Opinion: Besigye or Kyagulanyi cannot remove Museveni

Opinions

By Male H.Mabirizi K. Kiwanuka

On 7th October 2021, a day to our 49th Independence, two events happened in relation to Dr. Col. Kizza Besigye Kifefe (BESIGYE) and Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert (KYAGULANYI), who are both former presidential candidates in Museveni rogue elections.

At LDC Court, His Worship Alule Augustine Koma was presiding over a case of obtaining registration  (into Makerere University) by false pretence  where the accused, Kyagulanyi had skipped court leading to a finding that “Counsel for the accused submitted that the absence of the accused is because he was not served...I find this ridiculous and not true...” So, Kyagulanyi was found to be a dishonest man.

At Mengo, Besigye  was ‘elected’ Chairman of People’s Front for Transition (PFT) but no one knows how these ‘elections’ were organized, who competed with who, among others. This is no different from the way Kyagulanyi  was named President of his 'acquired' National Unity Platform Political Party. They both preach democracy but rise to opposition powers through means which do not amount to democracy.

Daily Monitor of November 11 2013 carried a headline ''Besigye: I won't contest in 2016'' in which he told Herbert Zziwa that ''First of all, as a person, I will not offer myself in an election organised by the dictatorship''. Just like Kyagulanyi  promised not to make a political party but later 'acquired' one, Besigye  indeed stood in 2016 elections, was 'sworn-in' and formed a ‘People's Government’. You therefore rely on what they both say at your own risk.

They both have a background of working with the dictator for several reasons:

In his youthful age, Besigye chose a violent route of challenging the then rogue Obote  regime in 1981 through participating at the High Level in the Museveni war that ended in 1986 killing close to a million Ugandans.

Until 1999, he worked tirelessly to entrench Museveni fascism through building a country-wide network of public servants serving individual Museveni interests and making them to be part of Museveni political outfit of 'Movement System'. These are now the Resident District Commissioners (RDCs).

On the other hand, in his search for wealth, Kyagulanyi  closely worked with the dictator ranging from meeting his close family, ministers and servants including making a U-turn on Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) illegalities perpetuated by Executive Director Jenifer Musisi by attending a highly billed Carnival despite his song against them.

He recently said that ''I met Saleh to invite him to my concert. On that same day, I met Dr. Kizza Besigye and he came through''. In turn, he got rich, became untouchable despite being the biggest drug addict Uganda has ever had spoiling many young people through false hopes that abusing drugs will make them shine like Kyagulanyi  leading them into insanity and lunacy.

A big question lingering in my mind is whether any of these two beneficiaries of the regime can successfully lead to its complete dismantling as we, the majority, who are opposed to it and have never benefited from it, aspire. A greater part of my mind says no.

Those are the two people whose teams have been exchanging sharp words, abuses, name it for the past 10 days yet indeed they are both similar in character and action.

But as the Luganda saying says ''Enjovu ebbiri wezirwanira obusubi bwebubonabona'' (where two elephants fight, it is the grass which suffers), many young people, most of whom have never benefited from the regime are fighting tooth and nail on either side of these elephants.

This fight is making it clearer that, may be, formal opposition under Museveni is profitable going by the energy and resources injected in by each side.

Fellow citizens, it does not take a politician to dislodge a dictatorship. The men and women who dislodged the French monarchy in 1789 were not politicians. In Zanzibar, it took a non-citizen, Okello, a casual laourer, to dislodge the dictatorship. Let each one of us concentrate on doing what is possible to overcome the junta as opposed to taking sides with those fighting for 'opposition' supremacy. The real opposition is the people of Uganda.

The writer is a lawyer and  a civically active Ugandan.

malehmkk@gmail.com 0701881231

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