WHEN THE SIRENS FADE: Jacqueline Mbabazi’s brutal, humorous lesson on losing power in Uganda

KYANKWANZI — In the high-stakes theater of Ugandan politics, the view from the top is intoxicating, but the drop to the bottom is bone-shattering.

That is the sobering reality currently reverberating across the country after a raw, deeply moving, and surprisingly humorous video of Jacqueline Mbabazi went viral. Speaking directly to the nation’s most powerful individuals, the newly appointed Minister of State for Elderly Affairs delivered a masterclass on the transient nature of political privilege and the urgent need for humility in public office.

The five-and-a-half-minute clip, shared on X by former Leader of Opposition Winnie Kiiza, was captured during an emotional intelligence session at the 10-day Cabinet Induction Retreat at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi. Facing a room packed with newly sworn-in cabinet ministers, permanent secretaries, and military top brass, Mbabazi used her own family’s historical scars to deliver a lesson in political mortality.

‘I woke up, and the security was gone’

For decades, the Mbabazi family sat at the absolute pinnacle of Ugandan state power. As the wife of the “Super Minister” turned Prime Minister and NRM Secretary General, Amama Mbabazi, Jacqueline walked the corridors of ultimate influence, routinely flying out to shop in London and New York.

But when her husband famously fell out of favor with the ruling establishment ahead of his 2016 presidential bid against President Yoweri Museveni, the state machinery ground to a halt overnight.

“I wake up one morning, and all of a sudden, somebody is withdrawing the entire security,” Mbabazi recounted to the pin-drop silent room, gesturing emphatically. “The cars are gone. The children are running around asking what’s going on. You sleep in a home where you don’t even have a dog because you’ve never thought of owning one.”

With a sharp wit that kept the audience laughing despite the heavy truth, she described the brutal reality of the sudden fallout. The former Prime Minister was suddenly forced to become his own driver. The sweeping state motorcades vanished. Public reactions to the video quickly pointed out that to this day, Amama Mbabazi moves without the heavy Counter-Terrorism (CT) or Aide-de-Camp (ADC) escorts that once defined his daily life.

Instead of remaining bitter, Jacqueline leaned into the humiliation, recounting how she shifted from luxury international boutiques to local tailors in the small town of Kihihi, Kanungu District. There, she proudly commissioned bitenges (African print dresses) worth 70,000 shillings.

“But the beauty of it all is that I brought myself to that level. And I thank God for putting me at that level,” she said, her voice filled with quiet confidence.

Curing ‘Privilege Cancer’ and training the next generation

Mbabazi’s testimony cuts straight to the heart of what many social commentators call Uganda’s “privilege cancer”—the culture of impunity, lead cars with aggressive sirens, and arrogance exhibited by individuals holding temporary government portfolios.

The cameras at Kyankwanzi captured the visible discomfort and intense body language of several sitting leaders in the audience—as the weight of her words settled over the room.

One of her sharpest warnings focused on how temporary political privilege warps the minds of leaders’ children. She recalled attending a small family gathering during her time out of favor, where she met two young children aged three and five.

“I asked them, ‘Oh, whose children are you?'” Mbabazi told the congregation. “And they proudly said, ‘We are children of the minister.’ I asked, ‘Which minister?’ and they replied, ‘You don’t know the minister?’ That statement by those kids disturbed me a lot.”

She urged her cabinet colleagues to use emotional intelligence to insulate their families from the illusion of permanent power. “Let’s also train our children. Not to think that they are up there,” she warned, noting that until her recent reappointment, her primary security layout consisted simply of “two very good dogs.”

The Watchdog Perspective: A return to service, not power

Jacqueline Mbabazi’s political journey has come full circle. After a decade in the political wilderness, she successfully secured the NRM flag, went unopposed as the Member of Parliament for Older Persons (Western Region), and was officially sworn into Museveni’s cabinet at State House Entebbe.

But as she assumes her desk at the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development, she insists her perspective has been entirely transformed by her period of marginalization.

“To assure you, I’m not back because I miss the past,” Mbabazi concluded. “I’m back because of the conviction to help some vulnerable older persons of this country.”

Winnie Kiiza’s caption on X served as the ultimate postscript to the event: “Leaders, listen carefully.”

For the current crop of Ugandan leaders enjoying the perks of office, the message out of Kyankwanzi is clear and urgent: temporary state amenities are merely rented. Treat ordinary citizens with empathy, guard your integrity, and live humbly today—because when the music stops, the silence is deafening.

The post WHEN THE SIRENS FADE: Jacqueline Mbabazi’s brutal, humorous lesson on losing power in Uganda appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.