PLU’s Muhoozi and the kind of leader Uganda needs after Museveni
Take it from me, people are shivering with fear because they realise that the time for playing cat-and-mouse games with the corrupt is over! The military and other security agencies are being purged of all money-minded and traitorous actors who had turned Uganda’s security interests into their business stalls, says Kirunda.
Al-Haji Faruk Kirunda
By Al-Haji Faruk Kirunda
Uganda is at a turning point more pivotal and delicate than ever before in its life as an independent nation. There was 1986, 1979, 1971 and 1962, but as we face 2031 and beyond in a time of great global uncertainty, we are called to be most cautious and conscious about who leads us.
We have experienced political turbulence and uncertainty to a point that we don’t want to be reminded of the bad old days. On the other hand, we have experienced stability and continuity under President Yoweri Museveni to a point that we cannot afford a low-quality substitute that will remind us of the low-quality leaders who nearly sunk us.
This is where the matter of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) comes into consideration.
For some time now, PLU, chaired by Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), has positioned itself as a complementary pro-people power centre. While not a registered political party, it has given formal parties a headache and challenged the uninspiring spirit of existing groups. Even the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) is challenged. It’s going to take great effort to find someone who can replace Museveni from within.
What started as a birthday bonanza in 2022 has turned into a citizen-driven agenda for the promotion of public good, service delivery, anti-corruption and patriotism (MK Movement) before metamorphosing into the aforementioned PLU, now making rivals scratch their heads while admirers nod in agreement.
The League has taken over Uganda’s public space! All this is because PLU has employed rare techniques of winning the hearts of Ugandans—even when it’s not about elections.
In the midst of that euphoria, Gen. Muhoozi has indicated interest in succeeding President Museveni, something that is causing ripples all over. On that, it must be clearly understood that his bid is after Museveni, and not challenging him for the seat.
It could be 2031. It could be 2036 or beyond, but there will not be a clash of interests. Many have misunderstood this, while others are twisting it deliberately to create unnecessary anxiety and friction in the Ugandan public space.
However, let it be known that Museveni will not be succeeded by anybody just for the love of power. Museveni is a standard-setter whose aspiring successors will have to prove themselves in a raft of ideological, practical and exemplary drills that must equal or challenge his standard by far.
It is going to take adequate preparation, mentorship and practical mobilisation that changes the face of Uganda without disrupting the roots of the current revolution ushered in by the NRM in 1986.
PLU is quite convincingly positioning itself as the future to look towards in the above regard. Its ongoing registration and endorsement drive is a smart move that no existing organisation has attempted before, political or otherwise.
It's like an opinion poll, but dealing with real people who have national IDs and contacts, targeting to have more members than the registered voters in the 2026 elections.
Some political groups often claim victory in elections based on opinion polls that use random people who are neither members of the party nor voters as respondents. The PLU exercise, as it is going, is authentic and free of “rigging” or fixing of numbers.
It is positioning itself as a true nationalist movement that represents the highest level of civic awareness that I have ever witnessed. All other groups, except the NRM, with President Museveni at the helm, are all about noise and intimidation of opponents and nothing else.
While President Museveni is Muhoozi’s father, Muhoozi is a separate human being and citizen, with rights like everyone else to seek leadership at any level. Someone who has risen to the level of a General or who leads a mass voluntary group like PLU, what stops him from having ambition? You cannot grow up as one of the best of the best and fail to draw inspiration to make a contribution by emulating your idols.
So, as far as Muhoozi’s right to express willingness to carry the revolution forward is concerned, there is no offence there. If there were any constitutional breaches, President Museveni would be the first to call him to order, trust me.
For those who are panicking and fighting the aspirant, where have they been when the NRM is struggling to retain power, yet with popular goodwill? For some time now, the NRM has been riding solely on President Museveni’s back. Ugandans have been voting for the NRM because of President Museveni.
Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Chief of Defence Forces.
The day he decides to step aside, it will be difficult to find someone to fit into his shoes. That’s where PLU found an entry point and utilised it. Nobody has been stopped from being farsighted and harbouring ambition. But it’s not every ambition that translates into a viable plan to take Uganda forward.
President Museveni has always been challenged at elections (while others have attempted to resort to unconstitutional means like insurrection, armed rebellion and assassination). All have failed because they are jokers who cannot be trusted with power.
They should not blame anyone for their falling short or claim disadvantage by way of parentage. Muhoozi didn’t come up because of his parentage; he came up because of his ability to assess society’s problems and make a contribution.
