NRM labours to save face of Museveni in DP Ruto’s saga

In a written statement, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) newly appointed Secretary General Richard Twodong denied reports that his party chairman Yoweri Museveni is meddling in Kenya’s political affairs. The statement came after accusations from a section of Kenyan Members of Parliament that Museveni had invited Kenya’s deputy President William Ruto for a private visit.

It is reported that Kenya’s deputy President William Ruto wished to travel to Uganda to meet President Museveni, whom he referred to as a “close friend” in a recent interview with a Kenyan television. William Ruto was surprised to find himself in a rather awkward position when he was denied travel by immigration officers at Wilson Airport in Nairobi. What followed this rather unusual incident is a war of words between the NRM officials and Kenyan politicians.

The newly-found ‘romance’ between Museveni and Ruto, especially owing to the former’s recent frequent ‘private’ visits to the neighbouring country, the fall out with president Uhuru Kenyatta prior to the 2022 presidential elections raised suspicions to Kenyan politicians.

 The NRM stated that it “does not and will never interfere with the internal affairs of any country” and added that the promotion of the Pan- Africanism spirit of brotherhood was one of their key attributes. 

The biggest shock was however, the Secretary General’s rebuttal to Hon. Junet Mohamed’s statement on Uganda’s leadership records when he said that the NRM was strong for it has led Ugandans for the last 35 consecutive years because of peace, security and human rights that they espouse.

He also said that Uganda’s record on fighting graft was laudable and that Uganda had a well-functioning institutional anti-corruption mechanism. Well, the Secretary General probably has his own metrics on Uganda’s record on those pillars, but the mostly known ones such as Transparency International reveal the contrary. The NRM’s 10-point political programme which Twodong referred to in his rebuttal, if looked at in isolation, can be a very good reference and guide for good governance, but the reality presents itself as deplorable. I will pick just five points out of the 10 and defend my position. 

Starting from the very first point - which talks about bringing about real democracy, the NRM cadres argued that people would resist the blandishments of unprincipled politicians. 

For Kenyans, this may be a new scenario but for those who follow closely Museveni’s maneuvers, this was typical of his malicious overtures, a characteristic he has maintained for decades. The letter written by the NRM Secretary General Richard Twodong responding to the Kenyan politicians was full of   hypocrisy

Explaining why he was going to Uganda, Ruto, who is gunning for the Kenyan presidency in next year’s general elections, said that his trip to Uganda was partly to benchmark for his ‘bottom-up’ approach, which he is fronting as his vehicle to win the presidency.

This however, attracted ire of Kenyan politicians, with many saying that there was nothing Kenyans wanted to benchmark on Uganda. Legislator Junet Muhammed was even more blunt. He said Kenya was not willing to borrow Uganda’s political habits, which he said could only lead to chaos and other problems in Kenya. He went on to enumerate NRM’s undesirable record on human rights, democracy, fighting corruption, governance and other aspects which he said Kenya should instead keep away from. 

As much as this was painful but true; the biggest astonishment was the NRM’s rebuttal to these statements. The reality in Uganda today is the total opposite, where the unprincipled are rewarded of positions and other benefits while the principled ones are treated as the enemies of the Museveni’s government and in most cases, are prosecuted for sticking to the right governance principles.

The NRM promised to build the army and police institutions that are apolitical and ensure security of all Ugandans. To date, Uganda is increasingly becoming more unsecure with army and police officers being shot at in broad day light by people Museveni calls “pigs”, most likely linked to the state. The most recent example is Gen. Katumba Wamala.

The most ridiculous of the NRM 10 points, is one on so-called non-interference doctrine, where the party claims that the Museveni government will steer clear from interfering in the affairs of other countries, mainly neighbours. Why then trying to interfere with its neighbours’ internal political affairs? Not only with Kenya’s but almost all her neighbours?

As by conclusion, it is important to pause a question to Hon Okello Oryem, Uganda’s junior minister for foreign affairs, who requested that Uganda should not be drawn into the internal affairs of Kenya. Why then would the Kenyan Deputy President wake up and go and board a plane to Uganda for an unplanned visit? What about the three ‘benchmarking meetings that have so far taken place between the NRM and DP Ruto’s delegation at the NRM Secretariat as confirmed by MP Oscar Sudi, the Member of Parliament for Kapseret and a key  Ruto ally?

Perhaps one thing the Kenyans should expect to hear from President Museveni anytime soon, is the claim that he met the Kenyan delegation ACCIDENTALY!  That is how Museveni works.