Has Rt Hon Speaker Rebecca Kadaga Degenerated Into A Populist?

Has Rt Hon Speaker Rebecca Kadaga Degenerated Into A Populist?

When the Kenyan judiciary, particularly its chief justice David Maraga made a historic judgment that nullified the august 8^th elections, the African people jubilated because they had not witnessed such a brave and decisive ruling in African politics.

Most Africans were even more amazed by the nature of institutional independence that was exhibited by the Kenyan judiciary.

It had been a norm for all institutions to be swayed and guided by the domineering manipulations of the executive.

So Hon Maraga became an instant hero of the African political elites.

In Uganda our speaker Hon Rebecca kadaga had tried to assert the independence of legislature by making some rulings that defied the wishes and aspirations of the executive.

For instance the manner in which she handled the issue of the NRM rebel MPs who had been sacked by their NRM party was regarded as a typical case of independence of the legislature and a sign of complete separation of powers within the three state institutions i.e the executive , legislature and judiciary as we know them.

As a result of these land mark decisions, the speaker enjoyed a very big national appeal. The ruling party and the members of the opposition all believed in her as an independent minded speaker, who couldn’t be compromised.

The Age Limit Weevil

But the issue of the age limit debates seems to have watered down her profile. Her shining star has dimmed because of the manner in which she handled the parliamentary sessions which resulted into a scuffle between some members of the opposition and security agents who entered the house and forcefully threw them out, on the orders of the speaker.

 Get me right here; am not saying the speaker was wrong to throw out the opposition MPs who were frustrating the session.

In fact, although I agree with the rebellious manner in which the rebels conducted themselves-(given the fact that it was the only option they had since they have no numbers to frustrate the impending amendment of article 102(B)), I thought that one of the options she had was to adjourn the house.

But to be fair to her, even the adjournment wouldn’t have had the desired effect because the opposition MPs were determined to cause chaos in the house at any opportune moment.

So what am I saying?

The only viable option was to suspend the chaotic MPs, which couldn’t be achieved by peaceful means-thus resulting into the chaos that we all witnessed.

Having said that, I think it’s fair to say that the opposition Mps were right to be as chaotic as they did because of the tyranny of numbers of the ruling party which they faced. And I think it’s also fair to say that the speaker was equally right to make that decision to kick out the chaotic MPs.

This brings us to the question as to why the speaker had to go out of her way to apologize to each individual MP who had been kicked out of parliament. Do you apologize for having done the right thing?

By visiting each Mp, at their residence and hospital, the speaker demonstrated lack of the necessary backbone to make tough decisions.

It showed that she was ashamed of her actions, yet she used the law to do it!

The Damn Letter

What actually shocked some of us much more was her decision to write to the president asking about the ‘strangers’ who stormed parliament on that day.

Although the letter seemed to make sense in some respects, it was weird that she wrote it almost a month after the incident!

Why did she take long to write the letter to the president?

Then when you dig in you find contradictions in the letter itself, which make her look pathetic in this matter.

For instance she talks of strangers storming parliament, yet the inspector of police addressed the issue by owning up to those strangers who stormed parliament!

Yes, Gen Kale Kayihura openly said that he was responsible for coordinating security agencies that stormed parliament.

Therefore the explanation of the IGP puts the issue of strangers to rest.

But you wonder why the speaker still insists that she wants to know who they were and where they came from! Oh dear me!

When she made the decision to kick out the MPs, did she expect them to walkout peacefully?

In the event that the whole situation degenerated into a chaotic fight between the security agents and the mps, it was obvious that things had to turn bloody.

She had to therefore, stand by her decision because , logically , that was what she had to do. Even if she had adjourned as many of us first argued , the Mps would have staged the same confrontational approach.

In fact, at first the speaker was resolute when she said that the MPs wanted to stage a coup.

But you again wonder why she turns around to regret the incident by writing letter to the president.

By taking a contradicting stance , speaker kadaga is simply exposing herself as someone who cannot make difficult decisions –yet that is one of the most important ingredients of leadership.

