President Yoweri Museveni has lifted the lid on his relationship with former Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi and how he was able to dismantle the structures constructed by the once most powerful minister in the NRM government.
A few years to the 2016 general election, Mbabazi and Museveni fell out, prompting the latter to sack Mbabazi who was then referred as the super minister from his government and was also ousted from his position as the NRM Secretary General.
During the general election, the former Prime Minister who stood against his former boss was billed as being powerful due to structures he had created during his days as the NRM Secretary General but he lost miserably.
On Tuesday the youth leaders from Acholi sub-region at a meeting held in Kitgum asked President Museveni to give each of them at least five million shillings to enable them start income generating projects.
However, speaking in response, Museveni said money is the cause of most problems. He said it is because of money that he was able to destroy Mbabazi in 2016.
“When you are budgeting food in hunger, you should be very careful because if you budget only for the leaders, then the followers will say those people are eating a lot and it is a landmine,”Museveni said.
Museveni said that the problem with some leaders is eating when their followers have not eaten, a situation he said has led to collapse of many great leaders.
“If you want to lead people for a long time, never eat when they (followers) have not eaten. My experience is that if you eat alone, it is very risky. I managed to destroy Mbabazi in 2016 that way. He went and gave money to some leaders and I got the information,” the President told the NRM youth leaders.
“I went and told their followers that these people have gotten money and are eating it alone. That was the end of Mbabazi. Be careful on that line. The correct way is you to be part of your people.”
Museveni told the youths that even if the money to give out to each of the youth leader, it would be a crime doing it during election time, saying it would be considered as voter bribery.
“Now that we are in election period, even if I was to give you the money, it would actually be a big problem because they would take it as a bribe. I know the opposition are doing that but they will destroy themselves. You just wait. You will see what will happen to them.”
“My advice is that for now, let us use money in the emyooga but after elections, we can put more money in capital but as a revolving fund but not on individual level.”
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