Ugandans-At-Heart

Paulo muwanga was a powerful minister because he had earned it and he had created his own independent political portfolio unlike some people who just become MPs and then think of becoming ministers or vice presidents at the mercy of president museveni. Unlike Nsibambi(Museveni’s prime minister) and Bukenya( his VP), Muwanga had built a strong political career for himself and there is no wise president in Africa who would have kept him as his VP for such a long time:

At the time when the Ugandan in exile and Tanzanian were fighting Amin, muwanga was the administrator for Masaka and a clandestine agent for UPC and obote. Powerful obote ministers like Muwanga and Rwakasisi played a big part in the removal of Amin from power. Muwanga knew Obote inside/ out.

During moshi, muwanga was elected chairman of the military commission and this was not an accident. Museveni wanted this position himself but he was sidelined by UPC elements at Moshi conference.

Muwanga was even powerful under binaisa that when he was sent to Geneva as ambassador, he managed to challenge this in the NCC. Binaisa had to back down. Can you see prof Kiwanuka or Kinobe challenging Museveni for sending them to Dubai and DRC as ambassadors respectively? Kinobe and Kiwanuka became ministers at the mercy of president Museveni. He can do anything he wants with them whether they like it or not.

Muwanga was very influential in removing Binaisa to prepare for Obote’s return. He and oyite ojok planned this coup.

museveni met muwanga in Germany at the Koblenz military hospital where he had gone for treatment on tax payers’ money. I guess this is how Museveni came to start admiring the Germany hospitals and their facilities because the greedy UPC guys exposed it to him. I understand one of his daughters called Natasha also had her baby from Germany. Anyway, to go back to the point, Muwanga had turned against obote and was willing to work with the museveni group to get rid of Obote 2(the one who had imposed himself on Ugandans after the 1980 elections). Muwanga was at this time working with the Acholis in the army to dislodge the obote/ ogole group and it worked.

In an interview with Israel Mayengo, now Minister, Genera Duties, Office of Katikkiro, Tanzanians had refused to cross river Katonga until Muwanga was flown to Dar Es Salaam spent three days in the guest wing of State House and on the fourth day, Nyerere told him that “Ok go and sort it out with Msuguri.” Had it not Muwanga, Tanzanians would not have advanced to Kampala. Nyerere had a personal admiration on Muwanga after he resigned his parliamentary seat in favour of John Kakonge, whom Obote had almost chased out of UPC. He later became Minister of Agriculture and Muwanga became Ambassador to Egypt before Amin sent him to France where he is said to have sold “Uganda House.”

Paula Muwanga was the only Uganda’s Vice President who had a wide range of powers other than appointing and sacking ministers. He at one time said that he had powers of live and death. He released a detainee and ordered the killing of another to demonstrate those powers. Muwanga was very powerful. In Masaka there was a UPC Haji, Kateregga, who had been convicted of an offence by the Magistrate’s court. He jetted in , summoned the Chief Magistrate and the District Commissioner and ordered the release of Kateregga with immediate effect. In Masaka, he also detained his brother Kafuuma, who was a DP and Manager of Masaka Co-operative Union, and died in Masaka barracks. Muwanga was powerful, very powerful, as Vice President and Defence Minister. It is due to Obote’s weakness that Muwanga, with the Okellos, undermined Obote and caused the 1985 Saturday July 27th coup having met Ssemogerere and Museveni in Germany early that byear.

After selling the embassy contents, the fellow ‘trousered’ the proceeds and, to this day, not a commission of inquiry into that undiplomatic activity has seen the light of day. That embassy raid was in the 1970s. By 1980, Chairman of Embassy Disposals Board-cum-Vice President had graduated to pocketing votes, with precision and flying colours.

Oyite Ojok Looted more than Muwanga. The only difference is that Muwanga’s family enjoyed his loot while that of Oyite Ojok was looted by an aide, who has almost turned Mbarara municipality into a city. Thanks to Museveni who gave a tractor to one of Oyite Ojok’s widows in 1991 at Kololo Air Strip, to mark 5th anniversary of NRM/NRA victory.

Muwanga Paulo was a powerful minister under Obote(1 & 2), Moshi conference, Lule, Binaisa,… because he had built his own independent political career. There is no way Museveni would make such a person of Muwanga’s calibre his vice president or prime minister unless if he is thinking of retiring. The moment you start showing signs that you are so powerful politically; Museveni will drop you without even thinking twice. Why do you think VP bukenya is always forced to come out and make statements that show that ‘he is nothing’?

As for prof Nsibambi, he used to be a pro-federo activist and a lecturer at Makerere university, and that is where president Museveni picked him up and made him whatever he did make him. Since then, Nsibambi has been keeping a low profile and just doing his job. How can such a man be a threat to any president in anything?

The truth remains that the few Baganda ministers in Obote government who were powerful were because they had earned it. It is the same under Museveni: the powerful ones have been with Museveni since the FRONASA or bush days.

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