The surprise losers in Museveni’s Cabinet reshuffle

A week ago yesterday, President Museveni carried out a Cabinet reshuffle in which he dropped six ministers and appointed eight new ones, including Mr Rafael Magyezi, Mr Jackson Kafuuzi, Mr Peter Ogwang and Mr Denis Hansom Obua, who were at the forefront of the passing on December 20, 2017, of age limit Bill.
On Monday, while addressing a cabinet meeting at State House Entebbe, Mr Museveni claimed that he had pulled off what he described as “a mini-surgical operation” in the fight against corruption, which suggests that the new team is meant to reinforce the fight against corruption.

It should, however, be remembered that Mr Museveni has over the years been pursuing a policy that rewards regions that support the NRM or people who are loyal to him.
The pursuit of that policy dates back to the post-1996 general election period when he declared at a rally in Namungalwe in Iganga, that the composition of his Cabinet would be based on how regions had voted during an election to which he romped to his first election victory with 74.3 per cent of the vote, leaving Dr Paul Ssemogerere with 23.6 per cent and Mr Kibirige Mayanja with 2.1 per cent of the vote.
Fast forward to the Cabinet reshuffle and one would have expected the loudest promoters of the age limit bill, most of who are guarded by the (very very important person) unit of the force, to be part of the Cabinet, but no. Some missed out. Who are they?

Robert Ssekitoleko
The Bible in Matthew 20:16 says, “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen,” that seems to have been Mr Robert Ssekitoleko’s cup. The Nakifuma County MP was the first legislator on September 14, 2016, to seek leave of Parliament to amend the Constitution to increase the retirement age for judges and scrap term limits for Commissioners of the Electoral Commission (EC), a move which had been deemed as a clever way of going about the presidential age limit.
He was unfortunately denied his day in the sun when Speaker Kadaga directed that his motion be shelved to allow government to present an omnibus Bill that would handle all constitutional amendments in one go. Even then, he remained a vocal supporter of lifting or removal of the lower and upper age limits for which he had been expected to be rewarded.

Moses Grace Balyeku
Instead of rising up against President Museveni for not including him in his new Cabinet, the people of Jinja have been celebrating the omission of Mr Balyeku, who teamed up with Mr Jackson Kafuuzi, to second the motion.
Back then, Mr Balyeku who burst into the political scene around 2009, took the Jinja District NRM seat unopposed in 2010 before beating FDC’s Harry Kasigwa to the Jinja West seat in the 2011 general election, argued that it was wrong for people to be discriminated on account of their age.
“Age should not be a factor that hinders the rights and freedom of any Ugandan to vie for the post of a president,” he said then.

He, has however, never concealed his desire and ambition to serve on the Cabinet. On May 4, 2013, during the launch of the tourism promotion campaigns “Paint the City Bright” and “Relay from Jinja to Northern Sweden” by President Museveni, the LCI Chairman of Kiira Road, Mr Deo Akiiki, demanded that Mr Balyeku be appointed to Cabinet, a move which was believed to have been engineered by the latter.
He seemed to be on an upward trajectory until the November 2015 NRM elections in which he lost the district NRM chair to Mr Nathan Igeme Nabeta, who got 242 votes against Balyeku’s 197. He cried foul, accusing the Minister of Housing and Urban Development then, Mr Daudi Migereko, and the then RDC of Buvuma, Mr Richard Gulume, of having connived to rig him out.

Early in February 2018, days before Mr Igeme was defeated by FDC’s Paul Mwiru in the Jinja East parliamentary by-election, some Jinja District NRM leaders told Mr Museveni during a meeting at the Civil Service College in Jinja, that Mr Balyeku was sabotaging the NRM candidate. The party chairman compelled the two to put up a public show of reconciliation, but it would seem that he had taken note of the betrayal of the party.
At the same time, Mr Balyeku recently appeared before the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters, fighting accusations of forgery of minutes of the Jinja Municipal Council and the Jinja District Land Board and using his security to intimidate and harass government servants as he sought to process a freehold title over public land for his associate, Maganalal Jay Thummar Patel, to set up a shopping mall. Mr Balyeku denied any wrongdoing, but it seems the timing of the accusations rendered him a pariah.

