1. One Christmas came at a time when the country was still bitterly divided over a recent return to power. Families debated politics as much as they shared food. What national event had taken place shortly before that Christmas? 2. A man who would later be recognised by the Catholic Church as a martyr was…
During a tense NRM caucus meeting in 2014 as rumours of Amama Mbabazi’s presidential ambitions swirled, a female MP told him to be a “real man” and control his “women”, referring to his wife Jacqueline and sister-in-law Hope Mwesigye, accused of mobilising for his bid. An angered Mbabazi replied that he had only one woman,…
He was partly mentored by Dr Kizza Besigye (and even briefly stayed at his home in Mbuya). He was an active member of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). However, when he was organising his wedding in the 2000s, he invited most senior FDC officials to his wedding apart from Besigye. He said inviting Besigye…
He was a long-serving minister in Museveni’s cabinet. When he was posted to a new ministry, one of the officials, on a Friday, went to his office with a piece of paper and told him, “Sir, sign here for your weekend allowance.” He asked the official: “On which vote do you draw this allowance?” The…
He was a daring young journalist in the mid-1990s. One day, he received a tip that the then Speaker, James Wapakhabulo, was having a secret love affair with his secretary. For days, he shadowed Wapakhabulo. One evening, he saw him entering a bar along Dewinton Road with the secretary. Next day, he went to Wapa’s…
In 1989, NRM tabled a controversial proposal in the NRC to extend its rule by a further five years. NRM argued that it needed to institute a raft of reforms, including the drafting of the new constitution. In 1986, Museveni had said that NRM would only lead for four years. Which officer stormed a media…
In 2012, President Museveni was invited to Turkey by Recep Erdogan, then Turkish Prime Minister, for a state visit. On the visit, he was accompanied by a couple of local MPs. While there, the Ugandan delegation was treated to a state dinner by the Turkey leader. One of the Ugandan MPs overloaded his plate with…
He was a relatively junior officer but well respected. In one of the meetings chaired by Museveni at Republic House after the NRA had captured power, the officer urged senior NRA leaders not to “play with their women like you have been doing in the bush”. His comments, directed at no one in particular, angered…
He was an outspoken male minister in the late 80s and 90s. However, one day, he “offered his female secretary a lift” from work. The two later got involved in an accident about 11 km from the office in South-east the Kampala. They survived with minor injuries, but the minister didn’t want the story published…
During the investigations into the closure of Greenland Bank by Parliament, Dr Suleiman Kiggundu, the bank’s former managing director, told MPs that Gen Salim Saleh had contacted him several times through “one of his aides” to see whether he could use Greenland Bank to purchase shares in UCB. Kiggundu revealed the name of “the aide”,…
It is not a secret that President Museveni once toyed with the idea of marrying Winnie Byanyima, soon after taking power. But in the midst of this indecision, one senior religious leader urged Museveni to reconsider the decision because he was still legally married to Janet Museveni. Museveni initially brushed off these concerns but he…
