The SMS we got from out agent in Mubende town,  Buwekula county, where Sabasajja Kabaka chose to celebrate Buganda’s 14th independence observance was simple but very inspiring: “Empologoma ya Buganda ebogodde buto!” (”The lion of Buganda has roared yet again!”). In his first public statements since he was forced to go to Museveni’s statehouse and then tricked into appearing to be negotiating with a commoner, Kabaka Mutebi made it very clear that the current occupation conditions in Buganda are not acceptable.  The SMS from our reporter came seconds after Ssabasajja Kabaka told the mammoth crowd at Buganda independence day ceremonies, “The 47 years of independence which we are observing today have  been wasted by senseless conflicts and governance problems. As a result of this, our development has been paralyzed. Thinking in terms of constant conflicts must stop.”

According to our reporter, the lion of Buganda went on to give as example, leaders who practice decisive politics in an effort to divide Buganda into artificial chiefdoms. Warning that, “we must not tolerate what such leaders are doing.”

In the presence of his wife, Nnabagereka Nnaginda, the Kabaka promised that his kingdom nation will never promote constant ethnic conflicts because, “we value unity and not divisions in Buganda”.

Last week Kabaka Mutebi reluctantly went to Museveni’s state house after the Ugandan warlord threatened that if Ssabasajja did not meet him, he would introduce laws to abolish kingdoms and probably arrest  His Majesty. Our sources tell us that Kabaka Mutebi was not too concerned by Museveni’s empty talk but Katikkiro Walusimbi, other old Baganda and CBS Radio shareholders convinced him that Museveni was willing to entertain most of Buganda’s demands if the Kabaka spoke to him.  Although, Museveni dressed up properly to meet Kabaka Mutebi, including putting on dress shoes and walking his painful feet straight, he broke his promise to Walusimbi within minutes after the Buganda delegation arrived. Museveni took everyone by surprise when he told them to wait he spoke to Kabaka Mutebi for some minutes. The minutes turned into a full hour, after which Museveni’s state house and Katikkiro both started spinning that the private talks between were “ground breaking”.  Nothing on the original agenda took place because of the Museveni scam (kavuyo).

Surprisingly, next day, Katikkiro Walusimbi issued a statement claiming that, the meeting between Ssabasajja and the Ugandan warlord had removed all tensions between Buganda and her NRM occupiers (see “Katikkiro JB Walusimbi Praises Gunpoint Meeting Between Kabaka and Museveni“). Then Deputy Katikkiro Ssendaula wrote to all Kabaka’s representatives outside Buganda  asking them to tell Diaspora Baganda to be “very calm” while Mmengo talks to the occupying forces. Owek. Ssendaula’s letter angered some Baganda because it seems to focus only on  “not upsetting Museveni” and says nothing about the plight of Kabaka Mutebi and many of his loyal subjects who were murdered or are under torture in the NRM governments prisons and safe houses (see “Deputy Katikkiro and Kabaka’s Representative Anger UK Baganda“).

The consensus among all the 4 Baganda analysts who we have contacted is that Kabaka Mutebi made the strong statements in Buwekula to clearly and publicly disown the appeasing, apologetic and sometimes cowardly tone of the statements which his Katikkiro and his Deputy have been making.  One analyst named David Kasozi said: “Once a Muganda radical, always a Muganda radical. And Ssabasajja joined us Baganda radicals a long time ago. We, under Kabaka Mutebi’s leadership,  are not quitting until Buganda is ruled on her own terms, probably as an independent monarchy.”

The wife of former Uganda dictator, Milton Obote and her camp within Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC), have been engaged in around the clock meetings with an Acholi faction for days, to avoid a major split in the party which was formed by her husband. A frustrated Muganda UPC member told this writer by email that the Acholis are determined to take control of UPC while Miria would very much like to see her son Akena replace her as party president. According to our source, the fight is one about real northerners reclaiming UPC from a weak Muganda leader and her half-Muganda son. He went on: “I stupidly joined UPC during last elections because I thought Mrs. Kalule was going to make UPC good for Baganda. Now assure you UPC business is really only for northerners. That is why they are bringing in the northern best hope Olara Otunu even before telling Mrs. Obote about it.”

According to the UPC party constitution, Miria Obote’s seven-year term as president ends in 2012.  And many political analysts in Uganda think that UPC is on the verge of collapse from lack of leadership, after a dismal performance by Mrs. Obote as president. Prospective replacement living in Uganda include her own son and Lira Municipality MP Jimmy Akena Obote (Langi), Yona Kanyomozi (Munyankore Mulaalo), Darlington Ssakwa (Mugisu), George Okrapa (Iteso), Joseph Ochieno (Japadhola) and Sospater Akwenyu (Acholi). These groups made up the bulk of UPC Youthwingers and army which, along with special units of Mr. Museveni’s national resistance army (NRA), killed and harassed hundreds of thousands of Baganda during the Obote II regime.

Recently an Acholi dominated UPC faction, led by an MP called Okello Okello, kicked off a campaign to recruit Olara Otunu (Acholi), a former United Nations undersecretary and minister in Obote II, to lead the party when Mrs. Obote leaves. Okello Okello and team recently met Mr. Otunu in Nairobi behind Mrs. Obote’s back, leading her, after finding out, to reshuffle party officials. The reshuffle seems to have created a crisis, which Mr. Obote is hoping to control starting with the press statement reproduced below. It is not yet clear how Baganda, who overwhelmingly, consider Obote and UPC, which was president Museveni’s original politically party, the kingdom’s original enemy.

UGANDA PEOPLES CONGRESS
NATIONAL SECRETARIAT
Plot 8-10. Kampala Road. Uganda House. P.O Box 37047, Kampala. Phone/Fax: +256-41-236748

PRESS STATEMENT
(Embargoed for release at 3:00pm, 12th June, 2009)

PARTY UNITY

Following the recent cabinet reshuffle there has been a lot of conflicting information and interpretation in the media and public domains.

I have today held a consultative meeting attended by amongst others Hon. Okello Okello MP Chua County and Hen. Benson Obua-Ogwa! MP Morato County. This consultation will continue but the meeting resolved as follows:

1.   This consultation agreed that in the interest of Party Unity and impending work leading to the upcoming Delegates Conference the recent reshuffle remains in force.

2.   That the recent reshuffle was not done in bad faith and it should not be misconstrued otherwise. This reshuffle is part of the ongoing strategy to expedite the process of establishing new Party structures, implementing the new Constitution and preparation towards the coming Delegates Conference in. October, 2009 during which new Party leadership will be elected and more importantly prepare the Party for next elections in 2011.

3.   I ask all Party members, friends and well wishers to focus on electoral preparation for a brighter future and a strong and united Uganda Peoples Congress Party in the coming days, months and years ahead.

For God and my country

Mama Miria Kalule Obote
PARTY PRESIDENT