Great leaders stand by their decisions as long as they are done in good faith, legally binding and taken for the good of the country.

She seems to be obsessed with being more populist than being principled.

IS KADAGA A POPULIST?

The speaker Kadaga visits one of the Mps Hon Namboze who sustained injuries during a scuffle with the security agents

Accusing Hon kadaga of being a populist is not completely off the mark because she has done it before. For instance when the issue of homosexuality arose in the country, she traveled overseas and bashed the whites for propagating the vice. She was given a hero’s welcome on her return and she went on to pass the anti-gay bill without quorum!

As we speak now, the anti-gay bill was scrapped from the law books, because it was challenged in courts of law and nullified accordingly.

That is the price you pay when you do things with a populist intentions.

Hon Kadaga should recollect her independent self desist from playing games of cheap politics.

 Ends

The Author Fred Daka Kamwada Is A Ugandan Blogger

Get in thouch with him at kamwadafred@gmail.com

Ends

Frank Gashumba and Stanley Ndaula; A Clear Case Of How President Museveni’s Long Reighn Has Submerged And Destroyed Generations Of Brilliant Ugandans

Frank Gashumba and Stanley Ndaula; A Clear Case Of How President Museveni’s Long Reighn Has Submerged And Destroyed Generations Of Brilliant Ugandans

On so many occasions we encounter people in our lives that improve us, derail us or destroy us completely. During the course of my journalistic career I have encountered so many people who have really contributed to the man that I have become today, either by default or design.

Some few years ago, I used to write very bombastic articles which I expected to not only tickle the minds of a few sophisticated people but also to annoy some conservative people.

But one of the sophisticated Ugandans who endeavored to contact me to appreciate my articles was the now embattled frank Gashumba.

I had not known much about him but one day a senior colleague, Mr. Tony Owana (I think he is a manager or something at UBC )placed a call asking me to speak to him about something.

When I inquired who it was, he told me it was a one Mr Frank Gashumba.

I asked him, ‘but why, and about what’?

He told me not to be arrogant and said that he had been tasked to convey a message thanking me for the very wonderful work I was doing with my pen!

Oh, I was elated. He then told me to try to trace him for some pennies-which I never did by the way.\

So some few more months passed by before we could meet with Frank. But one day I heard a car hooting viciously at me at Parliament Avenue-those days I was stationed at Bauman house doing research work with some members of parliament.  

When I stopped I saw a familiar face smiling at me. Oh, it was Mr Gashumba.

Although we had never met before in person, I was shocked that he could simply picked me out of the crowd on a busy day on Parliament Avenue, even when we had never met before!

And we had a wonderful chat of people who had met so many years.

My first impression of him was that he was very, very intelligent. Although I can be very talkative, I ended up doing the listening rather than the talking instead.

He spoke so fast and was a bit more confident than most people you find around town.

In fact I was shocked at the level of pride and self-confidence he exuded. For instance he told me that he will only feel satisfied if he finds more than a billion shillings on his account!

We parted ways, but some few months later he was in the news about the abused child Aisha Nabukeera whom he later adopted. His charity actions endeared me to him so much.

 I was also very inspired by the way he had brought up his celebrity daughter, Sheila, as a single father, just like I was then-(I still regard him as one of the best single fathers this country has ever had).

 Later on we met again at Raja chambers at the offices of our then new online publication The Investigator owned by Mr. Stanley Ndaula.

The Need For The Third Force

This time I was bitter with him about why he was doing political activism without a political address.

It must be recalled that much as Gashumba later allied with FDC’s Kiiza Besigye ,  at first he was a freelancer political activist of some sorts without a known political affiliation.

In other words, he was talking politics without a ‘vehicle’ that would translate that political activism into a deliverable to the masses.

I tried to lecture him about the need for a fresh political dispensation-I mean forming a political party of some sorts with people of fresh ideas like him.

