Tracing Bukenya, Besigye and Catholic Church troubles

Former Vice President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya is already facing the music just days after he was dismissed. The Inspector General of Government, Raphael Baku has indicted the former Mahogany of corruption related charges.

Prof. Bukenya is accused of pilfering money meant for motorcycles for Chogm. On the surface, it looks a real fight against the vice that many Ugandans have come to hate though it persists in their midst.  Some say the newly appointed Prime Minister is using the case to settle some personal beef with the lovely Professor of Medicine because he once called him [Mbabazi] a mafia. 

On  a lighter note, Prof. Bukenya was reputed in administering love therapy to beautiful ladies as well as good medicine to ailing patients. He dropped the latter but maintained the former trait.

Back to serious business. Although Bukenya has issues with Amama Mbabazi who apparently is using his former bag boy [ Baku] to get at the fired VP, the issues  run deeper than that.

My investigation reveals that the war against Bukenya has to do with America and the Catholic Church's perceived interests to depose President Museveni.

Those in power believe that the American President Barack Obama has no love for Museveni. They believe that Obama is using Rwanda to undermine the Kampala establishment.

They also believe that the Catholic Church is working clandestinely to throw out the Museveni hegemony.

According to sources, Museveni  is angry with the Church but because of its power, he has limited choices in confronting it.

The intelligence tell him that the Catholic Church is the conduit for FDC President Col. Dr Kizza Besigye's finances. They believe that there is a secret account at Centenary Bank through which funds to finance Besigye are channelled.

The security have tried to establish how the FDC man gets the cash but failed. They have narrowed it down to the Catholic Church.

In addition to Besigye, the operatives also believe that DP President Nobert Mao gets funds from the Catholic Church.

In their thinking, Obama is trying all means to  use Rwanda and the Catholic Church to start a rebel outfit against the Kampala regime. For long, Ugandan intelligence have taken the line that Rwanda is haboring a rebel group against Uganda.

IT is also speculated that Uganda is also nursing anti-Kigali plans. In fact some attribute Paul Kagame's failure to attend Museveni's swearing in to a planned coup against Kagame back home. Had Kagame travelled to Kampala, sources say, a coup could have erupted back home. This is also blamed on Kampala regime. The two regimes are on a love-hate relationship.

That is why May 24, 2011, the Internal Security Organisation sent an operative to a meeting of CARITAS, a Catholic NGO. The meeting was supposedly to take place in Kigali on May 25. According to ISO, this meeting on Regional Peace and Justice Forum was focused on how to support Opposition parties in Uganda and Kenya.

An operatve was quickly dispatched to Kigali. Sources say that he was accessed to the meeting by one of the Nuns from Kenya who is a mole for the Ugandan government.

Bukenya troubles

While the former VP has genuine corruption charges, my sources say that alone would not have led to his prosecution. He is also suspected of being too close to the Catholic Church, therefore, could become dangerous to the regime if Obama pushes his interests. The idea is to have some criminal charges hanging around him such that if need to incarcerate him arises, it then becomes easy to invoke the corruption charges.

Below read the ISO communication regarding the CARITAS meeting. ISO boss Col. Ronnie Balya personally authorised the infiltration of the meeting.

