The idea, it’s being alleged, was to fix his opponents, especially Dr Warren Kiiza Besigye. This view, especially considering that unlike the civil courts, the court martial is purportedly easy to push, deciding in favor of their Commander-in-Chief.

Returning to Justice Katutsi, he had on two different occasions, in 2005 and 2011 to be exact, dismissed two different sets of treason cases, and one case of rape that the State had instituted against Col Kiiza Besigye. The State had rolled out those charges immediately after Besigye had shortly thereafter, declared his bid to wrestle power from Museveni via elections.

The founder President of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) had just made a heroic return to the country following a four-year exile stint in South Africa, when the State slapped him with the said grave crime charges. A young woman, Joanita Kyakuwa, who had formerly worked as Besigye’s maid, was the complainant to the rape case.

While in the treason case, Besigye stood charged with using a mysterious rebel outfit staged by the State as People’s Redemption Army (PRA), to oust Museveni from power. Following his arraignment, Besigye was remanded to Luzira Maximum prison, potentially dealing a blow to his campaigns. But in a stunning turn of tables, Betty Olive Namisango Kamya, Besigye’s former blue-eyed special envoy at FDC, navigated her way into the Electoral Commission (EC) offices, picking the nomination forms on Besigye`s behalf.

Armed with the said documents, Museveni’s current Inspector General of Government (IGG), proceeded to prison, enabling Besigye to fill the said documents, hence securing his nomination as a candidate… During the hearing of the rape case, it came to light that Kyakuwa had curiously emerged from State House to purposely feature as a key witness to the case.

More curiously, before her court appearance, Kyakuwa had previously gone missing without trace from Besigye’s Kasangati home, only to, interestingly, end up at Museveni’s official home. Thereafter, Kyakuwa told court that she reported Besigye directly to Museveni. Of note, following her disappearance, her employer had launched into a frantic search to locate her, only to fail flatly.

Continuing with his evidence, Kyakuwa stated to court how Museveni, following a report she had made to him, personally instructed his then Police CID Chief, Elizabeth Kuteesa, to handle the case. Apart from handling her case, the female police officer controversially started a poultry business for Kyakuwa! She would curiously be kept at State House as a guest until she was finally unleashed by the State as a key witness to Besigye’s purported rape case.

In a dramatic turn of events, Besigye’s lead defense lawyer, Daudi Mpanga would meticulously expose Kyakuwa as a false witness. This is what the sharp legal mind did. First, he asked Kyakuwa to remove her head gear. Initially, she had hesitated to do so. But upon Katutsi’s insistence, she removed it from her head.

And, behold, It was finally established that whatever she had all along been stating to court was actually being communicated to her from outside the courtroom through her headgear. Mpanga’s stunning discovery was the last straw that literally broke the horse’s back. And Justice Katutsi dismissed all of the said cases, terming them as a “crude work of fabrication”.

Another set of treason charges were coined against Dr Besigye, following the 2021 election. This was after Besigye had declared himself the winner of that election. Despite the Besigye’s insistence that he be tried over those charges in order to table evidence and back up his purported victory, the State, possibly avoiding the embarrassment of being thrice floored by Besigye, abandoned the same.

Before that, in 2016, to be exact, the State had stunningly unleashed warlord Joseph Kony’s notorious commander, Thomas Kwoyelo with the view of linking Besigye to their globally blacklisted Lord’s Resistance Army terrorist group. But Justice Katutsi, upon sighting Kwoyelo standing in the dock, banged the table in protest and directed him to leave his court at once.

Remarkably, Justice Katutsi wondered how the State could use a man whose hands were dripping with blood of innocent Ugandans as a witness in a case that he said, had merely been made up with the view to block an innocent man from exercising his political rights. In conclusion, while Justice Katutsi has since retired from the judiciary, the State continues to this day and date, to grapple with how to secure a conviction against Besigye by either hook or crook.

Dr. Besigye, a longtime critic of President Yoweri Museveni’s administration, had sought Karua, a former Kenyan Minister of Justice, to lead his defense against charges of illegal possession of arms and ammunition. However, the Law Council, under Justice Mulyagonja, rejected Karua’s application. In her ruling, Mulyagonja dismissed Karua’s potential contributions as offering no “special skills” to the case, a decision that Karua swiftly rebuffed with a pointed critique.

Karua’s Rejoinder: A Question of Justice

Karua, known for her fiery independence and staunch advocacy for the rule of law, accused Mulyagonja of undermining Dr. Besigye’s fundamental right to a legal defense of his choice. “By denying my license, Justice Mulyagonja has obstructed access to justice,” Karua said in a statement. She suggested the move was part of a broader strategy to tilt the scales of justice against Dr. Besigye, who was controversially abducted from Kenya and brought to Uganda under unclear circumstances.

Karua’s rebuttal also poked fun at Mulyagonja’s legal history, alluding to her tenure as Uganda’s Inspector General of Government (IGG). “It appears old habits of bending justice for convenience die hard,” she quipped, highlighting what she called the “weaponization of legal technicalities” to stifle opposition voices.

The Besigye Cases: A Pattern of Contention

 Dr. Besigye’s legal troubles are not new. Over the years, the government has filed several high-profile cases against him, including treason and rape charges, many of which have been dismissed. This time, however, the charges seem to carry an undertone of political suppression, with speculation that the government may escalate the current arms charges to treason.

Sources close to the investigation allege the government possesses an audio recording of Besigye allegedly mobilizing for armed resistance against Gen. Museveni’s government. The accusations have drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders and human rights activists, who argue that the charges are fabricated.

Besigye himself has dismissed the army court proceedings as illegal, citing a constitutional court ruling barring military courts from trying civilians. While the Attorney General appealed the ruling, Uganda’s Supreme Court has delayed resolving the matter for over two years. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” Besigye remarked during a court appearance, calling the delays a calculated move to keep him entangled in legal battles.

Regional Fallout and Activist Uproar

The controversy surrounding Besigye’s trial has spilled beyond Uganda’s borders. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, joined the chorus of dissent, accusing the government of framing Besigye and demanding his unconditional release. Meanwhile, activists have taken the matter to the East African Court of Justice, alleging that both Uganda and Kenya violated international law in Besigye’s alleged cross-border abduction.

Government’s Defense: Security at Stake?

 Ugandan authorities remain steadfast, with Brigadier Felix Kulayigye, spokesperson for the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, asserting that the state has solid evidence linking Besigye to security threats. “This is not about politics but national security,” Kulayigye said in a televised address.

A Battle Far From Over

 The legal and political drama continues to unfold, with Karua’s sharp criticism adding fuel to an already raging fire. Observers suggest the case could have far-reaching implications for Uganda’s judiciary and its relationship with international human rights standards.

For now, all eyes remain on the courtroom, where the next chapter of this contentious saga will play out. Will Dr. Besigye’s defense overcome what many see as insurmountable odds, or will the government’s legal machinery prevail? Only time will tell.

