By CHANGE OF GUARDS
It’s a tradition for African Heads of State, and Uganda in particular, to appear at national public functions seated next to their army chiefs. Upon arrival at such a function, the Head of State inspects the military parade in the company of the Parade Commander. Immediately after the said inspection, the Head of State heads for his seat. Protocol dictates that the seating arrangement during such functions is for the Head of State to sit next to the Chief of the Army. It is very common for the two to be seen exchanging private talks as the military parade marches past. At the conclusion of the function, sometimes the Chief of the Army sees off the Head of State. This is the same arrangement whenever the Head of State is leaving or returning to the country. In either case, some Cabinet Ministers and Heads of security forces usually line up at the airport tarmac to bid farewell or welcome the Head of State, respectively. It is very rare for the Chief of the Army to miss these functions.
Since independence, the tradition has taken root, and all successive governments have adhered to it. For the last 38 years, all the army chiefs that have served Museveni have strictly followed this tradition. However, recently, the tradition has been shelved. In March this year, Museveni formally appointed his son, Gen. Muhoozi, to head the army. However, since then, the two have not appeared together at any national public function. Gen. Muhoozi has missed the Labour Day celebrations on May 1, the National Heroes Day on June 9 at Mpenja, the International Youth Day in Soroti, International Women’s Day, and other such functions.
The game plan is that since he is grooming his son to take over the presidency of Uganda, he fears that in the event of an assassination during such functions, it would not claim both of them (the King and the Crown Prince).
INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM
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