Gen Elly Tumwine to Advise President Museveni to Retire

Gen. Elly Tumwine’s full speech as he handed over Ministry of Security, “I think he knows that I am not after these positions that people clamour for and perhaps that’s why he would rather take care of his political interests of balancing here and there and I remain a freedom fighter and I admire him and thank him as my teacher , my mentor, my leader and my hero.

I will continue to give him my genuine support and advice and to me now, I think the best advice we can give him is to prepare for a smooth transition so that we ensure stability and long term peace for the long future.

You know it should be our duty to save him from being ‘ngamba nyenka’ . The Banyankole have proverb ‘ngamba nyenka anyunka amarwa mabi’; That the one who does not take advice brews some bad beer. But we should save the president that problem or we should save him from the disease diagnosed by political scientists and political psychologists that is called hubris syndrome.

It’s our duty to help him not to have that problem because it is the advice that we give him that will help him to do his work, with everybody else and better than he would otherwise done if he was alone.

He has given this country his best and he deserves an honorable retirement. He was talking of recruiting fisherman and following the path of Christ and I really from this one to say that if I really read my observation, to me the president has always been on the path of God or Christ. He has followed the path of Christ and he recruited the fishermen long ago . The Simon Peters, the other disciples are us. We are the disciples, we’re the ones who carry his message, we are ones who know him very well and in the process will welcome ones like Zachariah’s, the ones who had climbed the tree to be seen. They are welcome and then there is……..who were the Saul’s, they’re welcome. But they need to work very hard. Like Paul had nearly paid a price, had to sacrifice. So I will welcome them always and we really should continue on that path of following the path of God, of Christ and do our best.

As you know, Hon. Minister, we did not join this struggle for positions. Whether I am a minister or not, I have and will always work with and support those in positions to continue our vision and mission. We don’t ask a catastrophe from necessarily someone old but one who has gone through it.

I can say that while most of my senior colleagues in the struggle have been ministers for very many years, me in the 35 years in our regime, I have been minister for less than five years but throughout the rest of the time, I have supported, I have worked, I have guided, I have helped those who are in those official positions and I have served Parliament representing UPDF for all those years since 1986.

As a matter of fact, to date, as we speak I am the longest continuous serving Member of Parliament in the history of Uganda and in the British system they call him the father of the house; the one we follow but here they refused it for whatever reasons.

I have always worked, mobilized and supported the President and all those in positions in order to maintain the mission and vision of social-economic transformation and specifically security. Some colleagues we know have gotten disgruntled and even left or even opposed us.

I am on record for always maintaining my positive attitude, revolutionary discipline and methods of work. Minister or no minister I will remain me. They meet me and the only General Elly Tumwiine because I assure you that I am myself and I always ensure that I don’t try to copy others. I will always be myself, different from others. But I will try to do my best and let God do the rest for this country.

We have built our security forces and laid a firm foundation as I always sing………

Should the enemy come, we are ready. We are always ‘Tayali’ to deal with that enemy.

Let me assure you of my commitment to support you as I will be Senior Presidential Advisor of Security and as a fellow freedom fighter, which duty goes much beyond being a minister. You know some of you are dying to be ministers and you see people anchoring to be ministers.

I would like to emphasize again the need to maintain the team work among the National Security Council members.”