Of Museveni and Balokole

Nov 04, 2019

They recently organised a sham high-level meeting with the President

By Godwin Matsiko Muhwezi

The unholy alliance between the President Yoweri Museveni and the Balokole old-guard is a still-birth in an incubator. If the President's endearment to the Balokole community in the 80s and 90s was his supposed rescue and validation of the Kiwempe movement, that ship has long sailed, in-fact it has docked a thousand miles away, beyond the mark set by Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama.

These supposed Balokole leaders, never a better place to use the notorious phrase "self-styled", traversing the country holding wealth creation crusades, are the worst allies for anyone seeking political affinity with the Balokole community.

First off, they are flat out liars; paradox of paradoxes! Yes, they are pull-neck choked in debt, inchoate building projects, unpaid media staff and tax evasion hide and seek. But guess what; this old guard has the liquidity to dish out their benevolent change to Ugandans across the country. No, we are not aware of the late-night meetings.

Ever since most of them ran out of schemes to dupe American patronage and kitole visas, this old guard has resorted to kissing some military boots (yes, the people faulting Joseph Kabuleta for kissing Prophet Elvis Mbonye's shoes have sold their souls to the state and are unapologetic about it).

They recently organised a sham high-level meeting with the President, gathered hordes of well-meaning people to prop some numbers, but the distraughtness on the majority was evident. Ironically, they are a handful, but still bicker over who poses with the President or shakes his hand; at least their father Judas had the unity of mind to convince his investors to pay full value upfront for his bounty. Poor believers at Cricket Oval were left to fight over veggie samosas and pints of super dip before trekking the dusty hillock to downtown taxi park.

Still, the real alert Balokole, who are no longer Kiwempe, have maintained their resolve against state religious patronage.

Bottom line, we in the Balokole community do not know those people anymore than we know Mama Jonah, Musuuza, Sebunya and whoever else somehow makes it to mainstream media mbozi za malwa these days.

You do not need theological training to realise who the opinion leaders of the Balokole movement are. Prophet Elvis Mbonye and his remnants including the Joseph Kabuleta some princes love to hate and lock up, will galvanise more youth in this country more than the entire Balokole old-guard combined.

Everybody knows that the Religious Faith-Based Organisations policy is an instrument of religious oppression.

Sooner or later, this little endeavour will crumble faster than a house of cards, the Balokole old guard will run out of lies and hyperbole to solicit state favours and accept the fact that they have become irrelevant in the gospel that propelled them out of oblivion.

Sooner or later, all personal funds, printed notes, oil money, taxpayers contributions or wherever else these wealth crusade gimmicks are being funded from will become porous and we will all get back to sense and sensibility.

Basically, we will all be fine.

The writer is a lawyer and author

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