Regional
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.