President Yoweri Museveni has warned the candidates standing for the Speaker of 10th Parliament against misusing his name in the currently heated campaign for the legislature top job.
Reports from the Central Executive Committee meeting of the NRM at State House Entebbe on Sunday indicate that Museveni was furious on the way his name is being dragged into the race.
Museveni who is also the Chairman of the ruling party stressed to the NRM’s top decision making organ that if he was to support any one of the contenders, the whole future of the party would be at stake.
According to sources who attended the ever closed door meeting, Museveni made his point using the example of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party.
He reportedly told the CEC members that KANU collapsed when the former Kenyan President, Daniel Arap Moi started supporting some party senior officials against the others.
“I cannot repeat the mistakes made by Moi that resulted to the collapse of KANU. Supporting any party cadre or leader against the same party member is absolutely out,” Museveni said in the meeting according to a source who asked not to be named.
“I am not supporting anyone to be Speaker and my name should not be used by anybody,” Museveni sternly warned.
Only the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga who is fighting to retain her seat attended the meeting and it remains unclear if the president was hitting at her or the Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah’s supporters who are also CEC members.
Kadaga has on several occasions stated that President Museveni is strongly behind her to maintain the Parliament’s top job.