Uganda has had many first children, but how many have built a service profile like his to bring them closest to succeeding their fathers or occupying the offices they occupied? I can only think of James Akena of the UPC, who led the party like his father, Milton Obote, but is so far from rising beyond being a legislator and party leader. In only a few years, Muhoozi has gained ground that Akena has failed to win in over 20 years. Whose problem is it
Having tried, tested and certified President Museveni for 40 years, whoever comes after him will have to prove himself capable of surpassing his standard in leadership, or else it won’t be easy. That leader must be able to convince Ugandans and have a strong following that is focused on things that matter.
Not just raising fists and wearing bright colours. It must be someone who can carry forward the ideas, mission and programmes of the incumbent. I was utterly shocked the other time when the NUP leader, Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine), said in Jinja that if he assumed power, he would scrap the Parish Development Model (PDM), an initiative that has transformed the lives of ordinary Ugandans and introduced them to money-making through agriculture-based enterprise.
How much ill will can someone harbour towards the vulnerable in society to even think like that? How much more would they undo in the name of rolling back Museveni’s legacy?
Ambition driven by hatred and thirst for vengeance has no place in Uganda. Ambition must have a basis in a clear understanding of the residual problems of Uganda and how to resolve them. And not just Uganda, but Africa at large!
Museveni looms large over Africa as a contemporary Pan-Africanist and historian who has dedicated much time to studying Africa’s historical problems.
I can place a bet that there is no leader currently who is more well-versed in this area and who can articulate it better than him. And not only that; he accurately proposes ways to undo those alterations so that Africa can reclaim its original superior place in human history, which we were robbed of by foreign aggressors.
That means that whoever thinks of replacing Museveni must think about Africa exactly like he does and even better. Muhoozi consistently shapes his ideas around African greatness and is inquisitive about what happens all over the continent.
Not only that; he has been actively involved in securing the continent through military missions and diplomacy, taking after Museveni, who is widely regarded as a key stabilising force in the Great Lakes region. He is in good books with leaders of most countries as a professional soldier and leader with a broad mind on what needs to be done to uplift Africa as one.
Back home, Uganda’s fight against corruption is finally coming to its terminus after decades of fighting its many facets. Muhoozi has distinguished himself as someone who hates the stink of corruption from afar, driven by overflowing patriotism and the love of wanting to see things moving as they should.
Take it from me, people are shivering with fear because they realise that the time for playing cat-and-mouse games with the corrupt is over! The military and other security agencies are being purged of all money-minded and traitorous actors who had turned Uganda’s security interests into their business stalls.
It is highly probable that the bloated security budgets were feeding these hyenas, but they will have to repay whatever they stole.
In the public sector, Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara’s operations have so far sent shockwaves and unearthed dens of thievery, obstruction of service delivery, and the lords who have profited off the misery of citizens for ages. Barugahara is a front of Muhoozi and was assigned by President Museveni.
That combination is lethal, and everyone knows that the time for jokes is over. The opposition was using corruption to undermine the NRM, but now they have nothing to say. If the momentum is maintained, corruption will be no more, and the population that had become apathetic towards the NRM because of wanton corruption will come back in line.
Hope is in the UPDF style of doing things, which is result-oriented and precise. Now that civilians are yearning for real change after tasting it in action, Ugandans can rest assured that there will be continuity with PLU.
The wave is unstoppable. Those in the NRM who feel threatened shouldn’t behave like co-wives. The biggest problem in the NRM is killing its own “babies”. For the seventeen years I have served the NRM government, I have seen some young, promising leaders being suffocated, but that can’t happen anymore.
PLU has used novel means to beat the traps without antagonising the mainstream NRM. The vulnerable and neglected within the party and from the opposition are now finding a home in PLU.
On the whole, the response of the people to PLU is convincing, mostly from the youths. If we handle this NRM “baby” well, in the next ten years there will be no opposition and no need for it. PLU followers are uniquely disciplined. They respect their supreme leader. They obey and trust his guidance.
That’s why they have come out strongly to register and endorse him, aware that he comes to implement the best ideas of Museveni while bringing on board youthful energy, confidence and renewed ideological clarity.
There is something about a leader who freely expresses his thoughts and views on social media. You see his soul and appreciate his human spirit. Someone who has experienced both the lows and highs of life and leadership.
He was born in exile, grew up there, then came home to give his best to his motherland. Those who have been yearning for a smooth transition have clear options to work with!
The author is the Special Presidential Assistant-Press & Mobilisation/Deputy Press Secretary, State House.
Email: faruk.kirunda@statehouse.go.ug