Businessman and political mobiliser Frank Gashumba has broken his silence after his removal from the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Central Committee, claiming a three-year-old video in which he commented on the M23 rebellion was used to undermine him.

Gashumba was among several key figures dropped from the PLU’s top leadership in a major reshuffle announced this week by PLU founder Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. He has been replaced on the Central Committee by Attorney General and Senior Counsel Kiryowa Kiwanuka.

Speaking out after the restructuring, Gashumba defended his contributions to the movement and suggested a deliberate campaign was mounted against him.

“No foot soldier in PLU is unaware of the impact of Frank Gashumba,” he said.
“If the person who appointed me no longer sees any value that I can add to PLU, that is his choice. But what people need to know is that there is a brand called Frank Gashumba.”

Gashumba pointed to a resurfaced video clip recorded about three years ago, in which he warned that discrimination against Banyarwanda in Uganda — particularly difficulties in obtaining national identity cards and travel documents — could create conditions similar to those that led to the M23 rebellion in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

He insisted the remarks were taken out of context and were meant to highlight grievances, not to express support for the M23 rebels.

“The clip circulating on social media about the M23 is a very old video clip. It dates three years ago. Our Banyarwanda were being discriminated against as they sought national identity cards and travel documents,” Gashumba explained.

“People used it against me to undermine me in PLU.”

Gen. Muhoozi has described the reorganisation as necessary to bring in fresh leadership capable of tackling new challenges as PLU continues to grow as a key political mobilisation platform.

While no longer part of the Central Committee, Gashumba’s strong remarks suggest that tensions surrounding the leadership changes are far from settled.