An honest and open Letter to president Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhabirwa Museveni.
Mr. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni , unlike a few Ugandans most of whom beneficiaries of your regime who think that you are alright, my honest belief is that you aren’t and it’s natural because none of us is immortal.
I see your un-wellness in your eyes full of sadness just like my ageing grandfather.
I see your unwell-ness in your body language seemingly overwhelmed and over fatigued with the too heavy political and governance burdens of shuttered culture, a divided country where each political party has two factions, disunited religions, government agencies with many caucuses and intrigue within, divided cultural institutions, broken families among others.
I see your worries and uncertainty of how this country would be in the hands of these greedy politicians you have brooded and hatched during your tenure as president. But most importantly, I see your worries of how your dear family would be without you! Because you haven’t set up functional bottom-up Pro-people functional structure to guarantee the safety of your family and the country at large when you are not here. Mr. President, personally I see the unwell-ness!
Firstly, your walking speed seems acted and or forced therefore artificial as was with President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia while he was at your age. The same health issues were evident with Governor Emmanuel Mutebire before he passed on.
I remember some day when I was sent to him by his friend [name withheld] and upon arrival in the Bank of Uganda building all corridors would be cleared for the old man to walk too fast or else slowing his walking speed was likely to make him fall.
According to medical experts, there are natural health conditions that come with one’s old age. For example Alzheimer and infestation gait both of which are known for quickening one’s walking speed with a forward lean/bent to compensate one’s standing posture balance issues. Any ways Mr. President sir, I am not here to examine your health just like I wouldn’t want anyone to do with mine.
However, unlike me, you are responsible for over 40m Ugandans. Therefore your health is of public interest sir.
Mr. President, the purpose of my honest letter to you, is because you are the head of state but most importantly you seem to be living in intentional denial of all is well attitude when in actual sense all is unwell and I shall explain.
With no doubt Mr. President you need to bother about the future of this country without you and this “without you” should be treated with intentional and sober mind based on the law of nature that you are aged and therefore prone to demise just like any other living creature without any prior notice.
Mr. President do you ever imagine of what is likely to happen when you are not here any more?
Before I move any further, let me borrow an example of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta from the neighbouring Kenya.
Time check: 11am of Monday 21st August 1978 in the Nairobi State house. Preparations were on for the Kenya’s first citizen to travel to Mombasa for an official event at Msamboni Primary school in Kwole from where he collapsed.
According to his handlers it was deemed as an act of treason for any Kenyan to publish Kenyatta’s ill health or even imagine Kenya without Mzee Kenyatta. And for purposes of making this directive effective Kenyatta’s Attorney General Charles Njonjo made a law that barred any Kenyan to talk about Kenyatta’s health status or even imagining Kenya without Kenyatta and whoever attempted to do so would be charged with treason and sentenced to death.
Sadly, it is the same law that literally cost Kenyatta’s life.
Because the law provided for a heavy punishment upon imagination of Kenya without Kenyatta, not even doctors were free to open up to the cabinet about the health of their president.
According to Mr. Lee Njiru once Kenyatta and Mpoi’s press secretary for 24 years, Kenyatta had collapsed in his Nairobi state house and went into a three day coma a few weeks prior to his Mombasa visit.
But because of the law Kenyatta wasn’t taken to hospital and was managed from the state house.
According to his [Kenyatta] theory, taking him to hospital or even publicizing his sickness would be seen as an act of cowardice therefore counterproductive to his political career.
Owing to the punishment that one would attract upon imagining Kenyatta’s death or Kenya without Kenyatta, his doctors couldn’t stop him from traveling to Msamboni primary school in Mombasa on the fateful day of 21st August 1978 despite his ill health.
Like any other pretender living in denial, Kenyatta seemed normal for a few hours before collapsing and being hurriedly driven to the Mombasa state house. Hearing from Lee Njiru every person on the presidential protocol team was warned against sharing what had happened to Kenyatta while at Msamboni primary school.
Can you imagine that instead of driving Kenyatta to the nearby medical facility, Kenyatta was instead driven to his Mombasa state house from where he met his death just on bed at around 3pm.
Imagine a gentleman who left Nairobi city in a chopper giving presidential instructions only to return the following day as lifeless body.
As common practice amongst people in power, the sad news of Kenyatta’s demise was first shared to his head of intelligence James Kanyotu who later informed the first lady and later to the vice president Daniel Arap Moi.
Sadly, Moi was in Nakuru and couldn’t believe that Kenyatta had gone.
To Moi, such news intended to test his readiness and greed to succeed his boss and therefore he dismissed the news and considered it a mere rummer that aimed at tarnishing his relationship with his boss until when he was flown to Mombasa and sworn in as President for the next three months in preparation for the national elections.
Mr. President sir, I considered sharing with you the real picture of life without any bias but most importantly to trigger your thoughts to imagine of what would happen when you are not here.
My letter isn’t written in bad faith but rather with good intentions for yourself, family and Uganda at large to give a peaceful transition a chance.
Given my resilience in the fight against injustices, I have had an opportunity to mingle with all classes of people. First as a son to a FRONASA and NRA 30 year longest serving Sgt, I was privileged to study in army schools from where I saw the suffering of your combatants and their children in 2000.
