IS THIS THE TRUE BESIGYE? Amanya Mushega’s Letter Blasting Besigye Resurrects – Your Style And Content Of Leadership Raises Concern, Learn To Respect And Appreciate The Contribution Of Others However Small
As the
battle on who will represent the opposition in the next general election rages
on, with many people calling upon Besigye, who has stood for presidency on four
occasions and failed, to rally behind Kyadondo Legislator Robert Kyagulanyi
Sentamu alias Bobi Wine, a letter written by Amanya Mushega has surfaced
revealing Besigye’s true characters.
In the
letter, which was written by Amanya Mushega four years ago, the FDC regional
vice president for western Uganda asked Besigye to tolerate different points of
view and genuinely welcome, respect, appreciate and accommodate those who hold
a different point of view.
Besigye, Mbabazi and Mao in a TDA meeting before the 2016 elections
The
opposition is currently split on who to front in the next general elections
with many voices calling upon all opposition heads to rally behind one
candidate who should stand against President Museveni. A similar feat was done
in the 2016 elections under The Democratic Alliance (TDA) but Besigye jumped out
of the TDA ship at the last minute and refused to rally behind the TDA
candidate Amama Mbabazi. He later stood on the FDC party ticket and came out
second with 3,508,687 votes to Museveni who garnered 5,971,872 votes. The TDA
candidate Amama Mbabazi was third with a paltry 136,519. There are fears that
this might happen again come 2021.
Below is
Amanya Mushega’s letter:
Dear Col.
(rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye,
In your
interview with one of the local English papers, you insinuated that in my
earlier interview with the same paper, l was trying to speak on behalf of
president Mugisha Muntu, yet I am not his spokesperson, and that Muntu is
competent to speak for himself.
I’m writing
this letter to you directly to let you know that l gave my views in my personal
capacity. I hold no position in FDC but l have views based on experience in
leadership on a fairly long period of reading, observing and in some cases
practices.
You stated
that in 1999, you approached some of us to leave the Movement and when we
failed; you decided to start the work of ‘heavy lifting’ to remove the
dictatorship and that you left the Movement for that purpose.
For how long
will this ‘heavy lifting be a personal obligation and mission? The fact is that
you did not leave the Movement; you just run for the office of the President
under the Movement system. There were some members who moved a motion that Mr
President be declared a sole candidate in 2000. Some of those movers are now
victims of that thinking, some of us openly opposed this move and argued that
you were free to stand. We even advised against the efforts to have you
arrested and victimised. Your ‘entasiima’.
By the way,
to refresh your memory, just 10 years earlier in 1989, you led a team to draft
a resolution for a constitutional amendment to extend NRM rule and hence the
leadership of President Museveni for an extra five years which was passed.
Then you
were the most trusted confidant of the NRM leadership. Only a sole voice,
Omulongo Waswa Ziritwawula opposed this move and resigned his seat in
Parliament in protest. If you had joined him to fight the nascent
‘dictatorship’, perhaps the course of history of this country would have been
different.
We may
recall that when the Constitution was being amended to remove term limits,
there were many clear voices in and outside Parliament who opposed it and some
paid and are still paying a price. Not everyone succumbed to money offers. This
was before FDC was formed. And FDC was not founded by a single individual or
group. It was a culmination of efforts by several groups and tendencies, to
forge a common home for a common effort and purpose.
You may
recall my long discussion with you in South Africa in 2004. Many others did
visit you. Learn to appreciate that there were other strugglers before you then
and there are many others now.
The issues
that concern you that I raised in that interview and which l still hold were;
1. You had
turned on your word as recorded live on NTV and many other forms of media.
2. That you
had not supported your successor Gen. Mugisha Muntu
3. That you
had set up parallel structures and centres of power.
I can now
add that you don’t easily tolerate different points of view and you don’t
genuinely welcome and accommodate those who hold a different point of view.
Case in a point, during the Namboole delegates conference in 2010 that elected
you for the second term as president, Hon. Wandera Martin was publically announced
that he had been appointed unopposed as secretary for labour.
Later on at
the first NEC meeting at party headquarters, a meeting you chaired, it was
raised that actually there were other people who had been nominated but papers
not presented. To cut the long story short, Wandera was dropped and replaced by
another person. The real reason, he had supported Muntu. Wandera is alive.
