Humanist

The top echelon of President Museveni’s ‘slightly amended’ Cabinet 2024 has remained the same:

• His Excellency the President – General Yoweri Kagutta T. Museveni (Banyankole)
• Her Excellency the Vice President – Hon. Jessica Rose Epel Alupo (MAJ.RTD) (Iteso)
• Right Honourable Prime Minister – Hon. Robinah Nabbanja (Banyoro)
• First Deputy Prime Minister – Hon. Rebecca Kadaga (Basoga)
• Second Deputy Prime Minister – Hon. General Moses Ali (Madi)
• Third Deputy Prime Minister- Hon. Lukia Nakadama (Basoga)

Through an ethnic lens, it is interesting that none of the six in the top echelon of President Museveni’s current Cabinet are Baganda; the largest first nation of Uganda, that forms 16.9 percent of Uganda’s population.

Buganda is currently believed the stronghold of the National Unity Platform (NUP). And indeed, 75 percent (3/4) of the top echelon of the NUP Shadow Cabinet 2024 in the 11^th Parliament are Baganda:

• Leader of Opposition – Ssenyonyi Joel (Buganda)
• Chief Opposition Whip – Nambeshe John Baptist (Bugishu)
• Deputy Chief Whip – Zaake Francis Butebi (Buganda)
• Commissioner of Parliament – Mpuuga Nsamba Mathias (Buganda)

The big five first nations of Uganda, according to the 2014 population census, that form 48.1 percent of Uganda’s population are (in order of population size):

• Baganda (16.9 percent)
• Banyankole (9.5 percent)
• Basoga (8.4 percent)
• Bakiga (6.9 percent)
•  Iteso (6.4 percent)

It would appear that President Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) are strategically strengthening their stronghold among three of the big five (Banyankole, Basoga and Iteso), which jointly form 24.3 percent of Uganda’s population.

And, arguably, the NRM has chosen to deploy the divide and rule tactic in Buganda, if rumours in the media hold true. That the top echelon of the current NUP Shadow Cabinet is at war among themselves, certainly lends credit to that particular conspiracy theory.