Mark Bugembe, popularly known as Butchaman, has revealed that his role as a presidential advisor exists more on television screens than within the corridors of power.
Appointed in 2019 by President Museveni as Special Presidential Envoy on Ghetto Affairs, Butchaman was tasked with bridging the gap between State House and Uganda’s urban youth, a key voting demographic.
However, speaking during an appearance on Sanyuka Television on Tuesday, the self-styled “ghetto ambassador” said access to the President has remained largely elusive.
“For me, I advise the President just like I'm here on TV. They fought me and chased me from meeting him,” he said, describing himself as a “TV Presidential Advisor.”
Butchaman said unnamed individuals have allegedly blocked his access to State House, frustrating his efforts to directly brief the President on urban youth and ghetto-related issues.
“They are worried that if I meet the President, I could spill the secrets because I have the facts,” he claimed, suggesting that some officials fear his proximity to Museveni due to information he holds.
The singer did not name the individuals he accuses of engineering his isolation but said the obstruction has limited his effectiveness in the role he was appointed to serve.
Butchaman’s comments raise questions about the functionality of presidential advisory roles intended to connect government with key constituencies.
Museveni has more than 120 presidentail advisors who often take advice from him instead while some of those once sought to have unfiltered access to him such as the late Tamale Mirundi and the John Nagenda confessed they had no access to him.