My brother
Besigye, you are free to change your mind and you are entitled to run again,
but if you do so, say so and why, rather than attacking people who raise that
issue as you did in the interview referred to above. You actually state in the
same interview that you stood because of the trust voters have in you that is
not transferable to another candidate of the same party.
You also
pointed that there was a deficit in that trust in your absence and that there
was insufficient resolve by leaders in your absence to fight for reforms. Did
you really think through this? If you did and it’s true, then your style and
content of leadership raises concern. Please learn to respect and appreciate
the contribution of others however small or insufficient from your point of
view.
If it’s
personal to you as if new voters have not come on board and some in the old
voters register passed on, then this is in itself failed leadership. When you
stepped down, I told some leaders at that time that you had stepped down
tacticfully in order to come back with a bang as flag bearer. So your coming
back was not a surprise to me, what surprised was the spurious reasons you
advanced.
You started
a parallel sect dubbed ‘activists’ from the top to the districts level. I will
not delve into its activities. My view is that a leader’s role is to reconcile
and harmonise different points of view in order to advance a common goal and
purpose. Styles of struggle will always be there in any organised society. We
should also learn to tolerate different points of view and respond to them
without insinuations.
Finally, let
me make it clear to all concerned that whoever gets elected and in spite of the
attacks and labels put against me by some of your ardent supporters and
campaign handlers, we shall support the party and its leadership at all levels.
The Opposition in Parliament lead by the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP) Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba on Tuesday are set to task Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire the Internal Affairs senior minister to give a detailed report concerning the circumstances that caused the death of Francis Kalibbala Ssenteza the former bodyguard to National Unity Platform (NUP) Principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine).
Shadow Finance minister and also Butambala County legislator Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi told theGrapevine that they were not convinced with Gen. Otafiire’s report and they are going to give the country a response through Mpuuga on the floor of Parliament.
Kivumbi said that among the issues they want explained is the way Ssenteza was killed in a motor accident because Gen. Otafiire’s report claims that he was knocked by Bobi Wine’s Toyota Hiace which he used during the 2021 presidential campaigns.
He narrated that Gen. Otafiire who signed the Statement, even though it was read by his State Minister Gen. David Muhoozi confirmed that at the scene of crime, there was a military vehicle.
He added that government intentionally refused to carry out a postmortem report on Ssenteza’s dead body because they feared that it would reveal the cause of his death.
“He stated that NUP supporters run away with the dead body and it is the reason they gave why they didn’t make a postmortem report but all of us know very well that the State has the capacity to exhume a body and carry out an autopsy because we cannot allow a person to die in such circumstances not subject his body to a postmortem,” Kivumbi said.
Ssenteza, who was a carpenter at Mulago ku Biiri along Bombo road was knocked dead at Busega roundabout and buried in December of 2020 at his ancestral home in Masaka district.
Kivumbi added that another explanation they want from Otafire is the circumstances under which Bobi Wine supporter Ritah Nabukenya died in a motor accident.
He said that Otafire confirmed that Nabukenya was knocked by a speeding police patrol at Nakawa a Kampala city suburb and the driver of the patrol was arrested but the Director for Public Prosecution (DPP) Justice Jane Frances Abodo declined to sanction the file on grounds that it did not have supporting evidence.
He insisted that the evidence was there but the file was not sanctioned on political grounds.
However when contacted, Gen. Otafiire boasted that he is ready to face Mpuuga in parliament and he will answer all his questions on the floor of parliament because he will be there himself, not his junior minister.
Highly placed sources in the LOP’s office told theGrapevine that immediately after Mpuuga makes his response, he will table fresh demands.
They will include demands for an explanation on the arrest and humiliation of Muslim clerics and the issue of Balalo in northern Uganda particularly in Acholi.
But Otafiire said that once the new demands are raised, he will ask the presiding speaker to give him more time to investigate the allegation and report back as he did with the first demands.
Bigirwa (C) salutes Bobi Wine (L). On the right is the writer George Mubiru
As the elders say, “He who rushes ahead doesn’t reach far.” This proverb explains exactly why Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) rapidly conquered Busoga but drastically seem to have lost it within a twinkle of an eye.
This has also justified the saying that; “A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it is hatched.”
NUP’s egg will never hatch. The recently concluded memorable royal wedding, which Basoga and the friends of Busoga adhored and witnessed exposed the ill intentions of NUP towards Busoga.
