Power has corrupted both those in opposition and govt

Power is like a truth pill that exposes the real character of a person. Former US president, Abraham Lincoln, once said: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

However, if you are a person of character, no amount of power can ever corrupt you. There have been few exceptions where even after attaining political power leaders were not corrupt.

Basically, you have four options to cope with corruption:

1. Participate in it. 2. Fight it and be destroyed, 3. Pretend you don’t see it. 4.Recognise it but choose not to participate in it. And I think if someone is very smart and very conscientious and very wise, he or she might be able to resist it and perhaps reduce it to some degree without being destroyed.

So, if you work at a corrupt organisation but you need your paycheck, you will usually find yourself with the same four options.

                                    Museveni’s fake letter

I am afraid to say that Nupians (NUP supporters) have fallen again into President Museveni’s trap. Did they actually think that Museveni wrote a letter questioning the amount of service award, not the legal aspect of it, to benefit NUP and Bobi Wine? It is surprising that they thought that because of Museveni’s ‘fake’ letter, then Mathias Mpuuga was in trouble. There is this Igbo proverb that goes like this,’’When a small bird is dancing in your path defiantly then know that there’s something or someone beating the drums for it (encouraging the bird to have no fear)’’.

Mpuuga is undoubtedly a rival to Bobi Wine in NUP. Bobi saw an opportunity to mudsling his opponent and he took it. He even linked him to being a Museveni stooge. Now, with Museveni’s ‘fake’ letter questioning the gratuity the commissioners awarded themselves, it means Mpuuga is now insulated from being a regime apologist. And who knows the fake letter might have been helping Bobi,too, to kick Mpuuga down to the floor in the process.

For the record, the State House has clarified that the letter in question was forged.

The point is that Ugandans must learn to critically analyse Museveni’s actions – nothing is in a black and white. People should learn from Museveni instead of just looking at him as President.

                                    Anita Among

It’s the same with the Speaker Anita Among – she became Speaker with majority NRM support, but we all know she was nothing in Ugandan politics. All of a sudden, she started controlling the parliamentary budget of over Shs200b a year. Then we read allegations of huge amounts of money spent for suspicious activities. We all witnessed her unveiling the mother of a mansion in Bukedea that looked like a five-star hotel. And you think that she did all this without Museveni knowing anything (lol)?

In March, Museveni attempted to protect Speaker Among from intense public scrutiny following grave allegations.

Just this month, Museveni then wondered why the Speaker would own houses in the UK, and he wanted to know if she declared them. In Museveni’s letter to Gen Jejje Odongo on May 2, he indicated that he knew about UK’s intentions to sanction Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agness Nandutu for their role in the Mabaati scandal, and UK’s intention to sanction Among for owning houses in the UK.

So, it looks like the issue with Among is owning houses in the UK, not involvement in corruption, and if this is cleared, she’s as good as a new jet. Museveni copes with corruption by adding more options to the four above: denial, find someone to sacrifice and implicate, brazen it out, counterattack, etc. These are the stages and/or the cardinal principles those with power follow to deal with their own corrupt. I think Among may be sacrificed eventually if the UK insists on keeping the sanctions against her. After all, we can always use a ‘’Tayebwa’’ to keep the ship floating for a bit.

                                                Kyagulanyi vs Mpuuga

Corrupt people are drawn to power. Some (I would argue most) people are corruptible to some extent or another, whether it’s something as mundane as making sure a relative gets a job at Parliament ticket to embezzling millions of dollars or having someone who threatens your power murdered. Obviously, there’s a major difference between getting a job for a relative and murder, but they’re different ends on the spectrum of corruption.

For instance, the Uganda Citizens Forum for Justice and Equity have petitioned the US, UK, European Union and South Africa to sanction Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, for suspiciously buying properties in those respective countries using NUP funds and money given to him by the Diaspora community for the struggle. They quote the Magnitsky Act of 2016. As long as Ugandans don’t see the clean people as an alternative to Museveni, then corruption will continue even after NRM. Glen David Brin, a well-known American author, said wisely: “It’s said that power corrupts, but actually it’s truer that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.” Basically, those with pure souls seldom end up in positions of power.

AbbeyKibirige  Semuwemba, UK