OPINION: What should "President" Muhoozi Kainerugaba do?
The understandable hysteria about the “Muhoozi project”, or Museveni’s secret plan to plant his son, Gen Muhoozi has his successor, has reached a crescendo, especially among the intelligentsia since the latter announced his retirement from the army, (Muhoozi Kainerugaba: A General retiring at 48: What next? – Nile Post 9thMarch 2022).
However, millions of ordinary Ugandans including yours sincerely, would not care an iota the family background of who rules Uganda, provide he or she rules by example, defending and promoting the rule of law.
Keep Reading
That means scrupulously defending the constitution and ensuring an even application of the law, which protects the innocent or punish the offender without exception on any ground.
Why?
Even the Commonwealth would not criticise Muhoozi for succeeding his father, nor threaten expelling Uganda from the organisation.
This is because Chapter 9 of the 1991 Harare Declaration does not bar the child of a president or pauper from becoming president.
Instead, it state unequivocally, that: “We pledge the Commonwealth and our countries to work with renewed vigour, concentrating especially in the following areas... democracy, democratic processes and institutions which reflect national circumstances.”
Uganda may be a founder-member of the now 54 Commonwealth member countries, but our national circumstances are fundamentally different to those of other sister member states such as Britain, Canada, Australia or even our next door neighbour, Kenya.
Realistically speaking, our current national circumstances favour none other than Gen Muhoozi to succeed Museveni.
Unlike Kenya, which became independent as one country, and is about to democratically elect their third president since Mwai Kibaki in 2003; Uganda was at independence made of four ancient Kingdoms and disparate anarchists in Kigezi in the west, Nilotics in the north, and the Nilo-Hamites in the east.
That birth defect explains why our democratic journey has been slower and more torturous than Kenya’s or Tanzania’s.
But “President” Muhoozi will have to steer a different path to the one his father has been following if he is to effectively and successfully lead Uganda to the next stage along the democratic route.
Unlike his father, who has by accident or default allowed corruption to take over the Movement Government and the country, Gen Muhoozi will have to confront the evil practice head-on.
Don’t ask me to substantiate this statement. Instead, read the Nile Post report, ‘This is not the NRM we started, brought to power, says Otafiire’ (21st Sept 2021)
“The NRM of 1986 and the NRM now are not the same. If the two were to meet, they wouldn’t recognize each other. There are many things that as pioneers we believed in and held dear but have now changed....
You find profiteers and all sorts of characters including criminals wearing the NRM t-shirt. Many of these conduct business in the name of NRM but with their own selfish interests.”
Gen Otafiire should have explained that the corrupt have taken over the NRM party and government because of the complete lack of the rule of law, which allows criminals, dressed in yellow and their associates in other colours to rob the nation with impunity.
The result is the appalling state of our social and economic infrastructures, especially health, education and law enforcement sectors.
Contrary to the constitution, law enforcement is now the bastion of violence and cash for justice, so bad Gen Otafiire is not the only bush war hero, who has complained about corruption.
Gen Museveni himself, the president and Commander in Chief of the NRA/M no less, has repeatedly lamented about corruption and torture.
Sadly, unknown to Museveni, the unprecedented level of corruption and torture is now blamed on all westerners, 90% of whom are not only totally innocent, but also just as poor, if not poorer than their counterparts in the north, east west and south.
No one sums up the level of hatred against the west in general and the Bahima in particular more dramatically than the former opposition heavyweight, now the IGG, Beti Kamya. She wrote in the Daily Monitor in 2008:
“Does one need a soothsayer to see that he (Museveni) is leading Uganda to a terrible genocide, with only one community eligible for State House Scholarship, lucrative jobs, land allocation, control of security organisations and the country’s finances for 20 years...
My appeal to influential Bahima, restrain Museveni, don’t let him do this to you, it is not sustainable, think of your children, think of the majority of Bahima who are not party to this madness, but who will pay the ultimate price when you the beneficiaries have fled..”, https://minbane.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/httpwp-mep1xtjg-2yr/
Against this background, history will not remember Gen Muhoozi has the men who succeed his own father as president of Uganda.
Rather, it will remember both Museveni and Muhoozi as the father and son of corruption and torture, who set Uganda on a slippery slope to self destruction.
Therefore, Gen Muhoozi has a unique opportunity not only save both his father’s legacy, but also to prevent the NRM from ‘ending up as Mobutu’s MPR’, according to Gen Otafiire.
To succeed, however, President Muhoozi will need more than his youthful comrades-in-arms, the 1990s intake, now dominating senior command positions.
The original NRA fighters such as Gen Muhwezi, Gen Otafiire to mention but two of the coolheaded former fighters, should be near to provide the relatively young president Muhoozi with vital support, advice and guidance.
Granted, a new broom sweeps better, but the old one knows all the corners.
In other words, the Muhwezis’ and Otafiires’ know where the country came from and it should be heading.
Sam Akaki
