Power Brokers in State House face-off, eye Jobs in New Museveni Administration

KAMPALA —As President Yoweri Museveni struggles to build a new administration that reflects the diversity of the country, his State House aides are nonetheless already parading themselves rewards while others have reportedly resorted to mudslinging and intrigue, according to people familiar with the activities.

This, has exasperated the tussles for supremacy among State House staff who have claimed scalps in the President’s ever-smaller inner circle.

Officials indicated that the development is igniting tensions among various factions— erupting into ferocious fights.

Political commentators predicted this would dictate the direction and shape of the President Museveni’s new staff.

The people familiar with the activities at State House told this website that the President’s recent appointing of young people in key positions has led to a bug of intrigue—with old guards not wanting to leave but also feeding the President on blatant lies.

A very credible source at the high table of the ruling NRM power politics said without divulging details, “His Excellency the President is now being fed on lies against the young people close to him”.

In this line of events, Dr. Hillary Kisanja, the architecture of a number of presidential initiatives including the skilling of the Girl Child, Emyooga, Ghetto Youth empowerment programme, valvue addition, Common User Facilities, SACCOs, financial literacy to low income earners, and chief mobiliser among the youth and women across the country has in the past week found himself on the receiving end of bad press.

Dr. Kisanja who coordinates the Presidential Initiative on Artisans and brainstormed Initiative on value addition and export substitution is being hounded for stealing the show at State House.

President Museveni who has in the past publicly blasted his aides over intrigue is, however, known for treading carefully.

“There are a lot of mouths to feed,” said one person familiar with the dynamic, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment frankly. “Finding space for some of them will be a challenge [for President]. The President now wants to surround himself with young people….He needs them [young people] than ever before and you going to see that happen. That’s the ignition of the fights now”.

“The long serving staff don’t want to leave space for the young,” the official indicated, noting “there those who are demanding rewards for muting [President] Museveni’s critics during the campaigns while others are looking for extension of their contracts”.

For Kisanja’s case, the top official said, he has been working for President not mafias.

“To survive there you have to serve the interests of that mafia, to think you will serve the president or the country is to work your way down,” the top official indicated.

Mr. Kisanja who is the Private Secretary to the President in Charge of Youth in State House was not immediately available for a comment but sources this writer spoke to, some of whom have worked in State House, christened the President’s official residence a “sanctuary of intrigue.” In fact, one of those who have since been kicked out of this sanctuary reveals, “the country has been taken hostage by a sophisticated mafia network whose headquarters are State House.

Currently, Dr. Kisanja is deputizing Maj Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba the senior Presidential Advisor on General Duties and responsible for presidential special undercover sigmates.

He’s also the head of special duties of the President responsible for mobilizing and skilling the girl child.

Why Dr. Kisanja is targeted?

Musoke is a highly educated lad with a PhD in planning. President Museveni who is highly informed always likes to surround himself with highly educated aides, a development that makes Musoke Kisanja the younger brother to late singer Paul Kafeero who defected from General David Sejusa’s Camp a suitable candidate for demolition by mafias.

Mr. Kisanja started working with President Museveni in the aftermath of the 2016 general polls having been part of Gen. Sejusa’s UYP sebversive network group.

Musoke, who later became Museveni’s blue eyed boy on big headed government technocrats, offered to write a proposal—detailing all poverty reduction ideas he had articulated to Museveni in subsequent meetings.

Mr. Kisanja for instance wrote a paper that metamorphosed into the Najjera Model, a Model that delivered billions of cash grants to economically empower informal sector groups like wielders, carpenters, metal fabricators, garage workers and women running small restaurants in Kiira.

The model was expanded to Nsambya, Mulago Kubiri, Katwe, Kawempe and other parts of Kampala.

Ministers like Beti Kamya and Nakiwala Kiyingi, who had just defected to NRM, tried to hijack the initiative and sideline Musoke but Museveni shunned them.

“He is the originator and the one who knows this thing; he has the blue print,” Museveni said on getting reports Musoke was being fought.

Musoke supporters became afraid when Kamya shone at the Kawempe rally (as if she was the organizer) where she vowed to deliver 85% votes to Museveni. Being one who hates intrigue, Musoke avoided direct confrontation with the two ministers.

Available information indicates that he later conceptualized the Presidential Initiative to Skill the Girl Child. This has seen modestly educated unemployed girls graduate with vocational skills.

