New Vision "Presidential" Poll Misleading.

By Arthur M.M. Katabalwa.

Do we have a law of limitations in Uganda? I have a confession to make. Over two decades ago, when my political mind started to grow, I managed to single handedly manipulate the outcome of an election. I was spending days watching American politics and any foreign television I could find. I started watching intently the polls as Bill Clinton was being elected President of America.

It was really fascinating to see how the polls were swinging the way people in the US were reacting to the campaign. After the first Gulf War, I thought that Bush senior winning the election was a given. But then I was lured into the election of Governor Bill Clinton from Arkansas. And it wasn't just his youthful looks then. It was the message. The oration but most importantly the polls were on his side.

So, armed with some little information that I had got from C-Span about polling, I decided to find out if I could influence an election that was dear to me that was taking place where I living. I decided to publish a poll. It was not scientific at all because, I made it all up. For the three weeks before election day, I posted a tracker poll on a public notice board. For starters, no one paid attention to it. By the fourth day people were waiting for me at this public notice board to read and see what the polls were saying. I never, ever polled anyone. In fact on many occasions I made the poll up minutes before. But I held the electorate and for two days, the two protagonists were neck and neck. When the poll started to "run away" with my chosen candidate the campaign became electric. Can I therefore say that I rigged a poll without even casting a ballot?

Fast forward to a New Vision poll that was published only a few days ago and I can tell you that I view these statistics with a pinch of salt. One has to ask many questions as to the authenticity and accuracy of these polls. But most importantly as in the New Vision Poll, we need to first examine the question itself. The respondents were asked to answer: "Which Presidential Candidate Will You Most likely Vote For Next Year?"

Quite easy isn't it? I bet many people already have a vague clue to that answer. We all know whom we will vote next year? Right? Wrong. The New Vision and its research team committed the first fundamental mistake in poll science. They came up with the wrong question on so many levels. First of all, the poll, according to the The New Vision was conducted by its researchers. Well, they had better sack that research team because they should have known that as of June 12 to June 20 2015 Uganda did not have any Presidential Candidates! Unless there is something that they know that the electorate isn't aware of. But the last time I checked, on that date we had a few aspirants, a number of whom were being arrested and tear gassed for having aspiring to the highest office in the land. And by the way that is a crime in Uganda. So that question was aiding and abetting illegal or premature electioneering. You had better thank the gods Kawesi has been moved somewhere in the police!

For anyone to get this polling stuff right, you need to get the question right. One which doesn't bias people on the onset. One that is understood. Recently we had a referendum in Greece about their financial bailout from the Euro Group and others. That question flummoxed even the most hardy economists. One needed banks of economic forecasts so as to answer that question. It is therefore regrettable that the New Vision and the research team it used failed at the first huddle, which then made the whole exercise invalid. They were asking the wrong question at the wrong time.

But, 6626 respondents were reached (This is already from a flawed premise, a flawed question) and asked a wrong question. One then continues to ask: What demographics did they target? Did they cover all the demographics? Which income bracket? What religion, educational level? As we have been told before, our society is predominantly peasant. So is it the case that the statistics presented were of mainly peasants? Which in my view will not be representative. But to their credit, the summary shows that President Yoweri  Museveni wins in the rural areas. The others win in the urban areas. If one has been observant of the political landscape, one might say that that is broadly true.

The statistics further provided a list of people whom The New Vision (I think) also branded "Presidential Candidates". (I am still struggling here to quantify and qualify the whole exercise because of that question). But it only gets better. Is Janet Kataha Museveni a Presidential Candidate for the 2016 elections? The poor lady only gets 0.1% of the total vote compared to her husbands' alleged 71%. (I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when they were having breakfast that day. The conversation!) Who in heavens sake is Ajok Lucy? At 0.1% she is as popular as the First Lady? Nantaba Idah Erios 0.1%, Tann Sanjay 0.1%.....Asamo Hellen Grace 0.1%! Are all these people Presidential Candidates? That is going to be a very long ballot paper. Then (and this is where some might get confused in the statistics), we have the Don't knows at 2.1%, None at 1.4% and the Refused To Answer at 1.3%.

