Mwenda Double jeopardy; The Rise and Fall of Andrew Mwenda the Erstwhile Fighter For Social Justice Now Turned Total Sycophant
Although
this move was considered a prank by serious observers, it also demonstrates that perhaps the motor-mouthed
journalist misses opposition politics which made him the biggest brand in the
country.
Mwenda has
been a bitter critic of the People Power Movement (a pressure group that
metamorphosed into the National Unity Party) and considers them intolerant,
uncouth, primitive and probably worse than Museveni.
He considers
them (PP) a terrorist group that has hallmarks of radical group similar to that
of the Libyan rebel forces known as the Misratta brigade that participated in
the overthrow and eventual death of Libyan despot Col Muamar Ghadafi.
So for
Andrew Mwenda to visit the offices of ‘the Misratta brigade’ was indeed
historic.
He later
posted a very friendly post in which he said that he found them (NUP) more
tolerant, and accommodative than he had expected. He also promised to contest
against Bobiwine with the hope of defeating him at the party’s delegate’s
conference. Looking at him speak was like watching Mr. Bean, the comedy man.
MWENDA OF THE PAST
All
indications are that Mwenda misses the aura and the believability he used to
enjoy when he was still associated with fighting for social justice.
Although he
was a mere journalist, Mwenda made his name by opposing most of the injustices occasioned
by president Museveni’s regime.
While
journalism presupposes objectivity, fairness and giving all sides the chance to
give their opinions about a given issue, Mwenda had deliberately made it clear
that he had an inclination for giving more traction and space to the
opposition.
He had
become the voice of the opposition in the media. He made his name by not only
criticizing but also by literally abusing by president Museveni.
Case in
point; when Col John Garang perished in a helicopter crash, Mwenda accused
president Museveni for causing the death of the SPLA leader. He went on to call
Museveni a villager who had failed to govern the country.
He was
incarcerated for a few days before he went back to his radio program on K-fm
radio and writing in the daily.
Later on
Mwenda quit the newspaper basing on the reason that it was no longer an
objective vehicle for fighting social injustice in the country because the
owner, the Agha khan, was in bed with president Museveni.
He promptly started
his own media house, The Independent Magazine in which he continued his attacks
against the NRM regime, drawing attention to the nepotism that was being practiced
by president Museveni by mentioning all his relatives working for government.
OFF TO KIGALI
For reasons not
known immediately, Mwenda started doing public relations for the Rwanda government
His job in
kigali was to do propaganda that would project rosy growth figures and ‘wonderful’
economic growth statistics which made Rwanda ‘the shining star’ in the region.
The project initially worked because everyone started believing in Rwanda and quoting
it as the benchmark for better governance, sound polices etal.
Mwenda also resurrected the Kisangani battles that had been fought in 1999-2003 between the UPDF and RDF by focusing more on the battles where UPDF was beaten badly by RDF.
He had totally
sacrificed his mother country for the few pieces of silver from Kigali.
Soon, the
cold war erupted between two erstwhile countries got to a breaking point.
Trust vintage
Mwenda, for he was the man who brokered the deal to reconcile presidents Paul Kagame
and Yoweri Museveni. We have been reliably informed that Mwenda made dollars
and pounds from that deal to reconcile the two leaders.
But the
contradiction of all is that both leaders have failed to fully reconcile, to-date-
Rwanda has still not opened its borders with Uganda to-date.
It’s
believed that although the leaders of both countries loathed each other so
much, they were also not ready to get to full-scale war against each other.
Mwenda has however always insisted that he
cannot rule out that one day these countries will fight each
other-notwithstanding the cover up diplomacy.
TIES WITH KAMPALA
Interestingly
while Mwenda was working for Kigali, the reality was that he had very close
ties with almost the entire power brokers in Kampala.
For instance
he has very strong friendship with first son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and
enjoys comradely bond with Museveni’s brother Gen Salim Saleh.
He is also in a an enviable position of being in
talking terms with almost all the top UPDF generals both in government and
those who quit and are in opposition politics in the country.
Recently, a few years ago, it was rumored that Mwenda had been sacked by the Kigali establishment. But he immediately found vacancy at state house Nakasero, where he is known to be one of the top informal advisors for president Museveni, a feat that makes him the only journalist who has worked for two states that are hostile to each other.
ASSOCIATION WITH MAFIA
But working closely
with the Ugandan state has come at a cost. Today Mwenda is associated with the
mafia group that runs errands for the Ugandan president around state house.
Although he
holds no official position in government he wields a lot of influence in the corridors
of power. He can influence the deployment, appointment and sacking of public
officials, influence policy and can influence or tilt decisions made by the
president.
The Paranoia Of Losing It All
But Mwenda seems
to suffer from the same disease that affects most Ugandans who have amassed a
lot of wealth during Museveni’s 34 year reign--the paranoia of losing it all.
Although
they made the wealth through Museveni, they also find Museveni’s continued stay
in power a big risk to their wealth.
Although
Museveni has guaranteed peace and stability for the last three decades, his
continued stay is becoming more of a liability than an asset for the wealthy class.
The trends in world politics have demonstrated that regimes in third world
countries cannot guarantee stability without sanitizing the politics.
In Uganda
the agitation for regime change has grown to a level where it cannot be ignored
because Museveni has failed to guarantee peaceful transfer of power amidst
agitation for him to handover to another leader.
There are
fears that the forces of change might violently sweep Museveni of power and
endanger the stability of the country like it was with Sudan president Omar Bashir,
Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, in Libya with Col Muamar Ghadafi and many
other leaders who had failed to create peaceful transition power. In such
situations the masses have risen up and dethroned their intransigent leaders.
President
Museveni’s failure to undertake a peace transfer of power has put him in the
spotlight as one of the leaders to face the same fate like the aforementioned
leaders.
Interestingly,
Mwenda chose to work with Kampala at a time when president Museveni had lost
the moral authority and respect after amending the constitution two times
(lifting the term and age limits).
That has
come with money and power, but attracted negative fame for him (M9).
He is no
longer believable and lacks the moral authority to direct debate like he used
to do in the past when he was inclined to the fight against social injustice.
That has put
him in a catch twenty two situation. He is enjoying money and fraternizing with
powerful members of the regime but lacks the believability of the society.
In fact,
today Mwenda is considered a serious member of the mafia group that is fleecing
state resources. His last mention in the media was when he was involved in
withdrawing billions of shillings from bank of Uganda.
The Mwenda who was a mere journalist is now in a position where he cannot influence debate, cannot be trusted as a journalist and cannot join the forces of change.
CONCLUSION
It’s a pity
that Mwenda has reached a point where he can only make pranks about national
issues. His comical visit at the NUP offices have not only demonstrated that he
is indeed a lost brand but have also proved that he no longer takes himself
seriously.
Instead of
making an objective analysis about the fate of NUP he chose to go and make a mockery
of himself!
It’s about
time we ran a story narrating the rise and fall of the once great Andrew Mwenda,
the man who used to talk and move the airwaves and leave Ugandans in awe about
his intellect.
Today he is
widely regarded as the one of the biggest sycophants for the regime he used to criticize
so much. It’s totally uncertain whether Mwenda will ever rise again.
What a waste
of brain power!
The author Fred Daka
Kamwada is journalist and a blogger
Chat him up on; Kamwadafred@gmail.com
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