Museveni’s State Visit to Rwanda Reignited the Debate about the Assasination of Habyarimana
31 Jul 2011 9 Comments
in Africa, Bahima and Banyarwanda, international, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Political murders
Juvenal Habyarimana
Friends,
Museveni’s four-day state visit to Rwanda again reawakened debates about Rwanda and genocide especially the assasination of former Rwanda president, Habyarimana. The truth is that nobody knows who exactly assassinated Habyarimana. There are a lot of theories around this.
The French
The first one was the one reported by Belgian journalist, Colette Braeckman , who wrote that Habyarimana was shot down by two French soldiers. The French military structure was still in place before they left Rwanda in 1993.
Belgians
Then there was another theory by the former Rwandese ambassador in Kinshasa, Etienne Sengegera, that Habyarimana’s plane was shot by the Belgian soldiers. He accused the Belgians of corroborating with the RPF to bring down Habyarimana’s government. He made an observation that airport perimeter, including Masaka Hill from where the missiles were fired, was patrolled by the Belgian UNAMIR soldiers. But he forgot to mention that the same area was also patrolled by the Habyarimana’s Presidential Guards.
These two theories look so far away from the truth because there was no European country that wanted Habyarimana dead at that time. This leads us to two more theories.
RPF or Tutsis
There is a strong belief among sections of the Hutus that Habyarimana was killed by the Tutsis fighting from Uganda but Hutus were not the one that initiated this theory. It was unfortunately started by a group of fellow Ugandans based in USA called the Uganda Democratic Coalition. This group was mostly made up of northerners (mainly Oboteists) and they hated president Museveni. They are the one that started this rumour. This group accused the Americans of supporting both Museveni and Kagame in their endeavours to dominate Sub Sahara Africa.
Unfortunately, this rumour was picked up by some Hutu high-profile personalities, specifically the late president’s wife, Mme Habyarimana, and her advisor, Captain Paul Barril. Barril used to portray himself like our General Tinyenfunza, as in like above the law, because of his close contacts with the first family. Barill appeared on 28 June 1994 on the French TV and made wild accusations that RPF had killed Habyarimana from their Masaka Hills. But the fact is that the Masaka Hills where the missiles were fired, was not then in RPF hands. The RPF battalion was housed in the parliament building, which was several kilometres away.
Kagame and Museveni pics - the herdsmen or Kiboko squad?
HUTUS
Like I have always said, when one looks at all the evidence before us, the likely group of people that might have killed Habyarimana are his fellow tribesmen. In Habyarimana, they saw a man who had become more of a liability than an asset to their cause. The AKAZU are the group that might have eliminated their own man. They most likely feared that the president was going to give in to the provisions of the Arusha agreement. Habyarimana’s presidential Guards must have been involved in this plot because they were the ones patrolling the Masaka hills where the missiles were fired.
These guys had planned the genocide in advance and Habyarimana’s death was just the ‘match box’ they need to light the fire. One Hutu magazine had earlier on published a statement with several hit targets:’’ by the way, the Tutsi race could be extinguished’. In 1994, one Hutu extremist, unfortunately a Muslim by religion, Hassan Ngeze, wrote articles in KANGURA predicting the death of Habyarimana in March 1994. He also mentioned that his killers would not be Tutsi but Hutu.
Habyarimana just like Museveni came into power through violence. While Museveni’s violence was justified because he had to get rid of Obote Dictatorship and had a convincing democratic plan on paper, Habyariman’s was not because his coup did not have any democratic plans ahead. Habyarimana came into power when the order of the day in East Africa was getting rid of presidents through coups. Amin ousted Obote in 1971 and Habyarimana did the same on Kayibanda two years later.
Both Habyarimana and Museveni introduced something called ‘the Movement’ when they came into power. Everyone in their respective countries was required to be a member of this so called ‘Movement’.
Habyarimana hated the ‘tutsis’ just ,as it is claimed by some people though I’m not sure, that president Museveni also hates some tribes in the north. Habyarimana had only one Tutsi in his cabinet, one ambassador in the Foreign Service, and two deputies in the national assembly. He kept a picture of Tutsi huts in flames in his presidential house. Habyarimana, just like Museveni, was also friends with the Bakiga communities
I highly doubt whether Habyarimana’s wife was involved in his assassination because she and her family benefited a lot from his regime and Habyarimana’s death would affect them most. Agatha Kanzinga was almost the second most powerful person after her husband. It’s like Janat Museveni plotting the assassination of Museveni right now. So I rule that one out completely. She had a lot to lose.
