For the past few weeks, President Museveni has been touring Kampala and its environs in what political pundits see as an extension of his early campaign for a record sixth elective term as president.
These manoeuvrings seem to have been given added urgency with the emergence of Kyadondo East Member of Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine). The MP's message for change, and a new liberation, is resonating with Uganda's youth who constitute majority of the country's 40 million people.
Kyagulanyi was barely five years old when the NRM shot to power 32 years ago. If Museveni had honoured his word to retire those many years ago, it is unlikely that Bobi Wine would have abandoned his music for politics.
Now, the musician finds himself in the strange position of joining the effort to send Museveni home after more than three decades in power. In the earlier years of his presidency, Museveni had often talked about transition to another leader.
In his book Sowing the Mustard Seed [1997 edition], Museveni writes that the NRM had only two cardinal roles; one being the laying of a firm foundation and preparing the ground for security and political stability. The other being to ensure orderly succession of political authority.
"Looking further ahead, I'm optimistic about Uganda's future. Our present line of progressive development might get delayed along the way, but I don't anticipate any serious breakdown as happened in the past, unless we get confused political groups in charge. They might delay the industrialisation and economic liberalisation process but the fundamental principles are now in place. There are now people of presidential calibre and capacity who can take over when I retire and I shall be among the first to back them," Museveni wrote.
But he was to contradict himself years later in the 2000s, astonishing the country with the claim that he was the only one with a vision to lead Uganda. Museveni has also over the years kept on flip-flopping on his retirement. We look at some of the promises.
Four more years
In his book Sowing the Mustard Seed, Museveni writes that when they came to power in 1986, the NRM formed the National Resistance Council as the national governing body; the equivalent of the present-day parliament.
Immediately after taking over the reins of power following a protracted five-year guerrilla war, the NRM established itself with the passing of Legal Notice 1 of 1986, which provided that "The National Resistance Movement government shall be an interim government and shall hold office for a period not exceeding four years from the date of this proclamation which, shall be deemed to have come into force on the 26th day of January 1986."
Museveni wrote that this meant that the interim period was due to end on January 25, 1990.
However, as the interim period neared, in 1989, Museveni influenced the expanding of the NRC through indirect elections. He argued that they chose indirect elections because of logistical challenges. He said they did not have enough money or vehicles to mount a full national ballot with most of Uganda's roads still largely impassable.
To him, this answered the promise to surrender power after four years.
"Originally, we had said that the group which took power in 1986 would be in government for four years and we kept that promise; before the end of the four years a new group had come in. The expanded NRC of 1989 was not the same as the old one of January 1986," Museveni wrote.
However, to people like Wasswa Ziritwawula (a former NRC member who resigned in protest), this 'usurpation of the people's power' was the first step in Museveni's quest for life presidency.
Retire at 55
On July 20, 1995, Museveni told residents of Kisoro district that he was on his way out.
"When I reach 55, I will not be in public life anymore, I told you this when I was 48. I'm ready to help Ugandans and Africa in public life up to the age of 55," Museveni was quoted as saying in The Monitor of July 21-24,1995. Going by that promise, Museveni shouldn't have contested the 2001 elections. It was that same year that he wrote in his election manifesto that 2001 was the last year he was standing for president.
In October that year, he gave an interview to the BBC in which he said he was desirous of leaving power at the end of his two constitutional terms. This too was not to be.
Almost immediately after being sworn in as president for the second and final elective term, voices started emerging within the NRM calling for the lifting of term limits. In 2005, term limits were scrapped after the bribing of MPs with Shs 5 million.
Age limit
After doing away with term limits, the only legal impediment to the life president project were the age limit provisions for presidential candidates in Article 102(5) of the Constitution.
Prior to the amendment of the constitution, Museveni had unequivocally told NTV's Patrick Kamara that there was, certainly no chance of him standing as president beyond 75 years.
"I think there is some scientific idea that maybe the vigour is not as much after 75 years, so that one I wouldn't quarrel so much…I know there are some leaders who have been leading even beyond 75 but I think if you want very active leaders, it is good to have the one below 75."
bakerbatte@observer.ug
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