Where is your protection shield for 2011?
By Lawrence Kasozi
20th Sept 2010
In the last few weeks, Ugandans in and out of the country witnessed the turbulent struggle for power within the ruling NRM party. Things that the NRM used to do covertly against the opposition finally came out in totality for all to see in the just concluded NRM primaries.
The second thing that came out very clearly is that the NRM is indeed held hostage by a small clique of people whom VP Prof. Gilbert Bukenya once called the “mafia”. Nothing gets done or no one gets anywhere without a nod from a senior “mafia”. It really doesn’t matter if you are totally incompetent. All you need is that all important nod.
This has led opportunistic Ugandans to try absolutely everything under the sun to catch the eyes of the mafia. For these Ugandans, entry into the NRM with a nod from a mafia is a sure vehicle to convey them to wealth and fame. Their reasoning is simple: In these harsh economic times, it is okay to jump into bed with the devil himself as long as you get what you want.
This is exactly how some useless “Nkuba Kyeyos” ended up being catapulted from lifting boxes in European warehouses into power, wealth, and instant fame. For nothing more than their unquestioning loyalty to the mafia, some were imposed into constituencies where other NRM cadres had for years been building capacity to eventually stand as NRM flag bearers. Conflict was therefore inevitable.
The third group were the middle level incumbents who were prepared to do anything, including killing, to keep their positions. Some were left gaping on the lurch. They now don’t know whether to hang on in the wings or cross over to less lucrative parties.
Then you had the “big guns” within the NRM hierarchy. This group, which includes life President Yoweri Museveni, “Super Minister” and NRM Secretary General Amama Mbabazi, Army Generals like Otafire, are all already drunk with power and money but still want more.
The real question is: What have Ugandans learnt or deduced from this messy NRM episode? If one can answer that question honestly, then he or she will know the direction our beloved country is heading to. And I say Uganda is heading to an early grave in 2011! I am not convinced that the bribery, rigging, chaos, and violence that we saw in the NRM primaries was unintended.
Politico-moral decay was deliberately planted into the body politics of our country. Principles are lost. People are just looking to feed on the carcass of the animal called the Republic of Uganda. Even those who do not believe in Museveni and the trend his NRM is taking will still join it to gain access to the blood money. It is blood money because it is money that could have saved lives.
Ugandans must realise that the NRM has been in the game of rigging for a long time. The only difference is that they now know that their time is up; and they are getting desperate and dangerous. The little puppies that they bred are now fully grown monsters biting their owners. What will happen when they are let loose on opposition strangers in 2011?
I can assure you it won’t be small scratch. It will be a real bite to kill and the top opposition parties willing to participate in the 2011 elections will be at the receiving end of some vicious canine activity.
Museveni, Aronda, Kahihura, Museveni’s son Muhoozi, and many others, have recruited thousands of ultra loyal NRM cadres into the police, thousands in the army, thousands in the Kiboko Squad, and thousands into the Electoral Commission; all to ensure that the NRM remains in power after the 2011 elections.
In fact, with regard to the Electoral Commission, I think it was quite informative that the NRM government did not even attempt refute anything in the Uganda Correspondent story of two weeks ago that claimed that there were thousands of NRM cadres in the Electoral Commission system in the Lango region. That should tell you everything you need to know about the credibility of that story.
My final questions are: Where is your protection shield for 2011? Who will protect you against the marauding NRM operatives? They will first try to bribe you. If you refuse their money, you will be intimidated. If you resist intimidation, then the guns that were fired in the air in the NRM’s internal battles for Bukedea and Sembabule might be aimed for your chest, legs, or even head.
They are desperate. Desperate situations, they say, call for desperate measures. And it is up to you, your friends, and relatives, to work out an appropriate response to stop Museveni’s mad assault on our fundamental God given rights and freedoms. END. If is Monday, it’s Uganda Correspondent. Never miss out again!
