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Debate all you want but when it comes to Museveni succession, leave it to NRM

Thursday March 30 2017
NRM buwembo

A new debate is gaining momentum in Uganda: The Museveni succession. ILLUSTRATION:JOHN NYAGA

A new debate is gaining momentum in Uganda: The Museveni succession. It started with a newspaper column penned by a concerned Ugandan who happens to be one of President Yoweri Museveni’s sons-in-law.

There have been numerous calls to discuss this topic before but these were ignored because they were made by the opposition or dissenters on their way out of the ruling NRM party.

But the close relationship to the president of the latest “caller” makes the difference, so different interest groups and intellectuals are now talking loudly about a succession debate especially on radio and TV stations.

Debating the political future after Museveni arises because the country has never had a peaceful transfer of power since Independence. In December 1980, the ruling military chairman Paulo Muwanga peacefully handed over power to his political party boss Milton Obote, a handover many Ugandan commentators dismiss because they believe that Obote already had the power.

But the point now being debated is whether there should be a debate. Some argue that the debate is not necessary because there is a Constitution which is clear about succession and that, in any case, periodic elections are held punctually and their purpose is to choose a successor if the voters so wish.

But this view is dismissed by those who argue that the NRM party is so entrenched with over two-thirds majority in parliament, and so it can do anything to the Constitution, including raising the age limit of seeking presidency from 75 years to infinity, just like they increased the presidential term limits from two to infinity in 2005.

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Others are arguing in the same vein that the debate must go on whether the ruling party is part of it or not, for it will not stay in power for ever anyway.
So the debate is still about the debate and not yet about succession. Some in NRM argue that the party will sit at an appropriate time to debate the succession, under the guidance of the chairman who is the president whose succession is the subject. They say Uganda has just come out of an election (last year’s) and they say should be given space to implement their manifesto.

The other side gets livid at the mention of the debate taking place inside the ruling party. They mention the shabby treatment the party meted out to the immediate former secretary-general of the ruling party Amama Mbabazi when he was suspected of being interested in the presidency.

He was hounded out of office and national prime ministership and when he stood for presidency last year, his campaigns suffered more disruption than those of perennial punch bag Kizza Besigye.   

But NRM ideologues ask why outsiders want to impose change on their party. They say it is up to them to keep their chairman as long as they want him and advise the opposition to mind their own affairs and concentrate on defeating Museveni if he is fronted as presidential candidate. The trouble with this argument is that Museveni is seen as undefeatable and his party has the parliamentary numbers to lift the presidential age limit and field him again. One day the debate about the debate might end and the real debate starts.

Joachim Buwembo is a social and political commentator based in Kampala. E-mail: [email protected]

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