I told him about the need for a third force to champion the cause for a new Uganda. The third force I was talking about is about the emergence of Ugandans who don’t subscribe to the current and old parties like DP, UPC, FDC, JPAM or NRM.

So I thought his brilliance was a big asset for the third force.

Oh, he exclaimed! And you think that can work out Museveni’s Uganda?

I said yes it can, if we agree to work to0gether with very many like-minded people around the country..

I actually told him that most of the independent MPs in parliament belong to the third force.

But he dismissed my idea as nonstarter by reasoning that people are into the political game for money rather than propagating a citizen agenda. I felt betrayed because I wanted to start forging alliances with people of my generation like him to push a political agenda.

I met Mr. Gashumba again on Kampala road at Nandos, and this time I interested him to the idea of starting a media publication.

My view was that he had a big circle of influential people who can sustain a media publication.

He seemed to buy the idea but promised to get back to me and we discuss about the issue.

I have since lost contact with him apart from a few inbox messages which we use interact now and then.

But to be honest with you, Gashumba was supposed to be one of the brilliant politicians of our times if the political environment was different from what it is today.

He has the gravitas to create a charismatic political personality in the mold of Julius Marema in South Africa or my friend and brother Bobbi wine.

But he seems to be a wasted entity that has evaporated with the longevity project of president Museveni.

Stanley Ndaula 

Add caption

Stanley Ndaula is another very bright chap who can rise to the helm of our national politics if the environment permits. He is one of the most charismatic and generous person I have ever met in my life.

When we were working with him at The Redepper , he was in charge of the crime desk while I did the political editor and at the same managing the military desk-yes I used to write about war and the Ugandan military.

I was humbled to realize that he (Stanley) was a very humble chap, -he introduced me to humbling terms like owekitibwa , seboo etc.

At that time I was a very arrogant chap- I couldn’t differentiate between my bosses and colleagues of my level-I used to bash my directors.

And he would take me aside and tell me thus ‘’gwe kamwada tomanyi nti oyo mukama wo’’

Having been bought up from the ghetto, I used to just bump around without regard for hierarchy.

Later on when things got a little comfortable for him, I sold him the idea of starting our own publication.

We used to meet at café ballet and chat about how we could run our own newspaper.

Later on in 2013, he gave me a call and told me that it was time to start our ‘thing’.

That is how we started The Investigator with him.

One thing that will surprise you about Stanley is that he seems to know every influential person in  this country. Although I was borne here in town, Stanley shocked me how he came to Kampala in 1996!.

But you would wonder how he has managed to become richer and to know more influential people!

This shows you how brilliant Stanley is.

When he started writing about the inadequacies of the Uganda police I got very worried and implored him to stop or watch his back.

But he went ahead to even critic Gen Kale Kayihura – whom I know to be his very close friend!

Now this is paradoxical!

Now since everything is before court I will not subjudice this court case. But what I know is that Stanley had backup Infor for everything he wrote.

My relief is that at least he has been subjected to a judicial process rather than a hitman sniper of some sorts, as we had feared.

Conclusion

I think the likes of frank Gahsumba and stanley Ndaula are an example of the very many brilliant people who have been submerged by president Museveni’s longevity project.  If we had peaceful political transition, a new government would require the brains of brilliant people like my aforementioned colleagues.

By the way Stanley Ndaula is actually a minister of one  of the monarchies in this country which justifies his leadership potential.

But because president Museveni has been stuck in power with the same ideas and worse of all with the same team of people for the last thirty years, we have not got the opportunity to know of so many brilliant young men out there who can serve this country in many different capacities.

Instead most of these brilliant fellows have invested their time in critiquing a regime which seems to have failed to reform.

 Most of them have resorted to commentating about the state of affairs in the country because the current regime has eaten up space for them to contribute. In the end they end up in jail because of the bickering with the state. ends

Fred Daka Kamwada is a blogger and can be reached on kamwadafred@gmail.com

The Alternative View ;Why The Age Limit Is Too Weak To Deter President Museveni’s Longevity Project

The Alternative View ;Why The Age Limit Is Too Weak To Deter President Museveni’s Longevity Project

The age limit is the easiest obstacle he has ever faced in his quest to keep power

Immediately after the 2016 elections, the age limit debate picked momentum amongst the Ugandan political elites.