Simeo Nsubuga
At the end of July, former police spokesperson Simeo Nsubuga, was roughed up Mr William Buganda Ntege, alias Kyumakyayesu, in front of crowds that had turned up in Mubende during celebrations to mark the 24th coronation anniversary of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi. Mr Ntege said he manhandled Mr Nsubuga for masterminding a ‘devil’s Bill.’
However, in August this year following the razing of more than 200 homes in Bukoba, Kika, Kassawo, Kabalagala, Lwamasanga, Bukompe and Kanyogoga villages in Nalutuntu Sub-County, with the approval of the presidential aide on legal affairs, Ms Florence Kiconco, by alleged agents of businessman Abid Alam, Mr Nsubuga launched a number of tirades against the NRM, even suggesting that it would find winning the 2021 general election tough.
“I have stood with NRM at a time when no one wanted to be associated with NRM, I have sacrificed so much for the sake of NRM, I defended the party when no one could, but is this what they are paying me?” A visibly angry Nsubuga said. Did he shout himself off the Cabinet list?

Jacob Oboth-Oboth (West Budama South)
The West Budama South MP chaired the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs which was tasked to scrutinise the Bill after it was tabled by Mr Raphael Magyezi.
Though his committee was divided and ended up producing both a main report and a minority report, Mr Oboth delivered a main report that recommended the removal of age limits on grounds that Article 102(b) “marginalises the youth and elderly by prohibiting them from offering their candidature in a presidential election,” it recommended.
The main report, which was supported by 18 NRM MPs and two NRM-leaning Independents, recommended the reintroduction of presidential term limits. Mr Oboth had been expected to be rewarded for steering the committee and delivering at a time when emotions were running very high.

Doreen Amule (Amolator)
In 2016, during local celebrations to commemorate Independence Day at the Boma Grounds in Amolatar, Ms Amule was attacked by a section of residents as she tried to sell them the idea of supporting the controversial constitutional amendment.
Some of those in attendance were said to have grabbed the microphone from her and stopped her from making any further submissions at the function. The police was forced to bolster her security, but the threats to her personal security did not deter the woman who had been one of the co-sponsors of the controversial Bill from continuing to use other platforms to campaign for it.
However, on December 20, 2017 when Parliament finally voted on the Bill, Ms Amule was listed as one of those who went missing in action, for which her loyalty could have been called into question, leading to her omission.

Solomon Silwanyi
The Bukooli Central legislator, who is also the Vice Chairperson of the NRM Parliamentary caucus, worked very closely with Ms Nankabirwa, during mobilization ahead of the passing of the Bill. That coupled with calling for action against NRM MPs who voted against passing of the bill and having defeated the former Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LOP) during the 2016 general election, had made Mr Silwanyi appear a good candidate for a Cabinet post, but that did not happen.

Mwesigwa Rukutuna
The former Deputy Attorney General has not been dropped, but he was very active during debate on the Bill and was at hand to put up a spirited defence of the same when it came up for hearing in the Constitutional Court.
For that legwork, Mr Rukutana had been expected to get some kind of promotion to full Cabinet Minister or even take over as Attorney General, but that did not happen.
In February this year, he was thrown out of the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters for allegedly undermining the Commission’s Chairperson and other officials during cross-examination. Rukutuna, who was at the time under investigation on allegations that he had wrongly advised and misinformed President Museveni on the ownership of Mutungo Hill, launched a tirade against the commission.
“You can report me to God,” he famously declared once outside the building. The statement was directed at Justice Catherine Bamugemereire.

He was embroiled in a long running battle with the State Minister for Privatisation and Investment, Ms Evelyn Anite, over the management Uganda Telecoms Limited, under the administration of Twebaze Bemanya, the Executive Director of the Uganda Registration Services Bureau. Matters took a turn for worse in August this year, when Minister Anite convened a presser at which she alleged that there was a “mafia” in government that was intent on killing her.
“Why would I murder a girl anyway? I know how to put girls to some other good use,” Rukutana said in response to Ms Anite’s claims. The two fights could have stood in his way.

Ruth Nankabirwa
That Ms Ruth Nankabirwa put in quite a shift in mobilising NRM MPs to attend meetings of the NRM parliamentary caucus and proceedings of Parliament during debates and on voting day has never been in doubt. That only six NRM MPs skipped the December 20, 2017 vote, is testimony to her good work.
Besides, demonstrating that she is a hard worker, she was at the forefront of organizing a party to celebrate the NRM’s age limit victory.
In the middle of March during Kabale District’s celebrations of the International Women’s Day, Ms Nankabirwa continued to show her love for and loyalty to Mr Museveni when she declared that he is a “super human being” and a “a gift from God,” adding that he should be kept in power “because of his superhuman wisdom.”
For that hard work, admiration and loyalty, one had expected her to get some kind of promotion. It did not come through.