{UAH} The Observer - Mbabazi in-law stings Bukenya

http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30718:-mbabazi-in-law-stings-bukenya&catid=78:topstories&Itemid=116

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The Observer - Mbabazi in-law stings Bukenya

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Sunday, 16 March 2014 22:41

Written by Edris Kiggundu

Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi's family, stung by a damning dossier authored by former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya, offered a quick but furious response.

In a weekend interview, Hope Mwesigye, who Bukenya accuses along with her in-law Mbabazi of cooking up stories about him and selling them to President Museveni, described the former VP's claims as "nonsense."

In his statement, Bukenya says the under-fire Mbabazi is now reaping what he sowed when he fought his perceived political opponents. Bukenya's 2,257-word statement, written on Friday, is in response to an article authored by Mbabazi's wife, Jacqueline, last week, in which she accused the NRM of exhibiting fascist tendencies.

Bukenya says Mbabazi, Jacqueline and Hope Mwesigye, worked tirelessly to soil his image before the president because they thought he was a threat to their political ambitions.

He writes: "I am very happy that Jacqueline  and perhaps her husband are beginning to reap from their very own dirty handworks of misusing intelligence structures to engineer and doctor  maligning reports against their opponents (real and perceived) to the president.

For her to cry foul of how the president was getting doctored intelligence reports and recordings against their alleged clandestine mobilization against him, was the most interesting of all, and it exposed their extreme hypocrisy."

But Mwesigye told The Observer on Saturday that Bukenya's statement was empty.

"I have read it and, honestly, it is trash. Sorry if I am using bad language. He should have done better. I don't think I should react to it," Mwesigye said.

She denied colluding with Mbabazi to fight the former VP, as Bukenya alleges.

"You remember when he said there were mafias [in government fighting him] before turning around to claim that he had been misquoted? Honestly, how do you trust the words of such a person?" she queried.

Mwesigye said she holds no grudge against Bukenya and said she was surprised by the "abusive" tone of his statement. In 2005, Bukenya told Daily Monitor that some people in government were bent on fighting him. He talked of a mafia clique of three ministers, which he said was feeding President Museveni with information about his (Bukenya's) presidential schemes.

In the statement, Bukenya writes that Mbabazi and Mwesigye had told Museveni that during his (Bukenya's) prosperity for all tours in Kigezi, when he was vice president, he only visited homesteads of catholics and was sleeping at the catholic bishop's residence for "night political campaign meetings."

"I watched in utmost disbelief, Hon Hope Mwesigye and Hon Mbabazi both boldly tell blatant and cooked-up lies to the president in my presence.

"Fortunately President Museveni listens and does so patiently without panic and emotion. Otherwise, he would have sealed off my fate there and then as a treason suspect. I challenged them to produce evidence of their allegations, but they had nothing," Bukenya writes.

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Bukenya writes that from the time he was elected chair of the Movement caucus in Parliament, Mbabazi and Mwesigye did everything possible to undermine and portray him as a traitor and sell-out to the appointing authority.

"They hired boys to abuse me on the many FM radios so as to discredit my political work and profile. I was indeed a project for them over the years. My only disappointment with the president however, has always been, why choose to believe one group of people and fail to discern their dirty schemes against others they target to tarnish and thus edge them out of the system for them to enjoy unlimited political space and favour, as the president faces more isolation from his old-time comrades?" he writes.

He adds: "It is therefore not surprising, that after having successfully maligned others and pushed them far, they are now targeting the man himself. Maybe one can say; good for you Mr President. Traitors, mafias and selfish schemers have no genuine friendship. They will always do anything; including targeting even those that built and mentored them."

Bukenya then calls upon Mbabazi to openly declare his presidential ambitions like he (Bukenya) has done and not to work covertly against the party.

"He [Mbabazi] openly denies his ambition in the public but yet again sponsors proxies to go around campaigning. We all know this and we have seen it in our constituencies. What method of work is this? I find it totally alien to what NRM stood for." Bukenya writes. 
ekiggundu@observer.ug

Read Bukenya's full dossier

The Observer - Mbabazi in-law stings Bukenya
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30718:-mbabazi-in-law-stings-bukenya&catid=78:topstories&Itemid=116