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Social media declares Museveni car vandalisation a bluff
A photo montage of President Museveni and the car that was reportedly vandalised. Social media users have called the vandalisation reports a bluff. COURTESY PHOTO
What you need to know:
- Mr Wanyama posted a picture of the car with the caption, “The President's car that was attacked by opposition supporters, smashing the hind window, this evening in Arua town. The police will issue a detailed statement on this incident.”
- Mr Kayima later said that a group of Arua Municipality Member of Parliament (MP) candidate Kassiano Wadri’s supporters pelted stones at the car shattering its hind window.
- However many social media users have trashed these allegations questioning how a car assumed to be bullet-proof could get smashed by mere stones
Social media users have called reports from Police spokesperson Emilian Kayima and senior presidential press secretary Don Wanyama about the alleged vandalising of President Museveni’s lead convoy car a lie, packaged to portray members of the opposition in a negative light.
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Mr Wanyama posted a picture of the car with the caption, “The President's car that was attacked by opposition supporters, smashing the hind window, this evening in Arua town. The police will issue a detailed statement on this incident.”
Mr Kayima later said that a group of Arua Municipality Member of Parliament (MP) candidate Kassiano Wadri’s supporters pelted stones at the car shattering its hind window.
However many social media users have trashed these allegations questioning how a car assumed to be bullet-proof could get smashed by mere stones.
Mr Wanyama’s posts on both Twitter and Facebook have been widely shared with many questioning his comments since last night.
“Maybe it is made by Chinese. People have been told lies for so long. How can a mere stone break the windscreen of a bullet proof vehicle?” Deus Turyamureeba, a Facebook user, questioned while a one Sheryl Incorporated thought the car ‘story’ should be made the joke of the year.
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Solome Nakaweesi-Kayondo advised that Mr Wanyama should have just kept quiet in this case.
“Silence is sometimes golden (especially in such a situation where emotions are high). Now your pictures have opened more questions. Eeeeeh all along we thought this car was bullet proof??? So how come a bullet proof armoured presidential car be smashed by stones?? Something doesn’t add up. And so, are now justifying someone being deprived of the right to life with these pictures?”
Brian Atuheire brought the allegations into Biblical context on Twitter, “The stone that stoned Museveni's car was the one that was hit at Goliath!”
Duke Mugerwa Ahmed said, “All along I thought it was hard to get to Mr Museveni's skull but to my surprise it's this easy, the car is neither bullet nor stone proof.”
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However, Wanyama said that the netizens had no clue about armoured cars. Therefore they could not tell that car has an outer glass which covers the bullet proof glass. He said that in this case, it is the outer glass that was shot at.
“It's actually bullet proof. If you look critically, you'll notice the bullet proof glass is intact,” he said in his defense.
He followed the comment with a picture of one of President Museveni’s armoured cars for all to understand what he was talking about.
But, people did not agree with him, stating that the car he posted was of a different make from the one that was shot at.
“I will pick the easiest flaw in the two pictures. The glass lengths and widths in the two cars are different,” Dicta Asiimwe wrote.
She was backed by John K. Wasikye who said, “You've surely made our country a laughing stock, am sure this has frightened away thousands of tourists and millions of dollars in investments.”
Samuel Ouga Ekemu called out Mr Wanyama for bringing up non-issues when there was a bigger problem at hand.
“My brother, the police just shot dead an unarmed peaceful Ugandan civilian driving... and you really expect people to have sympathy for this too expensive President’s toy???” Ekemu wrote.
Ojok Reagan Ronald wondered how Kassiano Wadri’s supporters got past President Museveni’s huge security detail to get to his car, “If anyone has ever seen Museveni’s convoy, those land cruisers are always in the middle of several escort cars (including his toilet) with armed men. Before you even aim a stone at any of them, you will be long gunned down. Wanyama Don Innocent only reminds me of Sadam Hussein information Minister! Time shall come one day for individual accountability.”
Andrew Masaba mused, “And for some reason no media house managed to take a picture of the presidents damaged car let alone the fact that it is a bullet proof car that got shattered by a stone. And the debate is slowing moving from the driver to the alleged stoning of Museveni's bulletproof car. Museveni has good spin doctors!”
By the time of publishing this story, there were 133 comments on Wanyama’s Facebook post and 410 replies to his tweet.
