interview
By Sadab Kitatta KaayaWhen John Patrick Amama Mbabazi was sacked as prime minister on September 18, 2014, his home Kanungu district council passed a resolution demanding an explanation from President Museveni.
Mbabazi himself was more gracious, thanking the president for the opportunity to serve his country and reiterating his loyalty as an NRM cadre.
Since then, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, with the situation complicated by Mbabazi's loud silence on the big questions. Ugandans have had to make do with listening to Mbabazi's relatives and allies for glimpses into the man's mind.
As the Kanungu council awaits Museveni's response, James Kaberuka, the district councilor for Kihiihi town council, tells Sadab Kitatta Kaaya that they are now ready to mobilize against Museveni's 2016 re-election bid.
As a person from Amama Mbabazi's Kinkiizi West constituency, what are your feelings about his sacking as prime minister last year?
Hon Mbabazi's removal from the position of prime minister would not have affected the people of Kanungu if it had been done in good faith. But the people of Kanungu saw it as a witch-hunt of a long-serving NRM cadre and a leader who has recruited so many people into the NRM.
It is the prerogative of the president to appoint and disappoint, but we are having question marks on how he handled [Mbabazi's sacking]. By the way, the people of Kanungu are 99 per cent NRM; not because of Museveni but Mbabazi.
But we have previously heard voices that you people in Kanungu actually celebrated his sacking.
That is wrong, because we even had an extraordinary [district] council session where we passed a resolution demanding for an explanation from the president as to why he dropped Hon Mbabazi as prime minister, and in that manner.
I even remember [that] in the days that followed, many [senior government and NRM officials] including the vice chairman of NRM, Alhajji Moses Kigongo, came to Kanungu to calm the tensions.
Do you mean his sacking could impact on NRM fortunes in Kanungu?
It has a big impact on the NRM popularity in Kanungu because everyone marvels at the way Mbabazi has been treated; who then is NRM? If Mbabazi could be dumped because of merely thinking that he has capacity to stand for president, shouldn't everyone now think that it is a crime for one to have ambitions for any position within NRM?
NRM as an organization ought to be seen as a living organization where leaders come and go. Mbabazi's removal has strong [implications for] NRM's stability in Kanungu because we are seeing it as a witch-hunt.
You are seeing it as a witch-hunt but you were part of the delegates' conference last year at Namboole that unanimously endorsed amendments to your party's constitution that ultimately threw him out as secretary general.
Of course it was stage-managed, and personally where I was seated in that delegates' conference, I was surrounded by plain-clothes security men who stopped me from raising my arm [to make a submission]. What does that mean? It means that, the process had been manipulated, and to me, they [resolutions] are not binding.
That was my first time to see a general assembly where neither the chairman's nor the secretary general's report is discussed. What it means? It is clear that what they wanted had been predetermined. So, the drama at Namboole is known world over that it was manipulated, and the outcome is not representative of the feelings of the entire NRM membership.
What next?
I still believe that our seniors in NRM have to sort out all this mess. If it fails, NRM will not be the first party to die. I am sure that even you in the media can clearly see that NRM as of now has no clear leadership. By the way, most of the resolutions that were made at Namboole have not been implemented.
The purported secretary general [Justine Kasule Lumumba] is still the Chief Whip. The purported national treasurer [Rose Mary Namayanja] is still the minister of Information and National Guidance. As per the resolutions that were made at Namboole, they were supposed to relinquish their positions, meaning that the status quo remains [with Mbabazi as secretary general]. So, it is a vague situation.
President Museveni has up to now failed to hand [Lumumba's new team] the instruments of power, meaning that they can't formally take on their new assignments. That means that they are still contemplating on the wrong note they started from.
That is why I believe that in the end, we are going to get something good out of this situation because it sent a wrong signal to the entire NRM support base because the people's voices were stifled at Namboole.
Taking you back to Kanungu, you claim Mbabazi enjoys popular support: but last year, the president received a plaque declaring him Kanungu's sole candidate for 2016.
First of all, I want to make it clear that that plaque was handed to him [Museveni] by four people purporting to represent the traders of Kihiihi town council. What you need to know is that Mbabazi was made a [password] for getting quick money from the president. Those four people used that opportunity to make some money and since then, their fortunes have changed.
Secondly, the spear, shield, chairs and what have you, may not do much to salvage the support of NRM in Kanungu. It has now become a project, and whoever wants to get some money from the president will just mention that he supports Mbabazi and the next day you get money.
This project started here in Kampala, and the youths who were behind it ended up being invited for a photo opportunity with the president and now everywhere he goes, you see people making similar claims and he [president] has to continue dishing out money because he already set a precedent. But the project is not sustainable.
Do you think Mbabazi is going to stand for president?
My belief is that, whether Mbabazi or any other person [runs for president], the transition is a must. NRM has done a lot of things in Uganda and what it has not yet done is a peaceful transition.
Mbabazi has not told me that he is going to stand, but he has always said that he is waiting for the right time. NRM has a laid-down process that one has to follow to stand for any position.
The roadmap is not yet out, and once it is out, then the people who want to stand for president or any other position submit their applications to CEC [Central executive committee]. That is why I credit Mbabazi for his calmness and clear understanding of the NRM constitution.
Don't you think that this is likely to work against him because his probable competitors for the presidency are already mobilizing?
Mobilising who?
The masses ...
The masses don't choose the flag bearer of NRM. That is why I am saying, that's a wrong approach, because first of all, we are going to first [elect] the delegates to the national conference, which chooses the flag bearer, not the masses.