Dr Lawrence Muganga (PhD), the Vice Chancellor of Victoria University, and his friend, Frank Gashumba, have been trending on social media over a sympathy stunt that is as absurd as it is manipulative.
Dr Muganga was nominated by President Museveni for the position of State minister for Internal Affairs when he has multiple citizenships: Uganda, Rwanda and Canada. He probably did not know that his citizenship status was a deal breaker.
And Mr Museveni, it seems, did not carry out any background checks on his nominees, which is surprising.
When the Cabinet list was released, Dr Muganga and Mr Gashumba celebrated on social media.
Mr Gashumba has since been fighting tooth and nail to ensure his friend’s nomination does not come to grief.
But there was already a debate on WhatsApp groups and other social platforms that several nominees would not be vetted by Parliament’s appointments committee because of having dual citizenship.
Nonetheless, the committee went ahead and approved veteran diplomat Adonia Ayebare, Calvin Echodu and Shartsi Musherure [who too are said to be US citizens] but rejected Dr Muganga.
He reportedly told the committee he had launched the process of renouncing his citizenship in the two countries.
He is also said to have made a distinctly bizarre claim: That the passport for one of the countries had expired, so he was – by implication – no longer a citizen. The committee’s decision was unfair but still legal.
It prompted Dr Muganga and Mr Gashumba to embark on Plan B: sympathy stunt. In pursuing this option, the two men completely ignored the fact that the Citizenship and Immigration Control (Amendment) Act, 2009, precludes individuals with dual/multiple citizenships from holding offices such as President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Cabinet minister and other ministers. In all, there are 12 offices that Ugandans like Dr Muganga just cannot hold.
In their social media appearances, Dr Muganga and Mr Gashumba barely mentioned the law, largely because it was a very inconvenient truth.
They pushed the narrative that the appointments committee discriminated against Dr Muganga on the grounds that he is Rwandan.
Mr Gashumba singled out Mr Thomas Tayebwa, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, claiming that he had influenced the committee’s decision to reject Dr Muganga.
Some people will argue that why would Dr Muganga and Mr Gashumba accept the committee’s decision yet it approved the nominations of the other candidates who have dual citizenship?
It is a valid question, but if a man commits murder and is not jailed, it does not mean the next person who murders someone will walk free.
The stunt led to a visit to Seeta, where Dr Muganga’s parents are buried. Journalists and content creators filmed every moment of the drama. Dr Muganga wept bitterly.
Many have asked why the vice chancellor of a university is dying to serve as a minister. My answer is that it is a cushy job. It is not as demanding as the job of a chancellor at a private university.
A university sets high-performance targets, complete with key performance indicators. There is the annual performance review. The pressure to deliver can force you to lay awake in the wee hours of the night, yet you have to get up early in the morning.
By contrast, a Cabinet position in a country like Uganda, where government officials and civil servants generally take a laid-back attitude to work, is a walk in the park. Mr Museveni appoints ministers, but he does not supervise them closely.
Even when they underperform, they still get paid. And their remuneration and perks are enviable. Many Ugandans can only dream of the allowances a minister, even a junior one, is paid – to say nothing of the SUV for which the taxpayer buys fuel.
Whether Dr Muganga will be appointed remains to be seen. But he and Mr Gashumba owe it to Ugandans to face the truth, however bitter it may be.