08/03/2024
[MPUUGA VS BOBI WINE] DIVIDE BY MUSEVENI EQUALS TO……
Uganda’s media has been flooded with a lot of arguments within the opposition for almost a week now, but the purported rottenness within the opposition corridors have been incubating for long. Corruption has been the top most regime tool used to spoil or lure opposition top brass. So any serious opposition leader must react so harshly in order to tame his/her subordinates expected to be involved in that evil act. The issue of contention in this saga is generally the procedure of how the ethical code was broken by a reputable opposition figure. Section 2.2 of the Code of Conduct and Ethics of the Uganda Public Service (2005) provides for a bribe to mean “any gratification as an inducement to or a reward for or otherwise on account of any public officer for doing or forbidding to do anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, actual or proposed in which the public body is concerned. It is anything offered or given to or given out by a public officer to gain favour and influence in a particular case. The same document defines ethics to mean a code of morals applicable in the public service.
Any average Ugandan would ask him/herself why parliament would concoct the ‘Service ward’ that caters for only the current beneficiaries. What was so special the current beneficiaries? Why one got 500M/=ugx while the other less? What was the formula used to reach the figures? How about the first LOPs and commissioners, why were they skipped? Why after the expulsion of Hon. Zaake from the position of Commissioner? Apart from Hon. Mpuuga, who else got this money from the opposition? Mpuuga was a former boss of the Speaker of the parliament, so what is their current relationship? By the way, how has the parliament’ s expenditure been since AAA took over. It’s from which budget vote or it wasn’t budgeted for and why? How was the money received, bank or cash? Is the “Service Award” the same as gratuity? If yes why change the nomenclature? Seems to be so many questions with limited answers from a tax payer.
In corporate governance managers swindle money using a legal procedure, like using well minuted decisions or resolutions, forging quorums, signing attendance among others because auditors use these as the first points of tracking financial mis-use. So in most cases you may find money spent following the right/ legal procedure but meant for the wrong purpose. This is what the top management of the parliament might have done to justify the procedure but when money was intended for a wrong. The issue of corruption/bribery directed to Hon. Mpuuga is just a trigger of many things to unfold. It’s unfortunate for these so called senior or corporate politicians to under estimate the moves and activities of these young generations who have been patiently waiting for change. Am very doubtful that, Mpuuga and his team with their Chinese type of politics can swallow this generation.
I highly hypothesize that if Mpuuga’s group had not joined NUP only a few of them would have gone through here I can only spare a few like Allan Sewanyana but those so big wigs like Mpuuga him Self, Ssegona, Nambooze and so forth where to loose due to non-performance and double standards except Nambozze who was to lose to Kagimu Kiwanuka also due to Mukono-DP internal wrangles. We should appreciate the fact that, by then, Bobi Wine had the most powerful political magnet which everyone yarned for. And much as the Mpuuga’s group was very experienced politically, they needed Bobi’s Powerful Electricity.
We can draw back to the time of Museveni and his team since before independence, they well calculated their move to take over the country, somewhere, they rushed and hit a deadlock but they could re organize and jointly proceed to achieve their agenda of ruling Uganda. What they were very strict with, was to avoid being taken by the ideas of intruders or other people/groups who seemed to be fighting the same enemy. Many people joined Museveni and his guerrillas to fight Obote and Amin, the likes of Nkwanga, Dr. Kayiira, among others but Museveni’s group is never allowed to be swallowed by the intruders’ agenda, and that’s what any focused politician could do. The key issues to critically look at are
The issue of Religion
These two are both from the Catholic Church and now the church must be in a fix on choosing the person to be endorsed. It’s on record since independence the Catholic Church’s desire to produce Uganda’s president is overdue. Mpuuga’s team claims that they have been building their leader for long and now can’t just be spoiled like that. This shows that, all along it has been an insider job, so the coming of Bobi Wine might have caught them off track and now they are trying to arrest the situation before it goes worse. The advantage of Bobi’s side is that, it seems has no planned paperwork at disposal which the opposite side can destroy to make him go astray. He is commanding a bigger population of the unemployed youth; others are self-employed plus another small cluster of the elites.
Ideally these groups are hard to divert and it’s not easy to calm them down because most of them have been unemployed for 20+ years, they’re adapted to long bad financial situations, they fear to lose nothing in case of any chance of confronting the enemy. And these are the most feared by Museveni’s government and propagandists. That’s why in this question of who supports who? I am not surprised that, all the largest groups of corporates and regime propagandists are victimizing Bobi Wine. It’s because Museveni’s side knows that, if Bobi Wine is defeated, then it will be a walkover with Mpuuga’s group, due to the fact that, time immemorial they have been dealing with them and they know how to condense them.
