It’s a normal thing for a politician to switch posts but the speed at which newly elected Kinkizi West MP Nigirimana James Kaberuka does it is alarming.
During his post swearing in party at a top city hotel, the former district councilor for Kihiihi town council changed allegiance from his NRM boss Museveni to ex-mentor and failed presidential candidate John Patrick Amama Mbabazi who he replaces in the August House.
The novice in Kaberuka did Museveni dirty when he used his “5m gift money” to organize a party, invite Mr. Mbabazi, pledge to become loyal to him again and go ahead to thank GoFoward — because they and not NRM people voted for him.
It’s a huge distinction from how Kaberuka distanced himself from the Amama camp back in 2014 and later during the campaigns when he was sacked as Prime Minister. While the people of Kanungu saw it as a witch-hunt of a long-serving NRM cadre and a leader who has recruited so many people into the NRM, Kaberuka is said to have spotted Mbabazi’s woes as an opportunity to approach Museveni for a chance to take back the Kinkizi East seat for the ruling party his selling tool was convincing the President that the people of Kanungu were 99 per cent NRM; not because of Mbabazi but Museveni before also begging the former premier to financially bankroll his campaign and retain ‘their’ control over the district. Still, we’re told Mbabazi took the comments as low key betrayal talk, and he was unhappy about them until now.
Since then, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, with the situation complicated by Mbabazi’s disappearance from the political scene
According to a source who was at the party … when the Kanungu bigwigs gathered on last week, everyone in the house was busy bowing for Mbabazi and calling him the King of Kanungu. We’re told what really happened is Kaberuka and his family served Mbabazi cake and champagne — as part of the show — and during the merrymaking the new legislator said when he was campaigning, Mbabazi did everything he could to help him win … because he is a loyal cadre who only publically supports Museveni for the sake.
Not to say that during the cleansing ceremony, Mbabazi himself was more gracious, thanking the Kinkizi people for the gift of electing Kaberuka and vowed to work well with him as his predecessor like he did in campaigns.
