M7 Sole Candidature Attires Confiscated In S. Africa

BY HENRY MULINDWA

The ruling party-NRM has suffered a setback abroad after part of its mobilization materials were reportedly confiscated by security in South Africa. Among the confiscated materials include T-Shirts, caps, NRM party constitutions, note books, pens among others that were allegedly shipped into the country by the office of the NRM national chairman.

The materials we understood were meant to be given out to party fans in S. Africa as the party’s Diaspora league headed by Hajji Abbey Walusimbi launched its campaign to have the diaspora members endorse president Museveni as the party’s Sole Candidate in 2021. Already, this resolution has been passed by NRM organs locally including CEC, Caucus among others. As such, the same resolution had to be flown to the foreign land to enable members through the Diaspora league also pronounce themselves on the matter.

It was therefore over the weekend that the party sent a high-powered delegation to South Africa to carry out mobilization but the main purpose was to endorse Museveni as sole candidate among diaspora members. The meeting according to our sources runs up to tomorrow-Tuesday when they are expected to return.

DETAILS

Prior to the function, we understood that the party chairman forked out millions of shillings to his team to go to South Africa and book a 5-star hotel identified as Michelangelo hotel located in Sandton city on Nelson Mandela square. The team however, was dispatched as People Power honcho Bobi Wine was also in S. Africa where he had gone to meet his people. The hotel was so posh that even presidents whenever they convene in South Africa, they usually hold their meetings here. A room per night goes for USD500 [about shs1.7m].This is where members were booked and the function. The president himself Yoweri Museveni was expected to be the chief guest, but he called off the meeting at last minute and instead dispatched his minister without portfolio Hajji Abdu Nadduli to represent him.

His office led by Milly Babalanda was in full attendance while Isma Luzige; the head of NRM diaspora league-South Africa chapter and its patron Philip Kakuru worked on mobilization of party members in all the nine provinces of South Africa to attend the fete. Others executive members included Charity Baira, Hamida Kibirige and Richard Iga. The food was prepared by Halwa restaurant owned by Ugandans based in South Africa.

It was reported that the chairman’s office and the NRM secretariat ferried huge consignments to NRM campaign material to South Africa but only to be stopped by security there. It was reported that even the meeting was almost cancelled for ‘security reasons’. Our sources in South Africa [NRM], suggest that whereas the party paid in advance for the venue, they were shocked when the hotel management informed them that they needed to postpone the meeting.

“It was a huge battle. We insisted on holding the meeting and these people insisted on saying that we postpone the meeting. The matter attracted external security who also insisted that we postpone” sources explained. On inquiring why they were being told to postpone, the security informed them that ‘there was another group that had a similar event’ and that the NRM function was viewed as seeking to cause chaos. To this end, security said they were not sure the function could not turn violent in case the other group [which later turned out to be People Power] stormed the hotel.

“What we saw was real hell on earth. Security here had a pre-determined position of blocking our event. They insisted on telling us to postpone the meeting. They said they could not guarantee our safety and safety of dignitaries in the meeting. They [security] insisted that our event was a security concern to the country” sources explained.

It was reported that the situation turned sour until our embassy in South Africa led by acting ambassador Kintu Nyago intervened. The substantive ambassador Barbara Nekesa is reported to be on maternity leave. However, even his intervention nearly flopped as security insisted on knowing why NRM was holding an event at the same time People Power was very active with a show in South Africa.

“We are a registered political party. The other group is not. It is a pressure group. What we are doing is allowed under our constitution back home” sources quoted NRM bosses as arguing and security tasked them to differentiate between the two.

“What is the difference between a party and a pressure group? Tell us the difference? Why are you holding your event at this time?” security was quoted as asking the NRM delegation which insisted that their event was going to be peaceful and it wasn’t a campaign event; something South Africa feared would annoy the ‘other group’ [read People Power].

Finally, the party was allowed to hold their fete, but trouble came after it was established that there had been lots of campaign materials that had been ‘smuggled’ into the country and were supposed to be given to party members. Among these included NRM constitution, registration books, note books, Sole Candidature T-shirts, Shirts and pens.

“They gave us two options. Either to throw them away or take them back. We had no option. They confiscated the materials including the T-shirts. We don’t know where they took them. Possibly they dumped them at the airport and we shall return with them” sources explained. When all this was done, the security presented the NRM team with another set of conditions. One was that they face extra payment for the hotel. Initially, the party had booked the hotel at 200000Rands but this money had to be topped up to 250000Rands to cater for extra security as it was apparent that the meeting would attract chaos. The NRM team was also asked to pay for a scanner to scan all participants to ensure that they don’t cause chaos. At this time, the team was stranded until Kakuru and Mohamad Mithupi both Ugandan businessmen based in South Africa intervened as paid the extra charges.

When all this was done, another shocker surfaced, this time regarding the music system. Apparently, the party’s organizing committee had hired a Ugandan DJ [based in South Africa] whom they paid 25000Rands a day before. The guy however, didn’t show up accusing the NRM party of being responsible for his being in exile because of what he called NRM ‘misrule’. When they tried to get another DJ, they paid him half cash but he also later switched off his phone and didn’t turn up resulting into a crisis.

“At this time, the participants were demoralized. Djs had snubbed us until we got a third one who came and started playing music. This enabled our singers like Bebe Cool to start calling people for the show. We later discovered that within the organizing committee, there was a mole who kept spying on us. This mole is a son to one of the popular Kadongo Kamu artists in Uganda” sources said.

It was reported that when sanity prevailed, Walusimbi and Nadduli continuously pleaded with members not to confront People Power group as all signs indicated that security in South Africa was siding with them.

“Don’t confront them” Nadduli pleaded with his people as other leaders also did the same. Eventually, after a sumptuous meal, Bebe Cool got to the microphone and started calling participants to take their seats and he sang to the audience. The function was crowned with a presentation of a shield and spear to Nadduli to take them to Museveni as a sign of endorsing his sole candidature.

Walusimbi told members that despite the hiccups faced in S. Africa, the meeting was a success and the team would now head to Dubai to launch the same next month!