By CHANGE OF GUARDS
Museveni’s Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs is his army’s line ministry. As the conduit for siphoning public resources, it has, since time immemorial, taken the lion’s share of the national budget. This scheme is facilitated by core members of the ruling family, notably Rosette Byengoma, the Permanent Secretary, and Edith Buturo, the Under Secretary for Finance and Administration. These two, who cannot serve anywhere else other than the Ministry of Defence, are assisted by Ngabirano Francis Kahirita, the Under Secretary for Logistics, and Mutabazi James, the Under Secretary for the Air Force.
As the scheme to have his son, Gen. Muhoozi, inherit the presidency approaches its final stages, Museveni appoints figurehead ministers to the defense docket. The current Minister of Defense, Oboth Oboth, the Minister of State for Defence, Sarah Mateke Nyirabashitsi, and the Minister of State for Defence in charge of Veteran Affairs, Huda Oleru, all have little to no understanding of the military and security services. Huda Oleru replaced Col. Charles Okello Engola, who, despite his military background, was transferred to the Labour and Gender docket. He was mysteriously shot dead by his bodyguard shortly after.
In her eulogy, Minister Huda Oleru publicly stated:
“When I was appointed Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, I wondered what I was supposed to do. I had no background in the ministry. I had to seek out Col. Okello Engola to help me understand my responsibilities. He assured me I had been given the easiest docket, as long as I maintained my discipline. Recently, a Member of Parliament from Lango informed the Parliament that if Col. Okello had been the Minister of Defense, he would have dealt with the Karimojong menace in Otuke. I had to tell Col. Okello that the shoes you left at the ministry are too big for me to fill.”
Currently, the major preoccupation of the army is focused on an alliance with Rwanda to create a Tutsi state in eastern Congo. Both overt and covert preparatory meetings between the two armies are regularly occurring. At present, a delegation of the Rwandan army is being hosted by the 2nd Division Commander, Brig. Paul Muganguzi, in Mbarara. Three months ago, his delegation was hosted in Rwanda’s Umutara region. Given the composition of these meetings, they can even be conducted in Kinyarwanda. Just a few days ago, Museveni’s Crown Prince, Gen. Muhoozi, was in Kigali as a special guest before holding high-level meetings with the Rwandan army leadership and President Kagame. In all these engagements, the figurehead Ministers of Defense are kept in the dark, as issues concerning Rwanda and Congo are considered family matters. The Minister of State for Defense, Sarah Mateke, is a Hutu whose father, Philemon Mateke, was recently accused of coordinating Rwandan Hutu rebel fighters in eastern DRC.
Similarly, the high-profile Russian Ministry of Defense delegation that recently delivered the USD 100 million donation was hosted by Crown Prince Gen. Muhoozi and not the figurehead Ministers of Defense. To further exclude the Ministers, the delegation was not hosted at the army or ministry headquarters but at the SFC headquarters in Entebbe. There is no doubt that these Ministers are kept out of the loop regarding the highly secretive Russian and North Korean-sponsored military logistical infrastructure set up at Nakasongola, coordinated by Gen. James Mugira.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, as the said Ministers are kept in the dark about many more such engagements simply because they are not trusted. Therefore, Crown Prince Gen. Muhoozi is effectively Museveni’s de facto Minister of Defense. He is being assisted by Permanent Secretary Rosette Byengoma, Undersecretary Edith Buturo, and their team. The three Ministers are merely figureheads, meant to hoodwink the general public and their respective constituencies.
INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM
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