By Abbey K. Semuwemba

23^rd July 2012: President Museveni has suffered a well-deserved media thrashing after he tried to help the beleaguered NRM MP Alintuma Nsambu to win back his Bukoto South parliamentary seat in a bi-election.

His official PR people have been a disaster – save perhaps for the occasional intervention of Journalist Andrew Mwenda, who in my eyes at least, passes for the president’s “unofficial” PR guru.

Mwenda’s so called ‘reconciliatory’ articles in his Independent magazine would have been better authored by people like Pamela Ankunda, Tamale Mirundi, or indeed any of those guys at Uganda Media Centre.

Whether officially sanctioned or not, I am convinced that what Mwenda is basically doing is some form of PR for president Museveni.  For instance, in the introduction to his article entitled “Meeting Mama Miria”, he gives it all away when he says:

“…What has not been said is how and why, over the last two years, President Museveni has been on a quiet journey to reconcile with former friends turned foes.’’

In my view, that is basically Mwenda trying to do damage control – and with good reason.  A lot of scandals have ruptured the Museveni administration, therefore running such series is supposed to give a different side to the Museveni people have come to know.

Mwenda is trying to justify and rationalize his hero’s sorry record of having the most corrupt administration since independence.  And he is doing this by trying hard not to smear any of Museveni’s arch-rivals in the process, apart from Dr. Besigye of course, whom he keeps portraying as a mob leader.

PR is of course important for any administration.  But Mwenda can stick that mirror in some place where his gerbils can see themselves – some of us are not buying into it.

His articles raise a lot of the issues that Ugandans are talking about – for example that President Museveni knows when to use, surprise, torture, and reconcile with anyone when they least expect it.  His article about how Museveni reconciled with UPC’s Chris Rwakasisi speaks volumes about how influential Andrew Mwenda is in Museveni’s administration.

Mwenda’s articles suggest that both he and Museveni think Ugandans are gullible – so gullible in fact that they can be fooled by naked propaganda produced, directed and marketed by a loyal journalist who is capable of influencing the president in any direction he wants.

It also raises more questions about the “old Mwenda” who used to write stuff that antagonized the government.  How many people, for instance, are going through what I think Andrew Mwenda is going through – pretending to oppose the government when there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that they may in fact be working for Museveni.

Some UPC guys of course love Andrew Mwenda’s “re-conciliatory” articles as much as anyone else in the NRM.  It makes them feel that they are the real opposition and yet the facts suggest that UPC is terribly weak at the moment.

All Museveni needs right now is to finish them off in order to turn the north into NRM’s favourite spot.  It doesn’t really matter who remains the leader at Uganda House.  The important thing is that a wedge will have been created between UPC and its main stronghold in the north.  END.  Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates

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