President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is under intense heat to drop 10 ministers from the recently appointed and already approved Cabinet.
ChimpReports on Friday morning broke the story of the withdrawal of State Minister for Fisheries designate Ruth Acheng that was done at the last hour when she was supposed to appear before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting and possible approval.
The Government Chief Whip, Ruth Nankabirwa surprised the committee when she tabled a letter from the president withdrawing the appointment of Acheng.
ChimpReports has exclusively learned that 10 ministers are going to face the same fate if Museveni heeds the demands of people from specific regions – just like he agreed with NRM leaders from Lango to withdraw Acheng’s nomination.
Leaders from Lango led by the NRM Vice Chairman Sam Engola camped at State House for two days (Wednesday to Thursday), expressing their displeasure with the appointment of two opposition Uganda People’s Congress members to Cabinet while NRM got only one.
According to a source at State House Entebbe, NRM leaders from different regions have also been visiting the place to meet the president and ask him to drop some other ministers.
“Mzee is under overwhelming pressure to do away with about 10 more ministers. Those from Lango succeeded and we’re only waiting to see what happens for the rest,” a source at State House says.
The NRM leaders from greater Tororo want the State Minister for Primary Health Care, Sarah Opendi Acheng dropped from the position she has held since 2011.
The Jophadola NRM leaders are not happy with Opendi for defying the party rules when she lost in the primary elections.
Otafiire
Opendi lost to Ms Jacinta Ayo in the NRM primaries for woman Member of Parliament Tororo district but went ahead to sand on an independent ticket and indeed emerged victorious.
People from greater Bushenyi also stormed State House this week demanding for the scrapping of the name of NRA historical Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire from the Cabinet list.
They accused the Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister for disrespecting party rules when he stood on independent ticket for MP Ruhinda County in Mitooma district.
Otafiire was terribly defeated in the NRM primaries by Capt Donozio Kahonda who again floored the fire-spitting general in the general polls.
Meanwhile, NRM leaders from Kisoro want the Minister of State for Regional Cooperation, Philemon Mateke also dropped.
The Kisoro NRM leaders, who are already angered with the dropping of ministers like Tress Buchanayandi for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, want the aged Mateke replaced with the young blood from the area.
A group of NRM leaders from Teso were also at State House this week asking for the removal state minister for Disaster, Musa Ecweru.
Ecweru, who is also the MP for Amuria County on NRM ticket is said to have fought fellow party candidates from the region in the last parliamentary elections.
He reportedly fronted a candidate against the Amuria district woman MP Susan Amero.
Amero, who retained her seat, was almost provoked to standing against Ecweru, according to sources from the area.
NRM leaders from West Nile also traveled to State House on Wednesday with the similar prayers for the withdrawal of State Minister for Finance Gabriel Gadison Ajedra.
Ajedra is accused of fighting other NRM leaders in the region to become the only bull in the kraal.