Museveni to Sejusa: If you want war, you know where to find me
What you need to know:
At a press conference in Kampala yesterday, President Museveni dared renegade General David Sejusa to carry out his threat of unseating the NRM government by use of force, saying: “If he wants to use force, let him come. He knows my address...we have been waiting for him a few months now.”
Kampala
President Museveni has challenged renegade General David Sejusa to go ahead and try using force to overthrow the NRM government, but quickly warned that such action would be in vain. “If he wants to use force, let him come. He knows my address…We have been waiting for him for a few months now,” President Museveni sounded the invite during a press conference at State House, Nakasero, yesterday evening.
The President, who gestured with raised hands and narrowed his face into contorted frowns as he addressed the issue, warned the General that he would face the full force of the law upon any eventual return. “Sejusa is already a deserter,” said the President. “He has already made a lot of mistakes and he will be handled according to the law.”
In an interview with the BBC in June, Gen Sejusa said he would use all available means to unseat President Museveni’s government, which he termed as “a life presidency transiting into a political monarchy”. Mr Museveni, however, moved to allay concern that Gen Sejusa had caused his government any discomfort.
Sejusa a non-issue
“We are not really concentrating on Tinyefuza now; he is not our priority,” said the President, who insisted Gen Sejusa had broken the law by deserting the army. Days after Gen Sejusa, the coordinator of intelligence agencies, had left the country in April, details of a letter he had written to one of the spy chiefs emerged, alleging that top officials opposed to the “Muhoozi Project” were marked for elimination.
The government denied the existence of the project reportedly meant to aid First Son Muhoozi Kainerugaba take over from his father. In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV this week, President Museveni said his son, who is a serving military officer, was not interested in politics—at least in the short term. Gen Sejusa, meanwhile, remains holed up in London in self-imposed exile.
At yesterday’s media briefing, the President also defended the increased funding for his donations captured in the State House budget, despite cries by teachers to have their salaries raised.
Mr Museveni said the Shs80 billion allocated to presidential donations this year up from Shs6 billion in 2012, was important for the development of the country.
The money, he said, would help in drives such as model parishes, adding that he could not bring his cattle from Rwakitura to develop other areas in Uganda.
Teachers needed Shs140 billion for a 20 per cent salary increment which the government turned down.
Stressing that the country had enough money to handle its development needs, the president said that the biggest priority now lay on more pressing issues, like road construction and electricity, as compared to salary increment.
