Why The 2021 Elections Might Be About The Sons Of Former Presidents Apollo Milton Obote, Gen Idi Amin And President Museveni

Why The 2021 Elections Might Be About The Sons Of Former Presidents Apollo Milton Obote, Gen Idi Amin And President Museveni

• ·         The Jimmy Akena Presidential Bid More Than Justifies The Muhoozi Project and the dynastic trend in Ugandan politics

Last week Hon Jimmy Akena was elected as the president of the Uganda people’s congress party.

Notwithstanding the misgivings, doubts and apprehensions held by the outgoing UPC party president ambassador Olara Ottunu  and vice president Mr Bossa ,both of whom claim that it was a flawed process , the Jimmy Akena bid is welcome because it raises the nostalgia associated with the reign of his father , the late president Apollo Milton Obote. 

AKENA RELEVANCE

Although UPC certainly looks like a party that lost relevance, with many of its top leadership crossing to NRM, Hon Jimmy Akena might somehow reawaken some of its lost appeal, mainly from those who admired his father.

The late president Milton Obote is known to brag about the fact that he liberated and eventually ruled Uganda on two separate occasions, in 1962 when he was handed the instruments of power from the British colonialists and 1980 when his UPC party controversially won the elections.

During his reign, Obote is credited to have built over 24 hospitals across the country including Mulago hospital.  Obote also built quite a number of schools and expanded the infrastructure that has served the country since independence.

His social programs have since been regarded as the best in the history of this country by many of his followers.

But while he excelled in the area of service delivery, there is a unanimous view that he miserably failed to protect the lives and property of Ugandans, as mandated by the constitution.

And it’s his failure to tame the army that has left a very big dent on the Obote brand.

The Obote Brand versus Museveni Brand

Therefore Jimmy Akena, will have to do a lot of talking, cajoling and persuading to change the political tide in a Uganda that has embraced the NRM regime that has constructed its mandate basing on the principle of protecting the lives and property of Ugandans.

Although the NRM is failing to command respect in regard to the issues of service delivery and chronic corruption that has led to los of a lot of taxpayers’ money, it still enjoys the benefits and the powerful Museveni brand. 

The NRM party leader, President Yoweri Museveni enjoys the support of the masses that were victims and openly persecuted by Obote’s government.

In most parts of the central region, there are millions of Ugandans who suffered a systematic witch hunt during the second spell of the UPC government.

Former security minister of that time in the early 1980s, Chris Rwakasis is known to have hunted down people that were regarded as Rwandese from parts of Ankole and the Luwero triangle.

And these Rwandese-Ugandans had no choice but to join Yoweri Museveni’s National resistance army that had declared war in 1981 and eventually triumphed to victory in January 1986.

Today these Ugandans of Rwandese descent form the core of the NRM support across the country. They also form the core of the security agencies in the NRM government.

It’s therefore interesting to see how they will react to Hon Jimmy Akena when he goes vote hunting in parts of central and western Uganda.

Without guessing so much, one can predict a very hostile reception for Jimmy Akena in these areas.

The Obote Generosity

Although President Milton Obote is said to have mentored, groomed and educated so many Ugandans like bank of Uganda governor Tumusime Mutebile, current Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda and many others across the country, it’s unlikely that they will help Jimmy Akena’s political cause.

In any case, a lot of water has passed under the bridge to resurrect the good old political memories in the favor of UPC.

One can therefore safely predict that Jimmy Akena’s presidential bid is certainly not expected to have an impact on the Ugandan political scene. The UPC Party is widely regarded as dead as Kenya’s KANU which collapsed with its original founder members.

You can perhaps say that Akena’s political ambitions would probably have been served better if he had joined a new political force with fresh ideas.

The Muhoozi Project

But although Akena’s bid is not politically marketable in the current settings, it’s serving a different political purpose; of reinvigorating the justification of the Muhoozi project.

The Muhoozi project is a widely-rumored scheme that intends to market president Museveni’s son Brigadier Kainerugaba Muhoozi to take over the presidency from his father when he retires.

It gained momentum about four years ago (immediately after the 2011 elections )when some senior members of the NRM insisted that the Ugandan president who has been in power for the last 29 years plans to hand over power to his son, Brigadier Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Famous Australian journalist Julian Asanje ‘s wiki leaks quoted  Hon Mike Mukula to have told the American ambassador to Uganda that president Museveni was preparing his son to takeover form him.   

With president Museveni looking determined to run again in 2016, the talk about the Muhoozi project has died down. But there are obvious signs that it will constitute a very big talking point immediately after the 2016 elections.

The Current Dynamics

 If president Museveni wins the 2016 elections, he will not be eligible to stand in the 2021 elections because of the age limit that bars Ugandans above 75 years from contesting.

And this will spark the debate about president Museveni’s successor.

And the recent developments have favored Brig Muhoozi to be the man in the middle of the storm.

The twist of it is that the jimmy Akena presidential bid will certainly make it very difficult to argue against the justification of Muhoozi’s presidential bid.

Enter Gen Amin

Interestingly, another set of sons of another former Ugandan leader, Gen Idi Amin are also warming up to take part in the electoral process by contesting as members of parliament.

The most vocal of Gen Amin’s children is Hussein Lumumba Juruga Amin who seeks to contest for a parliamentary seat in his homeland of Arua.

 Hussein Lumumba is full of political philosophies and will certainly have an interesting impact on the 2016 electoral campaigns.

Once all these former children of the former Ugandan presidents dominate the political scene of the 2016 elections, then there will be no stopping the Muhoozi bid in 2021.

We shall then have a scenario similar to Togo where Faure Eyadema comfortably succeeded his father Gnasingbe Eyadema , like in Gabon where Ben bongo easily succeeded his late father Omar Bongo or like the case in Dr Congo where josephs Kabila took over when his father Laurent Kabila was assassinated.

CONCLUSION

Although the 2015 elections are not expected to be as explosive, the 2021 elections might be an affair between sons of former Ugandan presidents Apollo Milton Obote ( in form of jimmy Akena), Gen Idi Amin Dada ( in form of Hussein juruga ) and Yoweri Museveni in form of brigadier Muhoozi Kainerugaba ends .

The author Mr Fred Kamwada-Kamwada is senior journalist and political activist leaning to social Republican ideology’ you can interact with him on kamwadafred@yahoo.com