Before his mysterious death, Gen ArondaNyakairima had sworn in the media that he will never allow police to get involved in the general elections as a partisan force.
That rattled a few folks in government.
There is no dicey season for the Ministry of Internal Affairs like a General Election.
It is that ministry, at least on paper, that is charged with ensuring security during and after elections. It is the ministry charged with the responsibility of ensuring that armed forces are not used in a partisan manner to influence politics.
It is a very important institution in ensuring a free and fair election and therefore, it needs a tested and experienced political head especially when they happen to be appointed at the height of a possibly tense General Election.
In such a period, it is the internal affairs minister to watch sometimes more than the Electoral Commission boss.
Does the just appointment Rose Akol fit the bill?
She is a newbie in matters cabinet politics. But during her stint as a Commissioner of Parliament, herdeportmentwas basically that ofa firm regime adherent.
President Yoweri Museveni needed someone to be in the internal affairs seat as the country heads to the ballot. Needless to say, he needed someone who would be at his beckon and call, more of a trusted cadre, and MsAkol fits the bill.
She is most likely to dance to the whims of the regime,just appearing in Parliament to read ‘policy statements’, occasionally apologizing if apology is the only way to soothe the public.
Her stint on the Commission and on the different House committees she has served leaves marks of someone who puts party and president Museveni first and the public later. With the ministerial appointment in the bag, she will forever be indebted to the NRM leadership and work hard not to upset it.
KirundaKivejinja
He is one of the longest serving comrades of President Museveni. In Busoga, Kirunda no longer commands serious political respect worth its name, not even within the big Menya clan.
It will be foolhardy to think that the appointment of Kivejinja will bring any political capital from Busoga, let alone in Bugweri where FDC’s Abdu Katuntu reigns high.
As such, the appointment of Kivejinjaseems more of rewarding and keeping one’s longtime friend around and, of course, the President could be benefiting from the old man’s wise counsel.
There would be no befitting ministry for a person of Kirunda’s experience than the ministry of East Africa’s affairs. Kirunda lived through the first EAC, he knows why it collapsed and he saw the coming of a new EAC. Save for the bungling of the national ID project while he served as the internal affairs minister, Kirunda is a tested politician both in the boardroom and on the podium.
Michael Werikhe
His regime steadfastness has paid off. Ever since he was dropped from thelands and housing ministry a couple of years ago, Werikhe has fought tooth and nail to get his way back to cabinet through any means including the ‘not so thorough’ way in which he chaired the ad hoc committee on the oil sector.
That noted, of all the three appointments, it is werikhe’s that brings political capital to the party in this campaign environment.
Mbale is Uganda’s most dicey political region and after the death of the former junior trade minister James MutendeShinyabulo, who was from the same region, the most logical region was to pick his replacement from the same region to soothe political sentiments.
