Gen Museveni Is In A Catch-Twenty-Two Situation Where He Cannot Openly Oppose the MK project And Terrified Of The Fact That It Pushes Him Out Of Power

 

 The Jajja Omalako Proclamation Is a Direct Counter Force Against the Muhoozi Project In Particular And Mao’s Transition Project In General

 

·        Gen Museveni Is In A Catch-Twenty-Two Situation Where He Cannot Openly Oppose the MK project And Terrified Of  The Fact That It Pushes Him Out Of Power

·        The Jajja Omallako Project Shields President Museveni From The Pressure Of Having To Vacate Power When He Still Needs It For His Personal Benefits.

 

Early this week a group of overzealous NRM supporters converged at a Kampala suburb of Kyambogo and made the proclamation to the effect that president Museveni should continue offering himself for the Ugandan presidency for the 2026 general elections.           

The group code-named itself Jajja Omalako (loosely translated as ‘’ grandpa, you are still fit enough to continue running this country) insisted that there is nobody who can manage this country as well as president Museveni. The Jajja proclamation comes at the heels of Chairman Norbert Mao’s transition project which he has been trying to push around the country.

The DP party president who signed a memorandum of understanding that resulted into him scooping the ministerial docket of justice and constitutional affairs has been convincing the country that his deal with president Museveni involves the idea of transition from the bush war class to another generation and the adoption of a national dialogue. However Mao’s transition project has generated a lot of doubts from the politico class who think it’s just a comical waste of time.

We at the investigator managed to make an informed analysis about this transition talk and clarified that it was foolhardy for Mao to think that president Museveni is stupid enough to transition himself out of power, just like that.

But Chairman Mao has been insisting that he is convinced that the president can consider holding a national dialogue and delivering a peaceful transition as a gift to the country as part of the deal that enabled him to merge his struggling DP into the NRM government.

Interestingly , the only aspect of the deal which has so far been implemented include the jobs that have been scooped by chairman Mao himself who was promptly appointed the minister of justice and constitutional  affairs and his secretary general Dr Siranda who was elected to the East African parliament.

Interestingly, early this week president Museveni threw the spanner in the works when he came out to dispel suggestions that he had agreed a transition and national dialogue with Norbert Mao. 

This means that, as far as the transition talk is concerned, the country has gone back to square one.  It practically means that as far as transition from Museveni is concerned the country has to get back to The Muhoozi project as the only viable option for a transition from president Museveni to another generation. 

 

 For the last five years the Muhoozi project that seeks to make first son General Muhoozi Kainerugaba the next president of this country has been trending as the only option being sold around the country by some young Turks close to the first family.

 It has however been faced with all sorts of polarizing opinions from the politico class. At first the MK project faced stiff resistance from opinion leaders including military officers who have since retired from the army prompting the first son to twit that some senior officers openly hated him.

But with the passing of time, the MK project has gained some currency around the country with open mobilization for Gen Muhoozi to get assembled as the presidential candidate for the next elections.

In fact it (he mk project)has sunk so deep that most Ugandans (including very senior citizens) around the country have been convinced to embrace the project and resorted to seeking audience with Gen Muhoozi to solve their problems. The urban youths who are known to profess opposition politics had also joined the MK bandwagon and had started using HIS portraits to brand their motorcycles and cars.

With the MK phenomenon in full cycle, the president also emphasized that the name (Muhoozi) he gave his son, means revenge. This encouraged some shrewd Ugandans to assemble the mobilization tools at the service of the first son.

 The Ugandan president has however been skeptical about encouraging the MK phenomenon to get to full swing levels. He has sometimes made discouraging moves by removing him from command positions and switching him to lesser demanding assignments as presidential advisor.

At one time he removed from command as commandant of the Special Forces brigade and appointing him as a mere advisor on military affairs before he brought him back to as commander of the land forces.

Then last month the twitting UPDF general made controversial twit that generated a diplomatic backlash between Uganda and neighboring Kenya when he suggested that his UPDF forces could capture Nairobi in just two weeks

This twit led to a keyboard confrontation between Kampala and Nairobi and culminated into the removal of the twitting UPDF General from the docket of land forces and an open apology from the president.

But the Ugandan president went on to promote his twitting son from lieutenant General to full General to perhaps, dispel suggestions that he had lost confidence in his son. Although MK has reached a point where some Ugandans can entrust him with power, it has put his father in a tight corner on what do about it.

Gen Museveni is caught between a hard rock and deep sea predicament because he cannot be seen to be opposed to the MK project but at the same time confronted with the realization that it pushes him out of power.

But some overzealous Ugandans want him to come out and project the way forward for this country.

It was in such circumstances that a group of NRM zealots came up with the Jajja Omallako project which seeks to make it clear that the incumbent should stay put in the seat of power. This Jajja Omallako proclamation also intends to make it clear that no other person, other than president Museveni, should consider to offer himself for the Ugandan presidency In the next elections.

With the emergence of the Jajja Omallako phenomenon, you would expect that it will have the immediate effect of extinguishing Norbert Mao’s transition talk and either postpone or completely undermine the Muhoozi project. In fact it shields president Museveni from the pressure of having to vacate power when he still needs it for his personal benefits.

The author Fred Daka Kamwada is a researcher and policy analyst; kamwadafred@gmail.com