies into government accounts with Tullow Oil being the only company voluntarily publishing disaggregated payments to the Ugandan Government. This creates the risk that any theoretical tax avoidance by companies or embezzlement by government officials may go unnoticed (Global Witness makes no claim of any such wrongdoing in relation to the contracts we have examined in this report). This will be increasingly important as oil production begins and more and bigger payments begin to flow into government accounts” (Global Witness, P: 35, 2014).

So this report alone states the fact that world and citizens of Uganda cannot know where the revenue ends. The state supposed petroleum revenue is not visible since 2010. The Ugandans people should be terrified and be mad of the obvious thieving. When the licenced public resources get squandered away and the black gold gets tricked away. So that President Museveni have within his powers and with his cronies made sure the fortunes made on licencing oil in the Lake Albertine basin goes to his or other associates accounts, instead of into government accounts in the Bank of Uganda.

2. Trillion shillings are not a chicken or a small fee easily to lose, it is not something that get earned over a hot minute. The citizens are kept in dark with the funds earned and taken away over years into secret accounts through sophisticated financial instruments. Certainly, Museveni and his bands of brothers who squeezed the government for decades and this is the final nail of salvaging any good reputation. The rep of the Museveni is already barely legal; still this here is just insane that the little 6 billion “handshake” to a bunch of civil servants and NRM elites revealed the madness.

So there was one guy in court who actually had the courage to reveal the greatest crime in decades. Even as the rigging of elections is thieving the country of their representation and of their true leaders, the government isn’t represented by legitimate people, but the ones there is now thieving the whole oil fund. This is not okay, this is thieving the future and the present development, as the Museveni regime and the NRM does not care about their citizens when so much revenue of the petroleum went missing. Peace.

Reference:

The Economist – ‘The curse of oil – The paradox of plenty’ (20.12.2005) link: http://www.economist.com/node/5323394

Global Witness: ‘A Good Deal Better? Uganda’s Secret Oil Contracts Explained’ (2014)

Republic of Uganda – Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development – ‘Strengthening the Management of the Oil and Gas Sector in Uganda –  Phase II – 2015-2018 –  A Development Programme in Co-operation with Norway’ (March 2015)

Uganda: Congratulations Hon. Chris Opoka-Okumu and Farewell Comrade Edward Segganyi (01.03.2017)

upc-01-03-2017-p1upc-01-03-2017-p2

Opinion: EALA Parliamentary Election ended expectedly with massive win for former Movement MPs!

ntv-uganda

“Politics is like monkeys’ dance, if you do not want the tail of monkeys to touch you, you don’t join their dance”Fred Mukasa Mbidde

Who thought this would be race for the opposition to get golden tickets to the Star-ship and fly-away to moon? Who thought that the Movement would act like gentlemen and give what is proper to the opposition, than you haven’t followed class or known the Movement’s way of doing business. Surely it was all fixed at the State House, the result was pre-fixed and the time it took in Parliament was made to make the charade look like an open bazaar, when it was a closed session for the chosen few that the kingpin had decided.

The ones winning were these ones:

Mukasa Fred Mbidde (DP),

Akol Rose Okulu (NRM),

Mathias Kasamba (NRM),

Mary Mugyenyi (NRM),

Paul Musamali Mwasa (NRM),

Dennis Namara (NRM),

George Steven Odongo (NRM),

Christopher Opoka Okumu (UPC),

Suzan Nakawuki (Independent)” (New Vision, 28.02.2017).

The official results and votes don’t really matter, the winners out of the 49 candidates, two who was from Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and none of them was elected. Surely, the FDC didn’t trade or give ways to the Movement. Therefore, the sudden resignation of Fred Mukasa Mbidde as Deputy President of Democratic Party (DP) before the EALA elections and he was even parts of the NRM EALA Primary Elections at the State House. Nevertheless, the man who was parts of the party that Museveni once a point in the time wanted to destroy dearly together with the Uganda People’s Congress, he has given one candidate from each party.