Why? Because it was the only remaining obstacle to president Museveni’s continued stay at the helm of this country.

Almost the entire intellectual class was of the view that the age limit clause 102 (B) had to be maintained to create a more predictable political transition in a country that had seen chaotic change of power from one leader to another.

But I quickly realized that although the desire to maintain article 102 of the constitution was strong and passionate, it was logically too weak to hold the ground, if subjected to thorough critical reasoning.

My view was that the grounds for its amendment were far stronger than against the amendment.

Because, one; it was and has never been a tenet of democracy

Two; it is not part of the democratic practice in developed countries.

Three; it infringes on the right of the young people below 35 years and above 75 years from exercising their democratic right to contest for the highest office in the land.

Four; it can easily be regarded as a discriminatory constitutional clause which is in contravention of the laws regarding labor which states that no single individual will be discriminated against on the basis of tribe, religion or age , in the process of offering himself for work.

Therefore, I was of the view that it was a very easy clause to strike out of the constitution. In fact it much easier to remove than the term limits.

Embarrassing m7 ?

The only concern was that it was going to embarrass president Museveni who was once interviewed saying that he never thought that it was feasible for him to continue ruling beyond 75 years.

But at it turns out today , it seems president Museveni’s utterance of not vying for power after clocking 75 years is becoming a very small contradiction.

And in any case, one can say, that leaders contradict themselves all the time as long as the contradiction doesn’t break the law, it can be permissibly waved off.

Actually one person once said that good leaders are those ones who tell a lie to fit the circumstances-as long as it creates a semblance of harmony. While a bad leader is the one who tells the truth and it results into trouble!

In fact, the momentum to clear out that statement has grown, with most Museveni enthusiasts saying that president Museveni’s statements are not enough to affect the position of the party.

Yes, the party can overrule the position of their chairman. Therefore alth0ugh president Museveni argued that he wouldn’t vie for the presidency beyond 75years, the party has decided to overrule him and forced him to stand again in 2021.

Uganda in chaos with M7?  

Now, there are those who reason that president Museveni’s continued grip on power will plunge the country in anarchy.

But when you interrogate that argument closely you will find an interesting answer that perhaps the situation might even get worse if president Museveni vacates power.

One; because there are no guarantees that when Museveni steps down, the leader who will come after him will not make dangerous decisions that can plunge the country in chaos.

Two; secondly, there is a possibility that since Museveni has presided over a militarized group for over forty years , this same group can easily undermine the group that will take over from him.

Thirdly;, the argument about pacifying and containing possible uprisings (the kogikwatako , or togikwatako group)that can emerge when Museveni continues in power is weak since he has been containing more dangerous military groups (ADF, LRA, JOSEPH KNOY ETC )than these kogikwatakos.

M7 Enjoys Challenges

Even then, if you have been veryu inquisitive enough you should have noticed that president Museveni has spent all his life fighting one obstacle after another. The obstacles have not only been military in nature but also procedural as well.

And in any case, Ugandans should know that Museveni enjoys these challenges more than they think.

When you talk of kogikwatako, and you even threaten, you are playing directly in his hands. Those are the sort of things he wishes to find on the menu.

When Col Kiiza Besigye talked of unleashing a tsunami, president Museveni waited for the tsunami, but it never materialized.

WHAT NEXT FOR UGANDA?

At the moment, the people of Uganda will have to bear with what the Ugandan parliament will deliberate.

If they manage to amend the constitution and indeed amend article 102 ( as expected )that paves way for president Museveni to contest again in 2021, then Ugandans will have to take the following measures.

One; agitate for constitutional reforms with particular emphasis on instituting an independent electoral commission.

Two; the reforms should also include the idea of coming up with an independent judiciary which is not directly appointed by the president.