The whole exercise was farcical in my view once they adopted that question. At 19, armed with a rudimentary understanding of the psychology behind polls and a rickety, faulty TV dish pointing at another equally rickety faulty TV dish 3 miles away so as to tap there signals, I was able to manipulate an election through unscientific polling and my candidate won. In the 21st Century we need to be doing a better job while carrying out polls and get the question right. Else the whole exercise is not worth the paper it was written on.

mwenky99@gmail.com

Family Comes First As Obama Lands In Kenya.

By Arthur M. M. Katabalwa.

Barack Obama being welcomed by Family in Nairobi last night. Auma Obama is on his left (Getty Images)

All talk around here in Uganda is the visit to Kenya by the US President, Barack Obama. I hear that Zambian President is in town but who cares? There is the usual excitement of all that surrounds Obama. The beast his car. Somehow everyone seems to know all the details about this car. The security in Nairobi is nothing like anyone has seen before. We love big planes and nothing comes more magnificent than the 24 year old "White House in the sky", Air Force One. Its blue and white fuselage sat on the tarmac sat at the airport in Nairobi is nice to see. I was travelling pillion on a motor bike in Mulago last evening en route to gate crashing a posh dinner and I could swear I saw it fly over Kampala. Vapor contrails over Kampala are rare but yesterday I saw a four engine plane flying high in the direction of Kenya at about  1910. One might say I was dreaming but he landed at 2010....

But my interest is not mainly about Obama in Nairobi. It is the symbolism of his return to his ancestral home. Many of my friends in Europe and elsewhere may not really appreciate this but let me try and explain the joy that is returning to a place where everyone is like you. Obama is American as they come but looking at the joy on his face when he saw Auma is a tear jerker.

Let us remember that to Auma Obama is big brother! Yes, he is POTUS but that will come secondary to him being her big brother that is why she did away with protocol and went in for a big bear hug. And to Obama, this is his little sister. In an interview earlier to the media he said that it is more meaningful to him personally returning as a private citizen not as a POTUS. And therein lies the message.

Going back home from abroad to ones' ancestral home is always momentous. I had a friend when I lived in Bristol, United Kingdom in the mid 2000's whose mother is Scottish and her father came from the Caribbean somewhere. At 44, she had never been to visit where her father came from. I can almost remember the conversation we had standing at Stroud train station. I convinced her to visit at least once. A few months later we met in Cardiff, South Wales and she told me that she had been. What struck her most was that when she walked through the arrivals lounge the people who came to welcome her felt like she had known all her life. Although she was mixed race, lighter skinned than all of them, she said that they all looked like her in many subtle ways. Even the little things that irritated them! Since then every once so often she goes back to see all of them.

On a personal note when my children, who are both mixed race, have returned from the UK to come and visit me in Uganda, I have noticed an instant connection between them and their cousins. My children are being brought up extremely well. They are quintessentially English and their outlook to life is being shaped that way. But when they came and visited last Easter, I was amazed at how, when I took them to rural Uganda, rather than recoil at things that are alien to them, they were unfazed. After all this was home too. This is where daddy comes from. It is not England. It looks different. Feels different but it is home!

Ugandans have The Archbishop of York, The Rt Hon Rev John Sentamu who, when he returns to Uganda the media hardly mention him. He is the second most high primate in the world wide Anglican communion after The Archbishop of Canterbury. I have seen him at a Kalerwe, a local suburb which is known for severe deprivation. Yet he was at home talking to the locals with no fan fare.

