Why Mbabazi can’t divorce family from politics

Kampala- On January 25, 1971 when Idi Amin overthrew Apollo Milton Obote, Amama Mbabazi who was at school was infuriated and vowed he would not go to class unless and until Amin was toppled.

This, one can safely say, was a step into his million mile journey into politics whose culmination was reached with yesterday’s declaration to run for President in 2016.

In his yet-to-be released biography, the former prime minister and regime insider John Patrick Amama Mbabazi narrates, how during his tenure as a student leader at Ntare School, “there were guests such as Chango Machyo, Yoweri Museveni and Eriya Kategaya. More importantly, the debates became a conduit for spread of political ideology as students were introduced to Marxism, Capitalism,” and a subject dear to his heart - slave trade.

Like Museveni and several other present-day movers and shakers of our politics, Mbabazi’s university life, pursuing a law degree at Makerere University, was an academic expedition peppered with politics. Little wonder, his children are named after revolutionary figures.

Children named after revolutionaries
This is an important building block of Mbabazi’s political journey that explains why the Ruhindi family is deeply intertwined in his political work. When he stayed at Kitante Courts after university, with neighbours such as present-day Chief Justice Bart Katureebe (who baby sat his first born child), former High Court judge Patrick Tabaro and long-time lawyer Elly Karuhanga, Mbabazi’s wife, Jacqueline whom he married while still at Makerere (he admits he borrowed the wedding suit), named his first born daughter Rachel Mbabazi ‘Che’ in tribute to Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara whose Marxist-Leninist orientation he subscribed to.

Che is the world renowned and revered Argentine guerilla, revolutionary and military theorist who was a major figure in the Cuban Revolution. An icon of class struggle between the rich and poor, the workers and the wealthy, the forces for Capitalism/Imperialism and Socialism, before his CIA-assisted capture and subsequent summary execution by reactionary Bolivian forces, Che travelled throughout South America working alongside several Leftist-inspired liberation movements determined to rid the continent of American-backed neo-colonialism.

Lenina Patricia Kemigisha was named after the Russian Leftist revolutionary, Communist and political theorist Vladimir Lenin who would become first leader of the Soviet Union and on March 28, 1977, Mao Andrew Kamugasha was also named after the leader of the Chinese Communist revolution (Mao Zedong, founding father of the People’s Republic of China, better known as Chairman Mao), a man credited with driving Imperialism out of his country, and laying the foundation for the world power which is today’s modernised China.

Mark Karl Marx Bagwowabo was born 19 months later and named after Karl Marx, the father of Marxism.
Marx was the German philosopher, economist and revolutionary sociologist whose seminal works include the books: Communist Manifesto (a work laying out the beliefs that would guide mass movements across Europe in an envisioned working class revolution against the ownership classes that controlled the means of production) and Das Kapital, a provocative work in economics many believe forms the basis of contemporary understanding of labour and its relations with capital.

Mbabazi says of his children, giving an insight into why, unlike other politicians, his politics is not divorced from family, “My children were good children. Our home was always a high human traffic area because of my work first in FRONASA (the anti-Amin Front for National Salvation), then UPM (1980s political party Uganda Peoples Movement) and finally the Movement.

Through these periods, I worried a lot for their safety, but we had embarked on a road that was not supposed to be easy. Liberation struggles can be very dangerous more so to family members, however, it was a risk all of us in the struggle were prepared to take,” Mbabazi says.

Today, almost four decades later, Mbabazi’s family is at the frontline of his presidential bid, his wife Jacqueline whom he recruited in 1974 being FRONASA’s head of internal operations, as telephone operator for the organisation, single handedly voted at Namboole against the mutilation of the NRM party constitution. His, therefore, is a political family from the word go.

In the days ahead to the campaign, the contest is likely to draw in the Museveni-Mbabazi families.

In one of the NRM top organ meetings, Museveni is quoted revealing that one of his daughters had approached him with a view to responding to the scathing attacks from the Mbabazi family.

Not so popular among war heroes
But JPAM’s (as Mbabazi is increasingly now known) imposing demeanour has sometimes been a polarising figure as far back as the Bush War days.
Maj Gen Pecos Kutesa in his book, Uganda’s Revolution 1979-1986: How I saw it writes with graphic detail, how during a 1981 visit to their NRM external wing in Nairobi, Mr Mbabazi asked him to wash his car in exchange for money to buy a cigar. Resistance Officer (RO) 26 Kutesa was an aide de camp to Museveni, a position which came with some status hence his apparent astonishment at Mbabazi’s instructions then.

When he was sacked as premier, Col Samson Mande, an NRA historical living in exile in Sweden, posted on his social media page, “I must congratulate Uganda for getting out of the fangs of the father of corruption and destroyer of the NRM/A revolution.” Mande has argued before that Mbabazi was the, “thorn of NRM since the bush days.”

Museveni’s intimate relationship with Mbabazi is perhaps an affair only the two gentlemen know the inner details of.

At the height of the Temangalo land saga in February 2008 where Parliament sought to lay waste to Mbabazi for what they said was influence peddling in procurement of land by workers’ savings body, NSSF at an inflated price, Museveni took to the defence witness’ dock in the court of public opinion, saying, “Mbabazi is not a businessman. He is ever in office or handling my assignments. He does not know business. If I were him, I would have got a better price from that land.”

Mbabazi has been as close as anybody can get to Museveni in politics, one almost noticed a mutual affection between the two men before the falling out and sacking of September 18, 2014.

To-date, there has been no public ridicule by Mr Museveni of Mr Mbabazi and the converse is true, unlike as happened in 2001 against three-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye or Paul Ssemogerere in 1996 when the duo threw their hats in the presidential race ring.

How this past relationship plays into the election, now that the Mbabazi-Museveni lines have been drawn is one interesting aspect to watch.

Biography
He was born in Mparo village, Rukiga County on January 16, 1949

He is the current Member of Parliament for Kinkiizi West Constituency in Kanungu District, a position he has held since 1996.

Mbabazi holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), from Makerere University, obtained in 1975.

He also holds a postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice obtained from the Law Development Center, Kampala, obtained in 1976.

He is an advocate of the Courts of Judicature of Uganda and a member of the Uganda Law Society since 1977.

Prior to joining politics, he worked as State Attorney in the Attorney General’s Chambers, rising to the position of Secretary of the Uganda Law Council.

Between 1986 and 1991, he served as Director General of the External Security Organization (ESO), being the first person to serve in that position.

In 1994, he served as a delegate to the Constituent Assembly that drew up the 1995 Ugandan Constitution. He became the chairman of the National Resistance Movement Delegates Caucus.

He has also served as Minister of state in the President’s Office, in-charge of Political Affairs.

Between 1986 and 1992 he was minister of state for Defence.

Subsequently, he served as Minister of state for Foreign Affairs in charge of Regional Cooperation.
In 2004, he was appointed as Attorney General and Minister of Justice. He held that portfolio until he was appointed Minister of Defence in 2006, a position he held until he was appointed Security Minister.

Mr Mbabazi was National Resistance Movement Secretary General from November 2005 to January 2015.

He also served as Security minister from February 2009 until May 2011, when he was appointed the 10th prime minister of Uganda.
Amama Mbabazi is married to Ms Jacqueline Mbabazi, the chairperson of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Women’s League.

Compiled by Stephen Kafeero

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