The surprise return to Uganda of Gen David Sejusa from exile in the United Kingdom has introduced an unexpected subplot in the political chess game, and potentially the killer blow for former prime minister Amama Mbabazi’s quest to take control of the ruling party from President Yoweri Museveni.

The four-star general, who at the time of fleeing the country in April last year was the co-ordinator of intelligence services, returned on December 14, a day before the National Resistance Movement held its delegates conference, which had been called to rubber-stamp and complete the removal of Mr Mbabazi from the powerful secretary-general’s position.

By the end of last week’s NRM delegates conference, news of the government’s hand in Gen Sejusa’s return had spread. Indeed, government officials confirmed that there was no plan to arrest the former exile, whom the army leader, Gen Katumba Wamala, had declared a deserter from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

Gen Sejusa’s exile was triggered by a memo he wrote to the head of Internal Security Organisation, Brig Ronnie Balya, asking him to investigate allegations of a plot to assassinate high-profile people in government who were opposed to “the Muhoozi Project”— a reference to the deliberate grooming of President Museveni’s first son Brig Muhoozi Kainerugaba to succeed his father.

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The memo, which leaked to the media, named its author Gen Sejusa, the then prime minister Mbabazi, former Chief of Defence Forces and now Internal Affairs Minister Gen Aronda Nyakairima as the assassination targets.

The alleged architects of the assassination plot were police chief Gen Kale Kayihura and Gen Caleb “Salim Saleh” Akandwanaho, the president’s younger brother.

Anxiety around Gen Sejusa’s status within the UPDF grew after an explosive interview with the BBC in June last year in which he said he had ambitions to lead the country but also called the regime in Uganda a dictatorship that must be resisted using all means necessary.

“The solution is simple: What do you do with dictators? That’s the unfortunate bit…,” Gen  Sejusa told the BBC. “There’s a fear of taking Uganda back to what people went through years ago.

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“No, no, no, no, no… our Constitution, Article 3, first of all… Article 1 says Uganda belongs to all of us… to all the people. That’s very, very fundamental. Now anyone who subverts that must be removed. But Article 3 says anyone who abrogates, subverts or in any way threatens this Constitution should be resisted using all means… All means necessary.”

After this, Kampala indicated that Gen Sejusa’s comments amounted to acts of treason for which he would be prosecuted. But last week, the chorus of comments from government and army officials ran counter to the earlier positions.

“The government facilitated him with a ticket,” said government spokesman Ofwono Opondo. “For now, we consider him a free man as his cases are being looked into.”

Meanwhile, UPDF spokesman Lt-Col Paddy Ankunda said the military was happy to have Gen Sejusa back in the country.

But while these statements contradicted earlier positions taken by the government, they were also seen as veiled messages targeting Mr Mbabazi, whose attempts to use ruling party structures for a shot at the top job has put him on a collision course with President Museveni — his ally for more than 30 years — and the NRM leadership.

“Gen Sejusa is a bush-war hero, but in the government positions he has occupied, he has also been the architect of many bad things,” a security source told The EastAfrican on condition of anonymity. “While he was in London, he declared war on the country. Now suddenly, he is facilitated to come back, and apparently, he is forgiven.

“The message is clear: If President Museveni can forgive this man who has declared war on his government, he can equally forgive the former prime minister. But that will take some trade-off.”

The source pointed out that, until he officially retires from the army, at the behest of the commander-in-chief, Gen Sejusa is a “contained man” and cannot make further inflammatory statements.  This is also true of Mr Mbabazi — sacked as premier in September and sent on forced leave from the NRM’s office of secretary-general a month later. For now, he will suspend his ambition to run using the NRM party structures.

The falling-out between President Museveni, the NRM chairman and Mr Mbabazi has dominated the front pages since the ruling party legislators’ retreat early this year hatched the “sole candidate project.”

This was meant to hand President Museveni the party’s flag as its sole candidate for the 2016 elections and stop the secretary-general in his tracks from internally mobilising to contest the next presidential election.

Museveni’s fears

Sources said President Museveni’s fear of his erstwhile ally is based on fact that he does not know the extent of Mr Mbabazi’s mobilisation in the party and country as well as the war-chest at his disposal. 

Apparently, Mr Mbabazi built a strong network of funders and lines of cash while he was still running errands to mobilise election funding from foreign countries for President Museveni’s previous election campaigns. If he is not contained, like Gen Sejusa, it is these cash resources that Mr Mbabazi can now bring to bear perhars and outwit his boss.

After his making the assination claims, raids were carried out on Gen Sejusa’s office. Four of his staff were taken in for questioning over “subversive activities” — the same charges, along with spreading harmful propaganda, that he potentially faces.