So who is this Christopher Opoka Okumu, the Nebbi representative who apparently was good enough for NRM MPs to vote for a another term for the UPC candidate, who wants James Akena to run for President in the next election, though that would alter the paradigm agreement done with Museveni. That is how the UPC-NRM agreement and why the UPC got even cabinet members this go around. Therefore, Museveni offers the UPC another slot in the EALA as thanks.

Dennis Namara is the former NRM Youth Chairman and Presidential Advisor for Youth, George Steven Odongo the former Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Lira, Rosa Akol Okulu, the fomer Minister for Internal Affairs, Mary Mugyenyi, the former MP for Nyabushozi County and former State Minister for Animal Husbandry, Mathias Kasamba, the former Kakuuto MP, who lost in the NRM Primary in 2015.

Susan Nakawuki is a former UPC member of EALA, but this time around she went as an Independent candidate this time around. Last time she was representing UPC and as MP for Busiro MP, who even wasn’t believed to be an MP because of her dress-code in 2009, also been in trouble with the law in 2011. So after the issues, she still had capacity to get elected for EALA in 2012. So now she soon starts her second term in EALA as part of the Ugandan Delegation.

So the opposition that isn’t really opposition is the ones that one a slot to the EALA, because the ones been in EALA delegation there, are not rocking the boat or using the title to pressure anything vicious in the East Africa Community (EAC). Therefore, that Mbidde who was part of the celebration of the movement in Masindi and even parts of the Primary in the State House, the other UPC candidates are already spoiled by the wealth of EALA, that they do not want to cut their pay-check and lose their livelihood.

eala-salaries

The others are old-timers and former leaders who certainly have traded favours with the president, as some of these lost out at the NRM Primaries in 2015. We the knowledge of the pay-checks coming with the service at the EALA, the price of getting the offer and lose out on being a MP for the NRM. Must seem decent for the loyalist that Museveni can count on to continue his trench-hold on all most of the seats anyway!

Like Nabilah Naggay Sempala wrote on a secret meeting in Parliament:

“The meeting scheduled at Parliamentary building for 10am according to sources at the Government Chief Whip’s office, is to strike a deal with the leaning independent Members of Parliament to vote for all the 6 NRM candidates. The NRM would also in turn vote an independent candidate who is yet to be agreed” (…) “In politics nothing is done until it is done. We need any potential ally at this time to comfortably secure victories today,” a source from NRM said. The independent members are 66 accounting for 16 percent of the total members and bigger than the combined opposition members” (…) “NRM has 6 candidates in the race including former ministers Rose Akol and Mary Mugenyi, former Government Chief Whip’s office Policy Analyst Paul Musamali, former RDC George Innocent Odongo and former NRM National Youth boss Denis Namara” (Nabilah Naggay Sempala, 27.02.2017).

So with this in mind that these members we’re mention in regards, plus the amount of fixed movement MPs there wasn’t hard to see how this would go. As well, the ones that one today are proven to be former losers in the Primary, therefore the meetings that was at the State House was making sure the loyal MPs of the past would get a secured livelihood after their days in Parliament. However, there are now also Youth League leader, RDC and Political Analysts that are now paid with a heavy salary in Arusha. You can just know that there have been a trade-off and Museveni offered it for creating no issues during the campaign of 2016. That has been visible as the NRM stalwarts was offered plenty. Expect other NRM former MPs to be hired as Envoys or even Ambassadors to the UAE or any other place with a Mission.

Enough of the mellow yellow brown envelope fellow! Peace.

Uganda: Letter – “FDC appeal to Members to Vote its Two Candidates for EALA” (28.02.2017)

fdc-eala-28-02-2017

Opinion: Does Dr. Abed Bwanika, Maj. Gen. Benon Biraaro or Elton John Mabirizi have a voice after the election?

UGDebate16 Prayer

I have just wondered and continue to wonder if these three brothers really have standing and place of political platform to gain momentum at all after the General Election of 2016. These both are veterans and people who have tried more times to be elected as the President of Uganda, without succeeding for that matter. Not because of their words or anything, because like for the rest of the candidates the Electoral Commission has been rigged for President Museveni, to be re-elected for another yet again!