That kind of thinking continues to occupy my mind up to the present day, since that first visual encounter with Tshisekedi. Matters have not been assisted by what he himself happens to state each time he would be confronted by the need to comment about, most notably, Rwanda and in a small measure, Uganda, as far as grooming the M23 rebels is concerned.

While he is fully entitled to his opinion regarding who grooms M23 rebels and much as he could be absolutely right about what he states, the delivery mode of such opinions is what I find itself recklessly unwise. If I were to be him, which am not, anyway, I would be using the known channels to communicate whatever misgivings I could be harboring against the two neighbors, other than standing there before cameras and journalists to burst into flames of ranting.

Gen. Paul Kagame of Rwanda, as well as Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda are obviously stronger militarily than their peer in DRC. The two men assisted Joseph Kabila Senior to overthrow Mobutu Kuku Wazabanga. They would thereafter also assist Col. Garanga and his rebels to overrun the forces of Gen. El Bashir and to finally secede from Khartoum and set up base in Juba.

The Whites put their hats off for Museveni after he shamed them by fighting off the terrorists in Somalia which feat, they had terribly failed to achieve during years of roaming Somalia and armed with much big arsenals than those of the man himself. Supposing he doesn’t go very slow on Museveni and his friend, Kagame, the two men could actually lose their cool and go ahead to upstage Tshisekedi as well.

Truth be told, the rebels of M23 are Tshisekedi’s own people and his own problem also. And not a problem for Rwanda, frankly speaking, where he seeks to let them go. Yes, they are Rwandese, but it’s also true they were born in DRC just as they are Congolese in France, but who are French by the fact they were born there. Tshisekedi himself pledged to absorb the rebels of M23 into the national army and because he renegaded on that pledge, they are now fighting to overthrow him.

Subsequently, he is better off using the political means to solve that problem which is obviously known to him than insisting on fighting as the rebels themselves continue to overrun territories inside DRC. The beauty with solving challenges which are political in nature by using means which are political, is that such wars would end up won without unnecessarily occasioning loss of lives, wastage of resources and such vital things.

Who knows, if at all Gen. Omar El Bashir had himself agreed to resettle the people of South Sudan who were clamoring to return home after years of loss of a national identity, other than fighting them, he would have possibly survived politically up to the present times. That even having been said and done, the final responsibility and obligation is squarely upon Tshisekedi to do what he thinks is right, just that he is better off warned that he should be ready thereafter, to take responsibility of taking whatever measure he would have taken.

The man known for spotting dreadlocks, would sprinkle his fighters with what he called holy water and other concoctions. Such useless charms would see the rebels attaining the fool’s guts. This, after the rebels had mistaken the charms for another wonder bullet proof. 

And this is how the poor souls would end up by blindly walking into the gunfire’s way! Sadly, and as we all know by now, highly learned people both here and from the diaspora, ended up being fooled by the illiterate Kony and his hot air stories!

Kony learned his trade from a relative known as Alice Lakwena. Lakwena was an obviously deranged woman. Nonetheless, the chaotic woman fooled hundreds of people into volunteering to stroll with her into the angel of death’s den! This is how she duped her victims; She told them that she was on a mission of fighting for the restoration of the Ten Commandments. And oh, how the easy-to-fool jumped on her bandwagon of death! 

This woman caused a huge chaos really. After fighting in the northern part of the country, she woke up one day and commanded her troops all the way from Acholi to Magamaga in the Eastern Busoga region. She must have deceptively convinced them how God had appeared to her and directed her to rise up and move to Kampala to upstage Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Why not? The woman had all along been purporting to be struggling on instructions from God! 

This is why probably, the naive people ended up by recklessly following the crazy woman on the mission impossible. In much the same way, a sheep would follow a slaughterer to the slaughter house! Well, Basoga rejected Lakwena and her funny war. This aided a great deal her eventual defeat at the hands of Museveni’s superior firepower.

Amin and Obote

During Idi Amin’s days, there emerged a certain kind of snake species. The reptiles were known as vipers. They are referred to as ‘Embalabasa’, in local dialect. Vipers were extremely venomous snakes. On spotting their victims, they would turn red with boiling anger. They would then proceed to fiercely pursue their targets. I don’t know why, but these snakes would upon missing their targets, amazingly break into two parts and die off! Could it be because they were bulging from boiling anger? I will never tell.

Upon spotting the vipers all over the place, the spin doctors went into overdrive. They claimed how Apollo Milton Obote who was next door in Tanzania struggling to upstage Amin, had now gone on and acquired the reptiles from some powerful black magic practitioners operating there. That; they went on…, the people of voodoo had stirred up the reptiles in order to make the work of Obote easy! Funny stuff, isn’t!

Just because Obote ended up by toppling Amin, majority of Ugandans believed the rather hot air tale! After all, the damn reptiles would, following the coup, disappear as faster as they had come in! One wily musician would even go on and compose a hit to spin the tale further.  He claimed how the vipers had ousted Amin in favor of Obote because the former had banned miniskirts! 

Yet when Obote himself hit the canvass, other cunning people composed a song claiming how the viper had attacked and horribly bruised the elder’s bum! Such baseless tales would see Ugandans frequenting Tanzania, and even to the present times, in pursuance of the so-called great men and women of black magic!

Iddi Amin

Looking to clothe himself into a veil of mystic power, former president Idi Amin Dada, used to tell his soldiers and opponents how he ranked only second to God! The eccentric leader would even brag about receiving visions from Allah. The Almighty, according to Amin, would appear in visions as the ones He used to have with him, to command him do this and that and to issue this and that decree!

He would spin up such funny stories by claiming further how he knew when he would die and the exact time when this would happen. The big daddy was, of course, telling these stories in order to demoralize his soldiers and other belligerent groups who were thinking of overthrowing him! After all, who would dare overthrow a man who was next to God in rank! And who, incidentally, knew when he would die and at what time of the day or night!

Well, a joint army of exiles never wanted to listen to what Amin was blabbering about. They routed the self-styled `life president` and even dumped him on the filthiest spot of the wastebasket of history!

Jamil Mukulu

Captured warmonger, Sheikh Jamil Mukulu lied to the Muslim Tabliq youths how what he was fighting was a Jihad war. The ADF rebel chief, would spin up such yarn of lies further by referring to the government in power as being one of infidels out to limit the influence of Islam. And how thoughtlessly the poor youths joined Mukulu’s fastest train to hell! They assumed what Mukulu was telling them to be the gosple truth. In any case, he was their Sheikh!  But only to end up losing dear lives to a senseless war! How callous!

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

During President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s bush war, a story of how the rebel leader was a Mchwezi personified, emerged and gained immeasurable currency. Historians record the Chwezi as top-notch fighters. Legend has it that these people carried supernatural powers in their DNA! And that they were using such clout to defeat whoever dared to attack them. And whichever kingdom they chose to raid.

