OP-ED: Why Gen Muhoozi could be a safe bet for Uganda

By Ambrose Nampwera | Kampala, Uganda

The recent conversation in the country and the region about Uganda’s newest four-star general Muhoozi Kainerugaba was very interesting.

If you were novice in the regional political affairs, the last couple of weeks seemed like we were hurtling fast toward implosion as a nation. What started (in every clear-minded person’s view) as a light-hearted jest on Twitter by Gen Muhoozi about a Ugandan army marching toward our neighbour’s capital Nairobi, ended up in so much chaos, so many doomsday prophecies, so many insults, calls for resignation, you name it.

Even the subsequent intervention of the commander in chief in form an apology to the people of Kenya appeared to have stirred more controversy and confusion, throwing Uganda once again into negative global light.

But as the dust on this “sacrilegious scandal” as someone put it, starts to settle, it is time, I think, for Ugandans to put their reasoning caps back on and pay attention to the country’s future because it seems we are running out of time. We will talk about Gen Muhoozi and his relevance in this situation, but first, a bit of background.

One of the most prominent criticisms against President Yoweri Museveni has been his inability to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. Col Dr Kizza Besigye is very articulate when he talks about how every Ugandan leader we have had has had to be “bombed out of office.”

Unfortunately though, this charge is often laid squarely on the current office holder, President Museveni, and less on the Ugandan citizenry. Granted, Museveni has served longer than all his predecessors combined; and whether that is a good or bad thing and to what extent, can be discussed another time.

But the fact remains that the county is fast approaching the end of the Museveni era, and right ahead lies a lot of unknowns. How we wade through and emerge out of this uncertainty in the decades that follow, is our responsibility today.

Now, say what you will about President Museveni and all that he has gotten wrong in the four decades of his tenure, but the contribution he has made to stabilize this country and put it back on the path of economic prosperity is immeasurable.

There is an even deeper appreciation of the pricelessness of this contribution in our neighboring countries which haven’t chanced on that level of stability as we have. This stability and the firm economic foundation the president has laid, we shall need in the years after he is gone; at least every patriotic Ugandan worth their salt will agree.

Achievements like security, economic stability and foreign investment confidence take a long time to attain. Evidently, it’s taken us four decades and a lot of sweat and blood. But if African history has taught us anything since independence, it’s that these landmarks can also be undone in a flash.

Sadly, however, those radically opposed to Museveni are so focused on how to get rid of him, and his family, and the NRM, and how to fix what has gone wrong, that little to no attention is paid to how to consolidate what we have already achieved under him.

And so now we are dealing with a political opposition which has developed tunnel vision; whose views and ideas are shrouded so much by hatred of this one man, that anything other than his removal seems irrelevant.

Coming to Gen Muhoozi, as the eldest son of President Museveni, it is no surprise that he is considered a threat by this group. His being called all sorts of names, his statements being deliberately misconstrued, and his tweets such as that about Nairobi and countless others being blown out of proportion, it’s all not by surprise.

Until a few years ago, there was not much we knew about the First Son, and even today the little we know about him has been from his close friends who cared to share some of his attributes; his Twitter feed, and rarely from his dad. But what we can gather from all this is that Muhoozi is a highly trained soldier whose biggest part of life has been shaped through combat and military discipline.

We also know that he is patriotic and a pan-Africanist, and a passionate one at that. He is a family man, publicly quite irreverent and down-to-earth, and cares a lot about youths and youth affairs.

But most importantly, being the son of his father, Muhoozi has had plenty of leadership education from one of the best sources. Quite often, he has showed us how much he admires and respects President Museveni and, therefore, more than anyone else, would appreciate the value preserving what his father had dedicated his entire life to.

This, I believe, is the reason for his recent to promotion to full general. Indeed while explaining this promotion, Museveni hinted on Gen Muhoozi’s military achievements and more he is likely to accomplish, (perhaps as a civilian leader).

On his part, during his speech at a celebration dinner on Monday, Gen Muhoozi made a similar point, saying;
“Now that President Museveni has given me this chance, I am somebody who is very passionate…and this passion I intend to transfer into dealing with the youth in this country.”
“If they give me that opportunity, I will be very happy to work toward that and I think we’ll be able to make a positive change,” he added.

In short, Gen Muhoozi is much more than a few mischievous tweets. He does have value, and it would be a mistake if he were to present himself as a political candidate and Ugandans dismissed him merely because of his family background.

As a nation of a very young population, we have very divergent views on leadership but the uncertainty ahead of us, we will have to endure together.

As an African country, we are not short of examples of countries which suffered severe leadership vacuum and got derailed completely, once a stabilizing figure left office. It is, therefore, my conviction that if Uganda ever stands a chance for a post-Museveni soft landing, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba might be out best bet, or at least one of the safest.

The author; Ambrose Nampwera is an economic analyst
nampweraa@gmail.com