Babu Owino to Museveni: I respect you as my grandfather

By Peter Ochieng

Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino has expressed his unconditional respect for Uganda President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

The vocal politician in a video doing rounds on social media, said he has no bad blood with Museveni, a day after Uganda's Head of State accused him of working in cohorts with anti-National Resistance Movement (NRM) sympathisers to cause chaos in his country.

Instead of responding to Museveni with a ‘hard tackle’ as he is widely known for, Owino chose to refer to Museveni as his grandfather especially now that he expects him to vote for ODM leader Raila Odinga, as the next chairman of the African Union Commission (AUC).

“The current President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni came yesterday and I really want him to vote for Baba (Raila). I respect him as my grandfather, I genuinely respect him,” said Babu.

Museveni became Uganda’s President 38 years ago. “Actually, the number of years he has been in power is more than my years,” stated the second term legislature.

He said he respects and recognizes Museveni as a revolutionary, but quickly reminded him that there is time for everything. “But there are those revolutionaries who ended up very badly. Look at Mobutu Sese Seko, who came in as a revolutionary but got drunk with power. Look at Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe.”

Museveni, speaking on Tuesday at State House, Nairobi, during the official unveiling of Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission's (AUC) chairperson seat, said intelligence reports had severally linked Babu Owino to causing chaos in Uganda.

“There are some individuals in Raila's group who think I don’t know what they are doing. I am a consumer of intelligence services. I always see intelligence service reports. There's a character called Babu. I always see Babu dealing with anti-NRM groups in Uganda,” the Ugandan president said.

DAP Party leader Eugine Wamalwa said he was shocked to see Museveni attack ‘his grandson.’

“We were very shocked yesterday when we heard one of the heads of state attack someone who is supposed to be his grandson.”

The Embakasi East MP and Uganda opposition leader, Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine are buddies, which seemingly irkers Museveni.