Musoke, supported by State House accounting chief Lucy Nakyobe, has been coordinating their mass training in Wandegeya market, Nakawa and other places.

This is how the President graduated over 60,000 girls each of whom got a sewing machine and UGX.1m as start-up capital.

Harmonising Boda, Taxi, City arcades and Markets

President Museveni through Dr. Kasanja has since 2011 paid very close attention to people living in or originating from the ghetto—sanctioning a number of wealth creations programmes that have since paid off.

In October 2015 October, President Museveni appointed a youthful Kisanja to harmonise the taxj industry and boda boda in Kampala Metropolitan Area.

In line of executing this directive, Kisanja was immediately fought by Police Chiefs and Town Clerks after he suspended roadside tax fees. President Museveni publicly backed the suspension of roadside fees but also sacked IGP Kale Kayihura and Jennifer Musisi who were against his programmes to streamline the mafia-driven transport sector.

Before he was deployed to transport, he had already caused trouble for then State Minister for Fisheries Ruth Nankabirwa and Professor Nyira Mijumbi for presiding over a dying sector.

Mr. Kisanja produced a report that led to creation of the Army Fisheries Unit and changes in the Fisheries Management Law.

Kisanja also fought corrupt officials in the Fisheries Ministry including ending illegal fish dealers key among is Andrew Rwakataka.

Sources, however, said Dr. Kisanja is hounded over his role in uprooting mafias from Kampala’s main markets especially St. Balikuddembe, formerly known as Owino Market, after the President appointed him to streamline the informal sector in which he investigated and reported to the appointing authority the two warring vendor’s factions.

A report he wrote to President Museveni has seen government move to take over all public markets in the capital despite leaders in the three big markets which were previously leased to traders under their different associations, vowing not to vacate the facilities.

Information gathered by Daily Monitor — a Kampala-based newspaper shows that whereas some factions in these markets have run to court to block the take over, others argue that the exercise is a relief to majority traders who have been allegedly exploited for a very long time.

This website hasn’t learnt from sources is that those opposed to the plan have a backing of top officials from government including State House.

Crippling Bobi Wine support in the Ghetto

Kisanja wooed a number of Musicians including Bebe Cool, Ronald Mayinja, Catherine Kusasira among others, a development that crippled Bobi Wine’s support base.

President Museveni used Bobi Wine’s old boy from Kitante Primary School, Hillary Musoke who conceptualized the ghetto offensive that gave Museveni an infiltration point to Ghetto.

Mr. Museveni through Mr. Kasanja paid very close attention to people living in or originating from the ghetto.

Gen. Sejus links

Before his defection from Sejusa back to Museveni fold, Hillary Musoke was the national coordinator for Uganda Youth Platform (UYP), a pressure group through which Sejusa planned to mobilize millions of youths prior to his famous escape to London exile in 2013.

Musoke is also a senior lecture at Nkumba University teaching procurement and supply chain management.

While unveiling former Gen Sejusa boy, Museveni announced the UGX500bn Innovation Fund which he said would economically redeem educated and uneducated youths in Kampala and districts within its hinterland.

“I have my young man called Junior Kisanja. He has all the details and we are going to be working together,” said Museveni.

Fraud allegations dismissed as unfounded

It has now emerged that Hillary Musoke may be a victim of his own success with strong performance returns to the President, a headache for some specific political players who targeted him in the aftermath of the fallout in State House.

It is understood that some heavy weights who initially dismissed his works to the President, are plotting to dislodge him from the State House job by linking him to recent fraudulent schemes involving city pastors Siraje Semanda who Anti-Corruption Unit chief Col. Edith Nakalema had caged for stealing from the poor upcountry pastors in the President’s name.

Hillary Musoke, one of the many key government officials that had initially been implicated refuted all the claims saying that is the work of intriguers who are envious because of the excellent work he does for President Museveni.

A social media post dismissed the reports as unfounded and said intriguers are fanning allegations of impropriety against him, all sofar investigated and found to be without merit and a diversionary scheme.

The allegations that he connived with embattled city pastor to steal from the poor pastors in President ‘s name have also since been dismissed by Crime Investigation Department (CID) as unfounded.

Sources said those targeting him think the President might hand him powers to control Buganda and Kampala budget in the next administration starting May.

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