Matembe Launches Scathing Attack on Museveni, Son Muhoozi: “Uganda is Not Your Personal Property”
Veteran politician and former Minister Miria Matembe has unleashed a blistering critique on President Yoweri Museveni, his son Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, and his family, accusing them of treating Uganda as personal property and leaving behind a legacy of fear and nepotism .
In a series of recent public remarks that have circulated widely, the former Ethics and Integrity Minister, once a close ally of Museveni, did not hold back her disdain for the current state of affairs, particularly focusing on the prominent role of the First Son .
“I want to tell you, President Museveni and your family, Uganda is not yours. Uganda is not your personal property. Uganda belongs to Ugandans. Uganda is ours,” Matembe declared in an interview . “Taking Uganda as your own personal property and taking everybody who believes in NRM as the only Ugandan is utter and total nonsense.”
“Why Should He Think He’s a God?”
Matembe’s sharpest barbs were reserved for Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces, whom she accused of acting with impunity. Her criticism appeared to stem from recent incidents where the First Son has made public pronouncements.
“Why should he think he’s a god in this country?” Matembe questioned, specifically reacting to Gen. Muhoozi’s comments about Kampala Mayor Erias Lukwago and his alleged interference with the Electoral Commission . “What right does the Chief of Defence Forces have to enter the office of the Electoral Commission and give orders?” she asked, stating that such actions demonstrate a lack of “wisdom” .
Matembe lamented the atmosphere of fear this has created. “He eats, speaks whatever he speaks… no one arrests him, no one imprisons him, the whole country is terrified,” she said. “Is that the legacy you want to leave behind?” she posed directly to the President .
The Legacy of 2003
The former minister invoked a pivotal moment in Uganda’s political history—the 2003 Kyankwanzi retreat where the ruling party moved to remove presidential term limits . She recalled a warning she and fellow leader Mugisha Muntu gave Museveni at the time.
“I remember, in the year 2003, when I and Mugisha Muntu told President Museveni that the issue of removing term limits should be dropped. Muntu told you, ‘Father, remember your legacy.’ You replied, ‘Leave my legacy alone, I am handling it myself now,'” Matembe recounted .
Matembe, who was sacked from the cabinet for opposing the removal of term limits, asked what that legacy now looks like . “Is it handing us over to your son! Who lacks wisdom,” she asked. “A person without wisdom cannot do such things.”
A “Family Affair” and The Cost to Ugandans
Matembe did not stop at criticizing Muhoozi; she launched a broadside at the President’s inner circle, accusing him of surrounding himself with relatives and running the country like a “family business” at the expense of taxpayers .
“All these ministers you see, these Banyankole women… all of them! His wife, his sister-in-law is his wife, your daughter is his wife, the daughter of Salim Saleh, the daughter of Kutesa… five women are right there in Museveni’s household,” she claimed. “That is where our taxes go” .
Matembe, who has remained an outspoken critic despite her long political history, contrasted her own material situation with the wealth of the ruling family. “We are here, you see me here, what do I have? But I have Jesus, and He is enough,” she stated .
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