Just the same, historians record how these `titans of fighters` were, following many years, finally defeated. Don’t believe for now, the story that these people merely vanished from the planet Earth, just like that! In a bid to attract appeal and widespread support, Museveni and his war planners coined the Mchwezi line in reference to the rebel chief. Such line was followed up by the story of how the rebel chief was possessed of mystical powers which could empower him to turn into a cat, leopard and things of that type!

This is also the time that the wanainchi were being treated to stories of how the rebel leader could easily walk on any street anywhere in Kampala. And or that he could eavesdrop any cabinet or military meeting anytime of his choosing! But that the government soldiers as well as spies would fail totally to spot him, let alone recognize him! Well, we don’t know the veracity or lack of it of these lines. Permit us to echo the maxim though, to the effect that in combat situations, truth is the first casualty.

Saddam Hussein

To scare off his foes, Iraq’s assassinated strongman, Saddam Hussein used to refer to himself as a descendant of king Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was a very, very great warrior. He reigned over what was then referred to as the Neo-Babylonian Empire more than 500 years ago before Jesus Christ happened on planet Earth. The Good News Book not only records Nebuchadnezzar as a great man, but also as an emperor who reigned for many years as well as built his empire into one of the greatest, in human history.

Now, whenever Saddam felt threatened, he would go and exploit his invented blood relations with Nebuchadnezzar. He would do this merely to scare off his adversaries from attacking him. But this lie would finally be laid bare when the US forces launched that legendary raid against Saddam the man. 

Not only did the US forces embarrassingly sent Saddam packing, they also went for the man in the hole where he had gone into hiding just as a timid rat would! Now this was really too shameful a scene for a man who had all along been bragging to be as potent as Nebuchadnezzar himself! 

The world would go on and watch with both awe and shock as the triumphant US forces dragged Saddam out of the hole just as a common thief! Just but to cut the long story short, Saddam’s tragic life story which wound up with his hanging by the rope, bear all the hallmarks of the historically recorded great collapse of an equally great city of Babylon!

Haile Selassie

The Rastafarian guy was a really great human being and emperor. So much that he ended up inventing the story of him hailing from the family of our Lord Jesus Christ himself! And his army of bootlickers around the world believed such falsehood. Selassie presided over the Ethiopian Empire. He is credited for having built his empire into a fortress to reckon with. So much so that the Italians would end up taking many, many years to subdue the man and his empire.

But much as the man who was being revered as the Lion of Africa bragged of being a descendant of King David, from whom Jesus Christ traced his ascendancy, he would end up being slaughtered as a commoner when his time to leave planet Earth finally arrived in 1975.

Opinion: Courtesy demands that I congratulate city businessman and Federal Republic of Nepal Consul to Uganda, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia. The tycoon last week pulled off yet another ‘victory’ against Bank of Uganda.

The Supreme Court justices unanimously blocked the already executed process of liquidating Crane Bank Limited (CBL) possibly because it’s dead and rotten. The justices further ruled that the regulator erred to place CBL under receivership against a court order stopping the process.

Following the verdict, I sought out the lately uncommon gentleman, Mr. Common Sense for his views. Fortunately, I got him in the mood of talking. He made quite interesting observations and powerful submissions using simple words and examples. The views are exclusively his and I am a mere messengers of them. Enjoy the voyage.

Mr. Common Sense starts by teaching how he is in very short supply lately, especially in the judicial corridors. He explains that just because he is common and priceless, just like oxygen, people tend to take him for granted and herein lies the big tragedy! He says because people ignore him, it has led to all manner of tribulations the world is facing today. I ask him to expound, but he advises me to be patient, that what he is about to tell me will take care of that.

He starts by telling me in simple terms what the pompous justices meant by the verdict they wrote. He avers that in closing Crane Bank, the Regulator acted just like a Doctor who rightly removes the life support machine from a patient in a comatose state. He goes deep to demonstrate how actually the midwife, in this case Sudhir, killed the baby called Crane Bank Limited (CBL).

You ought to note that he uses the word baby figuratively. He explains the midwife did so by cutting the umbilical cord from the baby. While it is common knowledge babies feed and receive oxygen and blood from the mother via the umbilical code, Common Sense labors again, to remind me of the fact.

Having laid that background for me, he proceeds to confirm to me how the midwife actually killed the baby. “It was simple, though cruel my boy. The midwife removed the umbilical code worth a total of UGX397Bn from the baby. After the fact, CBL lost the lifeline and like the hapless baby it indeed was, there was no way it was going to survive in the circumstances.”

He stresses that whether the Doctors, in this scenario BOU, kept CBL on oxygen in that comatose state or not, none of the two decisions had the slightest like hood of saving it since the midwife had killed it anyway. Away from that, Common Sense demonstrates the magnitude of the recklessness committed by the midwife. “CBL required only an umbilical code worth only UGX25Bn to survive but the midwife deprived it the same. He actually cut more codes worth UGX397Bn, a figure capable of keeping alive a dozen set of babies.”

Common Sense would then wonder why none of the people concerned is showing any interest in the heist the midwife committed! “It is interesting to see the midwife bump fisting and laughing violently while continuing to hold onto the loot  unhindered,” fumes Common Sense, now clearly agitated.

Imputing bad motive on part of the law enforcers, he jokes; “You live in an intriguing world. In my world, I reign absolutely. Bank robbers aren’t given any slightest chance to move freely as if everything they did is fine. I make life very painful for bank robbers. We don’t even celebrate them; lest we alert young people it is all fine,” his words drip with sarcasm.

Common Sense tells me heists of the magnitude committed against CBL, not only end up rocking the bank involved, but also the banking sector as a whole and counting. It has a multiplier effect. The banking sector loses since people lose the motivation to do business with them. The people keeping the cash in holes or tins also lose. They tend to spend it since it is available 24/7. This denies them opportunity to save the funds to engage in income generating activities.

With the people not banking, Common Sense lectures has it, the businesses lose liquidity since they too, ordinarily borrow from banks. The government loses account of contracted savings. The banking sector deprived of enough liquidity cannot obviously remit meaningful taxes to the government, nor can new investors be motivated to invest in a country where saving culture is low. I remind him about the court injunction which stopped the doctors from putting CBL off oxygen and burying the same!

He reminds me too, that the injunction is cynical since the midwife had killed the baby anyway. “Sensible doctors don’t keep going on and on pumping oxygen into corpses,” he maintains emphatically. He admits the midwife walked out of the Supreme Court with billions in costs. But he quickly reminds me the taxpayers are the ones going to pay the dimes. Other than that, Common Sense informs me, since the baby was buried by closing and placing it under receivership, the injunction followed the same to the grave.

What the midwife is left with is the blank Cheque handed to him by the justices, giving him the leeway to cite the doctors for contempt. But also, since the liquidation has been stopped, the midwife can for the time being keep the assets of CBL not yet auctioned for purposes of realizing funds to pay off creditors. He can use the blank Cheque to milk more from the taxpayers.

