Museveni did not scheme for Kerry
By Onapito-Ekomoloit
Nov 10, 2004
Normally even when you disagree with the opinion of Gulu Municipality MP
Norbert Mao, he comes across as the kind of devil you give his due.
However, in the article "US Elections: How Museveni Ended Up with His Foot In
His Mouth," the legislator went so much off course that leaving him in a ditch
would be unfair to all.
In his tortured and warped analysis of President Yoweri Museveni in the run up
to US President George Bush's re-election, Mao maliciously painted the
President as having schemed for a John Kerry victory.
Without any iota of evidence, Mao purported to let the reader know that
President Museveni was having such a bad patch with the Bush White House that
he badly need a let off through Kerry.
Mao cited some imaginary meeting between the President and Bush at which the
latter supposedly told him to leave office come 2006. Needless to say,
President Museveni has had countless meetings and conversations with his
American counterpart.
At no occasion has the US President sought to lecture to our President on how
to run Uganda. Yes, the Americans are our major development partners but they
fully recognise that the country is under a legitimately elected government and
President.
President Bush, therefore, has spent the valuable time of his encounters with
President Museveni discussing issues beneficial two the countries. Largely
their conversations, be it during face to face meetings or via phone, have
centred on: Fighting terrorism, Great Lakes peace, trade and Uganda's
exceptional success against HIV/AIDS.
President Bush has taken President Museveni more as a consultant on African
issues. Similarly, the Ugandan leader fully recognises the pivotal role of an
American President in world matters and has as much as possible tried to be in
tandem with him.
The relationship between President Museveni and Bush as been symbiotic, not
opportunistic as Mao purported. What the Maos of this world should note is that
President Museveni enjoys excellent relations with Bush not so much as an
individual but as the President of the United States. It is a pattern the
President has continued with all US Presidents, stretching back to Ronald
Reagan.
Mao obviously needs no reminder that President Museveni is perhaps the only
sitting African President to host both a Democrat (Bill Clinton) and a
Republican (Bush) US President in his country in a space of five years!
Clearly, the President was totally not bothered whether Bush retained the White
House or Kerry came in -so long it would be the choice of American voters. The
President is truly what the Americans call bipartisan.
And Mao should know better that US international policy on crucial issues, such
as democracy, is trans-regime. So even if indeed the Bush White House had found
President Museveni that bad, Kerry would not save him.
Mao claimed that President Museveni indicated his desire to ditch Bush by
mentioning that he had misled Uganda into the "coalition of the willing" over
Iraq. For the record, the President's reference to his being misled was
strictly in connection with the Bush administration claim that Saddam Hussein
had WMDs.
This is a mistake that has been acknowledged by the Bush administration too.
Nonetheless, the President has no regrets in joining the Americans on the wider
desire to knock out Saddam, since he was supporting the terrorist activities
against Uganda by Sudan. The only problem is that the Americans capitalised on
inadequate evidence. Whatever the case, it was good riddance.
In any case, Senator Kerry too voted for the war in Iraq. This being the case,
the President's criticising of the war was not the best way to
"opportunistically" endear himself to Kerry, and more so the wider American
establishment.
Surely, if there is anybody who is desperate, it is Mao and not President
Museveni.
"The expectations of Ugandans is that the Bush White House will continue to
pressure Museveni to abandon his despotic ambitionsâ," he wrote.
Sorry Mao, it will not be the White House to pressure Museveni, but those who
put him in State House: The People of Uganda.
The Author is the Press Secretary to the President
 2004 The Monitor Publications
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