By Henry MULINDWA
President Museveni has men, and among them, there are men around him. Some of these men are actually the reason the censure motion against state minister Persis Namuganza is losing steam and is likely to die a natural death. As the new year opens, our Inspectors have been on the hunt and in this expose, our Political Intelligence desk landed on critical intel revealing the top most seven men (7M) around Gen. Museveni to watch this year! Here we go!
Denis Hamson Obua
He’s the government chief whip. Inspectors said on a daily basis, the CiC Gen. Museveni gets three briefs before going to sleep. These include one on security, parliament and army. The one on security is relayed by the DG Internal Security Organisation (ISO), the one on parliament is given by the government chief whip while the one on the army is given by the Chief of Defense Forces.
We’re told, with parliament being destined for a lot of political activity in this year including the possibility of bringing a bill to change the political system on election of the president, the CiC has earmarked parliament as one of the most critical centers of authority to watch this year. The Chief whip Obua therefore, according to the brief we got, has the task of informing the president on the goings-on in the house including MPs’ financial statuses especially those who are indebted and yet are troublesome.
He should also remember to know on a daily basis every plans within the parliamentary commission and the speaker’s office itself among many others issues. But most importantly, Inspectors said the CiC wants to know what the opposition NUP is planning in time to avoid surprises like it was the case in 2017 during the tabling of the motion to scrap the presidential age limit.
“Definitely, Obua must have flies everywhere. We’re waiting to see how he’s going to navigate the storm in this year” says a top inspector. This year therefore, it’s widely expected that PISOs will increase their operations around the corridors of parliament to be able to make necessary reports to Obua before he briefs CiC on parliament!
Moses Kigongo/Ruhakana Rugunda
Hajji Kigongo is the NRM 2iC while Ndugu Rugunda is the immediate former prime minister. Ndugu as he’s fondly referred to is also a special envoy of the president while Kigongo is also a Special presidential advisor. What is available before us is that the two gentlemen are the ones behind the current calmness in parliament.
Inspectors said that the reason the Persis Namuganza censure motion may die a natural death is because of these two granny men. Inspectors said the CiC Museveni asked the two men to mediate in the feud between speaker Anita Among Vs minister Persis Namuganza. So far we’re told, Museveni is impressed with the details and soon, ‘white smoke’ is going to come out!
Museveni according to Inspectors tasked the duo to handle the Namuganza-Among issue after the censure motion was transimited to him as the law requires.
In the meantime time, deputy speaker Thomas Tayebwa has formed a select committee to ‘study’ the facts therein the censure motion and the committee chaired by Mwine Mpaka and Betty Naluyima has 15 days to report back. We’re told, unless the Kigongo/Rugunda efforts fail (which is unlikely), that motion will never see the light of the day again! The Tayebwa decision though it’s a requirement was reportedly a tactical move to silence the matter to allow mediation!
Meanwhile, it’s revealed that CiC is perusing the whole list of MPs who appended their signatures on the motion and soon, he’s going to task the Chief whip Obua to start behind the scenes operations to talk to some of those members to withdraw or go mute on the matter. In case Obua finds hills in the process of executing the mission, Rugunda and Kigongo will handle those seemingly defiant MPs at individual level to know their source of anger against Museveni’s gal Namuganza without injuring their relationship with speaker Anita Among also. Inspectors said for now, Museveni wants his PDM to succeed the reason he sent MPs and ministers to villages with heavy facilitation to market it.
It should be recalled that both Namuganza and Among ended the year 2022 with heavy bombardment of each other’s persona.
John Musinguzi
He’s the Commissioner General URA. The tax collector will have to double his efforts to ensure that president Museveni has money to fully implement his government programs and NRM manifesto. Inspectors said 2023 being the middle year for his presidential term, Museveni wants to see that 60% of what he promised is done this year and yet it all requires funds. The bad roads, unequipped health centers, poor schools among other issues need money for implementation. This is why according to Inspectors, Museveni every day that comes, first looks at the revenue collections. Musinguzi is expected to come up with innovatioñs to increase revenue and also implement those he already tabled this Calender year.
Kenneth Olusegun Omona
He’s the all powerful Principal Private Secretary to the president. He’s the man who fixes presidential appointments and also takes his notes. Inspectors said the CiC doesn’t expect much here except secrecy, secrecy and more secrecy for his information. We’re told everytime information leaks from the presidency, the CiC gets so annoyed and thinks some of his own people he refers to as ’embeba’ or rats are deliberately doing this. This is why not so long ago, he allegedly even had to issue secret directives for those high-profile people who needed him to go through ‘secured’ security lines as opposed to the normal procedure.
Museveni this year also according to Inspectors wants priority for his meetings to be given to the business community/investors and publicity/media not ‘beggers’. This therefore, means that Dr. Omona has the task of allowing business-related appointments more often than any other issues apart from security and publicity.
