Analysis
Nadduli feels the heat for telling Museveni to quit
“I lost four sons during the war. I didn’t fight to lose more children after the war,” Hajj. Nadduli insisted after his son Jakana was kidnapped
Luwero war veteran and former Minister Hajj Abdul Nadduli (left) with his former boss President Yoweri Museveni
Former Cabinet Minister and Luwero war veteran Hajj Abdu Nadduli is a man in the furnace currently put there by the government led by fellow combatant Yoweri Kaguta Museveni with whom he fought in the jungles of Luwero to grab power.
Nadduli joins the long list of fellow war-comrades notably Dr. Kizza Besigye and Gen. David Sejusa formerly Tinyefuza who have been suffering the wrath of their own government after falling out with their commander.
Nadduli has been consistent in demanding that fellow bush war combatant, President Museveni relinquishes power peacefully following three decades and half at the apex of the country.
He repeated those demands as latest as the demise of Gen. Elly Tumwine, the man who fired the first bullet which signaled the start of the Luwero bush war.
Heed Tumwine’s ghost
“I now implore His Excellency the President and fellow combatant Gen. Yoweri Museveni to recognize the huge contribution rendered by comrade Gen. Elly Tumwine to our war of liberation by voluntarily quitting power in 2026.” Nadduli stated in an eulogy in favor of the respected as well as controversial deceased military general.
Nadduli insists that relinquishing power would be the lasting gift which the President would posthumously give to Gen. Tumwine for the huge role he played during the bush war and after the liberators had finally grabbed power.
Nadduli was repeating the demands which Tumwine himself had uttered following his last reshuffle from the cabinet where he had served last as the Security Minister.
No to Muhoozi
Nadduli has also been unrelenting in demanding that the President shouldn’t be tempted to turn Uganda into a dynasty by scheming to hand over power to his son, Lands Forces Commander, Lt. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Nadduli argues that should Muhoozi succeed his father, he won’t have any obligation to respect and remember the Luwero bush war combatants given that his own father who fought with them, no longer respects nor remembers them
“Olaba kitaawe yatwerabira takyatweguya olwo omwana aliba atujjukira atya ssaako okututya!, the old wordsmith opines.
The above Luganda vernacular statement would translate as: ” If the father himself forgot all about us and no longer cares if we exist or not, how then would the son care to remember us and know if we exist or not let alone respecting us!”
Slippery road
Yet, asking the President to quit power is sort of analogous to committing a heinous crime within the President’s own ruling NRM party.
Museveni is even on record dismissively telling off people demanding him to quit power.
“I hunted my animal. I should be left in peace to enjoy it’s carcass,” Museveni has stated in the not-far-off living history.
It is exactly for such belief by the President that Uganda is sort of his carcass, that stepping out to run against him is treated by his rabid admirers as treasonous.
For that matter, whoever has come up from within the NRM to vie for power with the President, has been harshly dealt with and completely isolated as a lesson to deter others from ever doing the same.
Casualties
Those who have tested the bitterest pill of doing the same include Museveni’s own bush war physician, Dr. Warren Kizza Besigye Kifeefe and even the spouse, Eng. Winnie Byanyima.
The other one is former powerful NRM Secretary General as well as Prime Minister also formerly Museveni’s own top political fixer and political game planner, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.
Not to forget the spouse, Jacqueline Susan Ruhindi Mbabazi seeing that she was quickly dropped from leading the NRM Women League and seriously isolated as a party leader merely because her spouse had now exercised his right to stand for power.
This is not a joking matter since even Mbabazi’s own daughter, Nina Mbabazi was not only isolated by her party, but also denied payment of the money she had used to organize the party’s delegates conference at Namboole stadium some years back.
The same fate has been suffered by people who have been merely suspected to hold the ambitions of eyeing the President’s seat.
Here we are talking of such pretenders as former Vice President, Prof. Gilbert Balibaseka Bukenya, former Parliament Speaker, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga and former Junior Health Minister, Capt. Mike Mukula.
Big trouble ahead
That having been said and done, it would not surprise anyone for that matter, to hear that Nadduli is also being targeted politically for merely expressing his view which is that the President should start packing up as well as clear his lockers ahead of leaving power in 2026.
For holding that view, Nadduli not only ended up losing his cabinet docket, but has also been seriously isolated as a bush war veteran, Presidential Advisor, old friend as well as a key NRM campaigner and also as a key opinion leader from Luweero and Buganda region where the so-called liberation war staged.
Consolation
Today, Nadduli can only console himself with merely the chairmanship of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC).
Even so, it would be seem as if Nadduli is only serving at the mercy and pleasure of the President given that the big man has got a record of choosing who to be where and at what time there at Old Kampala.
Majority of the war veterans, cabinet ministers plus the NRM leaders have been avoiding Nadduli like plague ever since he started to boldly stand up against the ruling Party Chairman.
Son pays for Dad’s Defiance
Nadduli’s fate is as well being visited upon by his own son, Jakana Nadduli Junior.
Only recently, the young man was kidnapped by security operatives from Makindye and bundled into the dreaded Drone Matatu before being produced in Court several days later. According to National Unity Platform Secretary General Louis Rubongoya, Nadduli Jr, was tortured to make a guilty plea on charges of promoting sectarianism. By the time of his kidnapping, Jakana had just left the hospital.
Much as his issue was brought up on the floor of Parliament , not even the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja seemed to know what was going on when she was asked to say something by the Speaker Anita Among.
She only retorted by claiming how the government was willing and ready to protect Ugandans against kidnap and torture.
Museveni, Otafiire accountable
In his newly acquired defiant tone, the father of Jakana, Hajj Nadduli states that the President and his Internal Affairs Minister, Gen. Severino Kahinda Otafiire are the ones responsible for the kidnap and disappearance of his son.
“I lost four sons during the war. I didn’t fight to lose more children after the war,” Hajj. Nadduli insisted that the President and Minister Otafiire produce his son.
One for the road
By and large, Hajj Nadduli and his family are in for a rude shock now that he has turned defiant against the government of fellow combatant Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
If he doesn’t know it, he is better off taking notes from the likes of Dr. Besigye, Amama Mbabazi, Gen Sejusa and such people who have since turned belligerent to know the price one pays for standing up to the son of Kaguta.
Otherwise welcome to the furnace Senior Citizen, Hajj Abdu Nadduli.
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