The discordant dance by the Opposition, rebels and Independents

Nathan Nandala Mafabi's shot at the post of Speaker of parliament, was not an ordinary contest. Was Mafabi really serious to vie for that position well aware that the NRM kangaroo arrangement called a Caucus would not allow anyone outside their party to vote him? Some are asking that question. Of course Mafabi would have been foolhardy to even imagine that he would defeat an NRM candidate.
However, Mafabi's expression of interest for Speaker was a political move that has helped us to answer two questions: Do we really have  independent MPs in parliament? And are Opposition MPs really united or some of them are NRM moles?
His candidature has atleast proved that the Opposition is united but the independents are NRM fellows trying to sit on the fence.
In the new parliament, NRM has 274 MPs inclusive of  10 army representatives. The FDC has 34, UPC 10, DP12,  CP 1 and JEEMA 1. In total, the Opposition has 58 MPs. Independents are 43.
Nandala got 57 votes while Odonga Otto, also an FDC figure who vied for deputy Speaker got 58 votes. Nandala would have also got 58 but M Reagan Okumu delayed to arrive in Parliament as he was held up in Kasangati where he had gone to see party boss Dr Kizza Besigye who had been literally put under house arrest.
So, if the Opposition are only 58, it would mean that no Independent MP voted Opposition candidates. And non of the so called rebel MPs also voted an Opposition candidate. In this group of the so called rebels are Henry Banyenzaki, Theodore Ssekikubo, Wilfred Niwagaba, Barnabas Tinkasimire, Chris Baryomunsi and others.
But the voting for Speaker was truly informative. It depicts the nature of our politicians. Some are accused of being moles while others simply follow where the money is. And the majority think no one can see through their lies and manipulation even its obvious to even village gossipers. The election of Speaker put facts bare for all to see.
If the so called NRM rebels really believed that their party has excesses and if they really believe that the Opposition has a role to play in a democracy, how come that none of them voted any Opposition candidate?
One would not be entirely wrong to infer that some of the so called NRM rebels  were simply assigned a different role by their party boss to disorganise the Opposition. If they espoused good governance they usually rant about in the media, they would have shown it in their voting.
And do we even need to call some MPs Independent?  Can it be a coincidence that all the 43 independent MPs voted NRM candidates?
Again, no one would be chastised if he/she refered to Independent MPs as disgruntled NRM MPs or rather hypocrites and opportunists trying to use parliament  to pick some perks from President Museveni.
Surely, there should have been one or two truly independent MPs who should have seen that Nandala or Odonga Otto had some qualities to run parliament. Instead, the masqaraders opted to appease the ruling party.
I may be wrong but the Independents are going to be dangerous to Uganda's democratisation process if we go by what happened during the election of Speaker. Its unfathomable that all  43 people sided with the NRM party.  Really? They are going to use their numbers to blackmail NRM and get financial rewards. They have got political power but have no class. Despicable chaps those ones!
I hold the view that Uganda's problem is not NRM numbers per se but lack of honesty and elementary moral values in our body politic. It can only get worse with rebels and Independents of the type we have.
The only ray of hope is the unity that the Opposition [usually chided as disorganised] showed. If that continued despite the small numbers. , then Museveni is in for hard times.
The election of Speaker, I hope, should have driven a point to them that the NRM rebels need to be treated with suspicion and the Independents with scorn. They [rebels and Independents] dance to NRM tune in secret and pretend to hate it in the open.

Briefly

Alice Alaso is facing hard time becoming leader of Opposition. Despite her loyalty to Dr Kizza Besigye, other party members have different thoughts. Ms Alaso, the Secretary General of FDC had tried to influence Besigye to appoint LOP but the retired Colonel insists on an election to determine who replaces Prof. Ogenga Latigo. Ms Alaso is not at home with several MPs. 
Former UPC Iron lady Cecelia Ogwal, an MP  with a wealth of political experience, is in contention but her age is a disservice, according to her detractors.  Abdu Katuntu was once in the running but is silent these days. That leaves Patrick Amuriat, Nandala Mafabi and Kassiano Wadri as contenders. But Nandala's advisers think he is better as PAC chairman owing to his head on approach in dealing with government thieves.
One only prays that the election of LOP doesnt drive a wedge into the FDC and the Opposition.

Norwegian foreign minister to meet Museveni, Opposition over demos

Nowergian minister for international development Eric Solheim will be in Kampala on Tuesday for talks with President Museveni over the brutality meted out to Opposition demonstrators during the walk-to-work campaign.
Sources in Norway say that images showing the government brutality have sent shock waves to the Scandinavian country that cherishes democracy and human rights.
Mr Solheim who will first visit Sudan and Burundi before jetting into Kampala told the Norwegians back home last week that their Ambassador to Kampala had told President Yoweri Museveni that it was unacceptable to treat walk-to -work demonstrators the way the Police and soldiers did.
Opposition FDC President Dr Kizza Besigye who is now nursing injuries in a Nairobi hospital was brutalised, his car smashed and scores of people  including a two year child killed in cold blood.
Ugandans are protesting the government inaction in the wake of the rising inflation. The protests are also a culmination of unabted theft of public resources that has left social infrastructure nonfunctional.
According to my Norwegian sources, "during the meeting, Solheim will discuss [the unrest] with President Museveni, Opposition leaders and later meet the media."
Although the Norwegian government has not yet considered sanctions against the NRM regime, sources say increased abuse of human rights could force a discussion to that direction in the near future.
Norway is trying to get involved in Uganda's oil industry and that could delay their harsh decisions on the Kampala regime.
It also funds the environment sector in the country besides giving advise on how to build an oil industry.
Norwegians are world example in using oil for the benefit of the citizens through transparency and accountabliity of every dollar got from oil sale.
Recently, a Norwegian diplomat was among those that visited Dr Besigye in jail in Nakasongola raising alot of noise from the government that the diplomats had not sought clearance from the Foreign affairs ministry. They threatened action but appear to have realised that they are powerless to confront the diplomats yet images clearly showed the regime's shamelessness.
Apparently, the diplomats wrote back home exposing the brutality of the Museveni led regime.

