You should be loved, not feared — Opondo opens up to Muhoozi

LIKE OR HATE HIM: GEN. KAHINDA OTAFIIRE SERVES IT DELICIOUSLY HOT

OFWONO OPONDO

The English idiom, from an old fable, “But who will bell the cat?” comes up in times like these, and I come in peace. Indeed, many Ugandans come in peace too, not in cowardice. And for sure, perhaps not many Ugandans would want to read Francis Imbuga’s 1976 play, Betrayal in the City again.

Now, after a three-month absence from Parliament sittings since the swearing-in ceremony on May 15, Gen. (rtd) Kahinda Otafiire, one of the very few historicals, and an all-round horse of the National Resistance Movement bushstead, still in active elective politics, on Thursday came to Parliament and gave a well-coded, terse political message where many have preferred silence because of the fear of the unknown. Personally, I believe that Otafiire and many other Ugandans mean well, and on that day in Parliament, you could hear the pin drop!’

Although Otafiire did not mention specific names, it was apparent, and many people who listened understood him to be referring to the ongoing incidents of the alleged abductions, kidnappings and disappearances of some high-profile critics of the Government and President Yoweri Museveni, and those who seem to have rubbed the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Keinerugaba, the wrong way.

It ought to be remembered that there has been public spats between Otafiire and others with Muhoozi over the direction governance in Uganda is taking, and Ugandans do not have to hide their heads anymore. And this important discourse will surely one day, probably soon, find its way to the Parliament floor. There is now the famous video released by a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier, Lt Herbert Mabonga Matanda, providing graphic details of the alleged torture chambers, which could just be a tip.

Top on these concerns is the thorny issue of his widely perceived direct involvement in partisan politics when he is still an active-duty military officer, contrary to the Constitution, UPDF Act, election and other laws. Also, from social media accounts associated with him, Muhoozi has appeared to be acknowledging some of the truly absurd incidents of these alleged infractions of human rights, illegal or unlawful arrests and detentions of civilians of various descriptions at military facilities.

As it stands, it is necessary, for his own personal good, that of the UPDF he leads and commands, and the Government and public he serves, for Muhoozi to clear his image of these serious allegations of indictment.

I come in peace, and speaking to many people in the Cabinet, Parliament, top echelons of the UPDF and the Police, as well as other Ugandans, including ordinary market vendors, there is rising public concern. Muhoozi needs to know that even when many Ugandans may be silent, and others are actively fanning his reported ambition to run for president in 2031, for yet an unavailable position, the path has thorns, which those people employing hubris may not be able to effectively handle.

Muhoozi, it is not a nice thing to be feared. You should instead be voluntarily liked, appreciated, or even loved and worshipped, if you propose to do good in the interest of Ugandans. There was already a silver platter. It may, perhaps, be good for you to restrain those calling up hubris in your name because it is a game in futility.

Please do not let followers of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), aka pilau, behave like those of the now dwindling National Unity Platform, and who are not, after-all, united and seem to have no good purpose.

Do not let PLU go down the lane of intolerance that brought down the Uganda People’s Congress, Democratic Party’s Young Democrats, Forum for Democratic Change, and Buganda’s Suubi, with their dreams receding each passing day. After 40 years of Museveni’s moderation and flourishing freedoms, even if it were in poverty, Ugandans distaste for any possibility of driving them into a national implosion.