WE’LL EAT OTAFIIRE LIKE GRASSHOPPERS: Andrew Mwenda Reveals Plan to Punish ‘Bad Apple’ Kahinda

Journalist Andrew Mwenda has alluded to a looming power struggle within Uganda’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), with the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) seeking greater influence over the party’s leadership, government appointments and political structures.

The unfolding tensions have exposed disagreements over the future direction of the ruling party, the influence of powerful political figures and the question of who will shape Uganda’s politics in the years ahead.

At the centre of the dispute is Water and Environment Minister Kahinda Otafiire, a veteran of Uganda’s liberation struggle whose long political career has been closely associated with President Yoweri Museveni.

The latest confrontation has also raised questions about the relationship between the NRM establishment and the PLU, which is chaired by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces and Museveni’s son.

The PLU has increasingly positioned itself as a political force seeking greater influence within the ruling party. Its supporters have rallied behind Muhoozi, while some senior NRM figures have expressed reservations about the organisation’s ambitions and the prospect of a political transition centred on the president’s son.

Otafiire has emerged as one of the most outspoken figures in this debate. In February 2026, he publicly expressed reservations about Muhoozi succeeding his father as president, saying that although he respected Muhoozi as Museveni’s son, he did not support the prospect of him becoming Uganda’s next president.

The disagreement subsequently developed into a public feud.

On September 30, 2026, Otafiire addressed Parliament on political tolerance and the use of violence in resolving disagreements.

“When you see a general who prefers violence as the best means of solving problems, then there is a problem,” Otafiire told MPs, without naming Muhoozi. He also argued that the opposition should serve as a mirror through which the ruling NRM examines itself.

At the start of the month, Muhoozi responded on social media, demanding an apology within one week over statements he interpreted as being directed at him. He warned that Otafiire would face unspecified consequences if he did not comply.

Otafiire subsequently distanced himself from the PLU and declared that he would rather die fighting than live begging, deepening the public confrontation between the minister and Muhoozi’s political camp.

The tensions have since drawn in other PLU figures. On October 6, David Kabanda, head of the PLU chairman’s office, called for Otafiire’s removal from government and threatened to ask Muhoozi to reconsider the organisation’s alliance with the NRM if its concerns were not addressed. Kabanda said he was expressing his personal opinion.

The dispute has also unfolded against the backdrop of disagreements over political influence and government appointments. In May 2026, the PLU expressed dissatisfaction with some ministerial positions allocated to its members and allies in Museveni’s new Cabinet.

The developments have highlighted the growing friction between Otafiire and a political organisation whose leader occupies one of the country’s most powerful military positions and is at the centre of an increasingly prominent succession debate.

It is against this background that Mwenda has now issued a stark warning about the veteran minister’s political future.

“We [PLU] should use our strength within the NRM to kick certain bad apples who are against us out of the party so that we can take over the NRM. One of our targets would then be Otafiire.

“We are tougher cookies. That is what I want people to know. PLU is the most powerful political organisation in Uganda.

“So, Otafiire is chicken feed for us. We will just eat him like grasshoppers. We can actually have him removed from Cabinet.

“We can even go to his constituency and defeat him there in Ruhinda if we decide to. Otafiire has one great constituency, which is President Museveni.

“His entire network can be disbanded today or tomorrow. Do you remember Amama Mbabazi?” Mwenda said during a recent media interview.

The remarks outline a possible strategy extending beyond the personal confrontation between Muhoozi and Otafiire: using the PLU’s influence within the NRM to isolate political opponents, challenge their positions in government and weaken their electoral support.

Whether the organisation will pursue such action against Otafiire remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, Otafiire’s son has warned against arresting his father, even as some PLU officials keep pushing for Otafiire’s removal from cabinet, as detailed Here and There.