Four times in 16 days in Busoga, what is Museveni’s agenda?

Common visitor. Museveni says decision by Jinja mayor to invite him to the area is an act of wisdom as he has the resources for the region’s projects. Salaamu Musumba notes that it is Busoga which is renewing its allegiance to Museveni and the NRM by inviting him.

• Youth Day celebrations: First he attended the April 19 burial of the late LC3 chairperson of Bulopa Sub-county, Gerald Kibeyo. Mr Museveni was not personally known to Mr Kibeyo.
  The only reason that was given by Kamuli Resident District Commissioner, Mr Jackson Asiimwe, was that Museveni had deemed it fit to attend the burial of the man who was meant to be his guest at his country home in Rwakitura.
  The following day, Museveni returned to the region, this time heading to Kaliro where he launched the Busoga Youth Forum and gave the youth a sack containing Shs250 million, a lorry, an omnibus and another Shs15 million.
• Tourism : On May 4, the President was back in Jinja where he launched two initiatives; the “Relay from Jinja to Skellef tea, Sweden” and “Paint the City Bright” campaigns aimed at marketing Jinja as a tourist destination.
• Vaccination campaign: On April 29, Mr Museveni was back in Iganga District where he presided over the launch of the Pneumococcal vaccine.

President Museveni’s motorcade has become quite a common sight in Busoga. In the last 16 days, Mr Museveni has visited the region a record four times. First he attended the April 19 burial of the LC3 chairperson of Bulopa Sub-county, Gerald Kibeyo. Mr Museveni was not personally known to Mr Kibeyo. The only reason that was given by Kamuli Resident District Commissioner, Mr Jackson Asiimwe, was that Museveni had deemed it fit to attend the burial of the man who was meant to be his guest at his country home in Rwakitura.

The following day, Museveni returned to the region, this time heading to Kaliro where he launched the Busoga Youth Forum and gave the youth a sack containing Shs250 million, a lorry, an omnibus and another Shs15 million.

On April 29, Mr Museveni was back in Iganga District where he presided over the launch of the Pneumococcal vaccine. On May 4, the President was back in Jinja where he launched two initiatives; the “Relay from Jinja to Skellef tea, Sweden” and “Paint the City Bright” campaigns aimed at marketing Jinja as a tourist destination.

Museveni was yesterday expected to be in Buyende where he was to preside over the Kagulu Hill Climbing Challenge, which is aimed at boosting activity around the Busoga Tourism circuit. Reliable sources indicate that Mr Museveni will soon return to Jinja where he is expected to preside over a fundraising drive for the Jinja Christian Center (JCC).

What is he chasing?

At no prior time has Museveni shown as much interest in the goings on in Busoga as he has in recent times. So what is he chasing in Busoga? Officially, Museveni has been and will be returning to Busoga to deliver on his many promises and boost the region’s tourism initiatives, but then it is also historically known that the President often makes similar visits to areas that are considered of vital importance to the ruling NRM every two years after a general election, but regular visits suggest that there is more to the visits than meets the eye.

Kamuli boss says

Kamuli District chairperson Salaamu Musumba also the vice president of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, argues that it is Busoga which is renewing its allegiance to Museveni and the NRM. “We are the ones who have been inviting him. Two of the visits, the one to Bulopa and the one to Iganga were incidental, but we invited him to Kaliro, the people of Jinja invited him to the Source of the Nile and we invited him to Buyende,” she argues.

Former Jinja Municipality West MP Harry Kasigwa, who is also a member of FDC, defers.
He says Mr Museveni has already started politicking, an assertion which Jinja RDC, Richard Gulume, does not dispute.

“Politics is a continuous game. The only politician who stops politicking is a dead one. Besides, there is what they call consolidation,” Gulume says. Kasigwa describes Museveni’s sojourns as “the mathematics of survival” and part of the process of putting the NRM’ house in order.

“Museveni knows that he is losing Buganda and that he has lost ground in much of the eastern Uganda. It is important that he secures Busoga which is one of the few strongholds he still has in the east” he argues.

Kadaga factor

According to Kasigwa, though the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has never clearly declared her intentions to challenge him for the Presidency, Mr Museveni would rather work on the assumption that she is mustering her energy to challenge for the job and, therefore, move to nip her ambitions in the bud by closely working with her on matters such as rallying the people of Busoga around the promotion of the Busoga tourism circuit.

This, according to Kasigwa, also explains why Museveni, who was at the Source of the Nile in Jinja only two days after the May 2 landmark ruling that allowed the so called NRM rebel MPs to retain their seats, did not attack her for the decision.

“I think Kadaga is now a thorn in his flesh because he is so afraid of seeing another person emerging, but he could not dare attack her. Even this move that the party made against [Theodore] Ssekikubo, Tinkasimire [Barnabas], Niwagaba [Wilfred] and [Muhammad] Nsereko is about self preservation” he argues.