Within a space of 10 months, Muhammad Muwanga-Kivumbi has not only lost his Butambala County seat slot in Parliament, but also been incarcerated twice on charges that range from terrorism and inciting violence to managing an unlawful society.
When he was given bail in July by Justice Susan Okalany, the deputy head of the International Crimes Division, Muwanga-Kivumbi told his supporters how he is still energised and ready to lead a revolution that will upend President Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) regime.
‘If all constituencies had hardliners like Butambala, we would have overthrown this man. All people of all walks of life have been visiting me in jail. The priests from the Catholic sanctuaries in Butambala have been visiting me in jail. Even sheikhs from different mosques in Butambala have been visiting me,’ he said.
After making the speech on July 9, Muwanga-Kivumbi, a deputy president of the National Unity Platform (NUP), was intercepted by police on his way from Kampala to Butambala and later was abducted by security operatives. He was held incommunicado for a fortnight before being dumped at Nateete Police Station.
Later, he was charged with inciting violence at the Butambala Chief Magistrates Court. Yet when she granted Muwanga-Kivumbi bail, Aminah Wahab, the magistrate, forbade the former legislator from setting foot in Butambala unless it is for family meetings.
Stomach for a fight
In his speech after his latest release, Muwanga-Kivumbi seemed to have toned down in the sense that he didn’t talk about bringing down the regime.
‘Ruling through force is not a good idea. Those who are interested in leadership should talk to people the same way a man who is propositioning a woman does. You have dragged people into a bottle. You have put people in a safe house,’ he said.
When The Transcript met him, the Opposition stalwart said in no uncertain terms that fear should not be an option.
‘I have gone through things people generally fear. I lost dear ones during the election period and have seen the pain of orphans, widows and families who lost loved ones because they believed in our cause. I have also faced a terrorism charge, spent six months in prison and been held in a safe house. These experiences have strengthened my resolve,’ he said.
‘I believe this is a generational assignment. Every generation must stand up to its challenges or risk being remembered for failing its people. Keeping quiet may seem safer, but it amounts to surrender. Fear is an inferior product. […] Uganda has stood up to oppressive leadership before. History shows that governing through intimidation is not a lasting solution. You cannot bully a population while pretending to offer democratic elections,’ he added.
In his book, Muwanga-Kivumbi sees ‘the reliance on fear as a weakness and an opportunity for a new Uganda.’ The new Uganda that he envisages has ‘chosen non-violence’ over the ‘armed struggle’ the NRM chose.
‘We have chosen non-violence because we want to end an era of imposition, violence and terror without reproducing it. Non-violent change is slow and painful, but history does not show that people achieve change by abandoning their rights to speak, organise, assemble and mobilise,’ he told The Transcript, adding, ‘Our challenge is to move Uganda from fear to faith. An eye-for-an-eye approach risks taking us back to the same situation we want to overcome.’
He wants to see institutions rebuilt, including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions which ‘was intended to provide an independent safeguard and ensure there was a proper basis for prosecution.’
When institutions designed to protect citizens are perceived to serve political interests, he adds, ‘public confidence suffers.’ The institutional breakdown reflects badly on the NRM because, per Muwanga-Kivumbi, ‘a resistance movement should stand for ensuring that past abuses never recur, not perfecting them.’
Elective politics
Muwanga-Kivumbi’s experience is not new to him because in the early 2000s he was a permanent fixture in various Ugandan jails. He had formed a pressure group christened Popular Resistance Against Life Presidency.
With police crushing his rallies, Muwanga-Kivumbi ran to the Constitutional Court and challenged Section 32 (2) of the Police Act which law enforcement officers invoked to stop the Opposition from holding rallies. Through his lawyer, Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi, Muwanga-Kivumbi insisted that the Constitution permits peaceful and unarmed demonstrations. He further contended that the Constitution, therefore, spells out that it is the duty of the police to see that there is no breach of peace committed.
The Constitutional Court concurred and duly struck down the draconian provisions.
‘The justification for freedom of assembly in countries which are considered free and democratically governed in my view is to enable citizens together and express their views without government restrictions. The government must maintain proper channels and structures to ensure that legitimate protest whether political or otherwise can find a voice. Maintaining the freedom to assemble and express dissent remains a powerful indicator of the democratic and political health of a country,’ Justice Constance Byamugisha said in her lead judgement.