Common Sense however informs me all isn’t lost since doctors are still in court trying to recover the main umbilical code of UGX397Bn the midwife deprived of baby CBL. Given the fact that the midwife admitted depriving the baby of the same, and in black and white for that matter, Common Sense submit powerfully,  the doctors’ case could turn out to be the huge whale which will finally swallow the midwife.

But he further tells me to tell the taxpayers not to jubilate prematurely. He submits that they instead should go down on their knees in prayer beseeching the Almighty to prevail on the justices not to end up conjuring up procedural excuses to defeat the confession the midwife himself authored. Common Sense signals to me to remain seated for a couple of minutes. He tells me he can’t leave before delivering his own version of judgment in the matter.

Common Sense Verdict:

I will reproduce the verdict verbatim and it goes thus; “I find the midwife guilty of deliberately killing baby CBL for the reasons I have articulated above. I direct as I hereby do that the midwife surrenders the main umbilical code since in our culture, it is jealously guarded.

The midwife must also pay interest applicable, damages for failing in the duty of care, for betraying the baby, for stealing from the baby and for converting things meant for the baby. The midwife is further directed to pay damages for using proxies to steal from CBL, for using proxies to pass off as shareholders of CBL, for influencing CBL staff to engage in crime for his benefit and for denying his confession.

I acquit the doctors forthwith unless held on other charges. They commendably moved in quickly and decently buried CBL. The midwife had killed it yet he wanted to keep the dead body mockingly. For emphasis’ sake, if the doctors had not buried CBL, chances are high it was going to end up emitting a stench that could have surely contaminated the atmosphere in the national coffers.

The Doctor did the right thing in my view since the stench was going to adulterate the oxygen from which the justices too, draw a living. I SO ORDER. But before taking leave of this matter, I have a few words of counsel to volunteer to the Doctor. Never again splash money on comatose like you did in the case. Hesitating taking comatose to their final home is not only disrespectful of the dead but also unnecessarily bleeds the national coffers which is what actually happened.

This kind of indecision further gives the culprits, time to compromise witnesses and anyone else capable of spilling beans, investigators and some judicial officers. It allows culprits a lifeline to sponsor disappearances of key witnesses and accomplices, destroy evidence, break in government offices to steal documents containing fiction shareholders, alter ownership of properties owned by the deceased, rob billions of cash left behind by the deceased, stash away such robbed cash in quick developments and to write off debts due to the deceased taken by the culprits themselves… my host now taps on the table to signal yours truly ‘it’s time up.’ We rise up, exchange pleasantries and part ways.

The Judge contended that much as the first person to transfer the land into his names, Abdu Matovu forged the signature of the commissioner of Land Registry, at the time Counsel Peter Walubiri, the same cannot be used against Sudhir. This posture, even when Court proceedings had it that the title in question was a product of Nasser Road!

The Judge argued that because Sudhir reportedly didn’t know about the forgery at the time he bought the property, nor colluded with Matovu, he is treated as a bonafide purchaser for value without knowledge of the forgery which took place before he bought the land. This stance, even when Sudhir had failed to present the void Title, claiming it was misplaced by his lawyers! The Judge disregarded and even avoided a mention of Sadrudin’s original Title which had been presented before Court!

Sadrudin had invoked the office of the President after he had been shocked to learn his property, which he had actually sold off to a third party, had changed hands three times already. He had embarked on the process of transferring the land on Plot 8 Nakasero, into the names of the purchaser when he discovered the names of Meera Investments Limited (MIL) present and his, which were registered long ago in 1962, missing!

A real estate developer, Pine Investments Limited owned by the immediate outgoing Attorney General, William Byaruhanga and former break-dancer cum the biggest entertainment industry guru, Charlie Lubega, is the one which had legitimately bought the land from Sadrudin. Alarmed because he seem to have sold air at a cost of over USD1.5M which he was now supposed to refund, Sadrudin Gulamhussein involved police.

But Sudhir being the egoistic Sudhir he is, he called upon his big pals who told him to ignore Gulamhussein and continue in possession of the property. Defeated, Sadrudin sent in a passionate plea to the President. The head of State was alarmed by what he had been told and by what he later read himself.

The son of Kaguta’s anger boiled over. He swore Sudhir was only going to expropriate the property over his dead body. The President asked Amelia Kyambadde, his Principal Private Secretary then, to put him through to the then Inspector General of Police, Gen. Edward Kale Kayihura. Once Kayihura picked the call, Museveni demanded to know why he (Kayihura) was handling Sudhir with soft gloves.

He directed Kayihura to leave whatever he was doing, move with light speed and force Sudhir out of Sadrudin’s property. “You risk facing charges of contempt of my orders if at all you refuse to carry out my instructions,” the President reportedly addressed Kayihura. And as would be expected in circumstances as these, Kayihura followed the orders of his Commander-in-Chief to the letter.

The Police Chief sent in his boys who rounded up and handcuffed Sudhir’s private guards before evicting them. The President then instructed the Lands Office to transfer the property back into the names of Gulamhussein. The Commissioner of Lands at the time, Karibwende issued the due notice to Sudhir asking him to surrender whatever Title he had, for correction. A relentless fighter and lover of material things, Sudhir instructed his lawyers of Nangwala, Rezida and Company Advocates to fight back by telling Karibwende how forgery was beyond the realm of his office. Karibwende then wrote to Gulamhussein to communicate his inability to handle the matter.

He advised the aggrieved Asian to try the courts of law instead. Museveni learned of Karibwende’s insolence. But Karibwende was just six months away into retirement. He did what he could and handed the matter over to the new Commissioner, Sarah Basangwa Kulata to revisit the same. She rewrote to Sudhir asking him to quickly send in the title in his possession.

But Sudhir, fearing for the worst since his Title had been found to have been improvised from Nasser Road, the country’s forgery hub, didn’t budge. Kulata didn’t waste more time. She rectified the record that had been so tainted by restoring Sadrudin’s names on the white page Title. The fact that Sudhir had run to Court and obtained an order stopping the deletion of his name from the white page, didn’t help at all. The no-nonsense Kulata all the same deleted his name.

History

Gulamhussein obtained registration of the land in 1962. Just like it happened to other Asians who were living, working and trading in Uganda, he lost the property when the President of the day, Idi Amin Dada woke up from slumber and directed Asians to pack up and leave Uganda in three months. It so happened that in June 2016, a one Abdu Matovu managed to have the land holding the property registered in his names.

Matovu has since gone underground. His disappearance is of course understandable though suspicious in the circumstances of this saga. If he had remained in circulation, he would have been obviously quizzed about how and from who he bought the building and the source of the money he used to purchase the same. He disappeared because as it’s well-known by whoever bothers to, he was a proxy.

