By Dr. Daniel Kawuma
Museveni’s regime has tactically co-opted former opposition leaders into positions of power to legitimize and consolidate its authoritarian rule.
In the cabinet, you have the Minister of Justice, a former opposition leader and still alleged chairman of DP, Norbert Mao. Once a critic of oppression, he is now using his position to legitimize oppression.
Former FDC opposition figures also occupy influential positions, including the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, who have rubber-stamped restrictive policies Museveni wants through Parliament.
A recent example is the Sovereignty Bill, whose rapid progression through Cabinet and Parliament coincides with, and is enabled by, the involvement of these former opposition figures.
Even outside Parliament, a PR campaign is led by Yusuf Nsibambi, a former FDC member, illustrating how the regime leverages dissenting voices to legitimize repression.
This pattern helps an aging Museveni undermine genuine political competition by turning former opponents into instruments of the regime. It creates apathy among change-seeking Ugandans when the people they once thought were their own stab them in the back.
The politics of self-interest will continue, and change seekers must know that the fight for a better Uganda should be rooted in values, not tied to individuals. Betrayals may continue, but the cause will remain the same.
Dr. Daniel Kawuma
NUP Diaspora Team Leader
Email: teamleader@diasporanup.org
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