In my capacity as a fearless author I have had an opportunity to get free info about what is happening from with in your power circle.
On the other hand I have had an opportunity to get info from some disgruntled officers in service, in retirement and in exile all such info is either about you and or against you.
Further more, I have been kidnapped and tortured by your henchmen for countless times. In detention I have equally discovered a lot right from innocent people framed by your security agents.
While in the dungeons I have also interacted with a few professional security agents but I have also interacted with the most lethal killer machines all serving you sir.
Interestingly, I have interacted with a common citizens of all age brackets . Some with political reservations, sentiments, there are those definitely praying for you, others cursing you among other emotions depending on the circumstances.
Mr. President sir, I want to bring it to your attention that you are presiding over a very angry country that awaits for the political blackout. Sadly, you will not be able to see the consequences of this anger.
Mr. President, while I was interacting with some of the people as mentioned above, someone asked me to imagine what would befall this country if you weren’t here any more.
I told the gentleman that I wasn’t aware of what would exactly follow since I wasn’t tall enough to ascertain political sequence of events. And he said; my son this country would turn upside-down!
When this old man gave me his take I was touched and went on wondering what exactly he meant. He started by saying that if Mr. Museveni ceased to exist chance are; that Muhoozi would cease to exist too. May be yes may be no! I replied. “…Norman;
Do youth think that Muhoozi’s tweets against his fellow Gen. Elweru only annoyed Elweru or the rest of the Generals…? He asked. Or do you think his tweets about Dr. Kizza Besigye and Eng. Winnie Byanyima only annoy Besigye or even the the entire Banyakigezi and the NRA historicals? I kept quiet.
Mr. President, do you realize that every region has its anger? Lets start with the Northern region.
This region had LRA insurgencies for more than two decades. When their time to tap into the national “cake” approached with their own Oulanya as speaker it was short-lived and so was Lokech.
With Mao and Owinyi Dollo your are simply stitching big scars with burning woulds. Let’s talk about Kasese whose anger will never die. Let’s talk about the Karamoja region with what is happening to the Karacunas.
Teso sub region with the Mukula Massacre, should we talk about the Batooro with their un answered question of who killed their own Brig. Mayombo?
Should we talk about Buganda from way back with the Luwero killings, the unanswered questions of who killed Andrew Kayira, Kabaka riots broad day killings or Bobi Wine riots killings of 2019!
The precedents are many. Any ways lets leave the killings and talk about the corruption that is eating us alive. Mr. President sir.
If you didn’t know, just get it from me that you are leading a very angry and poor population. This any and poor country looks at you as the source of their suffering evident with how extravagant you treat the political class.
These citizens you deem as non-thinkers point at the businesses and buildings of the political class while thy walk on empty stomach this city.
These angry citizens know who has looted what and where such loot has been invested. With the help of media these citizens know how much you are allocated in every financial year.
These angry citizens see how your satisfied escorts beat hungry and old women along Ggaba road while you block and use the road! These angry citizens read your son’s tweets mocking those whose rights are abused and keep wondering whether he hails from mars forgetting that such mockery tendencies may end with you as president which isn’t good either.
Mr. President I am not an exception when it comes to being angry. Close to three years today, together with my eight colleagues we were arrested, tortured among other inhuman treatment while CMI for allegedly cyber stalking you as a media organization, we were prosecuted, all our office property and equipment confiscated.
Even when the case was dismissed by court for want of prosecution, not even one item was ever returned despite all the attempts!
Mr. President, do you know how many people that are going through such a situation as ours or even worse? Does your government ever wonder of what their families feed on?
Do you ever imagine what runs in the mind of young man whose boda-boda is confiscated by police and has no hope of ever getting it again?
Do you ever wonder the pain of your son’s tweets to the opposition? Ok. After you have imagine; do you now imagine what such an angry population would do in the event of a political blackout?
Anyways without sounding petty Mr. President it’s high time you thought of Uganda without you. What “your either timely or untimely death” may cause to this country.
It’s sad that lies are uniting us as a country while the truth is dividing us. We are living in a lie of “Uganda is happy and peaceful country”.
Most of the people around you and your son don’t like you or him but rather are using you and him and this can be only and only when you are president.
For crying our loud Mr. President what makes you think that the constitution which you have abused while you live will be respected when you are no more especially in terms of answering the succession and transition question!
If a mere small and poor family of a man with a clear will fights for property what makes you think that people won’t fight for power when you leave!
It is with this reason that you need to think twice for the betterment of this country, but most importantly your family.
Amongst all people in this country who do you think has the courage and the integrity to be on the National broadcaster (Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, UBC) and ask this country to keep calm given the anger that is boiling among us as a nation?
Mr. President, you are presiding over a very angry country.
Article Opinionated by;
Tumuhimbise Norman, National Coordinator, Alternative Social Movement, Political and Human Rights Activist, Change Seeking and Active Ugandan, Political and Social Rights’ Book Author, Severely arrested and detained over his consciousness and Team Leader at Digitalk Television.
Email. teamleader@alternativeuganda.org
Tel. +256200955155