Thirdly; they should also agitate for a probable power sharing arrangement, in case of a political stalemate, of let’s say when an election gets closely controversial (like it was in 2001 and 2006 when the constitutional court ruled that there were irregularities in the elections but they were not substantial enough to warrant the overturning those particular elections) , then a power sharing arrangement should be instituted.

Fourth; the power sharing component should also include an element of accommodating the second runner up in government as the leader of opposition in parliament rather the current system which is ambiguous and almost insignificant, to say the least.

Once you have the runner up is co-opted as leader of opposition in parliament, it might certainly create a semblance of political harmony in the country.

Fifthly; we should crusade for the trimming of the powers wielded by the president because that’s where all the troubles originate from. Why should the president appoint all the critical leaders of the  critical institutions in the country?

Sixth; we should also agitate for a parliamentary system which will make the power with most members of parliament to form government. This will reduce on the political tension in the country which has been created by the presidential system.

IN CONCLUSION

I think , if there is anything that you can call an obstacle to president Museveni’s continued stay in power then I don’t think its article 102 because it’s too weak to block him.

In our next blog we shall deliberate on why Museveni is still clinging firmly on power.

The Author, Fred Daka Kamwada Is A Ugandan Blogger and proponent of the THRID FORCE ,, you can chat him up at kamwadafred@gmail.com

Succession Talk; Pertinent Reasons Why Gen Salim Saleh Can Succeed President Museveni As Ugandan President

Succession Talk; Pertinent Reasons Why Gen Salim Saleh Can Succeed President Museveni As Ugandan President

Gen Saleh's brand is powerful enough to fit the presidency

During the bush war that rocked Uganda in the mid 1985, there emerged an interesting scenario; a faction of the UNLA led by Gen Tito Okello had shockingly Overthrown President Apollo Milton Obote’s UPC Government and were stuck because they ‘seemed not to know’ what to do with the reins of power.

The Okellos (Brigadier Bazilio and Gen Tito) therefore opted to call upon the NRA rebel group and other factions to come to Kampala and join in forming the next government. Gen Tito Okello particularly called upon comrade Yoweri Museveni to stop fighting but join the new government in kampala.

But at that time, July 1985, the Okellos never knew that Museveni was not in the bushes of Luwero but had traveled to Sweden where his family was holed up.

So who was in charge of the command and control of the NRA rebel group?

The man in charge was a 25 year old youthful rebel leader called Salim Saleh also officially known as Caleb Akandwanaho.

Gen Saleh during the bush-war

Soon after realizing that Museveni was not on the ground to heed radio communications to join them in a power sharing arrangement,  the military junta  focused on convincing this 25 year old NRA commander to abandon war  and join the new system in Kampala.

It’s not clear what went on in Salem Saleh’s mind, but it was clear that he had the capacity to make a decision that would have changed the course of the NRA bush war in particular and Uganda’s history in general.

Apparently, it’s safe to suggest that if Saleh had made that grave decision to join the Okellos, maybe Museveni would never have become president of Uganda!.But that is a matter of absolute conjecture.

The brutal truth is that Saleh’s patience worked in Museveni’s favor, and enabled him to return  from Sweden and arrived in the bush in early August 1985 and assumed command of the NRA.
Four months later, the NRA stormed Kampala and took over power from the Okello junta.

Its 31 years since Museveni became Ugandan president, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Threats On Museveni's Life 

It was not the first time that saleh had played a pivotal role in securing Museveni out of irrelevance.

 Soon after the 1980 elections, some elements within the UPC government had wanted to eliminate Yoweri Museveni-because he had promised to wage war if UPC won the elections.

The plot to capture and probably kill Yoweri Museveni was rumoued to have been hatched by the UPC holy trinity comprising of Paulo Muwanga, Oyite Ojok And Chris Rwakasis.

On his part president Obote underestimated Museveni’s capacity to wage a successful war and chose to ignore plans to eliminate him at that point.

 But Paulo Muwanga And Chris Rwakasis insisted that Museveni must be either jailed or eliminated completely to avert the possibility of war.  

