Museveni, Mbabazi hold cordial talks in Entebbe

By David Lumu

President Yoweri Museveni and former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi have held talks to calm the political tension that is flaring within the ruling National Resistance Movement party ranks.

The meeting followed Mbabazi’s announcement on Monday morning that he would run for the presidency in 2016.

Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, who attended the meeting, told New Vision yesterday that it was “cordial”.

“We had a candid, cordial and constructive discussion,” Rugunda said.

Mbabazi, NRM’s former secretary general, said he would first contest within the party to become flag-bearer, before contesting for the presidency.

It means he would face off with Museveni for the party flag-bearer position during the NRM party delegates’ conference expected to be held in mid-September

But in response, Museveni, the NRM party chairman, said in a Monday night televised address shortly after his return from South Africa that Mbabazi’s bid was ‘premature’.

“I, therefore, do not think it is proper for the Rt. Hon. Mbabazi to waste his time with that premature electioneering. Those are issues that should be handled in NRM at the right time when the electoral commission of NRM has arranged for those elections. I think that method of work is wrong,” he said.

“Nevertheless, I am going to meet the Rt. Hon. Mbabazi to talk about the reactionary methods being used; seditious documents being circulated, false stories being told,” Museveni said, setting stage for the meeting at State House, Entebbe.

Sources said during the meeting, Mbabazi distanced himself from the seditious material being circulated on the social media, which the President said is meant to fuel divisions among the populace.

Before the meeting, Museveni had explained why he summoned Mbabazi. “Now, since the name of the Rt. Hon. Mbabazi, my young brother, has been featuring in some of these stories, I decided to invite him, together with the Rt. Hon. Ruhakana Rugunda, for a meeting today (Monday) at 6:00pm, so that I ask him whether himself or people associated with him are involved in distributing these seditious, sectarian documents,” he said.

Mbabazi was among the legislators who signed the Kyankwanzi parliamentary caucus resolution to endorse Museveni as the NRM sole candidate for the 2016 presidential polls.

Shortly after appending his signature to the motion, Mbabazi heaped praise on Museveni’s liberation war acumen, perspicacity, peace and stability and argued that the President was “a very good leader” who the country cannot just let go of.

“And as I have always said and I wish to repeat; Africa’s problem is leadership. When, therefore in Africa, you have a good leader, you do not let go easily,” Mbabazi stated then.

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