By Our Reporter,
Risdel Kasasira, a journalist who scooped into a story exposing the first son’s political attempt, Muhoozi Project has passed away.
Kasasira died today (January 3) afternoon in a nasty road accident at Kalagala, Malyansimbi village, along Lyantonde – Kashagama road, Lyantonde district.
He was returning to Kampala together with his family from a long Christmas holidays when the car in which they were traveling veered off the road and plunged into a roadside water trench.
The Traffic Police spokesperson, Mr Michael Kananura, is quoted as saying that Kasasira died on the spot while his wife and a child who were in the same car sustained serious injuries and we’re rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Kasasira, a prominent security reporter worked with the Daily Monitor before crossing to AP News Agency. Among the stories which earned him a reputation is covering the war against Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia and UPDF incursions into DR Congo.
He together with another reporter, Richard Wanambwa published contents of the popular Gen. David Sejjusa aka Tinyefuza’s letter which revealed alleged attempts to remove top officials in the government under the Muhoozi Project – plot by the first son Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
The duo was dragged into troubles and Daily Monitor was closed for a fortnight because of the story which according to security contained classified information.
About Muhoozi Project
On May 7, 2013, the Daily Monitor published an article detailing an alleged conspiracy to frame or eliminate high-ranking members of the government who do not support a plan for Museveni’s son Brig. Muhoozi Kainerugaba to take over when his father steps down. The article was based on a leaked April 29 letter written by then Uganda’s coordinator of intelligence service, Gen. David Sejjusa (also known as Tinyefuza), to the director of the Internal Security Organization calling for investigations into the plot.
The Human Rights Watch on May 20, reported that the police media crimes unit questioned the article’s authors, Risdel Kasasira and Richard Wanambwa, as well as the Monitor’s Managing Editor, Don Wanyama (currently CEO at rival State Owned Media company, Vision Group).
“When the journalists refused to reveal the source of the letter, police sought and received a court order on May 15 ordering the Monitor to produce the original copy of the Sejjusa letter and disclose its source,” HRW reported.
Security operatives cladding in plain clothes (50 in numbers) raided Daily Monitor head offices in Namuwongo, ordered the staff to stop working and disabled the printing press, computer servers and radio transmission equipment. Two Radio stations owned by Nation Media Group (NMG), Kfm, Dembe FM were also closed down and the Daily Monitor website was put down.
Godfrey Mutabazi, then chairman of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the government broadcasting regulatory body, said that he had no case against the two radio stations but that they were operating from the scene of a crime and therefore needed to stay off the air.
Security accused the media house of failing to handover the document (original copy of Sejjusa’s letter) and refusal to disclose their source of information.
The shutdown of Daily Monitor and the two Radio stations sparked backlash from both indigenous and foreign media and human rights defenders against the undemocratic actions of Ugandan security agencies.
“Police should resolve legal disputes before the courts without resorting to abusive tactics to scare journalists away from politically sensitive stories,” said Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Muzzling the media is a bad way to address Uganda’s political debates.”
The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party remarked that Muhoozi Project is a threat to democracy and called on the government to address the issue raised by Gen. Sejjusa who had fled into exile rather than persecuting him.
Muhoozi and the updf however denied the letter as allegations and falsehoods.
“The power to choose how Uganda is governed lies with Ugandans and not a single individual,” the statement quoted Brig Kainerugaba as saying.
Although Muhoozi denied monarch plots, his quick rise through the ranks dubbed the “Muhoozi Project” from late 1990’s including appointment as head of the special forces unit in 2008 and was given control of the elite presidential guard in 2010, commander of land forces, and “genetically modified promotions” to different army ranks, now at the rank of General and the Commander of Defense Forces (CDF) show existence of a scheme to propel him to the presidency likely to turn Uganda into a monarchical state.
Besides, like Kasasira, many media outlets, individual journalists and opposition politicians remain muzzled over Muhoozi project and are nervous about it as this has previously created immense threats to some critiques.
RIP Risdel Kasasira