Above all, Matovu would be rotting in jail after it emerged that he actually forged the signature of the former Commissioner of Lands while he went about transferring the property into his names. Shortly after registering himself on the Title, Matovu conveniently ‘lost interest in the property’ and sold it out to a one Davis Kakwenzire. Kakwenzire purportedly paid USD550, 000 to ‘acquire’ the property. Never mind that his name doesn’t feature among Ugandans who are moneyed but land grabbers.

Well, to jog your mind back, Kakwenzire is the guy the President ordered to be arrested over land grabbing a few years back. The Head of State had paid a visit to Nateete in Lubaga division to listen to tales of land grabbing when, the locals mentioned Kakwenzire who, the President right away directed for his swift arrest. He was accordingly summarily handcuffed.

Meanwhile, upon registering himself on the Title, Kakwenzire had moved fast and used the same to obtain a loan from Crane Bank… You guessed right, Crane Bank belonged to Sudhir who the President ruled later, to have craftily obtained the land belonging to Sadrudin. A few days after obtaining the loan, Kakwenzire developed a feeling that he no longer wanted the high value land, which he had, by the way, ‘acquired’ barely three months back.

He ‘looked for brokers’ to help find him a buyer. He found one. His name is Godfrey Kirumira. The choice isn’t surprising to the initiated. Kirumira has been Sudhir’s ‘errand boy’ for a long time as far as ‘buying’ property is concerned. Meetings ensued. They were held at Sudhir’s Munnyonnyo Resort Hotel. City lawyer, Wycliffe Birungi proceeded to the Land Office on the alleged assignment of carrying out the search of the register.

Done with the assignment, Birungi turned to his paymaster to report how he had not found any kind of encumbrance. But more exactly, any names of Sadrudin Gulamhussein on the Title. This still baffles those in the know because to date, Kulata’s stance still stands and Glamhussein’s names still appear in the registry. But this is a story for another day. Nevertheless, Sudhir then reached for his purse and paid the buyer-out at a fee totaling to USD850, 000.

Back to Court records, after securing the judgment in his favor, Sudhir started on the journey to file for a Special Title from Lands, claiming his (the void one) had completely gone missing for good. In the meantime, Sadrudin is not taking it lying down. He had secured a court order for maintenance of the status quo until his appeal is out of the way. Watch this space. 

Those who have proved to be deaf enough not to hear this warning, and consequently attempted to grab the carcass from the man who hunted it for himself, have ended up regretting embarking on such a useless venture..

Such day time dreamers include Museveni’s pals. One is Prof. Gilbert Baalibaseka Bukenya. Just because he had named himself Mahogany, breathed the clean air in the corridors of power and happened to be the dad of a military graduate. Bukenya who until then was a copycat of Yoweri’s mannerism of speech, gait as well as dress, thought quite wrongly that he had grown stronger enough to grab Yoweri’s yummy carcass from its avowed owner.

Well, the jolly medic yanked off the gloves, and walked off the ring as spectators were eagerly waiting for the showdown to proceed.  Although Bukenya chickened out of the duel and proclaimed from the rooftops how Yoweri was the only man blessed with the vision of delivering the other clueless forty million Ugandans to the land of milk and honey, the owner of the carcass wasn’t amused at all by those olive branch gestures.

Yoweri quickly made up some criminal charges for his former number two in cabinet. And we all know well how Bukenya ended up changing addresses from Kakiri to Luzira prison where he chilled for quite some time. But, that was not enough reprimand for Bukenya. Museveni took the battle to Bukenya’s political base in Busiro North. That’s how the hitherto revered second citizen lost the constituency to the political rookie in Galabuzi.

The then scarcely known young man earned quite handsomely from this war of beef. Apart from the MP Job, Galabuzi joined cabinet as Bukenya started on his journey to political oblivion. We all know well the humiliation starting from losing the premiership which John Patrick Amama Mbabazi suffered when he attempted to engage Museveni in this battle of the game meat, to deserve further elaboration.

Suffice to state that Mbabazi lost the political glamour which was attracting stadiums of false cheerleaders and crumbs seekers to him upon losing the favor of Yoweri. The former so-called super minister is actually grappling with how to get rid of the political rust he has gathered over time and at the same time fighting harder to get back into the corridors of power as we speak.

The fact that Dr. Warren Kizza Besigye offered free medical services to Yoweri during their five year bush war was not worthwhile enough to spare him from the humiliation and hounding when he attempted to dip his long fingers into the cooking pot. To these ones above, you can add Gen David Sejusa formerly Tinyenfuza who, was once the all-powerful top spy, and Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde too.

Much as the duo were held in awe during their days in the sun as minders of the country’s intelligence, we all witnessed how they were shabbily handled after they were deemed to be eyeing the delicious game meat that is the preserve of Yoweri.

We are not going to waste a lot of time and space going through the hell experienced by the people from the opposition who literally committed the mistake which Mbabazi and others in NRM committed by vying for the national presidency. The bad experience they went through can be expected. They were members of the opposition who were even sleeping while the likes of Sejusa, Tumukunde and Besigye were risking their lives shooting guns in the bush to restore peace for the rest of us.

Kadaga:

We now return our focus to the subject of this article, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, the immediate outgoing Speaker of the Uganda Parliament. Yoweri had suspected for quite some time the woman from Busoga to be building networks in readiness to take his seat. That she was using her big budget in parliament to buy political support from MPs and their voters.

Those MPs who didn’t toe Kadaga’s line, were allegedly being denied chances to travel abroad thereby denying them an opportunity to partake of the fat per diem that comes with such foreign trips. She was also accused of offering the floor of parliament and much time to the opposition MPs, using it to dress down Museveni’s regime.

That her trick was to disparage Museveni and his administration while promoting herself as someone who fights for the causes of the common man and one more accommodative of contrary views in comparison with Museveni who doesn’t purportedly entertain opposing views. Kadaga did not help matters when in a fit of excitement revealed how she was actually interested in real power as opposed to something that looked like it.

To this end, Kadaga sneered at moves by the President to make her his deputy at the end of her ten year term as the speaker of the Uganda parliament. She noted how the vice presidency of Uganda is an amorphous thing devoid of any power. That actually the real power resides in the presidency.

She praised the office of speaker of parliament as a more powerful office than that of the vice president. She advised that such powerless offices should be reserved for people who don’t mind being white elephants so long as they get positions. Before dropping the above bombshell, Kadaga had dared Yoweri to explain why bad things were taking place under his watch.

One such thing which Kadaga required the President to explain was the invasion of parliament by the military during the divisive debate on the opening of the presidential age limit. Following the raid, Kadaga sent a strongly worded letter asking Museveni as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, to explain why he had let loose the military in parliament.

The Ssaabalwaanyi in Museveni doesn’t want to be treated in the manner Kadaga was treating him. He was obviously pissed by Kadaga’s missive which he did not respond to, but instead cast on the dustbin to gather dirt. The other time was when Celine Nebanda, the former legislator of Butaleja, died of what was rumored to be a dose of poison.

