Ever since Kamuli Woman MP Rebecca Kadaga was voted out of the Parliament speakership early this week, there has been mixed reactions within the ruling party- National Resistance Movement which she subscribes to. Members aligned to her have been protesting the manner in which she was treated by the party’s Central Executive Committee(CEC) by snubbing her to endorse Jacob Oulanyah in the race. As for those on the eventual winner’s side, calls for Kadaga’s head (politically)have been deafening with her number one hater Ruth Nankabirwa insisting she should be expelled from the party unless she apologizes.
If news reports are to be believed, President Yoweri Museveni has opted to extend an olive branch to Kadaga by proposing a mega redeployment offer in complete disregard for calls to have her humiliated for rebelling against her party to contest as an independent in the Monday 24th speaker race.
According to Mulengera News website, Museveni reached out to Kadaga with the offer of the Vice President on Tuesday through a lengthy dialogue. The NRM National Chairman reportedly began by congratulating his historical ally from Busoga upon successfully participating in the process before asking her to forget the pain that came with the defeat and move forward.
In his conversation with Kadaga, Museveni is reported to have trashed calls for reprimand against her and clearly informed her that he still needed to work with her to pursue the party agenda for the next five years. Museveni was also glad Kadaga had opted against yapping in the media after the bitter experience at Kololo a conduct particularly befitting for a person of her ranking in the party.
Kadaga’s humiliation would cause a very deep rift within the party which would provide an opportunity for opposition to share the spoils through a possible mass defection. In Busoga for instance, where the opposition won for the first time in the just concluded general elections, clusters of disappointed party loyalists were threatening to cross to Bobi Wine’s NUP in search for vengeance. By opting to rehabilitate her instead, Museveni could have strategically identified a possible catastrophe that most of his close aides seem not to see.
The President might have also wanted to send a message out there that he is a compromising leader who never works by creating and keeping enemies. While on his campaign trail in Kamuli late last year, Museveni told a swarm of cheering party leaders at Marram Centre that he had no any grudge with the then Speaker of Parliament and clarified that all issues between the two had already been sorted for a smooth future working relationship. By exemplifying the occasions he has dialogued with former regime dissidents, the Head of State downplayed the rumours that he and Kadaga were at loggerheads, which he described as a machination of the bad people. The recent act thus could be intended to illuminate the same.
Museveni could also have intended to frustrate the opposition that seemed to be waiting in the corner to grab his experienced and dependable deputy.
Throughout the Speaker race, many opposition MPs have largely been identifying with Kadaga, a move that might have instead worsened her popularity among CEC members. Bobi Wine’s NUP specifically moved against fronting a candidate in the race to throw their weight behind Kadaga whom they know was not Museveni’s favorite for the post. Asked why NUP had opted to support Kadaga against FDC’s Ssemujju Nganda – a member of the opposition, Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake said it was because it was the only way to annoy Museveni. That Kadaga’s victory would be more painful to Museveni that anything else.
And on Tuesday night, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze called on Kadaga to cross to the opposition and possibly be it’s leader. By this, Nambooze clearly seemed to suggest a way that would leave Museveni more at a loss than just proposing a suitable way out for her.
Unfortunately, as things stand, it seems this will not work. Museveni has demonstrated that he still badly needs Kadaga besides him to the utter disappointment of haters calling for her neck.
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