Saturday, June 15, 2013

Power play: Ugandan leader promotes son to high rank in army, sparking succession debate

By Juma Kwayera


Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s push to grow his family’s influence in Ugandan politics is insurance against possible prosecution in retirement, sources say.
Ugandan MP interviewed by The Standard On Saturday says there has been a push to have Museveni face trial at the International Criminal Court over alleged human rights violations and war crimes.
This push could get new life if he fails to win re-election in 2016 or if rivals take over at the end of a fifth five-year term in 2021. (The fifth term would be Museveni’s third and final one since term-limits were introduced.)
Bufumbira East MP Benon Rukunda says the President’s security against prosecution rests in his family, which dominates business, the military and politics. Museveni’s brother, Gen Salim Saleh, is an influential advisor in the president’s office. His son Kaneirugaba Muhoozi was recently promoted to Major General, sparking sensational claims of a succession plan.
“We no longer have the rule of the law, but the rule from above,” says Dr Rukunda. “In Uganda, we no longer care if Muhoozi becomes a general.”
Whether or not Maj-Gen Muhoozi is being groomed to succeed his father as Uganda’s President, his high profile has earned him attention in military circles across the region. Given the nation’s role in regional security initiatives, he could turn out to be a significant player in coming years.
The controversy about the rapid rise of Museveni’s son continues to elicit contrasting reactions. ManyUgandans are skeptical of claims by former intelligence chief General David Sejusa of a plot to “eliminate” leaders who oppose such a succession. They say the claims are a red herring to divert to the country’s attention from more pressing socio-economic issues.
Gen Sejusa’s credibility has been questioned based on his controversial history. Until recently, his name was David Tinyefuza. Ugandan journalists say Sejusa (translation “I don’t care”) is the Luganda equivalent of Tinyefuza, a Runyankole name that means: “I don’t regret my actions”. He recently made sensational claims that Museveni, who is revered and loathed in equal measure, was preparing then Brigadier Muhoozi to succeed him.
This followed a Cabinet reshuffle where Gen Aronda Nyakairima was appointed minister, moving him out of the military. The reshuffle saw Muhoozi promoted to Major General, just two ranks away from a full general.
Sidelined
Gulu Municipality MP Emmanuel Lutukomoi says Tinyefuza’s claims are just bad-blooded politics. He says the general is seeking relevance after Museveni sidelined him. An article published in Uganda’s investigative periodical, the Independence lends credence to Lutukomoi opinion of Sejusa/Tinyefuza: “His calls were not being returned (by Museveni). Feeling increasingly isolated and ignored, intelligence say Tinyefuza sought relevance. Was this a desperate act to gain the attention of the president… and take jabs at Muhoozi and Kayihura?”
It adds: “Towards the end of 2012, ( Ugandan police boss) Kayihura allied with Muhoozi to launch probably the most far-reaching corruption crackdown in the history of NRM (the National Resistance Movement). The suspects were civil servants working in the ministry of public service. They were accused by a police investigation of stealing up to USh340 billion (Ksh11.3 billion). Muhoozi felt this level of theft had national security implications. What if the accused used this ill-gotten wealth to finance a rebellion or political movement against the government?”
Ugandan media reports show that Tinyefuza elicits no sympathies in the military and among civilians. Lutokomoi says the general’s actions when UPDF was deployed in northern Uganda to root out Joseph Kony’s LRA and Alice Lakwena’s Holy Spirit Army were politically damaging.
“He made Museveni unpopular in the north,” he says. Explaining Sejusa’s recent utterances, he says: “He is the proverbial dog that sheds tears when a cow is being slaughtered… because the meat is not coming quickly.”
Sejusa made headlines recently when he sensationally claimed the president was positioning his son to be a general and eventually his successor. A letter the renegade general allegedly sent to the media and a section of the political class stunned Museveni, who laid siege on The Monitor newspaper and other media houses that had it.
In the letter, Tinyefuza allegedly claimed: “I have written this letter… in regard to the very serious allegations that have appeared in the Press that IGP (Police boss Kale Kayihura), Brig MK (Muhoozi Kainerugaba), Gen SS (Salim Saleh, Museveni’s brother), one Kellen and others hatched an evil and extrajudicial plan of stage-managing the attack on Mbuya barracks in March so as to frame some senior members of this Government, especially I, Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, Chief of Defence Forces Gen Aronda (Nyakairima) and others.”
Five gunmen had attacked the Mbuya barracks on March 5 and engaged UPDF soldiers in a firefight. One was killed and three others later arrested. The letter Tinyefuza allegedly authored claimed the attack was a false-flag operation meant to taint those perceived to be against Brig Muhoozi’s rise. General Nyakairima was moved to Cabinet as Internal Affairs Minister late last month and replaced by General Katumba Wamala.
Tinyefuza, who is currently exiled in Britain, has not denied writing the letter.
The letter goes on to say: “Further, you (media) need to investigate the very serious claims that the same actors are re-organising elements of former Wembley under one police officer… to assassinate people who disagree with this so-called family project of holding onto power in perpetuity.” Operation Wembley was set up by Museveni in 2002 to combat run-away violent crime in Kampala.

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