Kadaga following the demise of Nebanda insisted on an inquiry into the cause of the death to be conducted by parliament led by her even when the President demanded the same to be conducted from outside the country. So serious the rope pulling between Kadaga and his party chairman was that the latter vowed how the former was going to do what he was insisting on doing over his dead body.

Nebanda’s death was suspicious given how she had put up a spirited fight in parliament to the extent of questioning views Museveni sought to insert in the law relating to the country’s oil. A furious Nebanda is understood to have even asked the First Lady to shut up when she (First Lady) raised to deliberate on the debate. Janet Museveni was an MP at that time.

This is presumably why the rumor mill went into overdrive with claims that her death could have been work of the government. But the court found Nebanda’s boyfriend culpable for her death. Kadaga would also awe the country and annoy the President when she chided the military for shooting dead a total of fifty four Ugandans during the just ended presidential elections.

Museveni doesn’t want to hear anyone likening his army to the past armies which he says were murderous. He can at least stomach such talk if it is directed towards the Uganda Police Force which he routinely labels a good-for-nothing force. These brave incidents and a host of others, much as they endeared Kadaga to Ugandans, consequently placed her right within the firing range of Museveni.

He waited patiently for the opportune time when he was going to pull the trigger and finally deflate the ego of the first female to hold the office of the speaker. That opportune moment arrived when Kadaga’s term of the speaker of parliament finally expired and she returned to the NRM party to seek an extension of the same.

The baptism of fire which Museveni and his lieutenants unleashed on Kadaga during the process of asking for the extension of her term, is still fresh in everyone’s memory, one need not go through it all over again. That Kadaga lost the office of speaker together with the power she was yearning for, is common knowledge by now.

But the President did not stop there. He has dealt another blow to Kadaga’s ego by appointing people far below her political stature as well as experience to be her bosses. Going forward, Kadaga’s bosses in cabinet will be Jessica Alupo and a certain Robinah Nabbanja. Alupo is Museveni’s new Vice President while Nabbanja is the new Prime Minister.

Kadaga will now be taking orders from Alupo much as she has been despising her office as a toothless one. She will also be answering to Nabbanja, the new leader of government business in parliament, since she (Kadaga) has been appointed merely as the deputy premier.

Kadaga will also have to appear before her former deputy of ten years in Jacob L’okori Oulanyah to seek approval for her new cabinet job. Oulanyah got the job of the speaker of parliament after embarrassing Kadaga in an election that was held at Kololo airstrip. Now, this is not only funny, but humiliating to Kadaga who became a legislator way back in 1988 when Alupo and Nabbanja were still in their teens.

She has managed to scale the political ladder going on to clinch the speakership of parliament. Before that, she had served in cabinet at different levels at a time when Alupo and Nabbanja were unknown in the world of politics. Kadaga’s profile is intimidating. She is a graduate of law and one of the finest legal minds around. She boasts of a first class Masters in law from the University of Zimbabwe.

She is credited for having been the first female lawyer to set up the law chambers in Uganda where the likes of Abdu Katuntu cut their teeth in legal practice before turning into one of the fine legal minds as well as acclaimed legislators. Her admirers in fact advise how the President should have appointed Kadaga to the post of attorney general as opposed to Kiryowa Kiwanuka and Kafuuzi who aren’t as experienced and grounded in law as her.

But, Kadaga herself misread the signs regarding the political tsunami that had encircled her and was moving in to drown her. For one, she insisted on running for the speaker of parliament as an independent candidate as opposed to Museveni’s advice who wanted her to leave the floor for Jacob L’akori Oulanyah.

Museveni doesn’t fancy defiance. He was not going to entertain defiance just because the author of it happened to be Kadaga. Kadaga has been around for a long time to learn and never ever forget this. As if rebelling against his boss wasn’t treasonous enough, Kadaga uttered other uncharitable statements that stirred Museveni’s ire a lot more.

She not only advised that a speaker isn’t  appointed by Museveni five years in advance, she also elucidated that MPs aren’t supposed to be herded together in the same way a cattle keeper herds his cows. She was of course talking in parables. But, even people of average knowledge know she was sending the strong message to Museveni who is the biggest cattle keeper in Uganda.

Museveni treated this as further contempt by Kadaga. Little wonder he elected to deflate her ego once and for all when the opportunity finally arrived. Failure to take action he took would have encouraged other members of NRM to engage in defiance which Kadaga engaged in knowing their boss was incapable of taking such action.

To cap it all, Kadaga will have to appear before her former deputy of ten years in Jacob L’okori Oulanyah to seek approval for her new cabinet job. Oulanyah got the job of the speaker of parliament after  embarrassing Kadaga in an election that was held at Kololo airstrip.

So, I wonder if Watford (Opposition) could topple Liverpool (NRM) and cause an epic upset in modern African history. Could Watford overcome that improbability?

For thirty-five years, the State House has housed the same individual. There are many reasons for this. Contradistinctively, Liverpool had not won the league in thirty years – until their momentous run in the 2020/21 season.

This country’s pre-1986 history is bloody. Museveni – not entirely saintly in his role in Ugandan politics prior to the 1980 elections – was a gallant knight in shinning amour. His ten-point program was, to Uganda, what sweet-nothings are to new lovers. In spite of a few bad seeds, NRA was generally aggregable in contrast to UNLA.

NRA overpowered Obote with the good will of the people and a dash of luck that was the crashing of Oyite Ojok’s helicopter. Later, the eviction of Lutwa from State House was easier than learning the first three letters of the alphabet. The fella was uneducated and highly unqualified. Ring any bells?

Museveni’s commission to democracy was evidenced by initiating the national constitutional education and consultations. Although this process had its difficulties, as Odoki noted, it was successful and void of manipulation.

They that tasted anarchy find peace to be priceless. Uganda, although composed mostly of the youth, has a substantial number of elders. This lot treasures Ssevo despite his flaws. It influences national politics in more ways than we care to admit. Getting back to the question; is an upset possible? As I run the unlikely risk of swallowing my words, I’d say an upset is impossible! Let’s review the status quo.

On Friday, the Commander in Chief (CIC) oversaw the graduation of over 4,800 police trainees. These shall soon join the other thousands who are roaming the country. They will become part of an institution that persecutes those who express free thought. The fact that the police conducts partisan operations every now and then is undisputable.

Essentially, the growing police is a huddle for the opposition. Whereas it should not be the case, the POMA has ensured that the police have a right of oppression. Under the Act, one has to notify them of any public gathering they intends to hold. The complexity arises from the police’s right to reject a venue as unfavourable. The chances of an outspoken opposition politician having cooperation from the police on that matter are few.

On the other hand, the ruling party candidates conduct campaigns with nary a query. Besides that, the national development is an incentive to choose Museveni. The government policies prior to 1986 were counterproductive. The economy suffered a huge blow under Amin and did not recover under Obote. Essential commodities were hard to come by and hence expensive.

