Kampala, Uganda: Former State Minister for Economic Monitoring and ex-presidential aide Molly Kamukama has come under intense scrutiny after leaked audios exposed her making controversial claims about President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s approach to cabinet appointments.
In the leaked recordings from a private meeting, Kamukama is heard saying that Kiruhura District, Museveni’s own home area, has “never had a minister” – a statement that has been widely dismissed as false and misleading.
She further alleged that Museveni’s ministerial appointments are not based on merit, but rather on personal interests, family ties, and regional calculations designed to benefit the President politically.
According to the audio recordings (which we couldn’t post to this story due to sensitivity), Kamukama asserts that the President “does not benefit politically by supporting leaders from Kiruhura compared to places like Kiryandongo and Lira,” implying that such appointments are a transactional tool for securing electoral advantage.
The sharp remarks from the former Presidential Aide have drawn huge criticism for contradicting herself. While she claimed that Kiruhura has never produced a minister, Kamukama goes on to cite Minister Alice Kaboyo, the current Minister of State for Luwero Triangle, who hails from Kiruhura, acknowledging her ministerial appointment but dismissing it as “not based on merit.”
She also argued that the appointment of Mary Mugyenyi as minister years ago was not for competence but as “a consolidation for the loss of her husband, the late Joshua Baitwa Mugyenyi.”
In the same leaked audio, Kamukama allegedly told youth in attendance that they would “have to buy votes,” a statement that has further inflamed public anger and raised questions about the credibility of her political agenda and state of electoral affairs in the country.
Observers have described her comments as both reckless and misleading, warning that they risk deepening divisions within the President’s home grounds in Kiruhura and tarnishing her own political standing.
“If Mrs. Kamukama is claiming to speak for the President on how he selects ministers, the question is: does the President confide in her? Or is she projecting her own frustrations?” a political analyst posed.
Her critics have also pointed out the factual inaccuracies in her claims, particularly the dismissal of Kaboyo’s appointment and the assertion that Kiruhura has never produced a minister.
“To tell people from Kiruhura such lies is an insult to their history and contribution to national leadership,” one elder from the district told this website.
