Muhoozi survives internal revolt

First son Muhoozi Kainerugaba has so far not received opposition from within the ruling NRM

But Muhoozi’s father, President Yoweri Museveni Tibuhaburwa would let the cat out of the bag when he stated, “I am lenient on the corrupt…. But Muhoozi will manage them. Manage them as who? Your guess is as good as mine!

The old man tellingly added, “….I cannot stop my children from pursuing their destiny.” Which destiny in particular? Your answer is, again, as good as mine!

Well, uncharacteristic of him, the old man of the hat, made a very, very brief, but tactical speech appropriate to the political agenda at hand.

Muhoozi called the political function a birthday bash for a number of reasons. I will point out only three major reasons for purposes of this conversation. I will then sneak in a few reasons, which are peripheral, here and there. Kindly read on:

Firstly, Muhoozi is still a serving military officer. By law, he isn’t permitted to take part in politics. Consequently, he didn’t want to play into the trap of his antagonists, by openly proclaiming a presidential bid while still carrying the baggage of being a military officer.

He was also alive to the storm he triggered in February when he tweeted to proclaim how he had left the military. The tweet instigated such a domino effect that it obliged the Commander-in-Chief (CiC), Gen. Yoweri Museveni to step out and reject Muhoozi’s illegitimate resignation.

What Muhoozi did ended up by placing his father between a devil and a deep blue sea. Look, Museveni had dealt resolutely with Gen. David Sejusa when the latter wrote and stated overtly how he had lost confidence in the military.

And just like that, Sejusa announced how he had purportedly parted ways with the military which he had at that point in time served in top echelons for many years!

The top-most military chief, Gen. Museveni not only vetoed Sejusa’s resignation, but also marched him off to the military court martial for purporting to resign in the casual manner he did.

Yet that wasn’t all about the shabby treatment the CiC exposed then Tinyefuza to. Much as Museveni held on to Sejusa, he again deprived him of all privileges the military extends to a serving senior officer such as Sejusa.

The CiC did all this to Sejusa as a deterrent measure targeting the other insolent soldiers. You can now figure out for yourself the sort of humiliation and predicament Muhoozi exposed his father to when he purported to resign through social media!

This is why, while speaking at Muhoozi’s so-called birthday party, Gen. Museveni called out the First Son for misusing the social media.

And as if on cue, the celebrant’s newfound uncle in Rwanda’s leader, Gen. Paul Kagame quickly cut in by pledging to skill his nephew on how to use the social media in an appropriate manner.

Muhoozi had indeed deactivated his tweeter account in the days leading to his birthday bash. The tweeter account has since been rebooted.

Secondly, by distorting the explicit presidential bid as a birthday party, Muhoozi sought to test majorly the mood within the military and the ruling NRM party. And, to a minimal extent, the frame of mind in the opposition, the whole country and beyond boarders.

To his relief, there was no noticeable revolt which originated either from the military or from the ruling NRM party founded by his father, President Yoweri Museveni.

The above is a very, very significant achievement to take note of for the reason that Muhoozi will have to count a great deal on the military and the ruling NRM party when the time for seeking ratification of his presidential bid finally dawns.

You need to be reminded, for explanatory purposes, how Dr. Warren Kiiza Kifeefe’ Besigye’s and John Patrick Amama Mbabazi’s mere declarations of intentions to stand against the President, set NRM and the military on fire.

Groups of NRM interest groups renounced the above bids and quickly rallied en masse around one of Museveni. In Besigye’s case, a top general in Sejusa quickly made fun of the bid and the bidder himself.

Sejusa told the man who, incidentally, acted as his best man while he was marrying Juliet, that there was no way he could stomach humiliating himself, by saluting him (Besigye) as the president and CiC!

Sejusa’s pejorative remark sparked such a political storm that then army commander in Gen Gregory Gregory Mugisha Muntu stepped out and elucidated that whoever emerges as President through an election, must be saluted in expression of honor, being also the CiC.

For the record, many would be Muhoozi’s robust opponents as well as opponents of his bid in the military, notably bush war generals, have since passed on in startling fashion. Others have been neutralized with fat jobs, court prosecutions and or expediently sidelined. Yet others have since joined the largely inconsequential opposition.

Furthermore, the military and its sister forces have since been packed with young men and women so loyal to Muhoozi that they cannot tolerate anyone blocking his resolute march to either his military or political nirvana!

As for the revolt from the NRM party, the least said the better. Suffice it to point out, nonetheless, that the ruling party’s old timers and their Jonny-come-lately colleagues are just a cowardly lot incapable of posing any problems to Muhoozi’s bid.

This posture, following the political thunderbolt which hit the likes of Dr Kiiza Besigye, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, Gen. David Sejusa, Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, Col Fred Bogere and so on. These after these ones dared to bend what is branded as the correct line in the NRM high circles.

Since wise men counsel us to act twice shy once bitten, what the NRM’s old turks are now engaged in is the greedy amassing of pension to take them through the remaining days on planet earth. Whilst the newcomers are busily relishing their turn on the overflowing dining table to dare notice what is afoot!

As for the region, Muhoozi has since pocketed the emerging top-marksman in Gen Paul Kagame, and as they say, the sky is now the limit!

And yet the West is too busy minding their own problems to care a jot about what is going on in a certain sh***hole republic!

To cap it all, so far so good for military general Kainerugaba Muhoozi! Barring a change of heart from dad, in which case the son will have to line up behind the back of the parent, I don’t foresee any blockade worthy writing home about, to the First Son’s from State House-to-State House-march.

Comments

comments