Following a sweeping military shakeup communicated in the wee hours of Tuesday morning that saw Gen Katumba Wamala, 60, lose his Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) job, the second highest position in the army, State House Entebbe has defended the CiC Gen. Yoweri Museveni’s decision.
Senior Presidential Press Secretary Don Wanyama went online to explain why Museveni dropped Gen Katumba Wamala following condemnation from Ugandans on social media who viewed Gen Katumba as a moderate UPDF officer and succeeded by former Commander Land Forces, Gen David Muhoozi, 46.
President Museveni also dropped his son Maj Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba from Special Forces Commander (SFC) and named him Special Presidential Advisor in charge of operations.
Don Wanyama said: “From CDF to Minister can’t be a ‘firing’. One only needs to understand the central position infrastructure/works (like roads, SGR, etc) holds in the President’s push for Uganda’s drive into a middle income country, to understand the seriousness of the appointment to the works docket.”
He explained that Gen Katumba was moved to the Works ministry to champion President Museveni’s 2021 “Middle income status dream.”
He went on: “The UPDF is increasingly supporting Uganda’s works sector and no doubt the former CDF brings a known sense of discipline to help direct and propel this sector.”
President Museveni’s original pick for the position of Minister of State for Works Hon Ismael Orot was rejected after Parliament realised he was weak on academic papers.
During his round of interactions with responses on his Facebook post, Mr Wanyama said ‘it is not always about the money’ when it comes to President Museveni’s appointments and reshuffles.
“If you have followed the President’s pronouncements on cabinet, you should surely know that there’s no difference between these assignments (cabinet or state). And just to remind you, it’s not always about the money,” he said in response to his follower Sseruwagi Habiibu who had suggested that Gen. Katumba has been removed ‘..from controlling unclassified budget to now being apportioned salary’.
For some time, multi-billion shilling infrastructural projects like the Standard Gauge Railway project Gen. Katumba is set to oversee have been marred by allegations of corruption leading to wastage and abuse of public resources.