The look in Obamas eyes as he smiles to Auma at that dining table in that photo above is absolute genuine. They will always be family. They look at him as their elder brother and indeed in tribal and cultural terms Obama is the first born and a male at that. The importance to that position in a family in African tradition can not be understated. So in this little group he has a lot of genuine unconditional love. Yes, they are proud of what he has done but to them, he is the head of that family. And I hope that Michelle and his daughters can see that joy in his eyes and celebrate with him.

mwenky99@gmail.com

The Worlds' Favorite Airline, BA, Throws In The Towel At Entebbe.

By Arthur M. M. Katabalwa.

In a short statement released today, the worlds' favorite airline, British airways announced that it was suspending flights between London Heathrow and Entebbe Airport in Uganda. In the statement signed by  Edward Frost, The Regional Commercial Manager, East and Southern Africa, it said "It is with much regret that I am writing to inform you about a decision that British Airways has taken to suspend services between London Heathrow and Entebbe." The statement further said that "Unfortunately, we have concluded that at the present time our services to Entebbe are not commercially viable."

Isn't it surprising therefore that British Airways is just "concluding" that their services are not "commercially viable"? In my view, BAs' services to Entebbe were not "viable" on any level whatsoever. The travelling public in Uganda had started getting increasingly frustrated with the services that were being offered by the airline.

I have on occasion used BA between The UK and Uganda. And I have used the airline on its trans Atlantic routes and the services were woefully diabolical on the Entebbe route. Services between Europe and The USA are most of the times served by new aircraft. And if they are not particularly new, they are in good condition.  However, the airline on occasion scheduled a clapped out Boeing 757 to head to Entebbe. One of those with TV screens that are stowed away overhead. It is first class from the USA to London and then from London it  was cattle class.

On the other hand, its competitors have been progressively introducing new aircraft. Take KLM for example. Their airbus  aircraft hardly make a squeak out of Entebbe and the flights are smooth all the way back to Amsterdam. Once, the KLM aircraft I used out of Entebbe had  mood sensitive lighting to handle the effects of jet lag as it was a night flight. BA? Just switch the lights off as you fly over Juba on the way to Heathrow! Other airlines like Qatar, Emirates and Kenya Airways are also very good. Kenya Airways will lay on a Boeing 777 from Nairobi to London which is a real competitor. Emirates to Dubai almost has no restrictions on drinks.

Change over airports are also crucial. Ugandans got tired of the transit visas at Heathrow. To compound that, in comparison to other airports, Heathrow is now found wanting. Although Dubai is like a long corridor, waiting there to connect to other airports is worthwhile. If the wait is over a certain length, you will be fed. Most times, one will wait in the know that they are going to lay on the double decker A380 or a new Boeing 777. And Emirates will also fly you to more than one destination say in the UK. So, where one may be wanting to travel to Birmingham, why fly BA when you know Emirates will fly there directly often at a cheaper price?

It is sad that BA is suspending their flights from Entebbe but for many, this is a situation that has been long overdue. They may call themselves "The Worlds' Favorite Airline" but that doesn't translate in the services they are offering. The only advantage that BA had over all the other rivals was that it was the only direct flight to London. But at their prices, their poor aircraft and the competition from other airlines, this was no longer sustainable. Besides, Ugandans are not only flying to London in the UK anymore. I can fly SN Brussels from Entebbe to Bristol airport at an affordable price rather than fly to Heathrow then pay more money to Bristol by coach or train. I can fly to Manchester Airport from Entebbe using Turkish Airlines. I can fly to New Castle from Entebbe using Emirates. So why BA? 

mwenky99@gmail.com

Amama Mbabazi Arrest: Who Was In Charge?

By Arthur M. M. Katabalwa.

Amama Mbabazi being arrested. (Photo source unknown)

I was lying in bed last night thinking about the whole political landscape in Uganda today and my thoughts went back to my writings last year. On July 15, 2014 under the heading: Museveni, Opposition; The Message needs To Change (http://mwenky.blogspot.com/2014/07/museveni-opposition-message-needs-to.html) I noted with concern that HE had called former President Idi Amin an "idiot".  I contended that; " Now, whereas I may probably agree with Mr. Museveni the private citizen I find it difficult that President Yoweri Museveni has called President Idi Amin Dada an idiot. My main argument was that there was some kind of talk that was allowed of a private citizen that Mr. Museveni is, but not as "The Fountain Of Honor" as the constitution describes the holder of the office of the President Of Uganda.