Museveni was shaken but here is why he is now smiling

When the walk-to-walk protests started, President Museveni was a very disturbed person. He was unsure of which direction the protests would take. Then his intelligence briefed him that the Opposition had actually planned to converge at City Square [ Constitutional Square] with thousands of supporters to demand that he leaves power or a re-election be conducted.

According to the brief, if the Opposition gathered at the city, the donors would then dissuade the government from dispersing them because they were peaceful and more so, it was their right to protest. Several civil society organisations would then ferry in food and other necessities to the protestors in form of humanitarian aid. This, according to intelligence, would make the Opposition pitch camp for as long as they could. If that happened, there was no way Museveni would continue ruling the country when thousands were protesting.

It pained him so much that such a move had been mooted against him. He was shaken or terrified by the possibility of losing power to civilian protests yet he had earlier boasted the he was holding grip on the military and that no one would take over power from him.

His immediate response was not to allow the demonstrators to access the city center. The President was always on phone with the IGP Gen. Kale Kayihura, Gen. David Tinyefunza, the Coordinator of Intelligence Services, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, the Chief of Defence Forces, Lt. Col. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Commander of Special Forces Group and his Brother Gen. Salim Saleh.

Commanders fight each other

At first, the job of quelling the demos was left under Gen. Kayihura  who consulted the President constantly and literally took instructions from him. You could see at the start that Kayihura’s boys were dominant in the operations. However, the situation lasted longer than they security chiefs had anticipated. Col. Kizza Besigye injected momentum and courage into the demonstrations. Intelligence started feeding the President with the information that Rwanda’s Paul Kagame was morale boosting Besigye. They also said the US and Britain backed the FDC man. This information created more panic in the President.

While he was panicking, his lieutenants also degenerated into their old personal wars of supremacy. A section told the President that Gen. Kayihura was not handling the demos properly especially when he started ferrying the Opposition politicians arrested in new police vans. They had wanted them carried in pick-ups and humiliated so that others get discouraged.

Sensing the infighting among his dogs like Napoleon’s dogs in Animal Farm, the President elevated his son Col. Muhoozi to take charge.

The subsequent operations were actually commanded by Muhoozi. The police only remained to give the job, a face.  Museveni fell short of announcing that the army had taken control. His fear was to announce army control yet his swearing in is due on May 12. It would appear that he was taking over government under military rule.

So, the regular police officers were left in charge but mainly as mere spectators as Special Forces; CMI and JATT operatives took control of quelling the demos. These groups were not uniformed but heavily armed with sophisticated weapons.

They had been instructed to use maximum force; in fact they were licensed to kill. Remember that in the first two days of the demonstrations, there were no reported incidents of death but when the military elements took charge, scores of people were murdered.

While Gen. Kayihura bellowed instructions to his field officers and also updated the President, the President was giving different instructions to other commanders. That is why during the protests; the regular police are usually the first to arrive at the scene. They usually negotiate with the demonstrators. But the military guys also deployed in civilian attire, relay information to their command posts from where they get instructions.

It’s usually the guys in civilian attire who have the final say on what to be done. Gilbert Arinaitwe is one such a fellow. Although deployed in police, he is attached to JATT.

When he arrived at the scene in Mulago round- about where Grace Turyagumanawe had stopped Besigye, Arinaitwe straightaway kicked Besigye’s car before he used his pistol. Another man in the hood arrived with a hammer and also hit Besigye’s car.