In contrast, the economic environment is fair enough for a large portion of the population to afford such commodities. The political environment is such that a life of luxury is possible for those who can afford it. All this; despite the inflation today.

The infrastructural development under Ssevo is monumental when one considers our history. Over 5000km of Ugandan roads today are paved. Privatisation has facilitated a rise of skyscrapers over the country. The rate of production and export has also increased. All these developments, albeit slow, make Ssevo a handsome candidate.

Such developments carry a very big load over our will to fight for change. We cannot do whatever it takes for fear of receding. Any financially independent citizen would embrace a monarchy if it offers high per capita. The spirit that was manifested between 1980 and 1986 has been stifled by this bubble of comfort. It may be good governance! Truly, any smart dictator knows that a comfortable populace guarantees entrenchment. Talk of pros and cons! One can use development as a tactic and still be a hero.

The opposition also deals with characters like Mwenda. A hulking structural integrity can only be weakened from within. The ‘old man of the clan’ knows that all too well. He would have us believe that he joined NUP to provide good leadership. Au contraire, there are only two sides to that coin; either he is a virus launched by the enemy or he has a personal vendetta. Neither side of the coin is good for NUP. He is there to weaken their structural integrity. Simply, he is to NUP what Phil Jones was to Manchester United; a player for the other team!

Those factors, although valid, don’t compare to those that we’ve grown accustomed to. The political persecutions, oppression, electoral violence, manipulation, intimidation and alleged rigging drive the final nail into the coffin. These variables have been consistent and evident.

The Supreme Court recognised the existence of these electoral issues. Although it rendered them unsubstantial, its declarations were followed by a recommendation of reforms to the Attorney General’s office; to remedy the same. Nevertheless, the government has not implemented any of the reforms. They simply carry on with the same old rituals.

Various electoral observers have reported similarly. The same factors tip the electoral result in favour of the incumbent in every election. Whether or not the incumbent signs off on these events is questionable. When one trains a dog, it needs no command to attack an intruder! Such behaviour becomes instinctive!

Nonetheless, considering Uganda’s gruesome history, the change is overbearing. Therefore, claims of there being no big difference between then and now are invalid. Many of these claims arise from a generation that is ill informed about the past. The youthful fanbase have forgotten the history; perhaps because it was told to them as opposed to inhaling the ashes and dust of war. Anyone that likens today to the pre-1986 Uganda is an insolent fool!

Also, there are many people in the country whose positions aren’t aired over the media. The call for change seems overwhelming! The people that make it use the media more than those that are content. However, the latter are more than the former. Although Uganda has a young population, it cannot be regarded as anti-NRM in its entirety. There are many youths that are happy with the status quo.

Watford has a lot of barriers to overcome even without Uganda’s electoral rituals. Liverpool has been dominant in the league and is therefore more likely to win it. Yet, Watford is left no room to breathe as numerous unjust circumstances await it. I therefore have no hope for an upset!

Let’s end our denial! The possibility for change doesn’t lie in catchy slogans that stir up the public. It is not to be found in our frustration. Truly, change lies in our patience. We should patiently build a just and equitable structure to defeat the intolerant and oppressive structure that stands today. Patience, in this case, wins this war!

However, recent events have caused the curve which was almost flattening to spike. With the campaigns underway, the public as well as the leaders forgot the impending threat. The voters and campaigners alike interacted without observing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Although the infections and deaths are rising now, the makings of the country’s current state of affairs started before the lifting of the lockdown began.

After gallantly shutting people in their homes, one major problem remained; the porous borders. Understandably, the government could not close the borders without crashing the economy. Nonetheless, the matter was handled with laxity. All the cases that Uganda recorded during the lockdown were from truck operators who entered the country. This issue exposed the government’s inability to tackle the situation as it toyed with solutions; often never executing the ideas. In the end, the virus spread beyond the border districts.

Profiteering also became an issue during the period. The government had pledged to avail food to the daily income earning population. Without the means of in-house production, the government had to contract a supplier. The effects of colonialism loom over us to this day. The spirit of communalism that made African societies so rich dissipated. We therefore have self-serving individualists in the contemporary Ugandan society. The food scandal was a reflection of this!

The contractor supplied substandard food to the government at hefty prices that cost the taxpayers loads of money. The daily income earners had survived on a bare minimum of food supplies from their meagre savings. Their hope was delivered in the form of bean-sacks that were half filled with stones. The quality of the posho was equitable to that of poultry feeds. The outrage forced the government to start a system of vetting the food quality; including that which was donated by well-wishers. However, this translated into more government expenses!

There were – and still are – individuals within higher ranks that have cost the country gravely. So much was donated by many. Some selfless citizens having to travel miles to donate a measly UGX 10,000. Other deep pocketed companies – perhaps in a PR campaign – donated sums, in cash and commodities, that amounted to billions. However, this was squandered by the aforementioned high ranks. Some people from the office of the Prime Minister were charged with embezzlement. Although, some believed that these were ‘scape goats’!

As Uganda adapted to the protracted stay at home, discontent started to show among her citizenry. The government had failed to fulfil its pledge regarding the food provision. It had equally failed to contain the spread in the border-districts. The levels of accountability from government regarding the donations, procurements and other expenditures were below standard.

Parliament, during the same period, had authorised a payment of UGX 10 bn to itself without giving reason for such generous national charity. The Speaker ferociously handled any queries against the issuance of UGX20m to each of the 400 plus Members of Parliament. The fact that no accountability was anticipated regarding the money was crystal clear. Parliament resorted to fire fighting as each justified their receipt of the scandalous sums. A few denounced this behaviour and distanced themselves from it. Yet, the damage was great!

As that went on, the looming campaigns started to become an issue. Many started to believe that the government was protracting the lockdown for political benefit. Whereas everyone else wasn’t allowed to operate, the Chairman of the NRM party continually addressed the nation in a manner that improved his standing with the voters. Some referred to it as ‘incumbent campaigning’. This was not helped by the figures from MoH that did not add up. We all noticed that point where there were more recoveries than infections! Who dropped the ball?

All these events led the public to distrust the government. Not that this is new! However, the rate at which the government had failed its people was new. Perhaps it was because many were home, attentively paying attention to every muscular twitch of the government officials. As such, many of the things that would have been missed or ignored by the public were noticed.

So, when the gradual easing of the lockdown began, those that were left behind voiced their discontent. None were shy! Criticisms were made with nary a worry about consequences. Government had lost its moral high ground; Museveni had lost the same shortly after my year of birth.

It came to the extent that there are citizens who believed that the virus is absent in Uganda. I think that the virus is a real threat to us all. The disparity in the MoH figures would cause any reasonable Ugandan to question the validity of their results. Nonetheless, there are infections as well as deaths. Whether the numbers are accurate is a question of the intrepid kind! This has created Uganda’s conundrum today.

