UGANDA: Of Mbale mudlides and Museveni's oppositionslides

OF MBALE MUDSLIDESS AND MUSEVENI'S OPPOSITION SLIDES

ACCIDENT OR INCIDENT?
Mudslides have once again hit Bugisu subregion claiming many lives. Since the first incident of 2010 that claimed the lives of 350 people, several other incidents have continued to take place and for the Museveni regime, it's been business as usual. During the initial incident of 2010, Museveni donned in full combat gear and brandishing an AK 47 assault rifle rushed to the scene where he promised heaven on earth.

During the 2017 mudslides incident, Museveni told locals that; "deaths by mudslides should not occur again because it is easy to manage and avoid them."

This time round he has gone to Mbale though in combat gear but left his AK 47 in his car save for his short gun which he always conceals. However, he was conspicuously in a jovial tourist mood.

MUSEVENI INDICTED
“I am going to resign my ministerial post in protest because we are not being supported. I am a technical man and I speak the truth. There are no political manoeuvers that can solve this problem. I have been in the struggle to see that people are relocated. I have been fighting hard in the Cabinet but I am equally disappointed. I should resign and go away and stay back in Lamwo.”

Hon. Hillary Onek, Museveni's Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees - 13/10/2018.

WHO STOLE THE RESOURCES?
Minister Onek's explained that although the government purchased land in Bunambutye Sub-county, Bulambuli District for purposes of relocating those living in mudslide-prone areas, the process slowed down due to a lack of resources. The land, measuring 2,800 acres, was acquired in 2003. Shs8b had been earmarked to facilitate the acquisition of the land and the resettlement, but some of it was abused by officials in the Office of the Prime Minister and part of the land that was acquired is located in a wetland. Even the land that is available cannot be used to resettle the people because it is said the person who was paid was not its rightful owner.

CORNERED MUSEVENI APOLOGIZES
"On return from London, I went to Bududa District to assess the havoc wreaked by the recent landslides and also condole with the families that lost their loved ones. On government's behalf I apologize for the delayed resettlement of those living in landslide-prone areas to safer places, and commit that this process will be fast-tracked to avoid any further causalities.
I was let down by my people. I apologize on their behalf. A plan was made and the people had agreed to move but it seems there was lack of coordination in government. I apologise for this, we are now going to move very fast."

PRIORITIZING OPPOSITIONSLIDES
In a bid to counter growing political dissent, Museveni has been focusing on buying support in different hotspot areas of the country. To counter the current wave of opposition led Defiance and People Power, he is currently focusing on duping the residents of Kampala with cash handouts.
Just last week he dished out more than Shs 3 billion to traders in downtown Kampala during his tour of the area.

The donations are even likely to increase once the details of smaller Saccos are fine-tuned and submitted to the President's Office for consideration. Museveni promised the traders even more money and more goodies - literally promising to solve all the financial problems raised by the traders. He bluntly told traders that they had abandoned him by electing opposition politicians and he'd abandoned them too.

Just five months ago, he dished out 5b shillings to some residents of Rukungiri Municipality in a single day as a way of countering the opposition in a parliamentary by-election; which he flatly lost.

“The money I am using here; I have taken it from my pocket as President but there is a lot of money in your government but you don’t know how to get it. You don’t know each other and you don’t care. The young ones [people] have been caught up in FDC which is deceiving them."

TAPPING INTO DONOR FUNDING
The latest incident comes at a time when Museveni has adopted to using refugees to tap into donor funding. The Mbale mudslide victims will be horded into IDPs as he seeks donor funding for their resettlement.

THE OPPOSITION SLIDE REMEDY
On the other hand, the people of Mbale should aggressively adopt the People Power and Defiance approach if they are to attract Museveni's oppositionslide intervention.
For Minister Onek, you have put the rope in your neck and at the next cabinet reshuffle, you will be hanged.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM!
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