“You’re Very Weak To Fail The President-Security Tells MPs After Fall-out With M7 Over COVID-19 Cash.

By Henry Mulindwa

The members of parliament are now very weak that they cannot intimidate the president; a senior security official has said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, this senior officer in the army told us that efforts by members to wage a verbal war against the president will not change anything because they have reached the ‘bar’.

In security terms a bar means the highest level at which a person is supposed to serve a given purpose after which he or she is either dumped or eliminated (in some countries) depending on the sensitive assignments such a person might have executed.

It is usually done after a SWOT analysis has been carried out on such a person.

As for politicians including MPs, such a situation arises after someone has outlived his or her relevance.

This is exactly what is happening to the MPs of the tenth parliament.

Our sources explained that however much members threaten to turn hostile to the president, they are no longer meaningful after having done all the most important assignments.

“All he wanted, they have done it. He has got it. They passed the age limit, they have now passed the cities. People are now happy in those areas because the president has delivered on his pledge of elevating municipalities to city status. Whether they do what, he has now gained support already” the source said.

To prove that MPs marketed Museveni countrywide, the cities were passed at regional level something that makes him score in all regions. 

“He gave Gulu for Acholis, Arua for West Nilers, Mbarara for Ankole, Fortportal for Tooro, Mbale for Bugisu, Jinja for Busoga, Hoima and Masaka for Buganda. This means the whole country gained and all this comes to him as a credit” the source said.

The sources said that already, security knows the list of people who are likely to win the next parliamentary election.

This is therefore, the reason the CiC was advised against siding with members who pocketed billions as the people continued to yawn as a result of the COVID-19 quarantine.

“From this Month (May) to August, nobody (MPs) will have time to be in parliament. They are all going back to their areas to consolidate themselves” the sources said adding that the cities couldn’t fail to be passed because these were awarded at regional level and therefore every member had to attend to avoid a backlash from his voters.

“We didn’t have to put in much effort to mobilize these members because it too, concerned them because they come from specific regions. So, no one should blackmail the president that they are big force” the source warned.

This seemed to be a response to the NRM caucus publicist also Burahya county MP Margret Muhanga who bashed the president for castigating MPs over the Shs20m COVID-19 Cash.

“Whoever advised the president to react in such a manner misled him. I couldn’t believe what I saw and heard coming from the president. For him to embarrass us, abuse us as if we were thieves? But he must know that MPs are big force. Yes we’re a big force” Muhanga threatened.

We have learnt that Muhanga’s threats to the president aren’t in vain. Sources in parliament told us that the underlying reason for allowing Ndorwa East MP Wilfred Nuwagaba to table his private members bill in the presidency is actually to cause a review of the recently passed age-limit Act.

Though passed under the nastiest conditions involving the use of the army that stormed parliament, the members are plotting to move this amendment and adopt it in order to cripple Museveni’s chances of standing again.

“We want the 75 years to be brought back for review. The 317 MPs who passed it are saying they didn’t make a thorough study of it to make a proper judgement. We want to rescind the decision because we did it haphazardly” a senior member female MP from Eastern revealed to us.

The member explained that the move is premised on the fact that the rules of procedure allows the sitting parliament before the expiry of it’s term to review and rescind an earlier decision it had passed.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday MPs have planned to storm parliament to allow Nuwagaba table his bill.

The same members also want to give a ‘big salute’ to the speaker Rebecca Kadaga for her spirited fight she has put up to defend parliament which they say is under bombardment by the executive and the judiciary following the controversial COVID-19 cash bonanza.

“We want to give her a standing ovation all of us to show our solidarity with her.

It will be a big message to Museveni” sources said.However, this plan to retable the age limit motion is likely to fail.

First is a plan to block members from driving without stickers and secondly some members especially single parent MPs are bowing out fearing to leave their kids orphaned in case there is a similar confrontation in parliament as it was on September 27 2017 when the age limit motion was introduced.

Several opposition MPs were left with fractured limbs while others were given a thorough beating by security forces that stormed Parliamentary Chambers.