Dr. Abed Bwanika, is a character and a man of words, a man who doesn’t fear to speak his mind and opinion. That is what it seems. The man of the People Development Party (PDP), an opposition politician who has been claimed by Tamale Mirundi of being a NRM diehard; so the man who has lost land in Lwengo are still in cahoots with the ruling regime if the AK-Mouth Mirundi is true to his words. Bwanika usually only appears like every blue moon, but after the recent election has been more visible, tried to talk of dialogue between FDC and NRM. Still, the evident wish of concluding that seems far-fetched. A person can wonder why he cares and what are his motives?

Than you have Maj. Gen. Benon Biraaro, the Farmers Party Presidential Candidate who was a man of reason within the general election and campaign. That even after the house arrest of Dr. Kizza Besigye tried to visit and talk about possible dialogue with the Movement or the NRM. Still, he has not been that visible after the election. So he is like a ghost inside some buildings and venues in Uganda.

Than you have the youthful and funny character Elton Joseph Mabirizi who ran as independent candidate in the recent election in the The Independent Coalition (TIC), who I remember even meet up with Dr. Kizza Besigye while he was house-arrested as well, they had a decent talks there. Seems like a decent fellow, has even had a few TV spots after the election. His businesses keep him occupied and busy, his private schools for instance. So it is not like he needs politics. Even as he addressed the public like this on the 15th February: “Museveni lied again about providing sanitary pads to school going children during the last elections which he rigged!” This he said after the Monitor article that the schools wouldn’t give away sanitary pads to female students as promised during the general election of 2016.

Uganda EC Wall

These three are just a few of them, which have gone away in the wind, that isn’t main stay or having a meaningful place on the political map of Uganda. These we’re three persons or individuals we followed and swallowed their words during the general campaign. They showed character and flair. But went away when their time for seeking office went away, certainly themselves wish they more say after the elections. Still, their place and their microphone dwindle away as if they we’re able to build an organization or supporters, which they could use on the next go-around. Maj. Gen. Benon Biraaro has been there before and still doesn’t have a big organization behind; the same can be said with Dr. Abed Bwanika. It’s a different matter for Elton Joseph Mabirizi who went in without anything, but still worked together with another independent candidate Maureen Kyala Waluube who was the The Independent Coalition (TIC). I haven’t mentioned her, because she has stirred lot’s of madness on social media after the general election and continues to stir the pot. Not that she has a dozens of supporters, but she has the Mwenda effect online.

So do you wonder what these people are trying to achieve after the election? Do you wonder if they really want to build political parties or are they needed figures so President Museveni can say the election are democratic since he has enough candidates that there is initial election, even if the result is already fixed. So he can show that he opens the doors for many to show up, but has an electoral commission that closes the door when the ballot is cast.

These individual’s that was in the spotlight is dimming and is less there, their suction and their quotes isn’t there. Their focus is back to life or whatever they did before the election. So you are now a year since the ballot was cast the people who run for the ballots is not really there and you wonder if these will pop-up again when the Movement needs again. Because the Movement, they needs a road-show and candidates to spring up from the elephant grass. Certainly, it can seem so and wouldn’t be wrong to understand it so.

If you understand it differently than please say so, still the voices of these three has lingered and lost their value as they are not steady in the spotlight. They do not have a civil servant position, they are not MPs, and they are not RDCs or any other important level of public elected officials. Therefore, the three doesn’t have a giant say, neither do these ones take part of Capital Gang or NBS Frontline, therefore the voice is not in the midst of the national debate. They do not engage in the newspapers or in public in general. So there are many more reasons than just being out of office, because Norbert Mao isn’t an MP, but a leader of a party and steady on NBS Frontline, that is why his voice still matters because of the steady exposure.

So, will these men change or will they stay in the outskirts and suddenly embrace it when the elections return and the spotlight are on those that engage in that? Because that is when President Museveni needs gullible people and people he knows doesn’t have enough support to really challenge him. Peace.

My letter to Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu hope you enjoy your “fake peace”!

FDC SG 10th Parliament

Dear Sir!

Retired Major. General. Mugisha Muntu, the current Party President of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), I write you because of the recent revealed letter between you and the Parliament speaker. This is not easy; you seem like a reasonable fellow and a man of honour.

