Writer: Alan Tacca. PHOTO/FILE
Although published over the weekend, last Sunday’s article was written before Alien Skin’s December 31 skirmishes with Pallaso.
However, Alien Skin had already distinguished himself for staging weird happenings, including the truly bizarre beating up of medical staff at Nsambya Hospital.
Reason: allegedly because the medics were following hospital procedure instead of obeying Alien Skin’s orders after the death of a friend at the hospital.
Since the former Leader of Opposition in Parliament damaged his reputation by sharing with three others a dubious award of Sh1.7 billion of taxpayers’ money, Mpuuga has been working frantically to vindicate himself; and, apparently, to undermine his (NUP) party leader, Robert Kyagulanyi, or Bobi Wine.
After his partial disgrace, Mpuuga has used words like civility, decency, obugunjufu and statesmanship more times than you would care to count.
He wants us to associate him with those attributes, and to believe that Kyagulanyi lacks them.
It was therefore starkly ironic that his newly-found buddy, the man introduced to add celebrity appeal to his new Democratic Alliance, was Alien Skin.
Hon Mathias Mpuuga may be destined to deepen his instruction through being stung.
The value his other buddy, the Kimanya-Kabonera MP, Dr Abed Bwanika, has been adding to the anti-Kyagulanyi mission is gutter grade.
In an environment with a myriad of economic, governance, public morality and human rights issues that call for serious political attention, Bwanika’s vitriolic voice has been loudest when smearing Kyagulanyi’s character with unsubstantiated allegations of supporting gay activities.
Bwanika rants with such emotional intensity and deploys such vulgar language that we are forever searching for the narrative of decency, good breeding and statesmanship that will supposedly inform the Mpuuga-led Democratic Alliance.
Instead, in a world of shifting moral angles, their preoccupation with the sexual theme may tempt clinical psychologists to speculate whether this obsessive behavior is to cover or compensate for their own inadequacy; not necessarily inadequacy in a direct sensual sense, but perhaps by displacement (indirectly) in the sphere of politics.
Many years ago, a French politician wryly quipped that Margaret Thatcher (R.I.P) was the only man in the British government.
Power is usually associated with the male gender. God Himself was invented in the image of a mythical human male, with power so awesome that He could father a child (also male) extra-carnally.
The Greek gods were less scrupulous; they did not shy away from pleasure among mortals.
According to social media junkies, (army chief) CDF Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has X-(tweeted) that without the restraining hand (or head) of his father, he (Muhoozi) would chop off Bobi Wine’s head.
Bobi Wine has retorted that he takes the CDF’s threat seriously, but is not afraid, and that the relevant institutions should take appropriate action, unless they do not think much of the CDF.
These are men in ‘conversation’ about power.
When you crave power like Mpuuga or Bwanika in an environment where power is markedly associated with the macho character, it must hurt if you feel that you are not man enough for the contest.
So the rack of constitutional and electoral reforms floating in Mpuuga’s head is not even worth talking about under the present regime. They are fantasies Mpuuga peddles to appear relevant.
To make his journey in the real world, hanging on the likes of Alien Skin and all those politicians staggering around him will not work.
However, a bigger doze of humility will help him to know where he is standing. And to march forward, moreover uphill, he must grow his own feet.
Mr Tacca is a novelist and
socio-political commentator.
[email protected]
