Review new NRM campaign strategy; it locks out would-be good campaigners

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OPINION

By Ssalongo Muwada Namwanja

I salute Gen. Yoweri Museveni, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party presidential candidate, and congratulate him for putting up an excellent performance so far in the ongoing campaigns.

Results on the ground show that everything is going on as planned. He has attracted huge turnouts even in formerly opposition strongholds.

The president is also giving good messages of development, wealth creation, and assuring Ugandans of continued peace and security.

However, as an NRM supporter, I need to give feedback to our national chairman that the new strategy of appointing village-based structures consisting of 30 members to head President Museveni’s official campaign. It could have been well-intentioned, but my fear is that this strategy will lock out many volunteers and other groups that have been using different strategies to canvas votes for our presidential candidate and flag bearers at various levels. I have observed several gaps, which might divide our support.

The old system enabled our candidate to win all the previous elections, where all willing supporters, volunteers and mobilisation groups have been putting in their resources and efforts to canvass votes for our candidate on various fronts, including the usual door-to-door approach, organising meetings and rallies, as well as volunteers participating in talk shows on television, radio and other media platforms. We should not risk locking out groups and individuals who have been playing this role.

The NRM now has the biggest number of independents. Although they were nominated as independents, they remain our supporters, and many are willing to vote and canvas votes for our presidential candidate. We, therefore, still need their input. They were forced to come as independents because of what transpired in the primaries.

It is also true that many flag bearers were not the genuine winners, and this means that they do not command the majority support in their respective areas. Many took their complaints to the tribunal, but they did not get justice.

Some of the NRM leaders from the villages to the national level were also involved in creating confusion during the primaries, where they favoured some candidates for their selfish interests, and they are the ones now involved in the process of selecting the campaign teams.

We fear that these very leaders will create the same confusion and exclude genuine supporters based on personal grudges, which may not do us well.

During the liberation struggle, the NRM fought alongside many other groups to win the war. These included the Federal Democratic Movement of Uganda (FEDEMU), which was led by Andrew Kayiira and Captain George Nkwanga, and others, but the NRM agreed to work together and fight alongside these groups to win the war, and the fighters joined the NRA and their leaders were incorporated into the NRM government.

Limiting campaigners for our party is self-defeating, because at this critical time, the party needs the input of everyone to make a formidable team.

Many supporters have accepted a request to stand down in favour of flag bearers despite having been cheated during the primaries.

Yes, it is a good development because we need them and because they have many voters. But it seems they have been left out of this arrangement.  The new strategy, therefore, needs a thorough review to avoid locking out anyone.

The method being used to nominate people to the committees also needs review. Some people picked cannot ably and boldly convince voters because of personal weaknesses or previous disagreements and divisions within the party.

How shall we ensure that members on these committees have no issues among the voters? We have already witnessed leaders known to have been involved in national corruption scandals being selected to translate for the President during his campaign rallies.

This is an embarrassment because the president is condemning corruption, and the person translating is a culprit; to me, it doesn't add up at all.

Careful steps should be taken to ensure the people mandated to campaign for our candidate and the party are scandal-free, noncorrupt and have no known issues with the voters in their respective areas so that they can ably defend the party.

Some leaders also fear participating in talk shows and debates on television and radio stations, yet those who have been doing so on a voluntary basis have been locked out.

I therefore appeal to our chairman that our supporters who formed various groups and are already doing a good job should be left to continue without limiting them for the good of the party.

For example, cadres like Major Emma Kutesa are known for mobilising youths in ghettos who had become a big challenge but can now embrace the NRM. He has mobilised them to abandon criminality and other negative practices, and they are now talking about development.

The other is Hajati Hadija Namyalo, the one heading the Office of the National Chairman. She has also been moving to the ghettos, and she has done great work. Such groups should be left to continue outside the NRM structures. We should not pretend to think that the NRM structures can be vibrant during campaigns and cannot remain active after.

At this time, we just need the numbers to convincingly win this election with a bigger margin, and we should avoid sidelining some people.

We should also invite and recognise the NRM-leaning independents to attend our rallies and work with them to neutralise what the opposition is referring to as a “protest vote”. The 30 members alone may not have the capacity to make effective counters in the field.

Visit to Akokoro graveyard

The National Unity Platform (NUP) leader, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, last week visited and laid a wreath on the grave of the late Dr Apollo Milton Obote in Akokoro village. In my opinion, Bobi Wine committed a big mistake, which the NRM can take advantage of.

At the time of his death, Dr Obote had become so unpopular among the people of Buganda and Ugandans.

We cannot forget that Obote sent his forces and attacked the Kabaka’s palace, forcing Sir Edward Mutesa to flee into exile, where he died in 1969. Again in 1980, Obote rigged the elections to win the presidency, which forced President Museveni and other patriots to take up arms and wage war against his government.

But during the war, the Obote government butchered thousands of innocent people, especially in the Luwero Triangle, accusing them of supporting the NRA rebels.

Treating him as a hero and laying a wreath on his grave cannot be taken as a wise move by Bobi Wine. He is recognising a ruler who caused untold suffering.

This, however, does not mean that we hate the people of the Lango sub-region. Our issue is with a man who angered many people from Buganda and other monarchists across the country. Bobi Wine claims that he loves the Buganda kingdom, but this is false. Obote even refused to return

Mutesa’s body was kept until he was overthrown by Idi Amin, who allowed the body to be brought back and was given a decent burial.

As children of the bush war veterans, Bobi Wine’s action shocked us.

Monarchies were only restored by President Museveni, who also reinstated the cultural leaders and allowed others to form them. Such areas included Lango, the birthplace of Obote, where they have a Paramount Chief and other cultural leaders.

Dr Obote made personal mistakes and not on behalf of the people of Lango, and therefore, for a person aspiring to become a president to glorify him, in my opinion, is not proper.

The visit also exposed some Buganda kingdom elders, including former Katikiros, Dan Muliika and Joseph Ssemwogerere, the Mbogo (buffalo) clan leader Kayiira Gajuule and Israel Mayengo, who recently led a team that visited Bobi Wine in what many perceived as endorsing him for the presidency.

Buganda elders who know that the kingdom has never been the same ever since it was banned by Obote must have been shocked by Bobi Wine’s move.

There is nothing to appreciate Obote for. The good thing is that the cultural institutions Obote abolished are on good terms with President Museveni. That is why many cultural leaders in Northern Uganda have been attending his campaign rallies even when they are not officially invited.

I appeal to leaders in NRM to emulate Speaker Annet Anita Among, who is putting in a lot of effort in mobilising people to support NRM and turn up in big numbers to welcome our candidate. Let others emulate her. I wish everyone a fruitful campaign period.

The writer is NRM supporter from Masulita