At the time, I was belittled for my views but I stood by them. And my ire was not merely leveled at the government as a whole. It was leveled at the opposition. In further articles, (http://mwenky.blogspot.com/2015/02/ugandan-opposition-not-fit-for-purpose.html)I also laid into the opposition saying that their message was also laughable because they did not provide us Ugandans with a justifiable cause to think of them as a Government in waiting. They were preoccupying themselves with the removal of Museveni. That message was counterproductive because much as the public thinks of opposition leader, Kiza Besigye as a peoples' politician, we are not satisfied with his message and style. He is yet to look statesman like. He is too ANGRY!

The others like The Democratic Party and The Uganda Peoples' congress are fighting within themselves. We cannot forget the unedifying images of Olara Otunnu, whom I have met on several occasions, being chased through the toilets of Uganda house. Even to this day we are not sure who is at the helm of the party. Hon Akena is supposedly the new leader of the party. But many people will not forget his father, former President Apollo Milton Obote. Is Akenas' pedigree a seller outside Uganda house especially in Buganda? Would he win an election? Maybe within the UPC but elsewhere I will let the others be the judge at that.

First forward to the events of yesterday when we saw Amama Mbabazi arrested allegedly for defying police orders. One may ask: Is it really the police orders that Mbabazi defied? Read between the lines but personally I doubt that he actually "defied police orders".......if you get my drift. The questions will forever be asked of the police: So you deploy in Eastern Uganda like we are about to be invaded by a foreign army only to arrest the principle and charge him of "defying police orders"? Come on guys!!!

Political strategists within the NRM must go back to the drawing board and, to use a well used cliché, "think outside the box". They need some proper "blue sky thinking" on how to handle the problem that is Mbabazi. If they are aware of what is happening on the ground, they should be listening to the chatter among the public. I know they will not believe what I am saying, just like they are blithely dismissing just about any opinion makers, the public are seeing a government public relations machine in complete disarray.

I never watched the program on TV last night but I am told that my good friend, the indefatigable journalist Andrew Mwenda advised government that if they left Mbabazi to his own devices, he would become irrelevant like Tinyefunza. But will they? I am want to doubt that they will which in its own makes the public think that Mbabazi is stronger than we even think.

Mbabazi has dominated the headlines for months on end. The government is constantly reacting to what he actually doesn't say! The man hardly says much. Yet we have government lawyers and the people from the Uganda Media Center constantly trying to belittle him. Isn't it the case that the may have a point when it gets to his record in the government, his much publicized closeness to the President over the past 40 years and of course his involvement with the much derided Public Order management laws? But is any one listening? No. The message is being all lost in translation. His involvement in all this is looked at by the population as an aside.

But why is Mbabazi occupying the political ground now? It is because he has crafted his message in a very clever, concise way. It is different. It looks at the future but most cleverly, he has tried to identify it within a selling brand, The NRM. One would think they would jump to embrace such progressive ideas. But have they? Nope.. And that has put the government on the wrong foot. The reaction has been very much anticipated: Pull the police out and get all kinds of rowdy youths across the country to "protest" against Mbabazi. We have seen this tried and tested method. And this time it is counterproductive. It  doesn't work at all. Uganda is no longer at war! The NRM has been given a chance to project itself as a peace time party by him and also to show that it is an institution not just about one personality. And yet on this measure the NRM has failed abysmally. If only they could look at the Communist Party in China. Anyone remembers the Chinese President before the last one? I can't without Google.