Sources say that these guys were dispatched specifically to inflict pain on Besigye. They were not part of Turyagumanawe’s team. Their instructions were to get Besigye by all means. Museveni's worry with Besigye is that the retired Colonel is gaining cultic poltical support and proving difficult to be dealt with. The radicals want to eliminate the Colonel but moderates worry of the repercussions.

The purpose of the hammer was to try to hit Besigye’s car locks to force them to open. And the spray was to force them out of the car. Intelligence sources say that police had no idea that Besigye would lock himself in the car, therefore; they could not have carried a hammer. It’s the bosses in the background, who ordered the Special Forces to drag the man out forcefully.

Apparently, the army has literally taken charge of management of demonstrations. In this case, the army means the SFG commanded by Col. Muhoozi. In every police patrol car, there is an SFG person, JATT, CMI, military police and two police officers. But all of them wear police uniform to disguise as regular police officers.

Experts argue that in essence, Special Forces are in control of the police. Recently, Museveni announced that he would be guarded by police as stipulated by the Constitution but sources say his guards will be police officers only in uniform but Special Forces in content.

Intelligence reshuffled

After being beaten by the Opposition move, President Museveni ordered a reshuffle of intelligence operatives in Kampala; the reason being that some of them had become known to the public; therefore, unable to detect the Opposition strategies. Secondly, some of them reportedly had girlfriends all over the city. These operatives have been deployed in far flung districts and new ones deployed in the city. The idea here is to try to intensify clandestine operations so as to get to know the Opposition plans in advance and nip them in the bud.

Police on Opium

Most police officers in mobile pick-up have resorted to taking drugs especially Opium in order to gather the courage to confronts civilians whom most of them reportedly see as innocent but because of orders from above, they have to do the job. In Nakulabye, not far from the city center, several police pick-up vehicles usually pull up at Shell fuel station near the round-about. They park their cars in the station and walk down to the nearby market. They usually appear at around 9 am. According to sources, these security officials have a joint in the market where they buy the Njaga [opium] to sniff before they embark on a day’s work. This information is known to several people who have witnessed the police visit the area to buy the drugs. Apparently, they have got addicted to it because it enables them unleash terror on the civilians without remorse. Some of them reportedly confess that they can’t do what they do when they are normal. So next time you are stopped by these officers, don’t think you are talking to ordinary police officers. After taking the Njaga, their eyes turn red and their appetite to torture grows. That is why you witness the brutality that sometimes their bosses also wonder why their officers go overboard. They are boosted by Opium.

Arrests continue

As they intensify intelligence gathering, the army is also conducting massive arrests in the suburbs of the city. They are picking young men they suspect to be ringleaders during the demonstrations. The arrests are targeted at Opposition supporters.  As you read this, several young man are languishing in military detention centers especially Makindye military barracks and RRU headquarters in Kireka.  Sadly, most of these young men are innocent but the state is arresting them in order to deny the walk to-to work protestors the necessary input of these vibrant boys. Apparently they are to be detained until the state feels the walk-to-walk campaign is no longer a threat. The illegal detention is to also wear down the young men such that they abandon the Opposition. Some of earmarked ringleaders undergo torture. Those who surrender will be released and turned spies against the Opposition.

The same kind of arrests targeted at Opposition youth are taking place in other earmarked towns like Mbale, Gulu, Jinja, Mukono and Masaka.

During the riots that followed the rumour that Dr Besigye had died of torture by the military, several young men were mercilessly killed by the military men. Some of them were reportedly immediately picked up and their bodies confiscated to avoid the public getting to know. Some of the nosy relatives are under threat and are reportedly being paid compensation. This is a matter that requires urgent investigation by independent organs and the state. Internal Affairs minister Kirunda Kivejinja announced that only two people had been killed yet journalists counted at least five. It’s said that the numbers are higher than the journalists and the state are saying.

But from a man who was in panic at the beginning, Museveni is said to affording a smile now because the military mainly under his son, has taken charge of the situation. For now he is settled that at least no one even within the military can use the excuse of the demonstrations to turn the gun against him. Such a soldier would be dealt with by Col. Muhoozi.