COVER STORY: Divided State House

Division in First Family

This is not the first time Rwabwogo is stirring the hornet’s nest. In 2015, he took on Maj. Gen. Matayo Kyaligonza for the coveted position of NRM Vice Chairman for Western Uganda. However, Rwabwogo was forced to drop his candidacy.

It is not the first time the question of succession has sparked tensions at State House. In 2014, there was disagreement on how to deal with Gen. David Sejusa, who was a whistleblower about the alleged Muhoozi project, which he said, was a plan to assassinate those opposed to a plan to have Muhoozi succeed his father.

Sources say Janet and Museveni and other family members also disagreed on how to handle Amama Mbabazi when it became apparent that he was using NRM resources to mobilise against President Museveni.

Rwabwogo’s unpacking of the problems within State House and the country; especially the need for Museveni to nurture the next generation of leaders appears to have gotten under the skin of the President, the source said. Rwabwogo’s sparking of public debate of the thorny subject of President Museveni’s succession from within State House is also unprecedented.

While some are looking at Rwabwogo’s criticism suspiciously, some insiders say that within Museveni’s inner circle, there are major disagreements over what happens in 2021.

Some family members have for long been unhappy with Museveni’s politics of tolerance which they blame for a break down in governance and poor service delivery.

But there is also concern that Museveni’s continued stay in power jeopardises the future of the First Family. In the recent interview with NTV, the First Lady Janet Museveni was asked a usual question to which she gave a very unusual answer.

NTV: What has been the most difficult part of your life?

First Lady: (When) I had to live with my children without my husband. I was a young mother and I had a very young family and I had to leave my homeland unwillingly…I left not knowing where in the world I was going.

Emotional moments such as these reveal what could possibly be the biggest fear of the resident of State House.

Rwabwogo has a history with Janet Museveni. The First Lady was close friends with Rwabwogo’s mother and is said to have played a major role in Rwabwogo’s marriage to Patience, Museveni’s daughter. Janet Museveni is also the one who appears to patronize Rwabwogo, including presiding over Rwabwogo’s events. For instance, last year, she laid the foundation stone for Vital Tomosi’s dairy factory, a venture in which Rwabwogo is a major partner.

Because of that history, Rwabwogo is said to be “representing the interests” of his mother-in-law. If this is true, it will not be the first time that the First Family is said to have attempted to prevail on Museveni to relinquish power. Rwabwogo has made it clear that, as a Ugandan, he is personally interested in the country’s future.

But in the NTV interview Janet Museveni hinted on tough times ahead.

NTV: The first time God talked to you, you joined politics so perhaps He may talk to you again and you go back into politics…

First Lady: (Chuckles)… Please don’t try to talk for God and don’t try to read His mind. We will later get back into a highly politically charged period where President Museveni will clock the required age-limit in the Constitution beyond which he cannot contest again.

In one of the articles, Rwabwogo is calling for the “need to force internal party democracy in order to carry out the stalled but much-needed second-generational reforms in the economy and governance.”

This appears to have thrown Museveni’s people off balance because he has barely knocked a year off his current five-year term having been sworn into office in May last year after beating contenders with 61% of the vote in the 2016 elections.

Apart from President Museveni, other members of the first family, who are said to be interested, have stayed away from the subject and debate, which continues to suck in presidential aides and ministers among others.