The fight for supremacy within the Catholics is still high so that, come 2026, the best candidate will be already selected in the public eye. Here don’t expect Bobi wine or Mpuuga’s team to keep quiet until one has been totally defeated. In Animal science when a young male wants to enjoy some of the “resources”, it must tirelessly fight the older ones, it’s only through this spirited fight that a youthful Lion or Buffalo chases away the older one to enjoy its natural rights within the pride or herd. So Bobi Wine shouldn’t take this fight lightly if he is to still show that he is the most dominant male.
Who’s the most Beneficiary?
1.Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) and NUP
Ideally Bobi Wine here, he rips in two folds, firstly, he has identified and exposed his enemy. The Chinese have a proverb that, “the moment you identify your enemy, you can win hundred battles”. This battle exposed Mpuuga’s team more. Bobi Wine is going to capture many public hearts especially those who had started doubting him and as well as those who don’t believe in hypocritical politicians. Many thought that he is just a barking dog, recently he even seriously cautioned his leader brother (Nyanzi Ssentamu) who seems to be more senior to him politically. Ugandans should understand that exposing Mpuuga means, Bobi Wine bites and it sends a strong signal to others. In leadership, you must sit in your chair as a leader and feel it; your commands must be practically effective.
Secondly, attraction of more senior people like Dr. Kiiza Besigye and his team. It’s on record that, Hon. Mpuuga and some of his members like Ssegona betrayed Besigye in 2016. Even during Walk to work. Mpuuga the main architect of walk to work never practically took part in the demonstrations on the streets of Kampala, only spent time hiding under the guise “am at the commanding center Besigye suffered to the extent we all know. Hon. Ssegona left Besigye for Mbabazi yet Besigye prayed a big role when building his political career. There are other people within Mpuuga’s team who are not in Besigye’s good book. So the coming of Besigye to join hands with Bobi Wine in NUP cannot be welcomed by those so labeled political traitors in some people’s view. Meaning, if they are successfully whipped out from NUP, Besigye’s radicalism and his team can give Bobi’s side a momentous solid and firm stand against Museveni come 2026 and there can’t be good news to the regime.
2.Museveni and His NRM
We must accept that Museveni was born lucky, imagine from his poor family background to the longest serving president in the history of Uganda. He was not very popular in Buganda but he staged a guerilla war within Buganda, the Baganda supported him, although he later forgot them. On the day he was sworn in after capturing power, he was forgiven by a helicopter assassin and he survived being crushed at the parliament. He has been able to organize, disorganize, reorganize and neutralize Uganda rebels successfully. He has been able to witness almost his opponent’s death and burials. Recently the opposition gained momentum when Kyagulanyi showed interest in standing against Museveni. Museveni all along had never got a well packed opposition like this one.
For example Mugish Muntu whom Museveni fears for being politically intellect and organized, a clear example was how he professionalized his army, had formed his own Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) political Party which had attracted most of the opposition cream from FDC and DP, which parties Museveni had gazetted as his fishing ponds. Bobi wine with his musical popularity was available to command the youth and give Museveni a ride for his money, but Museveni’s luck was observed after the emergency of the COVID -19 epidemic. Covid-19 restricted the free movement of Museveni’s political competitors and the restrictions were justified. These left him enjoyy his free movements while undemocratically obstructing his major competitor Bobi Wine from campaigning. These restrictions were well provided for in the international community’s eye but Museveni utilized this chance to rig the elections both psychologically and manually, I still call this luck.
So, in this conflict between Mpuuga and Bobi. Museveni benefits a lot. For example, he has already identified another presidential contender apart from Bobi (This is in case M7 is not the one indirectly fronting Mpuuga). Secondly, himself and NRM now have time to organize for their opponents while the opposition have not yet zeroed in on any single candidate to support come 2026. If the opposition cannot perceptively use clear glasses to see this, then Museveni will still be jubilating as a good and lucky student of divide and rule, and isn’t this luck?
Hon. Mpuuga and Team
Mpuuga is gaining in one thing. That many Ugandans, who have been seeing him as just a mere Member of Parliament material, see him now joining the list of those who want to stand on behalf of Museveni or against Museveni. But his credibility and image will only be positively accessed in case he wins his battle against Bobi wine which is still hard for him because it’s not easy for a climber/clipping plant to survive without the host plant.
The procedure of getting the service award might have been crafted to release money to facilitate an insider agenda. For example, recruiting pro-Mpuuga delegates within the party so that he wins NUP flag bearer-ship against Kyagulanyi in the forthcoming delegates conference or something else. So, if bribes are immoral and make part of the broad definition of the evil word corruption, then the service award might have been procured unethically, so the awardee and awarder must apportion blame to the average Ugandan unless otherwise. These undermined youths have their own style of confronting Museveni therefore; they should be given a chance to roll it out practically.
“TUWE OBUDE STYLE YA BABANDA OSANGA Y’ENESOBORA OKUJAKO M7”.
Batte Siraje
& Environment Activist