In an alleged audio conversation between Bigirwa and the mysterious woman whose efforts were focused on failing the royal wedding, Bigirwa talks about how they (he and his president) faked the 10M contribution delivery to the Busoga premier as a stunt and PR for the party but they did not do it out of love for Busoga.
This shocked Basoga and opened their eyes to know how exactly NUP feels about BUSOGA.
The ill intentions of NUP towards Busoga was further exposed after the royal wedding when Bajjo appeared on one of the Kampala based FM radio stations where he falsely insulted and accused Busoga kingdom that they didn’t invite NUP yet there were NUP officials who attended the function like MP Manjeri Kyebakutika, Swengere, Hassan Muwanga, etc.
He went ahead to demand for the refund of the money NUP contributed towards the royal wedding.
As if that was not enough, there are so many bloggers and TikTokers who have continuously abused the king and Basoga using Luganda language as well as attaching themselves to NUP and Bobi Wine. Neither the NUP principal nor the party leaders have come out to disassociate themselves and the party from such individuals, maybe as a sign that they support them.
To redeem themselves, the party leadership sat and demoted Bigirwa from his position as coordinator eastern region, a move which rubber-stamp their guilt.
In a dramatic turn of events, Bigirwa has vowed not to drown alone. He has promised to expose the true version of NUP and expose all their misdeeds.
Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity against our culture because of their selfishness interests.
What’s the significance of all the above?
In a court of fowls, the cockroach never wins his case. NUP loses; NRM and President Museveni win again.
1.If you shut out the truth and bury it under the ground, it will grow, and gather to itself such explosive power that the day it bursts through, it will blow up everything in its way. Basoga have realized that NUP and Bobi Wine are their enemies. They were hoodwinked by Bobi Wine and given time, the truth has unfolded. After all, how easy is it to make people believe a lie, and how hard is it to undo that work again.
2.Why is the Guinea fowl not used in rituals despite it’s beauty. The simple answer is in alignment with the popular axiom: “All that glitters is not gold.” Majority of the population in Busoga are so much aggrieved by such actions and have vowed not to support NUP and Bobi Wine anymore. They believe that they have been rediculed enough and have discovered the initial deception of Bobi Wine.
Some Basoga are ready to refund the 10m NUP contributed towards the function as demanded by BAJJO.
If a musoga says NO, he means it. It’s point clear that they have dustbined Bobi Wine and NUP.
NUP is built on opportunism, sectarianism, tribalism and hypocrisy. They are self seekers and therefore the so called struggle is built for personal gains. How ironically it is, they want to reap fat cheques without due work done.
The reason why president Museveni has remained relevant politically for the last 60 years, is because he takes the line between Uganda and Africa, he doesn’t look at identity. The big problem in Uganda before him was bad politics which he solved immediately.
As usual, patience is the companion of wisdom, general Museveni will undoubtedly reclaim Busoga in 2026 with a resounding victory. As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion.
The writer, George Mubiru, is a Jinja based researcher and NRM mobilizer
Yusuf Nsibambi, the Mawokota South legislator who also doubles as the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Chief Whip in parliament has threatened to resign his two political positions if Kira Municipality Member of Parliament Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda tables evidence supporting his allegations that he has been having secret dealings with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government.
Ssemujju claimed that Nsibambi shocked him when he discovered that the man he has been respecting for a long time as a university law don and the former chairperson of Kampala District Land Board is a mafia.
He alleged that he has evidence showing that when parliamentary committees made majority and minority reports, Nsibambi always signed on both reports.
He disclosed that Nsibambi always signed the majority report to show President Museveni that he supports him but also signed the minority report to show that he is supporting the opposition in parliament.
He added that from then on, he lost trust in Nsibambi and it was the reason why he was not shocked when he decided to attend parliament plenary when the Leader of Opposition in parliament Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba directed them not to attend until president Museveni’s government gives parliament a detailed report on the status of the opposition supporters who are missing.
However, Nsibambi put Ssemujju on notice to provide proof to support his allegations, promising to resign if he tables the evidence.
He accused Ssemujju of being one of the new breed of politicians who have mastered the art of playing malice and blackmail politics.
He said that Ssemujju is using the opposition parliament plenary boycott to carry out his revenge on him after he was dismissed from the office of FDC Chief Whip in parliament.
He advised opposition leadership in parliament to avoid using the boycott to fight personal battles like Ssemujju is doing because they are dealing with President Museveni who spends over 18 hours a day only thinking about politics.
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