Since the announcement of a new cabinet by President Yoweri Museveni, two questions have been widely asked and discussed across Busoga; did the President promote or demote his former Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba now Minister in the Prime Minister’s office in charge of General Duties and former Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga now 1st Deputy Premier and Minister for East African Affairs? Why did the President deploy three powerful hitherto antagonistic women politicians in the same PM’s office?
Speculative media prior to the announcement had raised Basoga’s hopes that it was their time to shine. They argued that after Kadaga’s exit from the Speakership, Lumumba would be the compromise appointment since Kadaga had hinted on rejecting the Vice Presidency. A few voices reminded the anxious NRM supporters that Mr. Museveni does not reward loyalty but sycophancy but these were quickly dismissed.s
In outright disappointment, the private discussions on social media platforms were that the bigman with a hat wanted to punish the region for having voted massively for the NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu who won 8 out of Busoga’s 11 Districts.
Kyagulanyi had upset the region despite the poor performance of his party at Parliamentary level. The combined opposition scored 4 out of 44 Parliamentary slots in Busoga with FDC’s 2 and 1 slot each for Jeema and NUP. NRM had remained the dominant party and many thought Museveni would reward Lumumba for the second successive onslaught against the opposition.
She had delivered 2 presidential elections for Mr.Museveni and his NRM party, shielded the after effects of Amama Mbabazi’s exit from the SG office, stomached the ridicule by NRM EC boss Tanga Odoi,withered the intrigue and infights from the then powerful Kadaga loyalists, managed the party’s Secretariat convincingly well.
Lumumba had branded herself as Maama NRM which is unprecedented in the history of the NRM, a roman catholic who had shown the country how you can do politics and remain a proud catholic even if one is deployed in a position that requires taking strong and controversial decisions.
She had cultivated in herself new large and critical constituencies from among the catholics, women, the married, the relatively young (word is told of how Lumumba would go for a disco dance for the sake of reaching the young class there), she’s undeniably approachable, she was present at every social function through local leaders of her party. Lumumba had branded herself as the name and face of NRM.Surely it was time to reward the woman from Bugiri with a bigger office as VP or PM or so they thought.
Kadaga too had become the loudest voice on Busoga issues and it was known that the “Maama wa Busoga” would not relent on this. She wielded a lot of power, respect and love from the region and across the country.
For a decade, the region was used to the two major sirens from lead/escort cars that formed Kadaga and Lumumba’s convoys.The have shifted to the North,it is their time to shine,they’re the President’s new found love.Is it coincidence that even the first recipient of the Nabbanja covid relief cash Godfrey Oloya is from Gulu?
The former Speaker fought many wars, she knew the mafia fighting her successes and spoke out openly of a succession battle that existed and that the schemers were out to finish her. Despite the mafia schemes, majority Basoga were satisfied with Kadaga’s performance. They knew she was strong and powerful and were quick to tell everyone how she had stood strong against Museveni by her score in the 2021 Speakership race.
So everyone had realized how hardworking and brilliant the two women were. They were shining well both in government and the party which is abominable in the son of Kaguta’s regime. Lumumba and Kadaga ignored this fact, they remained “naïve and were crashed process by process”.
When Kadaga lost the speakership, there emerged whispers of a paradigm political power shift from Kamuli (Kadaga’s home district) to Bugiri (Lumumba’s home district) in anticipation that Lumumba would be appointed VP or PM. In my corner I was laughing, wondering how Ugandans have failed to learn from the stories of Dr. Besigye,Eriya Kategaya(RIP),Mugisha Muntu,Miria Matembe,Amama Mbabazi,Kale Kayihura and David Ssejusa that in NRM the out tray is bigger than the in tray,it’s a use and dump practice deeply imbedded in Mr.Museveni’s survival instincts.
Across the social media inboxes, the questions remain; was Lumumba promoted or the demoted? What informed the bigman’s choices and deployments.
So, when Museveni dumped Lumumba to a position whose roles are not defined and bundled her in the same office with Kadaga and the somehow junior Lukia Nakadama all to be supervised by the biggest 2021 cabinet surprise Robinah Nabbanja, Busoga went silent.
What had gone wrong to the extent that even Kadaga had not been appointed Vice President the least they expected. But Busoga had held two powerful offices of Speaker of Parliament and Secretary General of the ruling party, it was time for the North to shine but no one had seen this coming. Besides, loyalists forgot that in NRM it is Mr. Museveni who is the ever-shining star.
The President’s speech at swearing in of his new cabinet where he alluded to Robinah Nabbanja’s role in exposing the corruption in the Kadaga – led 10th parliament and the quarrelsome nature of his new Vice President Jessica Alupo and remembered a quarrel between Alupo and Lumumba whose details he didn’t divulge carried all the answers to the ridicule of Kadaga and Lumumba.
The son of Kaguta had all along held a grain against the two powerful women.
It appears a settled fact that Museveni demoted and dumped Lumumba to an office with no stamp, no budget and no defined authority, so is the conclusion of many. Kadaga has also been maintained to save face. The President struggled at her swearing in to justify Kadaga’s suitability for the East African docket trying as hard to give the office such plastic importance.
For now, Busoga is silent, the only sirens left are those of ambulances transporting the sick but they are quite many given the covid – 19 situations and when corona goes, the VIP breeze will be no more.
He who had the clay that molded Kadaga and Lumumba’s politics broke his own products and so easily since he knew how much clay he had used and how burnt it was.
I can however say with confidence that the two ladies will perform and shock the country if facilitated. Nobody should underrate them. Until then Maama Busoga and Maama NRM are no more.
Sir Simon Muyanga Lutaaya is the managing editor at SML News Uganda,an online news portal licensed by the Uganda Communications Commission.
Sir Simon, this is indeed a great articulation about these two hitherto powerful ladies in Busoga.
However, lesson basoga should learn to respect their leaders. Secondly Busoga and basoga should always focus on Busoga development agenda irrespective of political and otherwise difference between.
Obusoga okwisanhia na amani