Regional
Muhoozi announces interest in Uganda presidency
![image](webadmin/images/muhoozi.jpg-20220508090312000000.jpg)
After
almost a decade of speculations, Lt-Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has publicly
expressed his interest in succeeding his father Yoweri Museveni as president of
Uganda.
Uganda’s
first son and commander of the country’s land forces first signalled his desire
to go public about his presidential ambitions when he auspiciously turned his
48th birthday celebrations towards the end of April into a
national event.
With
several festivities organised countrywide and the main event at State House
graced by President Museveni and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, the MKAt48 birthday
celebrations created quite a buzz in the media and were seen by many as an
effort to make Gen Muhoozi popular as he prepares the ground for a shot at the
next presidential elections.
The
Muhoozi Project—which was coined by Gen David Sejusa in 2013 saying that
President Museveni was grooming his son to succeed him when he retires—had been
repeatedly denied by both President Museveni and Gen Muhoozi for almost a
decade.
But
after the much-hyped birthday celebrations, which included a marathon and a
football match, Gen Muhoozi seems to have mustered enough courage to publicly
express his interest in the presidency, which he did in his typical informal
style on May 1 via Twitter, his preferred social media channel. Gen. Muhoozi is
a prolific Twitter user with more than half a million followers.
“When
Team MK wins power in this country, which we will, our first action will be to
increase the sports budget,” Gen Muhoozi said on Twitter. “Team MK will
announce our political programme soon.”
During
Gen Muhoozi’s birthday celebrations at State House in Entebbe on April 24,
President Museveni himself hinted that his son would be taking charge when he
said that Gen Muhoozi “is impatient” with the corrupt and “will fight them.”
What
remains unclear though is when Gen Muhoozi is likely to contest for Uganda’s
top post.
His
father’s term in office ends in 2026 and Muhoozi himself is still a serving
soldier in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). The Ugandan constitution
forbids serving soldiers from participating in active politics.
Henry
Tumukunde and Kiiza Besigye, who have previously contested for president
against President Museveni and lost, all had to first retire from the army
before making a foray into active politics.
Efforts
to get a comment from Major Chris Magezi, Gen Muhoozi’s spokesman, proved
futile as he did not answer our repeated calls or respond to our messages. Even
UPDF spokesman, Brig-Gen Felix Kulaigye, distanced himself from the matter.
“Ask
Gen Muhoozi himself. Generals are allowed to talk,” he told The
EastAfrican.
On
March 8, Gen Muhoozi informally announced his retirement from the army on
Twitter, fuelling speculations that he intended to leave the army and launch a
political career. He, however, backtracked just a few hours later.
“After
28 years of service in my glorious military, the greatest military in the
world, I am happy to announce my retirement,” Gen Muhoozi tweeted before
“clarifying” a few hours later that he would be “leaving the army after eight
years.”
However,
one of the members of the “Team MK”, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the matter, said “the so-called political
programme is not yet out and it’s the Commander in Chief (Yoweri Museveni) and
the Promotions and Commissions Board of the UPDF that are responsible for
endorsing his decision to retire from the army.”
According
to local political analyst Professor Ndebesa Mwambutsya, whether Gen Muhoozi
retires from the army before pursuing a political career doesn’t matter because
of what he describes as the discrepancy and double standards by which the
country is currently governed.
He
told The EastAfrican in a telephone interview, “In Uganda we
operate under invisible powers, meaning that they cannot be held accountable.
What works in our cassava republic is the informal, but not the formal, and the
Muhoozi Project reflects that. It’s these informal spaces that will determine
Uganda’s next president.
“Muhoozi
himself already has an informal position – Presidential Advisor on Special
Duties – so anything can be covered under that.”
Professor
Ndebesa argues that even though the laws that govern soldiers and their
involvement in politics are clear, they “are formal on the surface and informal
underneath.”
Source:
www.theeastafrican.co.ke