With 2023 said to be going to be a busy year, Inspectors said the office of PPS is under strict watch to ensure that all the ‘NEED TO HOLDs’ remain as such and the ‘NEED TO KNOWs’ are promptly publicized through the arrangements under his press unit.
Richard Todwong Awany
The NRM secretary general sits at plot 10 Kyaddondo. Inspectors said the president badly wants the NRM manifesto implemented. We’re told this new year, Museveni is going to make more presence in the field but where there are gaps, his party leaders will be the ones to explain. We’re told CiC wants NRM to be more visible on the ground this year and will also hold many meetings to assess the party’s performance. The secretariat according to Inspectors will be tasked to make regular reports on ministries that are failing to act and it will be upon such appraisals by the party that CiC will form his opinion on who to fire, transfer or retain in key cabinet positions. Museveni we’re told is expected to make a mini reshuffle this year but a general one will be in 2024.
Kahinda Otafiire
The minister for internal affairs is battling with first son Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Otafiire a bush war comrade is rooting support for CiC and wants him to return in 2026. However, Muhoozi and his supporters think the time for ‘twaalwaana’ group (bush war) is up and should not appear on ballot paper in 2026. Otafiire has since asked Muhoozi to ‘respect’ the fighters even as he enjoys the previledge of being a first son.
Otafiire is actually, carrying two men on his shoulders! Muhoozi and deputy speaker Thomas Tayebwa with whom they hail from the same district of Mitooma.
Inspectors said the battle between the two officials is likely to explode into a full blown war this year unless the CiC intervenes.
It should be recalled that Otafiire is the man behind the idea of ‘Sole Candidate’ in NRM. Apparently, when Mbabazi wanted to dislodge Museveni in 2014, Otafiire who was in Cairo attending a meeting was on the phone as the NRM caucus sat in Kyankwanzi to debate the Mbabazi issue. When the motion was moved by Anite Evelyn for Museveni to be the NRM flag bear in 2021, Otafiire furiously asked why? He knew that if the motion was left the way it had been drafted (NRM flag bearer 2021) a legalistic and shrewd Mbabazi was going to ‘confuse’ delegates at Namboole into putting the matter to a vote. Otafiire also reasoned according to Inspectors that the only sellable word would be ‘Sole Candidate’ not presidential candidate in order to block fresh nominations at Namboole. That’s how he invented the word ‘sole candidate’ and it has become an NRM law as long as Museveni is still alive!
So determined he was to kick Mbabazi out, that Otafiire even decreed while in Cairo that Mbabazi should not leave Kyankwanzi unless he had appended his signature on the Sole Candidate motion. We’re told Otafiire told Museveni that even if it took two months, the retreat wouldn’t end until Mbabazi signed in order to permanently seal his fate. After days of haggling, Mbabazi bowed to pressure and signed the motion and the retreat ended that day!
“Therefore, Museveni knows Otafiire that he’s a man who is willing to fight until he gets what he wants. His contradictions with Muhoozi is something to watch” says an Inspector.
JeJe Odongo
The minister for foreign affairs is also a bush war comrade having aided the attack on Kabamba military barracks where he was an army (UNLA) instructor but an NRA mole! During his end of year national address, president Museveni said Uganda was privately engaging both the Russians and the West to find a diplomatic settlement to the problem in Ukraine where Uganda has chosen to take an non-aligned policy. We now understand that it is Gen. JeJe Odongo who’s the man doing the undercover efforts to have Uganda’s position heard. How he’s going to manage this, is something everyone is looking at now that it’s clear that the Ukraine conflict has had a devastating economic effect on us as a country.
S. Walusimbi/F. Kirunda
Walusimbi the presidential senior press secretary. Together with his deputy Faruk Kirunda, the duo are the men in charge of the impending president’s media success or failure in the coming year. Top Inspectors revealed that if there’s any time Museveni wants publicity, then it’s NOW! Apparently, there’s a lot of negative publicity against the president and his government arising from what inspectors described as ‘complancency’ among NRM policy implementors.
“Ministries are not publicizing their work. They want the president to always remind them of what they should do. When this fails, the blame goes to the president. This is why the president wants to make regular interface with the media to be able to explain what his government has done and what is pending” says an Inspector adding that Museveni also intends to restart his campaign on bottle irrigation.
“He’s wondering why no body is writing about this bottle irrigation. It’s cheap and yet effective. What about his program on killing the youth? The youth think he’s only minding about the old people” Asked an inspector.
Amama Mbabazi
John Patrick Amama Mbabazi is a former minister. He was however, fired from this position on September 8 2014 at exactly 10:35:33 microseconds in a lone reshuffle ever done by CiC throughout his reign. Mbabazi went ahead and stood for president in 2016 but his presence in the race was as good as his absence! After some years on katebe, he finally returned to the NRM fold and Museveni posted him to foreign service as a special envoy in Dakar Senegal. He is known for being thorough on covert operations no matter where he’s deployed. This is the reason everyone is watching how he’s going to fair in this year 2023!
Watch this space for top 20 flop MPs 2022!
