By M. Suleman

21^st Jan 2013: In the drama that followed the death of MP Nebanda, Museveni released two shocking bombs.  First, in his answer to the possible involvement of his government in the assassination of prominent Ugandans during his reign, Museveni, sober and in full control of all his mental faculties, admitted that his government kills its opponents.

“…Yes we kill our opponents, so long as they are armed.” Museveni said.  There can be no misinterpretation of Museveni’s statement.  He did not talk about lawful arrests, courts of law, or any rights for the suspects – he was brief and clear:  “we kill our opponents.”

With that, one question immediately comes to mind: who has been behind the so many controversial deaths of prominent Ugandans?

The second bomb came in the form of his response to all those (especially in the NRM) who felt that his government had a hand in Nebanda’s death.  Once again, Museveni was clear: “They are idiots and fools.”  This too raises serious questions about Museveni and his NRM party.

Since independence, Uganda has been in turbulent political waters.  After every acrimonious change of government, leaders have called one another all sorts of names, and have abused each other in the most despicable manner.  But none has ever called the other an idiot.

This is largely because in our daily lives, the term idiot is rarely used by civilized people. Therefore, for that term to be used by the president against senior members of his party tells a lot about the character of the man called Yoweri Museveni.  At the very least, it reveals his long held contempt for parliament and its role in a democratic dispensation.

It is no secret that Museveni picks and literally approves NRM members for political positions. It is no secret that to Museveni, the role of NRM Members of Parliament is merely to vote. It is no secret that the overwhelming majority of the NRM members Museveni endorses for parliament are poor people in every sense – mentally and economically.

That is why he has always been quick to give them “facilitation” money whenever he wants them to pass any law expeditiously.  The infamous Shillings 5million “facilitation” to expedite the removal of term limits from the constitution falls squarely within this political modus operandi.

It was therefore a shock to Museveni to find out that some NRM Members of Parliament whom he thought were under his wings had grown their own wings and began to behave as if they were not appointed by Museveni for specifically defined roles.

That is why he called them idiots.  The way the NRM MPs responded to Museveni’s statement almost justifies his indictment of them as idiots.  Instead of a show of outrage, NRM MPs have praised Museveni.  How can a man worth his salt sit and smile while he is being called an idiot before millions of television viewers?

In a normal democratic state, parliament is a respected institution.  If a president disagrees with it, it can easily cause a crisis in the country.  That is why real and legitimate presidents who are real democrats will bend over backwards to ensure that they secure the backing of parliament for everything they do.

It is now clear why Museveni takes time to carefully choose “fools” and “idiots” to run for parliament on the NRM ticket.  END: Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates

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