Mao should focus on persuading NRM party, not Museveni on retirement

Last week, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao dropped a bombshell by requesting President Museveni to thrust a plan that will see a peaceful handover of power to a successor.

The minister reasons that in the post-independence era, there has never been a peaceful handover of power from one president to another and that all have gone by force, barrel of a gun.

He went on to advise the head of state that all the good things he has done for this country for the past close to four decades will go down the drain should he also go by a gun.

If I may quote Minister Mao verbatim, he said: “The government of Uganda where it is, including … President [Museveni] does not need to build another highway. He (Museveni) doesn’t even need to build another bridge, he doesn’t even need to commission another industrial park, all he needs to do is to preside over a peaceful transition of power.”

He continued: “That will compensate for all the uncompleted factories, all [the] uncompleted roads and so on. To me, that was my motivation to be part of the government.”

While I welcome the advice of Minister Mao to Gen Museveni, my opinion is that he should instead focus on what the party says on who leads it rather than focusing on an individual in the name of Yoweri Museveni. This is why;

The fundamental reason is that Gen Museveni’s leadership and freedom fighting are for the interests of the NRM party and its historical mission and not his interests.

Before the 2021 general elections, The NRA/M  topmost organ, CEC unanimously agreed that Gen Museveni should represent it in 2021 and beyond.

This decision hasn’t changed, meaning Mao’s mission and suggestions are extraordinarily misguided.

This was buttressed by the director of communications at the NRM Secretariat, Mr Emmanuel Dombo who said, come 2026, their party flag bearer is still President Museveni.

Minister Mao should remember that President Museveni has been on record saying that it is the voters who have always voted him back into power and that if they had voted him out, he would have been happy looking after his cows in the village.

Secondly, the Luweero bush war hero, who is approaching his 80s, has always demonstrated how he is still physically fit, and in good health coupled with his disciplined lifestyle of not drinking, not smoking, taking drugs, and not eating any food he comes across.

According to Mzee, as he is lately referred, he is not sick and not in a wheelchair, the reason why the youth keep on disturbing him to continue leading our beloved country for longer.

Besides the youth urging President Museveni to continue giving leadership to this country, the constitutional provisions on age and presidential terms were removed from the supreme law, the Constitution, so there are no more restrictions barring Mzee from continuing as the chief executive of our motherland, Uganda.

To Minister Mao’s proposal, it’s not all about seeing a peaceful transfer of power to another leader but how capable is that new leader. The new leader may take this country back to its dark past including draining its economy, which had started picking up.

So the narrative that Museveni should peacefully transfer power to his successor is not everything that will ensure that this country continues being in peace. Let’s think beyond Museveni and also let’s give the current regime that is validly elected by the majority of the citizens the chance to serve their term, which is just halfway to the 2026 general polls. It’s not time for politics but work for the citizens of Uganda who gave the five-year mandate to the NRM party under the leadership of Mzee Museveni.

Mr Macxzzon Muhwezi is a member of the NRM Youth League.