{UAH} Allan/Pojim/WBK: NRM bosses tipped for Lumumba job

http://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/44990-nrm-bosses-tipped-for-lumumba-job

NRM bosses tipped for Lumumba job

Written by Sadab Kitatta Kaaya

NRM secretary general Kasule Lumumba

Former ministers Chrispus Kiyonga, Daudi Migereko and Jim Muhwezi have been lined up as possible replacements, write SADAB KITATTA KAAYA & JOHNSON TAREMWA.
Within the post-election NRM, the party secretary generalship has become the most sought-after job by mostly election losers and dropped ministers. The current secretary general Justine Kasule Lumumba, who has been in the job for about 18 months, is facing competition from former ministers Chrispus Kiyonga, Daudi Migereko and Jim Muhwezi, according to party insiders.

Lumumba, insiders say, has failed to quell dissent within the party ranks and unite NRM since she replaced Amama Mbabazi, the former prime minister. Under the amended NRM constitution, the right to appoint and fire leaders of the secretariat rests with President Museveni. The lobbyists fronting Kiyonga, Migereko and Muhwezi argue that all three men have some clout to command respect and restore order within the party.

Muhwezi reportedly has an upper hand because he is backed by a member of the first family, top security chiefs and historicals. Kiyonga and Muhwezi's backers had wanted the president to sack Lumumba after last year's messy party primaries but the NRM supremo feared that such a move would further disorganize the party.

"Museveni may sack Lumumba after cabinet officially starts working - she might be sacked before August," a source said.

Lumumba was appointed SG in January 2015 following the December 2014 amendments to the NRM constitution that introduced an appointed secretariat as opposed to an elected one. The changes were made by the NRM chairman Yoweri Museveni largely to get rid of Mbabazi.

Her appointment gives her a seven-year term as NRM chief executive which implies that without a change in Museveni's mind, she will be in charge until after the 2021 elections.

Emerging details now indicate that some party bosses are regretting the new changes at the party headquarters because the current leadership has failed to live up to expectations.

The Observer has also learnt that some intelligence personnel have authored a report, which suggests that the current squabbles at the NRM headquarters pose a security threat to the country's stability.

"Ever since Amama Mbabazi left NRM, the party has always been in disputes, which is a big problem to national security," a source within the security agencies, said on Tuesday.

Prodded further, the source said; "Since the country's leadership is in the hands of NRM, when there is enmity and divisionism in the ruling party, it affects the security of the country." 
POWERBASE

For the 18 months she has been in the job, Lumumba has had several run-ins with her colleagues. She, for instance, doesn't see eye-to-eye with her deputy, Richard Todwong, and the party's electoral commission boss Tanga Odoi, and most recently the deputy treasurer, Dr Kenneth Omona. Currently, there are two distinct camps and the secretariat's employees are split into pro-Lumumba or anti-Lumumba camps.

Some NRM bosses say Lumumba has failed to have a firm grip on the secretariat and its affairs like her predecessor Mbabazi. They believe the manner of her appointment couldn't allow her to have such command. "There are already questions on how the entire team of the secretariat leaders was selected," an insider source said.

"Because they have the same appointing authority, it has become too difficult for her to maintain command over others. They undermine her and wherever she tries to play their leader role, they tell her that she can't prevail over them because they have the same appointing authority," the source added.
STILL PUT

Speaking on the sidelines of a post-2016 elections conference for political party leaders organized by the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) at Royal suites Bugoloobi on Thursday, Lumumba scoffed at her opponents.

"I think they are now challenged that we delivered victory with 72 percent dominance in Parliament and the local governments," Lumumba said.

She also challenged those pushing for her sacking to put their issues in writing and present them before CEC instead of keeping them in the informal structures.
sadabkk@observer.ug

NRM bosses tipped for Lumumba job

http://www.observer.ug/news-headlines/44990-nrm-bosses-tipped-for-lumumba-job

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