Alleged Confidential Museveni Call and Past Alliances Haunt MP Kivumbi’s Treason Case, Insider Claims
A detailed narrative circulating among political circles alleges that the arrest and impending serious charges against former MP-elect Muhammad Kivumbi are the direct result of a breached confidential phone conversation with President Yoweri Museveni and his past influential role in parliamentary committees.
According to the account, which presents itself as based on confidential archives, Kivumbi’s current legal troubles stem from a calculated move to neutralize him after he became a “sharp thorn” during the contentious coffee bill debates. As an economist and leader of the Buganda caucus, his opposition was particularly vocal.
The narrative claims that Speaker of Parliament Anita Among facilitated a “gentleman’s phone conversation” between President Museveni and Kivumbi, intended to be private. However, Kivumbi subsequently appeared in media reports speaking about the call, which allegedly asked him to back down from the coffee bill fight. This public disclosure, the account suggests, was viewed as a humiliation and embarrassment to the President, marking “the beginning of his political collapse.”
Past Alliances and Committee Influence
The report also delves into Kivumbi’s history, noting his formerly “very good working relationship” with former Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura. As a vocal member of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee, Kivumbi’s media prominence reportedly surpassed that of the committee’s chairperson. It is claimed that Kayihura relied on Kivumbi’s influence to secure parliamentary approval for large police budgets, though the specifics of these dealings are described as “confidential.”
A Predictable Legal Ordeal?
Drawing parallels to the prolonged case of MPs Ssegirinya and Ssewanyana, the account pessimistically forecasts Kivumbi’s legal path. It suggests he could remain in jail for at least two years, facing a slow process of “back and forth in the magistrate’s court” before commitment to the High Court. The source claims that no judge would easily grant bail to “someone whose name was mentioned in anger by the president.”
A significant point of advantage for the state, according to the narrative, is the timing of Kivumbi’s arrest. He was apprehended as an ordinary citizen, not as a sitting MP-elect, thereby denying him the institutional lobbying power of Parliament. His hope for freedom, it is grimly concluded, may require a powerful negotiator like NRM Vice Chairman Al Hajj Moses Kigongo, or else he must “pray to his ancestors.”
Context and Current Status
Kivumbi, the incumbent MP for Butambala County, was recently arrested and charged with treason before the Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court. The state alleges he committed acts “prejudicial to the security” of Uganda. He has since been remanded.
The allegations presented in this narrative remain unverified and present one perspective on the high-profile case. They highlight the intense behind-the-scenes tensions and historical grudges that often underscore political prosecutions in the country.
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