When there is a serious national security issue, you can tell by the level of importance and aggression with which President Museveni addresses it. He will go to great lengths to deal with anything he deems a threat to national and regional peace. He finds great satisfaction in doing so.
Let me remind you that President Museveni—he, and only he, is the subject of my argument—is a man who is deliberately deliberate. We theologians have no problem with double emphasis, as it is common in Biblical Greek grammar and syntax.
Do you recall the day, during a national address, when President Museveni pulled out an electronic device to kill a mosquito, sparks and sound included? He then, with a large grin on his face, revealing his heart’s and mind’s satisfaction, said, “Eno tulwana nga bwe tukola,” meaning that on one hand, we fight as we work on the other.
Knowing Museveni as well as I do, I argue that this was not a random act in the heat of the moment. He had planned it—possibly the day he scheduled the TV appearance. He brought the handheld electronic device fully aware of the effect it would have, not only on the little bloodsucker that brings malaria but also on the optics of it all.
I may be liberal enough to argue that this seemingly trivial act carried a larger message. The killing of the mosquito was merely a means to a more significant end. The smile may have been one of satisfaction at seeing a well-designed, deadly mission executed with surgical precision.
In his mind, it must have been the equivalent of “Mission Complete.” This is the level at which Museveni operates and runs Uganda. Dr. Besigye credits him with being a strategic thinker of no ordinary measure.
With that background, one must seriously consider why Museveni appointed his son as Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), an institution he admires and trusts for both regional and national security.
Many do not realize the seriousness with which other nations, both regionally and globally, regard Uganda’s army. You may lazily argue that Gen. Muhoozi’s appointment is solely because he is the President’s son.
But if that were the case, why are his other children not in the army? If your defense is that they are girls, have you heard of Lt. Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso and Brig. Gen. Charity Bainababo? More importantly, why would Museveni, a strategic thinker, weaken his army by placing someone at its helm whose decisions and competencies he doubts?
Unless, of course, you believe you know Gen. Muhoozi better than his father does, which is highly unlikely.
This leaves us with few conclusions. Museveni and Muhoozi may be engaged in a strategic plan that we are ignoring, assuming we understand their motives.
The tweets of Gen. Muhoozi, which the President—sorry, the Commander-in-Chief—seems to deliberately ignore, may be part of this strategy. If they were a genuine concern for national and regional security, why has Museveni not dealt with them, given their regularity and increasing intensity?
We may be staring at an enigma while believing we understand what is happening. I recall the words of Gen. Salim Saleh when Gen Muhoozi assumed office. He stated that Muhoozi had been preoccupied with other things but assured us that “the man is now back.”
I do not claim to have answers, but I know many have been misled into thinking they comprehend the events unfolding before them. The truth behind the scenes remains far from what is visible to the public.
Only time will vindicate what I have said here.