We should be looking at electoral reforms, not politicking – Sarah Opendi
It remains uncertain and difficult to determine whether Muhoozi is seriously having a shot at the presidency by taking on his father or if he is just a pawn in the game to sustain the Museveni presidency.
Former health minister and senior National Resistance Movement (NRM) party member Sarah Opendi is not amused that a year after the general elections in 2021 the ruling party is politicking instead of implementing the manifesto it committed to Ugandans.
Opendi, the Tororo District Woman MP, is also worried that the electoral reforms that were recommended by the Supreme Court following the electoral petition filed by the National Unity Platform (NUP) are not being implemented to prepare the country for the next elections in 2026.
“It saddens me that we have just come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy is struggling, people are unemployed and amidst all this, people are politicking,” Opendi said while appearing on the Morning Breeze program on NBS Television.
“The NRM manifesto had clear programs to be undertaken in these five years and what we should be focusing on now is to deliver and ensure we meet our pledge to the population of Uganda. Just one year down the road, people are politicking,” she added.
She noted that if the Executive gets to work, this (politicking) can stop. “It would be there but at a low scale. I would want to see the Secretary-General involved. The Executive should direct what should go on in the party,” she said.
The NRM is currently faced with a growing internal revolt orchestrated by First Son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who has openly expressed interest to replace his father as President of Uganda despite being a serving senior army officer.
His politicking has drawn from NRM young members who now are campaigning to oust the old man of the hat.
The ‘old guys’ are confident that their peer, President Museveni, is still strong enough, at 78, to continue leading the country beyond 2026, when the country goes to the polls.
Several sections of the NRM loyal to Museveni have been traversing the country strategizing and endorsing him to re-run in 2026.
The party is now directing its resources consolidating its position and fending off competition not only from NUP and FDC but also from Team MK, the enemy within.
While NRM and Team MK freely roam the country seeking support ahead of the 2026 polls, the opposition politicians cannot do the same because of restrictions put in place by the regime.
These restrictions witnessed almost in the past two decades, form part of the electoral reforms that the court recommended and continue to be demanded by the opposition politicians.
Also appearing on Morning Breeze this Monday morning, was Joel Ssenyonyi, NUP’s spokesperson and MP for Nakawa West in Kampala, Uganda’s capital.
He believes that early endorsements of Museveni are deliberate and the President’s strategy to show that he still has what it takes to rule the country.
Ssenyonyi equally believes that the Muhoozi project is a creation of Museveni as a distraction.
“He (Museveni) knows there’s Museveni fatigue in the country and NRM, so he crafts out this project so that those who know his son rather opt for Museveni,”
“I don’t think Muhoozi knows his father’s strategy. It’s possible that the father decided to do his thing and let the son just be there and get excited. I am not sure his father would want the son to know this strategy,” Ssenyonyi explains.
It remains uncertain and difficult to determine whether Muhoozi is seriously having a shot at the presidency by taking on his father or if he is just a pawn in the game to sustain the Museveni presidency.
