MUSEVENI’S HUMAN SIDE! Why He Honoured Critics Mukulu, Kanyeihamba & Kazoora Despite Political Differences
Atuhairwe Robert
By Robert Atuhairwe
The demise of star playwright, actor, singer, media man and cultural icon, Alex Mukulu, has occasioned something extraordinary that should shape Uganda sociopolitical sphere going forward. The acerbic actor was granted an official burial, complete with a gun salute.
No one saw this coming, as the saying goes.
The reclusive and aloof veteran of Ugandan stage and social commentary was an apologetic critic of President Yoweri Museveni and the NRM government, something that endeared him to a cross section of the Ugandan public that mourned him.
Clips of him tearing into the regime’s skin with notable contempt and self-assurance were among the last rites accorded him in the public sphere in memory of his artistry and social commentary.
Nowhere have I seen anything flattering that he said about the current government and its leader. But Mukulu got his gun salute, a rare honour that eludes many even in NRM.
Why did President Museveni honour someone who was a sworn critic, who even stated on one tv show that he would rather die than appreciate the Uganda leader? Let’s refer back to last year when Justice Prof. George Kanyeihamba died.
Kanyeihamba was one of the most vitriolic critics of the president, despite having been part of his cabinet in the early years. In 2001, when Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye first challenged Museveni for the powerful seat, his contest ended in court after losing the election. Kanyeihamba was among the justices that ruled in favour of annulling Museveni’s victory. It was the same story in 2006.
In 2021, Kanyeihamba, though elderly and won out, supported NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi and remained vocal in opposition to the NRM. In the early days, the President would often respond to the Kanyeihamba’s attacks but had long stopped doing so, letting the old man from Kigezi be. But when death came knocking, the President eulogized Kanyeihamba and even paid the family a visit in their Bunga home. He praised the deceased as a “patriotic intellectual and a key figure who supported politics of interest over identity politics.”
The Head-Of-State granted an official burial.
There was also the case of Maj. John Kazoora; when the former NRA war fighter and former Member of Parliament for Kashaari County died (still last year), it emerged that his former boss (Museveni) had been quietly supporting him during the time of his illness and had also supported his elderly mother in Rutooma.
Kazoora was a sworn critic of the President who even put his disillusionment with his bush war overall commander in a book titled: “Betrayed by my leader”.
These are just two examples. I have reason to guess that the President is in touch with many more figures that outwardly oppose him. If there is any take away from this it is that for Museveni, politics and state duty are distinctly separate from human relations. That there is a boundary to disagree or “fight” politically or otherwise but in times of need or sorrow, earthly matters go one side.
Isn’t that how it should be?
Unfortunately, the sphere is populated by people who have been totally taken up by political differences that even in death and tragedy they are merciless, unconcerned and full of disdain. They even celebrate when someone they didn’t agree with or belong in the same group dies.
Deputy Presidential Press Secretary, Kirunda Faruk, in one of his articles, stated that in Busoga there is a tendency to carry political rivalry beyond the grave. That one is hated and fought when alive, hated when dead, the hatred is carried over to his family and even the legacy.
If they have started any development project in the area, the successors or rivals will ensure that it dies with him or her so as to bury the dead person’s name with the body. There is another regular critic of the President who even hates the schools he attended. Things can get so native to that extent!
More on this in future!
Kirunda also says that among the traits he knows about President Museveni is that he can never shed innocent blood or victimise an innocent person where some others will not hesitate to spill blood or betray anyone, anywhere, anytime without remorse or second thought.
Back to Mukulu: it is not new for the President to reconcile with or show mercy to a critic (and that’s likely his truest, unchanging nature) but at a time when political differences are heading over from orange to red, few expected this gesture to Mukulu, who, unlike Kenyeihamba and Kazoora, had never served in political office or the public sector.
The President went out of his way across the divide to honour a man simply for being a human being and a notable citizen who contributed to nation in his own way. The human spirit and a shared sense of patriotism prevailed over simple dissimilarities of political choice and civic expression.
If anyone wasn’t moved by the President’s gesture and their extra sense opened to reconsider their own attitudes and assumptions, then that person is misplaced in leadership and politics at large. Political differences are not personal or eternal differences!
The writer is a promoter of African Integration and CEO Friends of the Media International.
GOT A HOT STORY? LET US KNOW!
Got breaking news, explosive secrets, or hard evidence?
Email us: redpeppertips@gmail.com
We accept tips, documents, videos, photos, and recordings—the more evidence you have, the better.
CONFIDENTIALITY IS OUR TOP PRIORITY. SOURCES ARE ALWAYS PROTECTED!
About Post Author