Let me be honest with you, you seem tired of fighting and tired of hitting the wall. You are tired of the struggle and the work of dismantling the Movement. The Movement you once were on the rise in, before you started to build together with others the FDC. The FDC that is today a working machine with a NEC and other bodies that have through preliminary elections and other can bring justice to the ones who are running on FDC tickets.

We know through the grapevine that you we’re the one who was in-charge of reason why the FDC became the shadow government with Leader of Opposition Winnie Kiiza. That is when the party officially went away from the party of defiance and compliance with the ruling regime of the Movement. Mugisha Muntu was in-charge of that as Dr. Kizza Besigye was detained and was not the care-giver or getting to give reason to fight for his cause. This was the FDC abandoning Besigye in jail at Luzira after he had been airlifted and taken violently from Kampala.

Therefore the party sold their legitimacy and the ethical codes for a few silver and “a fake peace”, something Muntu himself could have said. This was an actual peace or token of respect of the party or their struggle during and after the ballot. That the party was under siege and the members were attacked was well-known, that dozens was detained without any warrants or court orders, was publically known. Therefore Moses Byamugyisha used days upon days to get FDC Youth free from illegal detention.

muntu22-02-2017

So that you gave up the struggle and gave a token of honour to the man that stole yet another election. Shows how much you can carry and what that is important. A Fake Peace is your price and your just behaviour. That you can stab the back of many supporters and give in, while many and still people are fighting forged alleged crimes, while you can eat supper and use party organization as you please.

This you did when you after a peaceful recent election all of a sudden sent a letter to the Parliament, which Ingrid Turinawe’s candidature for the EALA slot, was pulled back. Even when the recent election gave her a second place and also given her an opportunity to get nominated further in the Parliament. We don’t know the reasons before he actually tells the world for the sudden act of misbehaviour.

We don’t know why Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu suddenly decided on his own, to disown the FDC Primary EALA elections and pull another party members nomination to Parliament. We don’t know if he has traded with Jimmy Akena of Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), Norbert Mao of Democratic Party (DP) or even spoken nicely to Hon. Beti Kamya of Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), to make sure the parties all get a slot in the EALA Ugandan Delegation in the next term there. If so he should be up-front and told the party organization not deviously send a letter to Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and hope the second nomination get cut in silence.

None of the nominations has happen in silence, neither has the nomination of Ingrid Turinawe, still the way of the wish of taking her chance away is a demonstration of not caring about inner-party elections. Than the Party President should have said from the get-go that the party only have one candidate for the elections! Period, bravo, congrats Florence and the rest good luck hunting after other positions!

That is what you should have done Honourable Muntu, instead you went the back-way and didn’t use proper methods, you have traded or done some backdoor agreements that is not known to anyone, but you and your closest allies. What they we’re and how they came about is for you to know. Even if not so, the act of aggression against Turinawe, is not a good look on him or his ways.

Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu, sometimes you sound like reasonable and well-thought true politician with a genuine heart, other times you are dying of ambition and wanting to rule with an iron fist. If you want the people to believe in the first character then they don’t need the giving in to the Movement, like you did with the Shadow Government nonsense, neither do they need the speedy change of heart and trying to disqualify Turinawe. It just seem benign and weak of man of your stature to this. Like a vendetta or a proof of distrust to the Besigye diehards. Who knows your motives if they are brown-envelopes or brownie points with the movement?

You could clarify and in-debt describe your trade or your reason for this act of volatile attempt to silence a fellow FDC member and her chance of a political platform on the outside of the Party Organization? Would you have done the same if it was Hon. Nathan-Nandala Mafabi?

What was your goal, was it create havoc and make sure your fraction get more power inside the party while Besigye is on a trip in Europe? I am wondering if your applying to secure a fake peace not only in the nation, but also inside the party you run.

I am wondering is your goal: to create a unstable peace and make sure there is a fake peace?

Peace!

Best regards.

Writer of MinBane

ULS Response on Invitation to meet the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Entreprises (COSASE) – (23.02.2017)

uls-23-02-2017