Political analyst Henry Chemba has questioned the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU)’s decision to mobilise its members for a protest at the Turkish Embassy, arguing that the planned action could give renewed attention to a critic who had allegedly lost public influence.
Chemba criticised the move in a statement responding to PLU’s plans to demonstrate over Turkey’s handling of Ugandan blogger Fred Lumbuye, who has continued to criticise the Ugandan government while based in Turkey.
According to Chemba, PLU should reconsider the amount of political and organisational attention it is directing towards Lumbuye, whom he accused of operating from a secluded location while using social media to attack government figures.
“PLU has a big problem, why give this useless guy relevance?” Chemba said, questioning why an organisation with a broad political structure would mobilise its membership to confront an individual online critic.
He also questioned the decision to direct PLU members towards the Turkish Embassy, describing the planned demonstration as a “fantasy crusade” and arguing that the mobilisation could unnecessarily elevate Lumbuye’s profile.
“Then you waste a whole day mobilising the whole of your membership to go stage a fantasy crusade at the Turkish Embassy?” Chemba said.
His remarks come amid a growing dispute between PLU chairman Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and Turkish authorities over Lumbuye, with the Ugandan military chief previously accusing Turkey of providing protection to the blogger.
The dispute has also taken an economic dimension following Kainerugaba’s announcement that Uganda had cancelled a major Standard Gauge Railway contract involving Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi. He subsequently directed PLU supporters to protest outside the Turkish Embassy.
Chemba further claimed that Lumbuye had already been sidelined after sections of the public allegedly lost confidence in information he was providing.
“Actually the guy had been systematically isolated long ago after people realised he was giving false information,” he said, adding that the current confrontation could amount to an attempt to “resurrect” Lumbuye politically.
The analyst’s comments reflect growing debate over whether PLU’s campaign against Turkey is an effective political strategy or could inadvertently increase attention on Lumbuye.
PLU has maintained its position over the dispute, while Turkish authorities have not publicly indicated that they intend to comply with demands for action against the blogger.
The planned demonstration is therefore likely to keep the diplomatic dispute in the public spotlight as PLU continues to expand its political activities.