March: Cabinet reshuffle
President Museveni, just like any other leader of government anywhere else, enjoys unlimited discretion to reshape Cabinet.
The March 2015 Cabinet reshuffle stands out essentially because it speaks to the realignment of guards tickled by the politics of the day and reaffirms Museveni’s brinkmanship.
The fallout with former prime minister Amama Mbabazi, a political soul mate for more than four decades, came with old faces like Jim Muhwezi, battered by a marathon trial for abuse of office in which he was later acquitted, bounce back as Information minister.
Kigezi sub-region, Mbabazi and Kizza Besigye’s home areas, ate deeper into the national cake with ministers David Bahati, Chris Baryomunsi joining Cabinet after Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
Mr Museveni also dropped Finance minister Maria Kiwanuka, threw out Attorney General Peter Nyombi and moved to consolidate his base in Kisoro with the eye brow raising selection of Philemon Mateke.
As the year ended, he appointed Kirunda Kivejinja Third Deputy Prime Minister and minister for EAC Affairs, Rose Akol, Internal Affairs minister and Michael Werikhe as new State minister for Industry.
June: Besigye makes U-turn
Forum for Democratic Change presidential flag bearer Kizza Besigye made a U-turn. Yes he did. He threw a stone unto a beehive and off the insects came after him by asking for evidence that he had vowed never to run for president under Museveni’s electoral system.
Either way, Besigye’s decision to bounce back to the ballot, premised on a ‘no elections without reforms’ campaign was quite a major chapter in this year’s political landscape.
His contest with FDC president Mugisha Muntu for the party’s flag and the resounding victory confirmed his status as the country’s president in waiting if Museveni is out of the picture, but also earned FDC credit as a party where competition flourishes, especially watching the dampening developments in Uganda Peoples Congress and the Democratic Party.
November: Chaotic NRM primaries
At least 13 ministers lost in the ruling party’s parliamentary primaries. There was everything chaotic about those elections organised by the new breed of guards at the NRM secretariat.
The losses by veteran politicians Kahinda Otafiire (who lost to a man in handcuffs), Henry Kajura and Tarsis Kabwegyere made the news partly because of the big names in the losers’ corner, but also the fact that they are running as independents and President Museveni is stuck between two swords, on the right he has to obey the party rules that outlaw independents and on the appease the losers.
September: The Democratic Alliance that never was
Retired Bishop Zac Niringiye took to the public rostrum and criticised journalists for working to fail TDA. Events later proved TDA was tuned to fail itself. From the start, the loose alliance of Opposition and civil society groupings smelt everything but a still birth.
Its attempt to field a joint candidate out of the pack of Norbert Mao, Gilbert Bukenya, Amama Mbabazi and Kizza Besigye fell by the way side with accusations from FDC of Mbabazi using top TDA principals such as Niringiye and Godber Tumushabe to technically knock out Besigye to the dungeons of political oblivion.
TDA became a boiling pot for settlement of political scores by men like Mao and women like Beti Kamya who have treaded a thorny path with Besigye. Allegations of money and promises of money and appointments came to the fore. It got nasty.
And thus TDA crumbled like a pack of cards. Everyone went their way but Mbabazi has stuck to tagging TDA on his posters. TDA’s failure, despite its high sounding proposals to revamp the body politic of Uganda, exposed the Opposition’s house as wanting of order.
Muslims murders continued, no report
We paid tribute to Ugandans who lost their lives in whatever forms death came but the continuation of a systematic elimination of Muslim clerics shook the country this year.
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