With a populace that doesn’t trust its government, the curve should be expected to spike further. Ugandans grew restless, aggravated, doubtful, angry and more. Even people that often choose to be ignorant of the political situation had time to reconsider. Now, they find it difficult to believe that they face a real threat from the virus.

There are those that think the infection and or death tally is made up as a scare tactic for the incumbent to regain the advantage he had earlier this year. Others believe that there is no need to observe the SOPs, these simply being restrictive towards business. Some have just grown tired of the drama and have chosen to throw their hands in the space, hence a sense of ‘whatever happens, happens’ or ‘if we die, we die’!

Losing the fear of the virus by the public has weakened Uganda’s administrative defences. The loss of faith in government has translated into everyone doing as they please despite the threat of infection. Unlike earlier days – when most were genuinely worried – the number of infections per day grows worrying. Instead of working against the spread, people are complacent because of the notion of propaganda.

We tend to think that the government is diabolical enough to fabricate a death toll. Maybe it is, or it isn’t! Yet, it is better to be safe than sorry. We should, as a country, consider respecting the SOPs. Not because the government decrees it, but because if we do, any rampant spread of the virus is attributed to government failure; not to public insolence. Doing otherwise would give the incompetent components of government an excuse for their incompetence.

Perhaps, another incentive to consider strict observation of the SOPs in our places of work is the fact that government is mulling a return of the lockdown. In a tweet, the Minister of works and transport noted that if the country carries on as is, public transport could be suspended. Although – given the recent trend wherein the government has eased the lockdown in spite of the spiking curve – it is unlikely that the government will suspend transport again. Still, truly, it is a possibility.

The government’s incompetence has caused the people to disregard any fears they had of contracting Covid-19. The country regards the rising infections and deaths as a tool of propaganda. This means that very few will adjust to the ‘new normal’! It might take another lockdown to curb the virus. How unfortunate! The government mishandled the situation and squandered the public’s good will. Once again, they have to become villains; incapable of being good even when the opportunity avails itself.

Thus, in a way, the government, not the people, is responsible for the rising number of infections. Truly, the government is faulted for the deaths to Corona Virus. Its individualistic philosophy has cost this country a lot.

As I watch the political scene in the country today, memory of that teacher’s quip is triggered. Having milked the Covid19 cow, the ruling party chairman had to find a way of keeping precious airtime. In a manner reminiscent of 1995-96, he has opted to suffocate the opposition. All the while working within a somewhat legal framework.

As the easing of the lockdown made it inevitable to set the political parties free, there had to be a way of maintaining the dominance. Public gatherings were banned. Thus, political rallies could not happen. This ushered in the ‘scientific campaigns.’ Political aspirants had to air their agendas over platforms that would alienate them from their voters. The political spirit lies within the interpersonal connection between the campaigner and the supporters. Without this, the opposition’s support base is psychologically beaten.

Let us, however, assume that scientific campaigns are politically logical. Many of the platforms such as radio stations and television channels are monopolised by the ruling party. This means that there a few channels or stations that will willingly give air to the opposition. Some of these may be to the government what the Cable News Network (CNN) is to the Republican party in America. Others are simply neutral.

This neutrality was a beacon of hope for those opposition MPs and Presidential aspirants that have the resources to acquire airtime. Yet, they too, are being oppressed.

Before I delve into this nature of oppression, I beg to digress. Recently, a group of comedians (Bizonto) was arrested with accusations of promoting sectarianism through their satire. The art of satire often offends those that know their wrongs! In other words, a negative reaction to satirical material signifies one’s guilt and the truth in the message. This is a very high level of intolerance!

Whenever it comes to the attention of the police that the opposition is about to gain time on air, the host of any such opposition is surrounded. The consequence incumbers the opposition’s efforts of reaching the public. Simply, although the Constitution and the political policies in Uganda make room for a competitive political atmosphere, the party with control has too much fear. They cannot risk losing any more of their waning public favour.

It became so bad that at one point, the police were deployed at a station where Hon. Kyagulanyi of the National Unity Platform (NUP) was rumoured to have a scheduled address. In the end, it was foolery and wastage of taxpayer money. The honourable did not show!

Hon. Betty Nambooze along with others had to spend a night at the Media Plaza in Kamwokya because of a desire to arrest them. I find it funny that one may claim that they were about to break curfew. Other arrests have been made with charges of causing public gatherings, even when it is clear that the SOPs are being followed.

When the same is done by the NRM party members, they face no objections from the law and order maintaining force. The NRM sat at its secretariat to receive forms from contesting members. NUP tried to do the same in Jinja but in vain.

There is a lingering restlessness about the leader of this Republic and his viziers. They have given in to the fear of the opposition. The NUP, before it was such, was mostly known to people in town. These are the people that have to deal with the apparent failures of the state. The crime rate, the police brutality, the embezzlement, the taxes and many other burdens that have been laid upon them. These are the people that have to escape KCCA operatives during their raids. They lose their merchandise and incur losses that set them back. Recently they have been pushed so far as to grievously injure one of the KCCA officials.

Nevertheless, this dissatisfied bunch is in town. Up country, people are less unsettled. They deal less with the indifference of a partisan police force. They wake up, attend to their farms, run their small enterprises and earn enough with little incumbrance from any state forces. Of the 40 million Ugandans, Kampala harbours approximately 5 million. That leaves 35 million. Of course, with adjustments for those legible for voting, the majority of those 35 million are NRM supporters. This is the decision-making number.

It is noteworthy that that majority falls every now and then. The NRM fan base is smaller than it was years before. Their partisan and unpopular policies are costing them dearly. As it is, NRM is starting to show weakness through their overreaction to an opposition stronghold. They now forget the many supporters they have elsewhere and attempt to suppress the little opposition they have in town.

This kind of mentality has pushed the party to the edge. They have opted to gerrymander and enact legislation that is akin to political persecution. Whereas they hope to win their numbers back, they have greatly succeeded in making the party unpopular. This reflects what is almost inconceivable; the old hand NRM is composed of rookie politicians. The kind that lack the tactics to win against the opposition fair and square. Often the things that are done cause one to wonder whether the party chairman signs this nonsense off!

This kind of operation has seen a steady decrease in the party’s support base. More losses ought to be expected. Due to their political ineptitude, the NRM may be loading the gun that will blow it to death. You see, the generation is changing; from that which suffered under tyranny to that which grows tired of pseudo-democracy.

The NRM continually descends into the political black hole. In time, they may have to derogate so many rights that an opinion such as this would send one behind bars. When such times come, the populace will fight for change. Gone will be the days of complacence. Such times will make it nearly impossible for one to make ‘ezaakamezza’. Without the witty Ssevo to neatly tread the line between freedom and oppression, the children of NRM may overstep. If a rat is run into a corner, rest assured that it’ll turn back towards its pursuer; as that will be the only option.

The manner in which the incumbent, or his troop, reacts to challenge stands to show something; the once might NRM is now filled with cowards. They are to live long; but they’ll die in large numbers.

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