The jurist concluded that she found that powers given to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to prohibit the convening of an assembly or procession an unjustified limitation on the enjoyment of the fundamental right and that such limitation ‘is not demonstrably justified in a free and democratic country like Uganda.’ It was as result of this activism that voters in Butambala catapulted Muwanga-Kivumbi to Parliament in 2012 but still this wasn’t a straightforward victory.
The context is that in the 1990s Muwanga-Kivumbi lost a bid to become Makerere University guild president and then he unsuccessfully tried in 2006 to wrestle Butambala County from NRM.
In 2011, Muwanga-Kivumbi, under the banner of the Suubi pressure group and the Democratic Party (DP), placed second, but was no match for NRM’s Faisal Kikulukunyu. That wasn’t the first time Kikulukunyu was being declared victor because in 2001 he had defeated Ibrahim Kaddunabi Lubega who had represented the predominantly Muslim constituency from 1996.
Kaddunabi bounced back in 2006, but four years later Kikulukunyu ensured that the former retired from elective politics into the insurance industry when he defeated him in the NRM primaries. This set off a showdown with Muwanga-Kivumbi. When the Electoral Commission (EC) declared Kikulukunyu winner with a marginal difference, Muwanga-Kivumbi successfully filed a petition on grounds that the victor had bribed voters.
Muwanga-Kivumbi then went on to win parliamentary elections in 2016 and 2021. Erias Mukiibi Sserunjogi, who had been a seasoned political writer and editor with this newspaper, brought Muwanga-Kivumbi’s reign to an end in January. Muwanga-Kivumbi claims ‘they rigged me out and put me in jail for six months, but I’m still alive.’
Speaking to the defiance, he says: ‘NUP has existed for about six years. I believe its work has helped expose the gap between the democratic image presented by the political establishment and the experiences of citizens. The party is not in hibernation. Some of its core members are in prison, while its president and another vice-president are outside the country. The challenges facing the Opposition extend beyond NUP.’
Fiscal discipline
Just as worrying as the reoccurrence of 1970s torture and so-called safe houses is the current economic outlook. In the 11th Parliament, Muwanga-Kivumbi led the Public Accounts Committee-Central. He was a fierce advocate of fiscal discipline, once demonstrating in a paper how Shs5 trillion can be saved from the same.
‘Districts have less discretion over their budgets than people often assume because much of the money goes towards wages, including salaries for teachers and health workers. Many infrastructure projects are managed by central government ministries,’ he told The Transcript.
‘We must examine expenditure on consultants, projects and public institutions. I previously questioned the cost of the Mpigi Expressway, arguing that the amount spent per kilometre required closer scrutiny. Government should also consider whether some expenditure could be redirected towards roads, medicines and other essential services. Fighting corruption requires consistent accountability, not selective scrutiny,’ he added.
On the current economic headwinds that the Shilling has walked into, Muwanga-Kivumbi says the proverbial ball is in the NRM’s court.
‘NUP is not in government, it is a government-in-waiting. Those currently responsible must explain how the country reached this position. The State has a responsibility to support citizens when economic conditions deteriorate. [The] government often cites imported inflation and external factors, but it must also have the capacity to cushion people against economic shocks,’ he told The Transcript.
‘Public finances are under pressure from debt and interest payments. We must examine whether borrowing is productive, how the money is spent and whether the country can meet its obligations without undermining essential services,’ he added.
Pointing to the passing of the Sovereignty Act, Muwanga-Kivumbi says the ruling elite should know that actions have consequences.
‘The legislation has consequences, including the potential to affect financial flows into the country. But we must examine the different sources of foreign exchange rather than attribute everything to one factor. Coffee exports have played an important role in recent years. Increased earnings following disruptions in other coffee-producing countries helped bring foreign currency into Uganda, although those conditions can change,’ he observed.
‘Tourism is another source of foreign exchange. Visitors want to travel to countries where they feel safe, trust the justice system and believe the rule of law is respected. Reports of political repression can damage a country’s image and discourage people from visiting or investing. Economic performance cannot be separated from governance,’ he added.