Who Is Musinguzi Garuga?

By Charles Musisi
James Musinguzi Garuga is successful by any standard. He is a prominent businessman and a politician. By refusing to be cowed by the government, he has won some people’s hearts but has also attracted strong criticism.
“He is a firebrand,” claims businessman Peter Munyakigezi, 42, of Kanungu.
Today, his public acts cause comment and his remarks raise controversy.
I have an appointment with him at 3:00pm and he is punctual for our meeting at the Terrace Bar at the Grand Imperial Hotel.
He is dressed casually in a multi-coloured short-sleeved shirt. He is of medium build with short hair and looks strong. He is about 6ft tall. There is an air of accomplishment in the ease with which he speaks to me. he looks relaxed.
Like most businessmen, he seems to have a full schedule. He has not had lunch. A waitress takes his order.
Soon the order arrives. We talk about politics as he devours his meal.
“There was a time you could be squeezed into a boot of a car just because someone didn’t like you,” he says. “That should not happen again,” he adds.
He leans forward.
“About 300,000 people died in Luweero. Was it worth it?” he asks. We look at each other.
His talk consists of no great surprises. He could say more but he dwells on reconciliation.
“I don’t want to be in the limelight now. I have been in the papers for the past three months,” he says. “My people have suffered so much. I think I should keep a low profile for the sake of peace. Do you understand?” he asks.
I nod in agreement.
Since the controversial June 2001 parliamentary elections in Kinkizi west, Musinguzi has been embroiled in a bitter confrontation with Amama Mbabazi, the Defence Minister and current MP of the area.
Musinguzi caused the annulment of the election after he petitioned the High Court, accusing Mbabazi of having fraudulently won. He won the petition but refused to stand.
Thirty five-year-old John Oketch, a political analyst, says Musinguzi had to pay a price for joining the Reform Agenda.
Recently the President convened a reconciliatory meeting between Mbabazi and Musinguzi. “We met the President and we agreed that we should not inflame passions for the sake of peace in Kinkizi,” says Musinguzi.
Concerns that his people were paying heavily for politics seems to have influenced his position.
“Some people lost eyes. One of my supporters lost his manhood,” says Musinguzi. “I feel responsible.”
Reconciliation will require ideological compatibility between him and other Movementists. Some people contend that Musinguzi’s association with the Reform Agenda hinders him from seeing eye to eye with Movement die-hards.
“I am in the Reform Agenda as you all know,” Musinguzi says. “We criticise what is wrong and we hope that the Movement can reform.”
A source at the National Movement Secretariat says Musinguzi is not likely to forgive Mbabazi for fear of giving a symbolic endorsement to the NRM. But he holds an important trump card –– his popularity with the people of Kinkizi. If he capitalises on it, he could stir up trouble for the Movement.
“Musinguzi has supported many development projects in Kihihi. he dishes out money to people and he brought electricity to our area,” says Jack Agaba, a Social Science student at Makerere University.
“He is a man of the people. Mbabazi is also a good man but he can do better as a technical person.” Twenty-two-year- old Abdu Muhiri, a third year education student at Makerere University, who also hails from Kihihi, disagrees with Agaba.
“Musinguzi is no longer popular. Kihihi is a Movement stronghold,” says Muhiri.
“Because he identified with former presidential candidate Col. Kizza Besigye, Musinguzi is regarded as a detractor.”
Nonetheless, Muhiri admits that Musinguzi is highly regarded by some people in Kihihi.
“He initiated the Kihihi power project, built a mansion and commercial houses in the area. He owns Garuga football club in Kihihi.
He also has a bar in the area where people meet to drink, watch TV and discuss politics.” Musinguzi is no stranger to politics. At 17, he was already into politics. Dismayed by the direction in which Uganda was moving, he later joined the NRA/NRM to wage war against the Milton Obote regime.
“He was an important cog in the wheel that ushered the NRM into power,” discloses a source at the Movement Secretariat. Musinguzi admits that he played a pivotal role in the struggle for democracy.
“I don’t want to talk about it now, why don’t we discuss it next month after the dust has settled?” he says.
People who know him well say he is a wealthy man. But Musinguzi is modest about his wealth.
“People mistake company assets as my own assets,” he says. “You know a company is a legal entity.”
Nevertheless, Musinguzi agrees he is propertied.
“And now suppose you tell me how you acquired wealth?” I probe.
“It is a long story. My father died when I was three. At 13, I had already began doing all sorts of odd jobs.”
After a moment’s silence, he says: “Let us talk about it next time. I don’t want to be in the papers now.”
Musinguzi attributes his success to credibility.
“Credibility is the key to success,” he says. “That’s why I kept this appointment.”
A contemporary of Musinguzi at the university says he is hard working and committed. “He was a year ahead of me,” he says.
“Musinguzi is a self-made man. His family was not prosperous but he is successful. Even at the university, he engaged in commerce. It was popularly known as chasing lines.”
His colleague says Musinguzi is hot tempered.
“I think it is a result of working very hard to reach his status. So he does not take kindly to people who criticise him.” He says Musinguzi was “deeply involved in the formation of the Uganda Patriotic Movement.”
Musinguzi was born in 1953 in Kihihi village, Kanungu district. At age seven, he joined Kinkizi Primary School. Eight years later, he went to Mbarara High School. From 1971-73, he was at Makerere College School. Thereafter, he enrolled for a three-year Bachelor of Commerce degree at Makerere University and was then employed at Rayon Textiles Ltd as an accountant. The following year, he took on a job with Shell, where he worked in the accounts section. He returned to Makerere in 1980 for a Bachelor of Law degree. He is married to Dr. Peace Musinguzi and they have four children.
Musinguzi lives an extraordinarily successful life. He is the director of Incafex Services Ltd, as a management and public relations consultant. The firm also provides agriculture and legal advisory services. He is a prosperous farmer and the proprietor of Garuga Country Club in Entebbe. But Musinguzi is not satisfied with his success. He has other aims that he absorbed in his youth –– Politics.
“I have always fought for democracy,” he says.
And his political future?
“I have retired from active politics for sometime,” he says. “But I will continue fighting for good governance.”
“Some people say you don’t fear the President. Is that true?” “Why should I fear him? He is not a cannibal or tyrant,” he replies. “I respect him but I don’t fear him. I only fear thugs.”
Those close to him observe that Musinguzi’s nasty temper is the major flaw in his personality. Musinguzi confesses that he has “shaken” a few guys, some of them high-ranking government officials.
“There are things I used to do 17 years ago that I cannot do now. You can abuse me but I will use this,” he says pointing at his mouth.
“I am a trained lawyer so I know what it means to assault people.”
Given all the positive remarks about Musinguzi, it is difficult to believe the negative criticism about the man. “He may not be an angel but he is certainly not a devil,” says Agaba. Ends