By Samuel Mwesigwa, 0778320555
My attention is drawn to the elevation of General Muhoozi Kainerugaba to the highest office in the Uganda People’s Defense Force and I take this opportunity to congratulate him and wish him all the best. I have carefully followed social media discussions from the rather gullible and amateur political commentators whose knowledge of the working of the state is inexistent. States world over survive on state politics where state apparatus decides policy implementation and to a bigger extent sharing of the cake. Therefore, Muhoozi current deployment is a testament of state power which he has been given to use it further in whatever way possible for the amplification of the activities of PLU are concerned albeit in clandestine way. And he has all this knowledge being a graduate of Fort Leavenworth college in Kansas USA and National Defense College in South Africa.
Indeed, it would be cheating him to have risen to the rank of a General which he has partly built not to lead it at the highest level namely the CDF position. There has been a wave of presidential sons taking over power like in Chad, Gabon and others and General Muhoozi who of recent became the chairman of Patriotic League of Uganda is aware of all these developments and hence he picks lessons. As the German leader Von Bismarck once stated that “only a fool learns from his mistakes. The wise learn from mistakes of others. Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable and the art of the next best”. This statement summarizes the fact that General Muhoozi has been commissioned to engage in politics that matters and which are possible. He should learn from mistakes of others to chat a way forward for his perceived political ambitions. And hence this is a great platform for his growth in politics at the national level.
In the history of all armed forces, the Army leads others followed by the Police and later Prisons and these days there is Migration rubbing shoulders with those three forces. This means that Muhoozi has been made the head of all armed forces and he is at liberty to command those other leaders or even request anything from them and it will all be done. In the criminal justice system, the police are at the entry of the system followed by the judiciary which is working together with the prosecution or the Directors of Public Prosecution and later the prisons or the corrections. In short if someone is at the helm of those important state institutions, he has powers to give guidance to them if there is something he needs to be done favoring his political ambitions.
Normally, I hate lamentations and speaking politics of advocating for what is impossible and for any serious political analyst, the knowledge of the state is critical if someone is to understand politics of possibilities that pushes any formation to the next level. Promoters of PLU have been saying that their formation isn’t dealing in politics and on one side of the coin they might be right. However, whether they are playing politics or not, politics is part and parcel of any policy and all institutions in a country that have a strong state. I would encourage them not to lose the vibe they have treated the nation in the recent weeks without using much energy and demonstrating high level of discipline. The chairman is now at the helm and can ficilitate all their missions and is going to be well exposed in international affairs as he will be rubbing shoulders with the rest of chiefs elsewhere.
My attention is also drawn to the demeaning assertion that General Muhoozi oratory abilities are questionable but according to me, he doesn’t need to be a rabblerouser to make his points clear. There is one politician who uses this card to undermine the contribution of Gen. Muhoozi and he rides on the arrogance of his listeners who have lost the standards of critical thinking. The world has changed and people need those who contribute to change not those orators whose knowledge in working of the state and the government is questionable. However, it is important to note that general Muhoozi is one of the most prepared and groomed Ugandan for any political office since he has worked in state circles since his childhood. The security reports and positions he has held in the army gives him leverage over many current politicians if he finally retires from the army and join active politics.
General Muhoozi has a generation that is believing in him and which will support him after his father. His message despite criticism from his haters has been a message of hope and pragmatism if he finally gets the highest office. The cadres he has so far created should amplify their voices because as the Baganda say “ensolo kweli kukizigo” (the animal being hunted is available in the hunting area. Generally, your cadres have shown the gaps in the opposition which doesn’t believe in politics of issues and hence concentrate of politics of fighting personalities. ladies and gentlemen, you have utilized that space well and maturely without endangering anyone’s life and property and this is applaudable and you should keep it up.
The success of Masaka Baraza is an eye opener to other organizers that even if the chairman is not present, the message will be delivered to the people. Let’s behave as if nothing happened and do not lose focus as you have demonstrated before by articulating your agenda to the common man and avoid slogans that are unattainable. Let the vibrancy you have shown be multiplied in different areas as people are interested in your message of hope. Those close to General Muhoozi have attested that what he talks of fighting corruption and amplifying patriotism have been his wishes throughout his life. Therefore, you are fighting for justified reasons and many people are behind you. Viva chairman PLU and Viva NEC PLU.
