Museveni seeking re-election to serve his last term of office

For the current term of office, President Museveni was sworn in on May 12, 2011; after winning an election the political opposition described as a sham. But that is not the story: after all, that was the third successful re-election accompanied with the same disaffection from the Opposition.
The story is that on May 12, 2016, President Museveni will have been in power for thirty years. And boy, 30 winks is an eon of time.
Yet he could still be sworn for another term in May 2016. And by the time his next term ends in May 2021, President Museveni would have been in power for 35 years.
I strongly believe that Museveni’s next term of office (if he wins elections) will be his last. And he is likely to look at it (term of office) as an opportunity to manage the succession question.
I also strongly believe that if the country was assured that this would be President Museveni’s last term, Ugandans are likely to vote for Museveni. For a country that has one billion years ahead of it, I have a strong feeling that Ugandans would put up with another five years of waiting.
Trouble though is that President Museveni would be shy to say that this is his ‘last term’ during the campaigns; precisely because the last time he said he was seeking re-election for his last term of office, he didn’t keep his word.
So, Team Museveni needs someone to say this will (could) be their candidate’s last term. However, such a person would have to be respectful, respected and close enough to Museveni to be believed (or to sway voters).
The only persons in Museveni’s inner circle for such an assignment are Mama Janet and Salim Saleh. For those who can read a letter from an envelop, Ms Janet Museveni has already made pointers that this could be the big man’s last term.
First, she is not seeking re-election for her Ruhaama County parliamentary seat. And my information is that she is the one who shot down the constitutional amendment proposal that sought to remove the 75-year age limit for presidential candidates.
The year 2021 offers the most realistic prospect for President Museveni’s exit from power. And this feeds into the constitutional age-limit provision that would disqualify him from being a candidate in the 2021 presidential polls.
But a friend whose brains I picked for this article laughed at me and cynically said: ‘Whether President Museveni will seek re-election in 2021 will NOT depend on what is in the Constitution now; it will depend on his attitude and pressure from political (and military) opponents.
Without discounting my friend’s pessimistic attitude, I would like to stake my money on this: this is President Museveni’s last term of office. And for that, if this idea is well articulated and promoted, many people will be tempted to vote for him.
However, that engenders some questions: Can the NRM win an election without Museveni at the helm? What role would Museveni play in party politics?
The NRM would need to address the kind of transition Ugandans want: should it be passing of the relay baton to the nearest in the famous queue of the ‘Luweero Boys’ or a generational shift?
The Luweero Group will just have to accept the fact that President Museveni outfoxed them. By 2021, anyone (even Museveni) whose career in the army or politics started in the jungles of Luweero will look out of place.
That’s why you should keep an eye on Frank Tumwebaze, Richard Todwong and Brig Muhoozi Keinerugaba, Evelyn Anite, Morrison Rwakakamba, Hussein Kashillingi, Andrew Mwenda, Simon Kaheru, etc. These are likely to lead the fledgling right wing of the NRM.