The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
This explains why the function at Taremwa’s home in Mbarara district appeared a gathering of who is who amongst Uganda’s ruling family.
Eyebrows went up when it emerged that Tumukunde was not seated next to Gen. Saleh. The two are known to be close. Usually, when the two are at functions, they sit near each other and chat as the function goes on. Saleh helped rehabilitate Tumukunde when the latter fell-out with Museveni and was arrested and put on katebe (made dormant) for about eight years. Saleh was instrumental in his return to cabinet in June 2016.
A week before the wedding, on Jan. 27, at the introduction of Castro Taremwa and Diana, Tumukunde sat next to Jovia Saleh, the wife of Gen. Saleh.
On that occasion, insiders have told The Independent, Tumukunde was overheard complaining to Jovia Saleh about his frustrations with working as Security Minister.
“Why did Museveni appoint me if he didn’t want me to work?” a frustrated Tumukunde was reportedly heard saying.
This being a public event, some people overheard the conversation and rallied information to both Museveni and Saleh. Both were not happy with Tumukunde, some insiders claim.
Museveni had allowed Tumukunde back to his cabinet primarily because Gen. Saleh, had recruited him into the 2015 project to neutralise Mbabazi, have Museveni re-elected and deal with another threat—Gen. Kayihura’s alleged emerging presidential ambitions.
Tumukunde delivered on all and he was rewarded with the cabinet posting. Still, there was no love lost between Museveni and Tumukunde following an earlier fall-out. And Tumukunde soon started becoming a problem – again. His detractors said he was using choppers to fly around—privileges that are only seen as a preserve of President Museveni and a select few.
Tumukunde was also reportedly aggressively “looking for money”, other informers claimed. Officially, Tumukunde himself said he needed money to revamp the country’s capabilities to deal with insecurity. But when accusations surfaced that Tumukunde still nursed ambitions of ousting Museveni, his expiry date became imminent. His detractors said he was using state resources to eliminate potential competition all the while mobilising for himself. They claimed he needed money to build a war chest against Museveni.
Clash with Museveni
And Museveni reportedly made his suspicions clear to Tumukunde in several cabinet meetings.
At one point, when Tumukunde said his docket of security was heavily underfunded, needed more allocations, Museveni dismissed him.
“How come it is only you who is demanding more money, why do you want this money?” President Museveni reportedly asked.
In another cabinet meeting in May last year, an angry President Museveni accused Tumukunde of demonising his government with his fight against Kayihura. Tumukunde insisted he was only pointing out mistakes, which everyone could see and the public was complaining about. The moment was tense, as the two appeared to have an exchange.
“Shut up and get out,” the enraged president banged the table before standing up himself and leaving the cabinet meeting room. Tumukunde was enraged too and minutes after the meeting ended, he was overheard telling one of the president’s aides that he was going to resign.
“Let him go ahead and we see,” President Museveni reportedly said when he was told about Tumukunde’s threats.
Many had not seen the president this angry with Tumukunde since 2005 when the two men fell out over remarks the security minister made on a radio station, which got him charged with spreading harmful propaganda, court-martialed and kept under house arrest for years.
After the stormy meeting, while meeting a group of friends, Tumukunde reportedly said he would join the opposition and be a worse problem for the President than former Museveni confidants turned foes; retired Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye and retired Maj.Gen. Mugisha Muntu. He was adding oil to fire.
If President Museveni did not care about other things, he would not easily forgive what he saw as schmoozing with the opposition.
For many, that cabinet meeting and events that followed signaled the beginning of the end for Tumukunde.
“President Museveni did not fire Tumukunde yesterday,” a source privy to the inner workings at State House told this reporter on March 05, on condition of anonymity, “he fired him in May last year.”
The May meeting happened after Museveni returned from the conference on Somalia that was held in London on May 11.
The morning before he left for the London meeting, Museveni received findings from an investigation he had asked his handlers to conduct on Tumukunde.
He had called for the investigation following allegations that Tumukunde was closely working with agents in the intelligence bodies he supervises to implicate senior government officials amongst which was Kayihura.
The infighting within the Museveni administration will be its Achilles heel.
It is only going to intensify. I can only hope it doesn’t result in a blood bath.
Let’s wish these bush war heroes all the best. (Ffe abamu tuli bawakasanke, tufuuyirira zirwana!)
HERE , you are dealing with a perverted , sadistic and vindictive person who forgets and forgives nothing.
Rightly as you say, he waits and does his things in his own time and his own way, because most times he has time and the means on his side.
M 7 has never and had never forgiven Tumukunde, like he never forgives those he has had disagreements with, and any pretense at reconciliation is for appearance purposes.This happened even with his life time friend Eriya Kategaya.
M 7 loves nothing more than exacting revenge and humiliation to those he thinks, rightly or otherwise to have done him wrong, and in bringing back Tumukunde, was probably reacting to pressure from Janet and Salim Saleh, but in doing so was giving Tumukunde enough rope to hang.
AS it is claimed, he was rewarded for the job he did on Amama Mbabazi, because being an election issue, he did not want the police involved, but in appointing him, part of his job was to sort out issues to do with police, which was headed by a person with whom he was known to have serious differences.And right from the word go, there was a serious administrative conflict in that although his ministry deals with security and police is part of that set up, police is under another ministry – internal affairs.
This practically is like someone quarreling with his/her brothers wife or trying to discipline her.She would be right in telling you that you are not her husband and that she did not get married to the whole clan.
So he was just appointed to appease those who were advocating for his rehabilitation but it was just a question of time and opportunity before he would be sacked.
Had always given the man benefit of doubt but if he is as this reporter has portrayed, then he and we peace-loving folk are safer with him on permanent ‘katebe’. I had earlier suspected him for a meddler indeed when he was caught in a youth (see his age) melee at 2 am (imagine his status) in Fort Portal after which he claimed he was shot in the leg…which leg he was displaying for all to see and sympathise. I said in my heart, this fellow loves and courts trouble.
At his age, you begin to go slow because you are past God’s probation period such that every misdemeanor you do is repaid 10 times. If he does not know it ..yet, he never will.
If he creates a story and reports it with intent to get a fellow officer in trouble, then he is enemy or considers the framed officer enemy.
It is a ‘cast iron military rule’ that an officer(aka a gentleman) lies to enemy only and even then during a war. The problem with these guys who feed on little merit and much nepotism is that they are not even punished when they do the ‘undoable’. Framing a brother officer with intent to have his neck in a noose is contrary to all laws and God mentions it specifically in article 9. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS ……. Even if the visionary lets him be, it is a question of time and you see him in a self-courted irredeemable situation. This we know from life experience. If I were him, I would resort to farming and permanently keep off government matters.
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