In my travels around the country, the mood that I sense around the people is that they are predominantly still pro movement. But they want a different message. Mbabazi, trying to move things on from the "we fought and brought peace in 1986" was a master stroke. It resonated with the people a lot. A huge percentage of the population doesn't identify with 1986. They were born after 1986. So that argument is now a dud. The public out there are still not convinced about the other players in the political field as they are with the NRM. But they need a different message fit for the 21st Century. They want jobs. They want Mulago Hospital to work. They want a comprehensive plan for public transport. Investment in Education, serious tangible work being done to eradicate poverty, corruption, rural electrification, protection of our markets, traceable trade with other countries, a shilling which is worth its worth in paper. Bread and butter politics!!

We are struggling with several issues here in Uganda. We are surrounded by unstable regimes to the north in South Sudan. Who is in charge of Eastern Congo by the way? Somalia is hemorrhaging terrorists and they are causing havoc in Kenya. That doesn't make us safe. We are safe with benign Tanzania and Rwanda is surprising and completely out performing on all fronts. But therein also lies a problem for Uganda. The Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is very media savvy. Kikwete in Tanzania....? I don't know much about the man. Kagame is like a rock star. These are the people we are also looking at.

Government Spokeperson, Ofwono Opondo.

We need, and I will say this until my voice goes, a renewal in the system. Some changes at the top because we have people like Frank Tumwebaze who frankly is comical as a politician. Does he actually believe in himself? Then we have Don Wanyama who is a also a government spokesman of some sort. His comments yesterday online made me wonder if there is anything between his ears. As for Ofwono Opondo? One word: laughable! Absolutely laughable!

So who is in charge at government headquarters? Please look at your political strategies and whoever is in charge should have the testicular fortitude to get the house in order. Is there anyone who on occasion tells "The Emperor", (even under the threat of being beheaded), that beneath all those clothes he is naked? After 30 years in power, my fear is that we have some kind of political inertia on many fronts. There is one man who everyone is looking at to sort things out; The President. And yesterday while he was on the international stage in South Sudan, no one noticed. We were all standing in the heat outside Kira road station. 

John Patrick Amama Mbabazi: Even The Rank And File Police Are Worried!

By Arthur M. M. Katabalwa.

Students walking past Kira Road Police Station.

I have just had a casual stroll through the throngs of people at Kira road police station and the tension in the air was palpable. In the heat of the afternoon sun, one was able to see that something momentous is going on. The number of people is definitely swollen by the media about both national and international but it is an atmosphere that one needed to sample.

Uganda is at a crossroads. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial. Amama Mbabazi an NRM stalwart and insider until recently decided to stand for the flag bearer of the ruling National Resistance Movement party. Since the multi party system began, the NRM has always had it as given that it would take over power. There have been several elections, some of which have been contested in court but the general feeling has always been that President Yoweri Museveni is invincible. Until, that is, when Mbabazi, affectionately called JPAM by his supporters came on the scene.

Police vehicles in Mbale earlier today.

Over the last few weeks and months, the electoral narrative has been lead by JPAM. And this with hardly a squeak from him. On occasion, he has said a few words or held a press conference at his house but on the whole he has almost pulled a leaf from the campaign of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Not said much. Yet a lot has been derived from that silence.

JPAM recently put forward his intention to start a consultative process across the country as part of his presidential bid and that is when the whole machine of state coercion came down on him to bear. Today, en-route to his first meeting in Mbale, he was arrested and  brought back to Kira road police station in Kampala. The charges are yet to be understood but one source said that it was "preventative arrest".

The police there are calm on the surface but on closer look, one could see that even they are bewildered. One of them came to the crowd of people where I was standing and one could see that he wanted a certain kind of message passed on. As the people rounded on him, he politely admitted that "we are just doing as we are told" desperately trying to pass on the blame to a higher authority.

In my assessment, probably some of the policemen find themselves between a rock and the deep blue sea. Because you can sense that they are not remote from what is going on. They are aware that they are being used as pawns in a much larger game. Certainly their role in many ways in this continuing saga is questionable. Many times they have been accused of being partisan.

