Nairobi — There is no knowing when President Yoweri Museveni would ever keep his word.

Ugandan politics is dotted with his broken promises, not strange in politics though. But somehow, he remains consistent on one thing - intimidating voters so that he can stick to power.

Museveni is no alien to use of fear to achieve his ends. He knows only too well that in politics, it is better to be feared rather than respected.

And true to his thinking, a respected man will soon or later be despised, but a feared man can choose to remain so for as long as he has the means to enforce the fear.

Only four days after he had promised to hand over power to whoever wins in the February 23 presidential elections Museveni seems to be retreating. He now says he will only retire if the people and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party plan it properly.

On January 8, the President, who was addressing a political rally in Kasese District, a southwestern town from Kampala said, "You don't just tell a freedom fighter to go like you are chasing a chicken thief from the house."

Four days earlier, Museveni had promised not to just hand over power but even to work with whoever wins in the first multi-party elections since 1986.

I will give out the keys officially when elections are well conducted and I lose.

I will even support the winner," Museveni said while appearing on Mbarara-based Radio West.

At the time, not many Ugandans who have been keeping close tabs on his political manipulations and the politicisation of the military bought his newfound magnanimity.

Just five years ago, Museveni stunned the nation when he went on national television and told the public that regardless of the outcome of the election, he would not hand over power to people without proven competence to manage the affairs of a nation.

It was then that Museveni ever faced any political threat in Dr Kizza Besigye, who was making his maiden appearance with the vigour and verve of a fresh colonel discharged from the army.

Luckily for him and for the sake of posterity, Ugandans did not wait to witness their country back-peddle into the sad chapters of history again.

Some were cowed from polling stations aware that their votes would amount to naught anyway.

Museveni went ahead and floored his former physician in the bush who had also served as political commissar in Museveni's government.

With the first real danger to his hegemony, Museveni threw caution to the wind, threatened to relegate the Constitution to the trashcan and vowed to rule Uganda by whims.

He said it would be sentencing Ugandans to the abyss by handing over power to the people who had been fought and won.

"It is dangerous despite the fact that the constitution allows them to run against me.

At times the Constitution may not be the best tool to direct us politically. It allows wrong and doubtful people to contest for power," Museveni is quoted to have told journalists.

It was in 2001 that he hosted Libyan strongman Muamar Gaddaffi. During a press conference, Gaddaffi said as a revolutionary, Museveni would be making a mistake by leaving power.

There is no knowing whether Museveni bought into this wisdom or Gaddaffi's unsolicited pieces of advice simply found him up the hill towards setting up a monarchy.

Perhaps only history informs us about the true person of Museveni as a politician.

In 1996, President Museveni subjected himself to the ballot for the first time since he took over power in 1986.

Against Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere of DP as the main challenger, Museveni was still uncomfortable having to stand the test of public votes.

It was Uganda Television Network (UTV), a national TV station that pushed people to the wall emotionally.

A few days to the elections, UTV started showing skeletons of people who had died in the war in Luweero, the heart of the battle that saw Museveni storm the capital Kampala.

If anybody was in doubt of why a national TV station would tap into people's raw nerves insensitively, Museveni made it clear.

A few days to the elections, he appeared on the same TV station and castigated the whole electoral exercise.

Museveni said he had been ruling without necessarily having gone through the vote.

"Therefore if anybody wants to wrestle power from me, he must tell us where he was when we were in the bush.

This country was not earned by a mere signature on paper we grabbed it from looters and murderers.

They too must be ready to endure the heat," said.

So Museveni's recent outburst comes as no surprise to those who have been watching him.