Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Money in politics


EyeWitness24 added 2 new photos.
 The Independent, this may sound ugly and probably unprincipled.
Andrew Mwenda has positioned himself as a mobile encyclopedia of knowledge, at both geopolitical and social economic fronts. He indeed is a knowledgeable fellow who has invested a lot in his brains. Many have over the years admired his modus operandi until he fell victim of the long and wet hand of the dictaors in Africa. For a man who once cherished principles of social justice and equality has since started speaking in tongues.
As someone noted some time back, Andrew Mwenda is indeed a pseudo intellectual.
He pretends to be of greater intelligence than he actually is. He's the kind who wants everyone to think he’s smart. He has indeed worked towards that goal for some good years. He'll shut up anyone who tries to come up with a different opinion from his, he'll muzzle you with his trademark motormouth! His fanaticism and populism captivates listeners, forcing one to think as he does. I would say he's a certified intellectual fraud.
As a story teller, he is good. As an analyst of issues, he is not that good, even when he is at his best in terms of impartiality. Many people wrongly think that because a journalist can compellingly tell a story, he can also be a good commentator or analyst of phenomena.
You can read through his prison diary he wrote when Museveni jailed him for calling him a villager in 2005, to get an inkling on his thinking then. Or you google the resignation letter from The Monitor which he wrote to then chief of the Nation media group. In those missives you will find a man that sounded as if he was ready to pay the ultimate price for fair, free and independent thought. But alas, he has since metamorphosed into the mouthpiece of dictators in Africa, starting with our own Gen. Museveni, then Rwanda's Paul Kagame.
So, what happened to the Mwenda of The Monitor? A Mwenda who was willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of truth and justice? A man who used to ridicule dictators in Africa and allover the world. Maybe he was simply another pretentious journalist whose star would fade as fast as he came.
Mwenda resigned from the Daily Monitor in 2007, saying the newspaper had “betrayed the cause of liberty and freedom”.
Quoting departed South African leader, Nelson Mandela, Mwenda wrote in his resignation letter: “As for me, I can never betray the cause of liberty. Liberty is an ideal for which I am willing to live for, work for to see strengthened and if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Has this changed? How and why did he go back to Nation Media, first at NTV and later KFM, where he had vowed never to work again?
In the same resignation letter, Mwenda said; "Sometime in 2006, Mr. Museveni addressed a meeting of the Central Executive Committee of his ruling party. He told them that he had defeated the opposition in Uganda and that both the FDC and Dr. Kizza Besigye were in disarray. Mr. Museveni then said the only remaining opposition was Andrew Mwenda. "He is the only one who uses facts and figures to challenge our policies and programs in the newspapers and on his radio show. How can this one boy hold us at ransom?" Museveni challenged his party colleagues. He then promised that if the NRM cannot challenge me intellectually, he will seek to silence me from the Ugandan public debate".
Should we therefore assume that Museveni was successful in compromising Andrew Mwenda? What happened to the facts and figures he always paraded to challenge Mr Museveni?
Shouldn't he publicly apologize to Mr Museveni and his family for all the 'trauma and unnecessary suffering' he caused them with his 'unjustifie stories and concocted lies'? Shouldn't he also apologize to Ugandans for taking us for a ride with his supposed true, fair and balanced reporting?
From around 2011, Mwenda has made it a job to molest the opposition, more especially FDC's Dr Besigye and his supporters. He has called them names, described them in the most demeaning manner. For example, he on Friday 23rd Dec 2016, while appearing on KFM's Friday Panel of Journalists described Dr Besigye and his supporters as stupid. The million dollar question is; what motivates Mwenda's current stance on the politics of this country? Well, if you said money, I wouldn't agree more!
Mwenda has become a defacto spokesman of Mr Museveni and his government. He does so whenever and wherever he's given a chance to.
His elder brother, Brig Kayanja Muhanga, is a senior officer in the UPDF while his elder sister, Margaret Muhanga, also a former journalist with The New Visio and staff in the President's Office is an MP in the 10th parliament on an NRM ticked. His father Mzee Phillip Muhanga (RIP) was a staunch Museveni supporter. He probably is more NRM than we think!
When he launched his magazine, The Independent in December 2007, in just a space of one year, he was arrested on 17 separate occasions. His office was often surrounded by military vehicles and personnel. It is reasonable to assume that Museveni's government didn't like him. But the more exposure its activities gave him, the more his publication's circulation rised. Should we therefore assume it was a strategy to see his magazine grow? Was it part of the deal for leaving The Monitor?
Where Mwenda has an interest, he'll come out with glaring sirens to defend or try and explain the unexplainable. We've seen this for quite some time.
Remember when his brother Brig Muhanga was still at CMI, an armed robber was arrested and confessed that it was Brig Muhanga hiring them guns. Noble Mayombo was so infuriated. Tom Maloba, a journalist at Daily Monitor then broke that story and guess what, Mwenda gave Monitor an ultimatum. They either fire Maroba or he (Mwenda) resigns from Monitor. Indeed, Maroba was fired. He's now in south Africa hustling to survive.
Bob Kasango, the lawyer of the infamous pension scam confessed to having given Andrew Mwenda Ugx 100m in 2012. Why did he receive that money, my guess is as good as yours.
In the recent case where Matthew Kanyamunyu, his childhood friend and close confidant is accused of allegedly shooting dead a one Kenneth Akena at Lugogo on the 12th Nov 2016, Mwenda came out strong to defend Kanyamunyu, to the extent of camping at Jinja road police station where the suspect was being held. He went further to ask the police to allow him investigate the case as he was more informed and had better sources and informants than the police. Why would Mwenda, a private citizen want to envestigate a murder case when those he cherishes much are in church?
Another incident I can't forget is when Crane Bank was taken over by Bank of Uganda on the 20th of Oct 2016 for reported mismanagement and failure to comply with the liquidity threshold requirement. Mwenda came out to defend Sudhir so dearly that one would imagine BoU was taken by surprise. Parading his usual barrage of figures, he was out on a mission to convince Ugandans that Crane bank was on its knees because of a collapse rumor that made people rush to withdraw their savings for fear of losing it. Yet, Crane Bank problems were far from this as we later came to learn.
The point here is that Mwenda will do anything to defend his interests. He never makes a move without calculations on how much he will ultimately bag. He is a mercenary of sorts who'll only act upon receiving or being promised huge favors. He's current job looks bent on making sure the opposition is wiped out of Uganda as Mr Museveni promised on the 21st of Feb 2016, at his Kisozi farm shortly after he had been declared winner of the Feb 16th elections.
Museveni, as we know him is a master of proxy wars. He'll use your closest friend, relative or confident to either pay you off or knock you down to his advantage. Andrew Mwenda is therefore that one man Tamale Mirundi refers to as 'Jirikiti'. Literally meaning someone used to do evil by those who have the power to do so. He's just like any other Ugandan trapped in the unending patronage bonanza orchestrated by the purported revolutionaries who have obviously outlived their welcome days.
At first, Mwenda was so pretentious that one would not easily read between the lines to understand his motives. However, it's now glaring clear that he won't hide his intentions anymore. To me, this is great. We now know the kind of person Mwenda is. We won't bother ourselves anymore, stratch our heads endlessly trying to figure out his motivations. He has since turned shame into arrogance that he'll throw tantrums, threaten and insult whoever comes into his way. What a life!
Mwenda is now available to the highest bidder. A man who once vowed that money can never compromise his fight and desire for free speech, fairness and truth is now a shaddow of his former self.

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