A number of the police outside the police were seen nervously listening in to their radios on the phones. I stopped and realized that these people, however heavily armed they may look, they are part of society and at the end of the day, they will be heading back home to their husbands, their wives, their families. And what is at stake here at Kira road station they too are involved. It affects them. Their masters maybe driving around in massive cars and living in leafy suburbs, but they are on the ground.

One needs to look at how the police is also run. They are walking about like soldiers albeit in blue military fatigues. Whereas the police has become more efficient in recent times, being able to tackle crime, they is a certain element of them which is military in nature. Of course when a public facing force like that travels around in armored cars wielding assault rifles they cannot be seen in a more favorable light.

Armed Police outside Kira Road Police station.

This afternoon, at Kira road police station, as we journalists and the general public watched in anticipation, waiting through baited breath wondering what next, a group of students in their uniforms made their way through the masses of police. The police let them through without much bother as they headed home from school. But a thought crossed my mind: What future are we making for these kids? Our grandfathers fought against colonialism and they won. We got independence. Our fathers then fought against bad governance and a lack of political insight with which to take this country. In 1986 that battle was won. Where do we go from here? What are we preparing for these kids walking back home kicking stones with their shoes? That future is being shaped right now as we speak. Whether one is in support of the ruling NRM party or the opposition, the hope is that those kids walking back home have a better future. Let us not mess it up.

Ye Olde British Weather And a Bit Of Hyperbole.

By Arthur M. M. Katabalwa

I have watched the weather system going through the UK over the last few days with a lot of jealousy. In Kampala where I live at the moment, the temperatures have hardly struggled above 25C yet in my UK home city Stoke On Trent, they have been beating that by nearly 3-4 degrees.

Anyone who has not lived on that collection of islands called The British Isles will never understand why people are fascinated with the weather. About 20 years ago, I was introduced to its weather when I lived on the Isle of Man. The weather there was abysmal! Gales come in from the sea and before anything can stop them, they have gone over the island. One minute one may be enjoying a nice sunny day and the next a wall of fog is heading in from Laxey.

So this brings me to the weather for these last few days. One could have thought that the UK was facing Armageddon with a “weather front like we have never seen before”sweeping in from France. The met office warned of the dangers of over heating and people warned to look out for the young, the old and those who are vulnerable.

July 1, 2015 was hot. It has been the hottest day of the year so far. And the summer looks like it is going to be a good one. But we have this almost undefeated propensity not to plan for these weather events. Suddenly we had “the wrong kind of heat” and the rails were buckling. Haven't we had this before? Rail passengers across the country have been facing delays because of this.

But there is a respite in all of this because the heat in the atmosphere has started bringing storms with hailstones “the size of golf balls.”

Then as the heat progressed, we had “Pizza oven” trains. I feel especially sorry for people who have been stuck on the underground. Waterloo underground station must have been a nightmare! The papers described the conditions further as “hotter than the Sahara”. The media screamed that the conditions in the tunnels were not even “fit for the transportation of cattle”.

The South East has been “sweltering in temperatures higher than Rio”. It has definitely been hotter than Kampala I must say. Those Britons who are abroad at this time must feel really bad that they are not enjoying the hot weather back home in Blighty.

Any excuse to have a "Liquid lunch" at Ye Olde Watling pub, London (Daily Mail Photo)

Of course let us not downplay the effect of this heat wave. We have had some people loose their lives. Over 57000 homes have been without power in from Yorkshire to County Durham, Tyne and Wear to Northumberland. These people have faced real hardships.

But let us plan for these weather extremes. With global warming, the UK has been warned of such events. Every once so often the jet stream gets stuck in a rut and whatever weather pattern it has thrown to the UK is stuck. Ours are islands are stuck off the north west coast of Europe and the latitude at which they are at means that the weather is forever going to be abysmal. But we must learn to live with it. With time, the weather will become Autumnal and we will have “angry skies”. Oh, and we will have the wrong kind of sunshine because train drivers will not be able to see the signal pulling out of Slough. And we will have “the wrong kind of leaves” as train companies cancel trains because of “adverse rail top conditions”

And then the winter will come and with the first snow flake we will complain that the weather is “Arctic”. Heathrow will grind to a halt as pilots will not be able to navigate from T4 to the north runway. But all will be fine because we know that with our weather conditions, we are prone to a bit of hyperbole. And don’t we LOVE IT!

