In his maiden Ugandan talk show as a presidential aspirant, former prime minister Amama Mbabazi Saturday faced tough questions mainly about his record within the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the government, his alleged massive wealth and the involvement of his family in his campaign.

Mr Mbabazi has since his long-awaited declaration of his presidential bid on June 15, preferred to talk about the future, offering himself as the candidate who will help Uganda transit from the leadership of the 1986 generation of leaders to the younger generation.

This was the major focus of Mr Mbabazi’s presentations at two earlier appearances on international media platforms, the BBC and Voice of America. It also formed the bulk of his five-minute video-recorded declaration statement, together with many of his messages on social media. 

Mr Mbabazi’s opponents and critics, however, have sought to drive the debate back to his long record in government, looking to point out what they see as contradictions in what the former prime minister and ruling party secretary general says now and what he did over the many years when he was perceived as President Museveni’s right hand man.

Mr Museveni himself, in his response to Mr Mbabazi on the same day he [Mr Mbabazi] declared his presidential bid, questioned Mr Mbabazi’s ability to reform the government when, according to the president, he had opportunity to do so from within.

READ: Museveni says Mbabazi has no moral right to run for president in 2016

On the Capital Gang show on Capital FM Saturday, there were at least two “gangsters” who were resolute to hold Mr Mbabazi to his record. These were Mr Ofwono Opondo, the executive director of the government media centre, and Dr Kenneth Omona, the deputy treasurer of NRM.

The two ruling party members, who share deeply in what many see as a herculean task of stopping Mr Mbabazi, were often joined by Mr Ssemujju Nganda, the Forum for Democratic Change publicist, and Ms Beti Kamya, a former presidential candidate and MP, in querying Mr Mbabazi’s record.

ALSO READ: NRM disowns Mbabazi's candidature

Term limits, “repressive” laws

Mr Mbabazi was challenged to explain why he supported the lifting of presidential term limits in 2005 yet they could have technically kicked out Mr Museveni and prevented the “inefficiency” that Mr Mbabazi now says has crept into government.

He said he was “a vigorous” defender of the amendment of the Constitution to remove term limits because he thought that the idea of term limits ran counter to democracy, particularly the aspect of free choice.

“However, from the experience of Uganda, I have looked at the experience of choice more deeply... for democracy to flourish, it makes sense to revisit this issue of term limits in order to minimise the abuse of state power,” Mr Mbabazi said.

He said open terms can be abused in a system like Uganda’s, where free choice can be stifled by intimidation, bribery and corruption.

Regarding queries that Mr Mbabazi orchestrated “repressive” laws, particularly the laws on public order management and phone tapping, Mr Mbabazi defended both as good laws, saying that the only problem is that the laws are being abused.

READ: Will ex-PM’s past affect his future?

Panellists poked fun at Mr Opondo during the first hour of the show, saying he had abandoned his usual habit of sipping at his coffee, ferociously taking notes as the debate progressed.

When his turn came, Mr Opondo sought to present Mr Mbabazi as playing double standards, saying the former prime minister did not deserve any sympathy because “internal debate in NRM died under Hon Mbabazi.”

Mr Mbabazi had talked of the lack of internal democracy and discussion within the party, saying, for instance, that it is only the party chairman, President Museveni, who spoke during the NRM delegates conference last December at which he was stripped of the secretary general position.

Mr Mbabazi also distanced himself from the Kyankwanzi resolution in which NRM MPs declared Mr Museveni the party’s “sole candidate” for the coming election, saying it is illegal. Although he signed the resolution after it looked like he was ambushed with it, he later distanced himself from it and has since declared that he will challenge Mr Museveni within the party.

Mr Opondo, regarding this, said the NRM has been “quietly building consensus around President Museveni” and “it is strange that this founder leader of NRM is seeking to operate outside the rules that he has been enforcing.”

Mr Opondo said whereas Mr Mbabazi was the minister in charge of Political Affairs in 2000, he did not protest when the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling Movement disowned Dr Kizza Besigye’s intention to compete for the presidency and “urged” President Museveni to stand as the unopposed Movement candidate.

Mr Opondo said when the Movement became the NRM party in 2005, a similar process took place, and that the same happened in 2010.

Mr Mbabazi was the party secretary general on the latter two occasions, Mr Opondo noted, but that Mr Felix Okot-Ogong was persuaded to let Mr Museveni run unchallenged within the party in 2005. Another aspirant, Maj Ruhinda Maguru, also got his name struck out of the list by the party’s organs when he sought to challenge Mr Museveni.

Mr Mbabazi did not respond to many of the questions because he was time-barred and promised to return to the radio show another time.

Alleged wealth, family

On her part, Ms Kamya wondered about Mr Mbabazi’s source of wealth and the “heavy” involvement of Mr Mbabazi’s family in his presidential aspirations, saying part of the accusation against Mr Museveni is his family’s involvement in state affairs and whether it won’t be the same with Mr Mbabazi.

“We hear that Mr Mbabazi has immense wealth; what does he make to account for this immense wealth?” Ms Kamya asked.

Mr Mbabazi responded: “Beti, who told you I am wealthy? It is true that I am not poor, both mentally and physically... All the money that I have I can account for it... It is not true that I am that wealthy.”

The former prime minister, however, said he is “absolutely ready to fund the campaign to the maximum.”

Regarding the involvement of his family, Mr Mbabazi said he does not discourage his family members, particularly his children, from participating in public affairs. He said in fact it makes him proud.

He said, however, that it is not true that his family were playing the leading role in his campaign. “My family’s visibility is because I have been the centre of focus,” he said.