Succession Talk Exclusive: Inside the private meeting between Muhoozi, Saleh and Otafiire 

In December last year, a ‘cold war’ erupted between first son Gen.Muhoozi Kainerugaba and Minister for Internal affairs Rtd Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire, and their respective camps. 

The exchange of words started when Gen.Muhoozi criticised the party led by his father and President Yoweri Museveni. The Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations said he does not believe in the National Resistance Movement (NRM), noting that it is a reactionary organisation.  Gen Kainerugaba had just been promoted to the highest military rank in the UPDF. 

On his personal twitter account Muhoozi on a Friday evening tweeted,  “I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe in my father, General @KagutaMuseveni. I certainly do not believe in NRM. In Marxist terms it is probably the most reactionary organisation in the country.” 

The General went on to tweet that it was time for ‘his generation’ to take over Uganda. 

This did not go well with some of the senior members of the NRM including the current Internal affairs Minister Rtd Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire. While speaking to the media, the retired General said that it is up to the NRM to stick to Museveni, or choose another person. 

He added that the comments by the First Son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba are inconsequential and “his business”. “That is his business, he is entitled to his opinion. For us who are rational and understand him (Museveni) have said we still want him in charge,” Otafiire vowed.

According to some NRM party leaders, the public comments between Muhoozi and Otafiire were displaying a bad image of leadership and NRM itself. This prompted President Museveni to call for a meeting between his son Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and Rtd Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire, that would be chaired Gen Salim Saleh, Museveni’s brother.

In his phone call to Gen Saleh, Museveni said ‘this is not good for NRM.’

Upon being told about the meeting in Kapeeka, Maj Gen Otafiire seemed hesitant even though he didn’t address his concerns for hesitation to Gen.Saleh. In NRA/M seniority Otafiire is considered No.2. President Museveni’s rank right from the bush war is RO/0001 and the closest to him is Rtd Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire who is RO/00014. The rest in between - all are deceased. These are RO/0002 (Honorary) Brig Eriya Tukahirwa Kategeya, RO/0003 Capt. William ‘Black’ Mwesigwa, RO/0004 Capt. Valeriano Rwaheru, RO/0005 Capt. Martin Mwesiga, RO/0006 Lt. Mpima Wukwu “Kazimoto”, RO/0007 Lt. Malibo Abwooli, RO/0008 Lt. James Karuhanga, RO/0009 Capt. James Birihanze, RO/00010 Capt. Laiti Omongin, RO/00011 Maj. Ahmed Seguya, RO/00012 Maj. Fred Nkuranga Rubereza,  RO/00013 Capt Wilson Mwangisi. 

D Day

On the December 23, 2022, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba boarded a chopper from Entebbe to Kapeeka, at Gen Saleh’s residence, while Maj Gen Otafiire drove to the same venue. Apart from the three generals, in the meeting was the Director Crime Intelligence AIGP Brig Christopher Damulira, Kwame Ruyondo and Andrew Mwenda, close friends to Gen Muhoozi, Emmy Alliyo, Deputy Director General External Security Organisation (ESO) and Col. James Nkojo, the military assistant to Gen Salim Saleh. 

Museveni’s letter

The meeting was supposed to begin at 11am, but Maj Gen Otafiire arrived two hours late, some of the attendees say this was to demonstrate power. The meeting starts 13 minutes past 1pm, with a review of President Museveni’s paper on the matter. Museveni, prior the meeting, had written a paper on how the meeting should proceed; a guideline to the discussions. Museveni in the document outlines that the fighting between senior UPDF/NRM leaders and attacking each other publicly doesn’t look good out there. 

He acknowledges that the problem here is succession and further states that if senior UPDF/NRM leaders have quarrels publicly, it undermines public and investor confidence fearing that the country is unstable to handle succession in a mature way. He urges the attendees of the meeting that succession should be discussed internally not publicly. 

In the same document, Museveni says that beyond succession, there are more pressing issues leaders should be concerned with such as Patriotism, EAC integration and PanAfricanism. 

 

The meeting begins

As all attendees review the letter by the president, Vice President emeritus Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi arrives in Kapeka unannounced. 

Former VP Ssekandi had come to talk to Gen Saleh about his concerns on how NRM is losing its grip on Buganda. But this meeting didn’t last long. 

Gen Saleh sits at the edge of the table facing the entrance and chairs the meeting. Dressed in a blue shirt, black jeans and brown boots, Gen Muhoozi sits on the left hand side  of his Uncle, Saleh. Maj Gen Otafiire dressed in a floral shirt with a brown jacket and sporty shoes sits on the right hand side on Saleh, and opposite Gen Muhoozi, the rest follow. 

Otafiire acknowledges the President’s concerns written in the paper and goes on to inform the meeting of the first time he met Gen Muhoozi is when he was a one year old baby in the days of trying to build resistance against the ruling government then, and therefore he felt undermined by the comments Muhoozi had uttered publicly about NRM. Andrew Mwenda interjects and poses a question to Otafiire, ‘If Muhoozi had done something wrong, why attack him publicly? As a senior leader, did you make any effort?’

Meanwhile the meeting turns out to be accusation after the other. Gen Saleh keeps guiding the meeting to focus on the bigger picture like the president had guided, to avoid controversy and clashes. He then interjects. ‘Let’s look forward and not backward,’ Saleh says. Maj Gen Otafiire agrees with Gen.Saleh’s position. ‘’Let’s coordinate or else we will crash,’ Otafiire says. He goes on to launch thorough criticism of NRM especially how it is losing its grip on young people and how it has diverted from its earlier plans when it had just captured power. 

Gen.Muhoozi now launches a thorough ‘missile’ of criticism on what has gone wrong in government generally. Poor infrastructure, corruption, poverty, young people disconnected from NRM, among others.  Maj Gen Otafiire agrees with Muhoozi that the government has lost the inability to address concerns of the young people. 

As debate develops, Gen.Muhoozi and Maj Gen.Otafiire find themselves on the same side. Gen Saleh gets disgruntled over the criticism and ends up defending government. 

What initially was a fight that needs to be resolved, ends up as an alliance of forces on what has gone wrong inside NRM and government at large.  The meeting ends with all in agreement that there should not be any public fights among leaders who should be exemplary. 

Attendees walkout of the meeting but Maj Gen Otafiire declines to take a picture with Gen.Muhoozi and his uncle Gen.Saleh, creating doubt whether what was agreed upon in the meeting will stick.