Mbabazi absent at Kanungu NRM meet
Mr Mbabazi
What you need to know:
Efforts to invite the former premier for the meeting reportedly failed because he could not be reached as his known mobile phone numbers were off air.
KANUNGU- Former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi did not attend the ruling NRM party’s delegates meeting held in his home district of Kanungu on Wednesday.
The Resident District Commissioner, Mr Martin Mugabi, who was in charge of inviting the party’s district delegates, said he tried to invite Mr Mbabazi for the meeting but he could not be reached as his known mobile phone numbers were off air.
Mr Mugabi said the closed meeting for all NRM party delegates in the district and opinion leaders was held at Keroda Gardens in Kanunugu Town.
Mr Mugabi said the meeting was meant to communicate President Museveni’s message on poverty eradication to all the party delegates to spread among the local population.
He said the delegates discussed development and increasing household incomes.
Invitation
“I invited all the NRM party leaders and some opinion leaders in Kanungu District to discuss poverty and increasing household incomes as contained in President Museveni’s message which was delivered by the Minister for the Presidency, Mr Frank Tumwebaze. All MPs from this area attended except Hon Mbabazi because his invitation was not delivered as his phone was not available,” Mr Mugabi said.
He added: “Kanungu Woman MP Elizabeth Karungi sent her political assistant while Kinkizi East MP Chris Baryomunsi attended in person. We only discussed development and poverty eradication and no politics at all.”
Mr Tumwebaze chaired the meeting, assisted by Rujumbura MP Jim Muhwezi, Rubanda East MP Henry Musasizi, Ndorwa West MP David Bahati and Kinkizi East MP Chris Baryomunsi. The Kanungu meeting follows a similar one conducted in Kabale by the same NRM leaders on Tuesday.
The meetings have been interpreted by the public as a scheme by the President to galvanise his support among the party hierarchy across the country following speculation that Mr Mbabazi intends to stand for President in 2016 and has been mobilising party members for the cause.
However, both Kabale RDC Darius Nandinda and his Kanungu counterpart Mugabi insisted the meetings were purely about dissemination of the President’s development and poverty eradication call.
Mr Mugabi said issues of land use for economic transformation from peasantry to middle class were discussed.
He said they did not discuss anything about Mr Mbabazi.
The meeting was attended by the district NRM chairperson, Ms Josephine Katsya, and her executive, district councillors, sub-county chairpersons and opinion leaders.
“Issues of Amama Mbabazi and President Museveni politics were not discussed in the meeting. We only discussed issues of development. The post of the President of Uganda is currently occupied by Mr Museveni and if anyone was to discuss who should occupy it, they should do so when it falls vacant,” said Mr Frank Byaruhanga the Mpungu sub-county councillor.
The district finance secretary for the Youth Council, Mr Apollo Matsiko, was not invited for the meeting but said his team was ready to vote Mr Mbabazi for President if he presents his candidature during the party’s National Delegates Conference.
“We need to discuss politics targeting good leaders before we talk about development and poverty eradication at household level,” Mr Matsiko said.