SO Maj Gen Oyite Ojok ordered for the capture of Museveni who was therefore intercepted at a roadblock at kireka.

But it was a 21 year old Salim Saleh together with Fred Rwigyema who managed to rescue Museveni from the kireka road block which had looked like the end of the road for a man who would later rule Uganda for three decades and more.

Later Saleh paid for his loyalty with a detention in Moroto barracks (I will narrate the whole story in the next blog about how Saleh was almost killed in Moroto).

After that kireka incident, Museveni realized that he had no option but to fight for his freedom.

The Turning Points 

Those two close shave incidents, (when Saleh rescued Museveni as kireka roadblock in 1981 and when he had to make a decsion on either to join the Okellos military government in 1985), turnout to be the turning points regarding Museveni’s relevance in Ugandan politics.
if saleh had not rescued museveni from the kireka roadblock ,there is a high chance he would have been killed.
likewise is Saleh had decided to join the Okellos , the NRA would have faded into oblivion. 

Yet the man (Salim Saleh) who oversaw those TWO CRITICAL incidents is never mentioned anywhere when it comes to the succession debate in Uganda.

What am I trying to say?

Am saying that under normal circumstances, and holding the other factors constant (citerus peribus) Gen Salim Saleh is the man who deserves to be the next president of Uganda

He is the man who has played the most critical role in setting the ground for the success and continuity of the NRM revolution.

Although the Ugandan constitution provides for the vice president to succeed the president, the most acknowledged and most popular choice for the Ugandan presidency right now, is none other Than Gen Salim Saleh.

Although he has been making underground contribution especially in the field of wealth creation, Saleh has managed to quietly build a powerful countrywide appeal to become president of Uganda.

Saleh has the social capital to convince Ugandans from all corners of the country to an extent that even the enemies of the NRM have a secret admiration for him.

For instance LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony named his first son Salim Saleh out of respect for the humble UPDF general.

Saleh built his name through his bravery, humility, sincerity and generosity.

BRAVERY

We have already mentioned the two acts of bravery which Saleh undertook before, during and after the bush war.

Bu there is another risky mission when he used a chopper to land in enemy territory to meet the rebels that culminated into a peace agreement between the Ugandan government and the UPDA rebel group.  Although the rebellion never ended entirely it scaled down to manageable proportions.

 Generosity

Most Ugandan normally talk about president Museveni’s generosity without realizing that it was salim Saleh who pioneered that concept-of giving out whenever a need arose.

Saleh’s generosity created a gravitas to an extent of being a darling of both the opposition and neutrals within the Ugandan society.  

SINCERITY

Saleh has not been without scandals of his own but has faced them with unbelievable honesty and amazing sincerity.

For instance when he got entangled in the chopper scandal, he openly admitted that he got a bribe of $80,000 from the European firm that sold military choppers but was wiling to refund it to government. In fact he also suggested that a plea bargain approach should be adopted to recover money from corrupt officials which was rejected.

Yet many government officials swindle money and only serve prison sentences but without returning the money to state coffers.
The Saleh Brand 

Although some Ugandans claim to be tired of the NRM system , many of them are not hostile to gen Salim Saleh. Infact Saleh is the most marketable brand from the NRM that can be easily sold to most Ugandans around the country at the moment.
in fact saleh's presidential bid provides a win-win incentive because even president Museveni himself would feel much safer with him than with any other Ugandan president
PRECEDENCE

Saleh’s presidential bid is not without precedence. In Cuba, Fidel Castro stepped down to pave way for his brother Raul Castro, who has performed very well so far.

In Malawi the late president Bingu Wa Mutharika passed away paving way for his brother Peter Wa Mutharika to takeover.

CONCLUSION

Therefore as Ugandans speculate and counter-speculate about whether president Museveni should run again in 2021, after lifting the age limit, they should also think of a good option of having Gen Salim Saleh for the Ugandan presidency.

The Author Fred Daka Kamwada Is political analyst and Blogger