Hello Spider-man! It’s been a long and busy winter for me here! I just opened my email and came across my new year’s message from you dated January 17, 2024.
It’s really been a long time, my brother, and Britain is good. I am also suffering from old age, and I guess it is the same with you, Spider-man. It was always fun during the political shows we usually had in the early 2000s, as these made sense and gave a reflection on the real future of Uganda.
I recall debates about the term limits, whose abolition I was against, which caused me entanglements with the system, and that’s why I ended up in exile. Do you think I am happy to live in the winter? Absolutely not, just like many other Ugandans in the diaspora.
It is now 38 years of the leadership of our own creation when we were in the jungles of Luwero and Rwenzori; this is a very long period for one-man leadership and a very dangerous mistake. The only transition that Uganda has seen in the past 38 years is the transition from President Museveni to President Museveni again.
This is the right time for a genuine transition from the presidency of Museveni to another president. I have no problem with President Museveni being fronted by the NRM in the 2026 elections; my point is that there should be a credible successor by this time.
His successor can be his son, who happens to be a general in the national army, the UPDF. I have seen him lined up and creating links to the diplomatic representative for international recognition and country-wide tours and travels to get inducted into society. However, is he ready for the task? I believe not yet.
With those criminal elements surrounding him, he cannot be a successful president. Am I lying, comrade Spider-man?
Unless President Museveni and he (the son) disband those rogues masquerading as mobilizers for his presidency, he will be short-lived.
Like you said, qualified con-men and criminal elements like Frank Gashumba and Michael Mawanda, to mention but a few, cannot be the foundation of a genuine presidency. A genuine president should look out for intellectuals and strategists.
Spider-man, we have been around for so long; it’s time for the young generation to take over. We cannot be here or even keep power indefinitely. Even i, at the rank of a Colonel in the UPDF, retired and left the battlefield for the young blood.
Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba is also not serious if such people are the kind he can trust for the basis of his presidency. We should stop joking with the country anymore!
I wouldn’t prefer Bobi Wine over General Muhoozi; I cannot, but if the criminal gang is not disbanded, many Ugandans will have no other options left except to join forces with Bobi Wine. I believe there are signs of this already.
Young people are falling in support of Bobi Wine despite him lacking a clear fiscal or political agenda, something that is very different. When people start following anybody purporting to cause political change, it becomes a signal of a brewing revolution that is just pending. How did we reach this point?
Lastly, Spider-man, those political debates you have in Uganda today are useless. They no longer give a sense of direction to the country. These are sycophants and propagandists who spend most of the time praising the regime or in defensive roles, instead of being intellectuals and strategists who formulate and project strategy. You also know that regimes make mistakes and have weaknesses and failures, but the current political debates are increasingly not focused that way. I used to watch them on NBS or NTV, but I stopped. I would rather spend that time hunting or resting.
Spider-Man, It was nice hearing from you; however, the weather here cannot let me stay out for long. I wish you the entire best, Comrade.
Yours truly, Batman.
Open Letter to Batman Analyzing Uganda’s Politics Ahead of 2026 Elections