Yesterday, the country was caught in surprise when the Commander of Land Forces Lt. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, also the first son, announced his retirement from the army which many have speculated to be his first step of wanting to establish himself into the political sphere.
“After 28 years of service in my glorious military, the greatest military in the world, I am happy to announce my retirement. Me and my soldiers have achieved so much! I have only love and respect for all those great men and women that achieve greatness for Uganda everyday,” Lt General Muhoozi tweeted yesterday.
While hosting The Fatboy Show today, James Onen commonly known as Fatboy mentioned that he was always curious about the General’s tweets in recent months that somewhat indicated his political aspirations.
“When people were suggesting that the General should have his phone taken away from him for his various Twitter outbursts over the course of the months, a part of me felt that there was a strategic plan behind his Twitter activity. I think that this was him setting the stage for himself post military. And now that he has positioned himself as a statesman with all the talk about Rwanda, ‘Uncle’ Kagame and the border reopening. He was inserting himself in a more diplomatic role so that he exits and gets viewed as a more serious political figure,” Fatboy opined.
Asked whether he would be surprised if the first son got fully involved in politics, Daniel Omara said that although he wouldn't, he felt that Gen. Muhoozi was not viewed as a serious political figure.
“He is using the celebrity format with a political career where all publicity is good publicity yet most of his communications look like drunk tweets. Imagine if the President hands over the control of an entire nation which is already in dire situation to someone who goes awash on Twitter with the most random things. It's one thing to be a diplomat and another to walk into a diplomatic situation and refer to the person you’re settling terms with as your uncle when it's not a family affair,” he said.
However, he agreed that the Commander of Land forces had gained popularity on his Twitter account with over 59,000 followers which he believed must be a strategic move.
Another Co-host on the show, Viola Kusasira was rather amused by how the first son was announcing his retirement when Gen. Sejjusa who had served in the UPDF almost all his life had appealed for the same but in vain.
“In the second line where he says that ‘I am glad to announce my retirement,’ we should think carefully about it because you don’t just wake up one day and leave the army. Sejjusa has struggled in court three times and has failed to retire because apparently he is strong enough to continue serving. So what’s the agenda? Why would you retire after 28 years of service when you're 47 and your uncle is 67? He can't leave and you can?” Viola questioned.
However she added that although the move might be about the ‘Muhoozi Project,’ the first son leaving the army won't change his public image.
“Even if you detach from the army and change your way of dressing and talking, it won’t work because you’re trying to push an agenda on people who are already tired. Everyday, we wake up to a new string of curses from this man’s account. So for us who are desperate for a new figure, how do we find a figure that’s always angry suitable? Because we know whether or not he leaves the army, we are dead before this man,” she said.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive and Sarah every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.