An Open Letter to Bobi Wine

By Robert Mugabe

Dear Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine,
I thank you most sincerely for the incredible contribution you are making to engender positive change in our country. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) has visited unspeakable ruin in our country.

The vast majority of our fellow countrymen and women are living in indescribable conditions of poverty, immeasurable misery and unprecedented cloud of despair.

The vast majority of Ugandans have to give a bribe to get a government service of any kind; whether it is a letter from LC1, a police bond, a passport, an ID, a job, a favourable court ruling, a medical treatment, a scholarship, an admission to a prestigious school or university, etc.

As a result, ordinary Ugandans, with limited financial means, have no access to government services, albeit, they pay huge taxes for the same.

To add insult to injury, the rulers and their cronies live lavishly in unprecedented ostentation, owning huge mansions and heavy SUV automobiles.

They steal humongous amounts of public resources in broad daylight, without consequences. They have honed the skill of mocking the people of Uganda with an adulterated and commoditised democracy. That is why Uganda people’s votes are bought with a sachet of salt, a bar of soap or a coin of Shs500.

Relatedly, the regime created nominally democratic institutions that are used to buy off leaders in the Opposition who have the potential to shake the status quo and cause change. Parliament and political parties are such institutions. Opposition political actors are preyed on by the regime.

That is how comrade Mathias Mpuuga was targeted. The regime encouraged him to have confidence and trust in the NRM Parliamentary Commissioners he was working with.

The ultimate objective is to undermine the struggle. Therefore, as comrades, when the regime creates such traps for our leaders, we should be very careful in the way we handle the situation.

In the specific case of Mr Mpuuga and the Shs500m saga, I beseech you to handle the case with a lot of care. He is our comrade-in-arms.

He was simply trapped by the regime. So, in the interest of the party and the change movement, the issue should have been handled behind the scenes in spite of the pressure mounted by the media. Fighting or exchanging missives in the media do not help the cause of the Opposition. In fact, it benefits the regime.

I urge you, comrade Kyagulanyi, to refrain from throwing salvos at comrade Mpuuga, through the media. If, as a party, you don’t have an institutional mechanism to resolve such a matter, please reach out to our senior comrades in the struggle and discuss the possibility of having a dialogue between comrade Mpuuga and the party to resolve this stalemate.

In that regard, I have no doubt that senior comrades like Mr Olara Otunnu, Gen Mugisha Muntu, Ms Alice Alaso, Ms Miria Matembe, etc., would be more than happy to help.

The struggle to liberate our country requires us to be laser-focused. We should, therefore, always avoid situations that would divert us. Aluta continua.

The writer is a politician, trainer and writer mugsrob@gmail.com