The much anticipated cabinet reshuffle made by President Yoweri Museveni last Saturday appears to have come too late, too little in the estimation of many Ugandans who had believed that a massive shake up was necessary to kick out evident inertia in what had been christened Kisanja hakuna mchezo. Clearly, the public is demanding that more blood flows especially on corruption related issues which they believe this reshuffle hasn’t decisively dealt with, but merely people going through the revolving door. 

In the last three months Cabinet has vacillated with statements over the possibility of permitting the development of hydro-power dams on Uhuru and Murchison Falls (devil’s cauldron) along River Nile three times. That vacillation is causing anxiety and suspicion that perhaps government is acting under pressure from a dubious hand, up to no good, and the public is spoiling for a big fight.

The political murmurs doing rounds that perennial presidential contender, Kizza Besigye Kifefe, and his sidekicks are collecting ‘evidence’ and two million signatures to drag President Yoweri Museveni, senior government and security officials to the much acclaimed International Criminal Court (ICC) is a bluff. Without pouring so much cold water, Ugandans need to be reminded that there have been three failed similar efforts previously by the same groups to drag President Museveni to the ICC and other similar bodies. 

It is becoming cool again to roundly condemn security agencies especially the police when handling protests by groups well-known to promote the political campaign dubbed civil disobedience to “make Uganda ungovernable”, by disrupting economic and commercial activities, in the hope their foreign backers will step in. The foreign backers are mainly some elements from the US, West Minister Foundation for Democracy, and Netherland Institute for Multiparty Democracy channeling various forms of support either directly or through CSOs and the media.