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| President Yuweri Museveni and Forme PM Amama Mbabazi, during good times. |
On September 18, 2014, Uganda's president sacked his prime minister, a former close ally now seen as a potential rival in 2016 elections. This was a climax of NRM's internal tag of war between the two founding members.
It's alleged that Amama Mbabazi has been surreptitiously mobilising funding from the Chinese and oil Sheikhs from Abu Dhabi to establish structures and networks to defeat Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who's backed by US in the coming 2016 Ugandan elections.
Early this year, party members openly accused Mr Mbabazi of privately using his position to mobilise support for his own presidential ambitions. American CIA were involved in feeding Museveni with intelligence information regarding Mbabazi and the Chinese scheme!!
Did the Chinese let the cat out of the bag too early? During a meeting between Mbabazi, Museveni, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, and Zhang Dejiang, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s the National People’s Congress (NPC) who visited Uganda in September last year, unfamiliar with Uganda’s politics, Zhang reportedly thanked Museveni for “choosing” Mbabazi as his successor.
Although Museveni did not contradict his Chinese guest (Museveni reportedly politely told him that “that is not how it is done here”), it became clear to Museveni that Mbabazi could be selling himself as the anointed Museveni successor. That's when Museveni didn't take it lightly.
Uganda discovered the black gold and processes of drilling and pumping of the oil are at an advanced stage. Museveni has of recent times been a darling of the West. Indeed, US is a major supporter of Uganda's military hunt down of fugitive Joseph Kony and it receives massive funding and cooperation on intelligence against terrorism.
Both US and China are eying Uganda's virgin oil sector. The land locked East African country is seen as among the future major petroleum producers in Africa and hence the rush to woe this nation. It's not a secret that China has been courting Mbabazi.
Yoweri Museveni was shocked to discover that over 200 members of NRM NEC openly supported Mbabazi even before NRM holds its National Conference in 2015 to choose party leader and presidential candidate.
It is clear that in 2015, Mbabazi could have easily emerged triumphant against Museveni. Museveni had to act quickly to cut off Mbabazi's 'threatening' political wings. Museveni sacked his former ally, and on 25th September 2014 the army detained the outgoing Prime Minister's two military guards and searched the home of his driver.
It's known that Mbabazi had already established the 'Elect Mbabazi 2016 Taskforce' led by former Agriculture Minister Hope Mwesigye and his wife, Jacqueline Mbabazi, who have been busy with meetings and mobilisation. The meetings were previously being held in a Chinese Restaurant in Kampala but the current venue isn't known!!
Mbabazi, a law graduate who held powerful positions in Museveni's NRM government, including party secretary general, minister for defense, minister for security and Prime Minister might now team up with the opposition to challenge Museveni in 2016 presidential election.
Labels: Museveni and Mbabazi
