NRM youth to Museveni: Fire Mbabazi from SG job

By David Lumu and Adrew Ssenyonga

The NRM youth league executive has written to President Yoweri Museveni, the party chairman and Hajji Moses Kigongo, the chairperson of the NRM disciplinary committee urging them to dismiss ex-Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi as the party secretary general.

According to a letter signed by seven out of the eleven members of the party youth league, the youth leaders recommend that: “Hon. Amama Mbabazi should be dismissed as secretary general.”

Addressing journalists Wednesday at NRM party headquarters, Robert Rutaro, the secretary general of the party youth league said that withdrawing their recognition of Mbabazi as secretary general has been necessitated by five reasons—continued undermining of Museveni by “de-campaigning him among party leaders”, abuse of authority as the party custodian by “conniving with his daughter to hide the national party register”, disloyalty to party organs “after he refused to honor NEC resolution of 2010 which him to step down as secretary general after being approved as Prime Minister,” holding “secret meetings and undergrounding mobilsiation against the party chairman” and  being “scarce and inaccessible” for the nine years he was secretary general of the party.

This comes after Museveni sent a special ministerial team headed by Rose Namayanja, the minister of information and national guidance to the grassroots to consult on party matters.

In one of the meetings in Lwengo district, NRM supporters proposed that Mbabazi be relieved of his duties as secretary general.

These well-coordinated efforts and meetings within the ruling party have been viewed by political analysts as the beginning of the process to remove Mbabazi from the party secretariat. However, according to the NRM party constitution removing a secretary general requires a national delegate’s conference.

Yet despite the party constitution, Rutaro said that Museveni can invoke Article 14 of the same party law to “immediately assume all the powers and responsibilities of the secretary general’s office for the good, harmony and proper implementation of NRM policies and programs.”