In a country and party (NRM) where loyalty to President Museveni often decides your political future, Rebecca Kadaga, the First Deputy Prime Minister, may have sealed her fate over the weekend with a rant that rubbed the president the wrong way.
During a tense National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at State House Entebbe, Kadaga made an emotional appeal to keep her role as the second national vice chairperson for women. But her words, meant to rally support, ended up like poking the leopard in the a**s – they provoked Museveni and may have sealed her downfall.
Kadaga, a long-time NRM stalwart from the Busoga region, has served the party for over three decades. She reminded everyone at the meeting of her diligent work, from her days in the National Resistance Council (NRC) in the late 1980s to her time as speaker from 2011 to 2021.
She argued it would be unfair to “throw her under the bus” in favour of Anita Among, the current speaker, who is challenging her for the position. At times, Kadaga’s voice cracked with desperation as she recalled the humiliation of losing the speakership race in 2021 to the late Jacob Oulanyah, a defeat that still stings like salt on an open wound.
The drama escalated when Kadaga played what some saw as her trump card: regional loyalty. She warned that dropping her could make the NRM unpopular in Busoga, a key voting bloc where she has strong roots. This sounded like blackmail to critics like a farmer threatening to burn the village granary if he is not given more land.
Kadaga Full Speech in NEC: “How can the senior be asked to step aside for the junior?”
But Museveni was not having it. He sharply rebuked her, saying, “Rebecca, you don’t own Busoga. You were not there when I was working with the previous kings, so you should sit down.”
He even referenced historical figures like Wilberforce Nadiope, emphasizing that Busoga’s ties to the NRM go back to his guerrilla war days, not just to one person.
Anita Among, a relative newcomer to top NRM ranks but a rising star, fired back coolly.
“I may be new in the NRM, but I have new ideas. I am a generational leader,” she said.
This exchange turned the meeting into a public showdown, with Museveni deciding that both candidates should be subjected to a vote by delegates in the upcoming Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections this week.
Kadaga also accused Museveni of favouring other senior members such as Moses Kigongo, the first national vice chairman of the NRM, who is unopposed.
Analysts say Kadaga burned her fingers badly over the weekend. By invoking Busoga as her personal stronghold, she challenged Museveni’s authority, something that rarely ends well in NRM circles. Museveni, known for rewarding loyalty but punishing perceived disloyalty, made it clear he will not be swayed by such tactics. Her outburst may also have alienated delegates who see her as desperate rather than dedicated.
Why won’t she recover?
With CEC elections looming, her chances look slim. The NRM’s top organs, including NEC, have cleared both candidates, but Museveni’s rebuke could signal the party’s direction. In Ugandan politics, crossing the “old man with a hat”, as Museveni is sometimes called, could be suicidal.
Museveni already cut Kadaga to size in 2021 when she refused to step down for Oulanyah during the speakership race.
The Saturday clash could mark the end of an era for Kadaga, who is already frail. While she is likely to retain her Kamuli Woman MP seat in 2026, she is unlikely to have much political influence thereafter, at least within the NRM. For more than three decades, her political star has shone. She is now fading into the shadows.