Amama Mbabazi and The Comedy Of Errors.

By Arthur M. M. Katabalwa.

I am not normally drawn in by politics. I tend to get bored easily by the finer details and I try and look at the bigger picture. It is always interesting to see how things pan out given a long period of time to observe events.

Over the last few months, I have watched with bemusement how time and time again the Museveni-Mbabazi saga has been growing. Having watched the NRM regime from its inception, I have always had a fascination with Mbabazi. Of course as a growing lad, I was enameled by the message that a youthful Yoweri Museveni came with on the steps of parliament January 29, 1986. It was fresh. It was bold. It was radical. It was like nothing we had ever heard of before. We believed in the man, the system and all that he stood for. And whereas there is still a yearning for that message, many of the youth today, a majority of which were born under his rule, do not feel the indebtedness that we had to the NRA/NRM for delivering the country from a mess. Of course there are those who have different views on that.

Fast forward to 2015 and things are different. You see, there is a mantra that the establishment uses all the time…”when the NRM came to power in 1986…..” (several versions of appendages follow there after) many, as said above, do not relate to that. There is no reference point. Obote and the others are the stuff that legends are made of. The issue is now and the future.

And this is where my brothers in the NRM are failing to adapt to quickly. Mbabazi is tapping into that desire for a new message. And in so doing, the style is different. This is one of the reasons why, even when Mbabazi may not have anything new to say, he has seemed to be leading the agenda. It is mostly about the style and method of delivery.

Amama Mbabazi

The other night I felt a wave of optimism go through me when, for a brief flicker of time, the government spokesman seemed to change his style. Over the last few weeks and months Ofwono Opondo has led the charge to discredit Mbabazi and to not make a finer point of it the spectacle has been unedifying. Opondo, among others like Onapito and Onyango Obo were the heavy weights in the media when I was making my tentative steps into the media. And yet, with all that experience, he has been bombastic, many times making valid points but the whole message getting lost in his delivery.

Then there was the issue of the President being hauled in front of the media after a return from an AU summit in South Africa to try and explain to a suspicious public why he had called Mbabazi for a meeting. What an un mitigating disaster that was!! Whoever made that decision has no clue in political message delivery tactics for they let HE be seen as tired and irritable. Mbabazi had alluded to a tired system. The message that should have come out of the AU was lost. It was buried. Our chance to strap around on the world scene was shadowed by the public being shown an irritable President. Questions were asked about the merits of a head of state calling a press conference about clearly forged documents. Where was the OC of Old Kampala police station? That is within his pay grade. Not HE!

And there after the security services have not helped the situation either. Granted, they may be acting within the law but there is what they should be aware of. Political expediency. For the security services to act and to be seen as though they are in cahoots with the ruling government is a dent on their professionalism. We have been fed on an almost daily dose of perceived police brutality all this falling in the hands of the opposition.

Mr. Mbabazi has clearly got questions to answer. He has been part of the NRM machine for a long time so for him to distance himself from some of the failures is going to surpass Houdini in politics. We await eagerly to see how he does this. But on the other hand Uganda is no longer at war. We have an unstable region around us with terrorist groups wanting to shatter our peace. But someone in government needs to look, learn and plan proper reactions to the opposition challenging its power. Their reaction is almost predictable. It is like telling time itself. Challenge the regime and tear gas, batons and all sorts come out. I know one way that the regime can win without being accused of foul play. Change your delivery style. We have seen repeated mistakes made by the government with Amama Mbabazi clearing all news programs while he has not even said a word.