By CHANGE OF GUARDS | 22 March 2024
Museveni’s army has issued a warning about the potential for an ADF terrorist attack in the country (Uganda). Museveni’s regime announced that a squad of ADF operatives had infiltrated Uganda from eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). That their mission (ADF) was to carry out attacks in urban centres, places of worship, and public events. Museveni’s regime went ahead to claim that the said squad is led by one of the ADF’s top field commanders, identified as a Tanzanian. Though in its statement, it claimed to have received intelligence regarding an unknown number of the members of the said squad. It (NRM) went ahead to name the particulars of some of the said members. It called for calm and vigilance in the Mt. Rwenzori region and Kampala city.
Uganda’s military dictator has always used the terrorism scare to curtail his political opponents’ freedom of assembly and movement. When it’s not a potential terror attack, it’s restrictions over an epidemic like cholera, Ebola, and a Covid-19 lockdown. The game plan is for his political opponents not to assemble in big numbers that could ostensibly be targeted by terrorists or to escalate the spread of disease, respectively.
Museveni’s worry is that such huge assemblies by his political opponents may demonstrate their public disapproval of him. But most importantly, he fears that such huge assemblies may be turned into mass protests. Since the days of the Arab Spring, he has always been living in fear of opposition-led mass protests; more especially in urban areas, and Kampala city in particular. In this regard, wherever he sees the potential for his political opponents to organize public gatherings, he invokes the terrorism scare.
Currently, three developments are making him feel may invoke mass protests;
1. The ongoing social media campaign dubbed Parliamentary Exhibition that is highlighting the alleged lavish spending and misuse of public funds by the legislature.
2. His Crown Prince, Gen. Muhoozi has just held massive rallies in the Greater Masaka region for his presidential bid. Because the political opposition entities are not allowed to hold such public gatherings, he fears that they may opt to challenge Gen. Muhoozi’s numbers by calling for similar rallies. Indeed, NUP has already announced plans to hold rallies in Busoga region with effect from March 25th. Similarly, the FDC Katonga faction has announced its countrywide consultation assemblies.
3. Then the upcoming annual Kabaka Birthday run that always attracts tens of thousands of people in the heart of Kampala city. Amidst the current seemingly bad blood between his regime and Buganda Kingdom, he fears that such a function may be turned into a mass uprising (Kabaka’s birthday).
Obviously, in the face of such terrorist threats, it would be very justifiable to curtail the freedom of assembly and movement. Under the guise of curtailing potential terrorist attacks, it provides a good excuse for the heavy military in public places and functions. This has always been the trend wherever there is heightened opposition to political activities. The only time the terrorism threat was moved away from the capital (Kampala) to Kamwenge district was during the recent hosting of the three international conferences. Though recently, the trend has been for the so-called terrorist bombs to be discovered and detonated before exploding. The possibility of a fatal attack is very possible.
INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM
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