Renegade Ugandan general declares war on Museveni
November 22, 2013 (KAMPALA) – A renegade general has called on Ugandans to ‘‘build alternative capacity’’ to remove Yoweri Museveni, the country’s long serving ruler from power.
Sejusa who was the Coordinator of Intelligence, a member of the high command of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) fled to London in April this year from where he has continued to rail against the Museveni administration accusing the Ugandan leader of among others being a despot and a murderer.
He fled the country after writing a letter to the internal security services asking them to investigate an alleged plan to murder those opposed to ‘‘Project Muhoozi’’- a reference to an alleged plot by Museveni to make his son, Brigadier Muhoozi Kainerugaba succeed him.
Brig Kainerugaba is commander of the Special Forces that is among others tasked with protecting his father and Uganda’s strategic assets.
Critics say his meteoric rise in the Ugandan military after attending a string of courses at elite western military colleges is evidence that his father is grooming him for president.
In a statement issued on Friday, Sejusa through a diaspora political pressure group, Freedom and Unity Front (FUF) said the political situation in Uganda was deteriorating.
‘‘Indeed, the current situation has gone beyond the usual abuse of political opponents and now concerns the fundamental way in which the country is governed,” he said.
”It is not only about rigging of elections, violation of people’s rights and stealing of public funds, subverting regional efforts, destroying state structures and all institutions but now extends to forceful removal of those leaders who were elected by the people but who the dictatorship finds repugnant due to their political views.’’
The renegade General said if peaceful methods to remove Museveni fail, other approaches which he did not elaborate should be considered.
‘‘The so called peaceful methods which have been tried over time will be allowed to work if they can, but we should not be prisoners to those means and methods which in many ways have only helped to entrench the dictatorship by giving him time to reorganise and recover from the shocks he has suffered.’’
In an interview with Sudan Tribune in April, the Spokesman of the Ugandan government, Ofwono Opondo dismissed Sejusa as being ‘‘high on drugs’’.
“Sejusa has gone into a sewer pipe or else we think he could be high on drugs,” said Ofwono adding that the renege General was out of his mind. “Sejusa has run out of his mind. No reasonable person can believe him.’’
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni recently said that if Sejusa wants a war with him, he (Sejusa) knows where his (Museveni’s address) is.
‘‘If he wants to use force, let him come. He knows my address. We have been waiting for him for some few months now,’’ Museveni said.
This past week the Ugandan capital has been a scene of running street battles between pockets of supporters of the Mayor of Kampala city, Erias Lukwago and those of Museveni’s arch opponent, Dr Kiiza Besigye. The two opposition leaders have been in and out of jail this week.
Lukwago, an elected public official alleges there is a plot by the ruling party to illegally remove him from office.
President Museveni recently ascended to the Public Order Management Act; a piece of legislation the government says is needed to keep law and order but which the opposition and human rights activist say curtails freedom of assembly and points to increasingly intolerance of opposition voices.
(ST)