UGANDA: Museveni's sycophants to watch - Col. Bright Kanyantore Rwamirama

MUSEVENI'S SYCOPHANTS TO WATCH - COL. BRIGHT KANYANTORE RWAMIRAMA

CHANGE OF GUARDS - Col. Bright Kanyontore Rwamirama is Museveni's Minister of State for Defence in-charge of Veteran Affairs. He is a cousin to Museveni's official wife, Janet Museveni. He joined Museveni's Bush War in 1983 after stealing money from Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) Rukungiri branch where he worked as a cashier. In the bush, he was not involved in combat but continued to manage finance.

When the NRA took over in 1986, he was made the O.C Pay under the Directorate of Finance. He was responsible for soldiers' salaries. He rose through the ranks to become the Director of Finance. (DF). His unit was responsible for all the theft of taxpayers money through bogus expenditures, fake claims and creation of ghost soldiers. Consequently, he became one of the richest army officers.

He enjoyed Museveni's protection, courtesy of his family links with the wife. Around the late 1990s, he was arrested over embezzlement of funds but in order to save him, Museveni ordered that he be tried in a civilian court at Buganda Road. Obviously this was a service offence that ought to have been handled by the army courts. During the 2001 election campaigns, Museveni boasted during a live radio program that he was determined to fight corruption since he had not even favoured his own relative, Bright Rwamirama. As usual, gullible Ugandans believed him and soon after they were in for a big surprise. Museveni ordered the army not to cooperate with the civilian court and the matter was dismissed.

During the 2003 probe committee on creation of Ghost Soldiers, former Army Commander Gen. Kaziini disclosed that as DF, Bright Rwamirama had a monthly balance of 1.9b shillings. That he would withhold information from the Treasury pertaining to reduction in strength as a result of deaths and desertions. Instead the Treasury continued to remit the same wage bill thus the balance. He said;

"........how much money was verified and paid out to soldiers and how much money came out of the Treasury, which left behind a balance of 1.9 billion shillings officially.
COMMITTEE: What you are saying is that because names are not declared, whether deserters or dead, the Treasury keeps remitting money every month which is known?
KAZINI: Yes.
COMMITTEE: By whom?
KAZINI: By the Director of Finance and Permanent Secretary."

The war torn northern Uganda based 4th Division was the cradle of the Ghost Soldiers. Its Finance Officer, Lt. Osele was mysteriously killed after it was revealed that he had always been remitting 400m shillings to his boss, Bright Rwamirama every month. Gen. Kaziini told the committee thus;
"They found ghosts in 1996, and you remember one paymaster (Lt. Osele) killed himself because he was cornered. He was sending Shs 400m to the Director of Finance, Maj. Bright Rwamirama, at that time every month, even more."

Around 2008 before the Constitutional Court, while challenging his trial before the Court Martial, Gen. Kaziini decried the discriminatory treatment. He cited the case of Bright Rwamirama who had previously committed a service offence but was instead indicted before a civilian court. At that time, Bright Rwamirama had already retired from the army and was now a Cabinet Minister.

In 2016, Museveni added the docket of Veteran Affairs to the Ministry of Defence and appointed Bright Rwamirama as the Minister of State for Defence in-charge of Veteran Affairs. The Veterans docket attracts and is strategic in that it involves a lot of political mobilisation and project funding. The cash greedy Bright Rwamirama landed on the right spot. In May 2016, his son, Mwine Mpaka contested and won the parliamentary Youth for western region. The violent contest saw Gen. Tumukunde shot in the leg before his son lost to Mwine Mpaka. In a 2017, parliamentary committee audit query revealed that he had illegally received 80m from the Ministry of Labour as Workman's Compensation for a minor accident. Yet, as a cabinet Minister and more so an M.P he was on a medical insurance scheme by the Parliamentary Commission.

The Minister of Defence is Adolf Mwesige who is a civilian and not knowledgeable in security matters. He had been the Secretary General of PAFO which had merged with the Reform Agenda to give rise to the opposition FDC. His deputy is Col (Rtd) Charles Okello who had been the artillery commander during Museveni's Congo military expedition in the late 1990s. Upon retirement he had ventured into politics becoming the M.P for Oyam county. During an interview with The Monitor on July 22, 2014, he expressed his dissatisfaction thus;
"Many people have been given medals for their contribution to development in this country. Can you imagine and nobody thinks about me?”

In 2016, Museveni appointed him Minister of State for Defence and structurally deputises the Minister of Defence.

For those versed with Museveni's method of work which is mostly characterized by sectarian considerations, Adolf Mwesigye and Col. Charles Okello are just figureheads at the Ministry of Defence. With the Permanent Secretary Rosette Byengoma, Col. Bright Rwamirama is the Minister of Defence. That is why he dominates most of the defense and security undertakings. When he is not on different radio and TV stations carrying out army propaganda, he is either accompaying Museveni to Mozambique or running security errands with the Egyptians, Belarus, South Africans, Japanese, French and others. He is the one who makes Ministry of Defence statements, tables and defends classified defence budgets in Parliament. It is for this reason that sometimes Museveni convenes security meetings attended by both Rwamirama and his boss, Adolf Mwesige.

Just forget about Adolf Mwesige and Col. Charles Okello Engola, Col. Bright Rwamirama is in charge of the Defence docket.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM