Katikkiro Mayiga's "praise" of Museveni triggers backlash

The lavish "praise" of President Museveni's government by the Buganda Katikkiro, Charles Peter Mayiga during a session of the Lukiiko yesterday has attracted social media backlash, with some people saying the Katikiiro had strayed into unchartered waters.

Mayiga told members of the Lukiiko that Museveni's government was far better than that of Idi Amin and Dr Milton Obote in many respects.

"The truth is that in many ways, NRM is far better than Amin and Obote. If one does not know, he has not studied history," the Katikkiro said according to the Daily Monitor.

He said both Obote and Amin were "failures" who did not uplift Uganda to the standards of Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia, countries that are said to have been at the same level of development as Uganda in the 1960s.

Some people have opined that Mayiga's comments were sarcastic and ought not to be taken on face value.

In fact, for effect, Mayiga put a qualifier that "it would be wrong to compare the different regimes because they represent different eras."

While it is not immediately clear prompted Mayiga to make the comparisons, cynical or not, one thing that is clear is that he is not having it easy on social media.

On his Facebook wall, Ronald Muhinda, a political assistant to Dr Kizza Besigye said Mayiga appeared to have forgotten so quickly that he had been a victim of the government.

Muhinda was alluding to the 2008 kidnap of Mayiga and other Buganda figures, Medard Ssegona and Betty Nambooze on charges of terrorism.

In a letter to Kabaka following the arrest, Museveni accused the Mengo ministers, including Mayiga, of "breach of the Constitution by causing disaffection (kukyayisa) against the ruling NRM."

Since he became Katikkiro in 2013, Mayiga has embarked on a process of repairing the relationship between Mengo and the central government, something that attracted mixed reactions.

Fred Collins said Peter Mayiga was a pure Muganda for he knows that he does not talk while eating.

Mathias Mpuuga, the Masaka Municipality MP said people ought to have understood the usage of the language and the context Mayiga in which made the comments.