Big Interview: "We are suffering because Museveni appointed incompetent people to cabinet"

The high cost of living, a widening budget deficit, corruption and growth uncertainties continue to blot President Museveni's sixth term in office.

In an interview with The Nile Post, David Kabanda, MP Kasambya County, said some of these issues affecting Ugandans such as prices of commodities would have been addressed a long time ago if the head of state had appointed competent people to work with.

 Excerpts below:

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The people of Kasambya have for a long time decried land grabbing and evictions. How are you handling these issues?

Kasambya in particular is okay for now because before we had many challenges. You used to read many stories about Mubende where we used to have a lot of issues as far as land is concerned. Land evictions, land grabbers, these used to happen in the past and since we entered into leadership, we have tirelessly worked to ensure that we address such issues.

It has stopped and we are now looking forward to seeing that our people get what we call land ownership. Those who came to Mubende have been encroaching on people’s land. We had those challenges in the past and now I think they have reduced. We have had engagement with our people on a number of issues.

Could these issues be some of the reasons why you stood up for the MP seat?

Many people join politics because they think there is money in politics. Many people joined politics because they think you can retire from politics. I joined politics because it is my passion. I have been a politician since childhood.

I contested for national leadership when I was 20 years old to become the secretary for the National Youth Council and I won. So I went back to the constituency because I had seen what my predecessor had done. 

I saw many challenges that our people were facing that my predecessor didn’t address. Those are some of the reasons I stood up to run for the MP not because I wanted the job, not because I wanted money. 

What kind of a politician would you like to be as you continue to represent the people of Kasambya?

I just want to create a difference between leaders and people who are looking for jobs. I am not looking for a job. I am an MP for a purpose. Many people may want to criticise you, that is why for me I have always told people many times, whether you are NRM, you make a mistake, I will tell you off even if you are my president. Even Bobi Wine, or Besigye you make a mistake I will tell you off.

In your view, what can government do to address the issue of rising prices of commodities ?

You have seen what is happening in Tanzania, you have seen what happened in many other countries. It is not only in Uganda. We have been getting most of these things from Ukraine and Russia. Like America used to buy gas from Russia but you know what happened, the president of the United States had to instruct his people to go into the reserves to look for fuel and gas.

The government has not addressed this issue and has not come up to explain to the citizens as to why this is happening.  The other day I was watching my president, I believe he didn’t address this well, never at all. Ugandans need to be explained to. We used to have reserves. You have to come and explain to the people what happened. How come UPDF is not starving when it comes to fuel? 

How come the government ministries and agencies are not affected [by high fuel prices]. When we were hit by Covid-19, you saw the ministry of Relief, disaster and Preparedness. People should go back and interpret the name of that ministry. If we have such a ministry what has it done to address this issue? I think the government has not come out well to explain to its citizens as to why this issue is still the way it is.

Does this mean that the president doesn’t care about Ugandans?

The country is not run by one individual called the president. We have the prime minister, we have the Parliament, we have ministers. The president chose to work with incompetent people. They are not even advising him. You remember during Covid-19, the president was an expert, you mean he studied Covid-19. It is because competent people were given the jobs. Incompetent people have been given the jobs to manage the country.

Some say Museveni is not 'advisable.'

I have given you life examples of Covid-19 whatever he was told, it was what he used to tell the country. Those who followed SOPs many of them survived the pandemic because he {the president} followed the advice of the competent people he had given the job.

We had Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, Dr. Diana Atwine. Whatever he advised the country, he was not getting from his head. What do you expect from this cabinet? He [Museveni] is the one to blame because he chose incompetent people to do the jobs. How come that the president does not appoint incompetent people to be commanders of UPDF. How come that he doesn’t just appoint anybody to be Chief of Defence Force or Inspector General of Police? He can’t because he knows that person has not gone through enough training to be in that position. He takes the army very seriously.

In your view, do you think Dr. Kizza Besigye's recent protest against the high prices of commodities is reawakening the opposition?

 When you see what Besigye is doing, it is not about the prices of commodities. He is clearly telling Ugandans that people we entrusted with the job of the opposition are sleeping. Besigye is reclaiming his position in the opposition. He is indirectly attacking the National Unity Platform. He is simply looking for a way to come back to reoccupy his space. There is nothing like high prices of commodities. This shows that if Bobi Wine had won the presidency, they would have overthrown him because he failed to manage opposition. Besigye is telling him to wake up which means even if he was {the president of this country} they would have overthrown him.

You said you will support President Museveni come 2026 if he expresses interest to contest again. Don’t you think it is long overdue for someone else to take over the mantle?

 It is not about stepping aside. It is not about transfer of power to another person, it is about who can still defeat the opposition for us. As long as he says I am still here and he is able to score I have no problem with him. If my team can no longer win with a coach, we fire him. If your team can still win with that couch, you renew his contract. 

What is your relation with Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba because you have been so close to him these recent days?

Muhoozi is so inspirational to me, he is so inspiring. As a son of the head of state, he could have chosen many other things to do such as business or travelling abroad like other first sons but he chose to join the army. That army is not a joke you have to suffer. If a son of the head of state chose that path he is inspiring Ugandans. He is somebody who has been there and hit by sunshine, people abuse him and he doesn’t care.

Since you are close to him, do you think he has presidential ambitions?

I don’t know because he has never told me that he wants to be the president but according to how he has inspired me, I believe he can be a good leader. If somebody can sing and you believe he can be the president of this country, what about the other person who has been protecting Ugandans? People have been voting for Kyagulanyi on what ground? Because he has inspired people through music. What about this one who has been surviving bullets? What criteria should people base on to decide on who should be the president?

Does the 11th Parliament have the capacity to check the powers of the executive because many people think it’s under the armpits of President Museveni?

 This is the first Parliament ever in the history of Uganda to have rejected a proposal brought by the president in a caucus. We rejected the proposal to deny bail [to capital offenders]. He explained and we said no. He brought the coffee issue, we said no. This was the first time the president asked ‘I have been here, I have never found such resistance, what kind of caucus is this?’ Members shouted. I believe this is the People's Parliament and if the age limit thing came in this parliament, it would be a struggle.