I know that this is a very sensitive topic especially among our brothers and sisters from Rwanda but I believe we can get nearer to the truth if everybody starts telling the truth without any emotions or tribal sentiments involved. What happened to Habyarimana may also happen to Kagame if he does not find a way of reconciling with his fellow Tutsis in exile. They need each other in a small country like Rwanda which is as small as Bugerere in Uganda. Kagame should also put more effort in reconciling both the Tutsis and Hutus to avoid any possibility of a future genocide. The most important thing is to make sure that all groups feel like they are free in their own country. Nobody should be made to feel like a foreigner in their own country.
As for Uganda and Rwanda relations, I’m happy that both leaders have decided to bury the hatchet and the two countries are ready to renew their friendship because we have got a lot in common with the people in Rwanda. Let’s hope that Museveni four days in Rwanda will only bring more fruits to this new-found relationship.
Byebyo banange
Abbe.K.S
BESIGYE POLITICAL SHOW IN THE USA WAS INTERESTING
10 Jun 2011 3 Comments
in 2010-2011 elections, FDC, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Museveni and NRM, parliament, Politics
Dear friends,
It was interesting to watch Dr.Besigye on straight talk, a political show moderated by Shaka Ssali, a Ugandan working from Washington. The show showed that Besigye has eventually come to learn that Uganda presidents are decided from Washington not Kampala as he used to think. I’m happy that Besigye followed my advice (if he read it on UAH) and decided to keep that ‘’white thing’’ on his arm because it makes a big political statement to anybody who meets him or sees him on TV. On the show, the Uganda government was represented by Mr.Nyago Kintu, the Deputy private secretary to president Museveni , whose picture I initially mistook for that of a lady when I had just switched on TV to watch the program. For those of you who missed the show, I’m going to pick up a few pointers which I generally found more interesting:
Partisan Electoral Commission
As expected Shaka Ssali started his questions to the panelists by asking both of them about the just concluded presidential elections. If I was giving marks, I would give Besigye 80% and Nyago 30% in the way they handled their questions. Without wasting time a lot of time on a piece of meat because it will make the soup cold( as Baganda say), Shaka Ssali asked Dr.Besigye why he keeps calling the Museveni government ‘illegitimate’ yet the president overwhelmingly won the elections with almost 70%.
Besigye responded by saying that elections were not free and fair and that FDC have got empirical evidence to show this but they intentionally decided not to go court anymore. He said the current Electoral Commission (EC) was appointed by Museveni and can sack it any time he wants. He continued to say that all the three elections he has participated in since 2001 have not been free and fair, and the court records are there for everybody to say. He said:’’ all judges of the Supreme court unanimously agreed in 2006 that the elections were not conducted according to the law…………. what divided them was what to do with the election, and they based on this to uphold the election which was totally a contradictory decision’’.
Besigye also verified that he was already a supporter of UPM and Museveni before the 1980 elections in which DP was rigged out by UPC. He said he knew Museveni and UPM had no chance of winning the 1980 elections because UPM was set up a few months to the elections, and the party did not even have a recognized national network. He said that he believed in Museveni as a genuine leader at that time but he never immediately followed him in the bush when he declared the war against the Obote government.
Just to emphasize this point, Besigye clarified that when Museveni rejected the results that were released by an EC that was chaired by a supporter of UPC, Besigye agreed with him though it was not the votes of UPM that were stolen.
He also emphasized that he does not regret the decision he took then to later join Museveni in the Luwero bushes to fight the then government. He, however, said that he has not considered such a decision for the last 10 years he has been opposing museveni. Everything he has done has been within the law. On the contrary, Besigye said: ‘’Museveni violates the constitution whenever it suits him’’. For example, he quoted a statement made by Museveni while he was addressing a press conference at Rwakitura where he said: ’’Besigye will not demonstrate in Kampala’.
Kintu Nyago, on the other hand, said that the EC is an independent body whose members are appointed by the president but they have to be vetted by the parliament for approval. He said that in USA where the show was being held, judges are appointed by the president but it does not mean that they are partisan. At this point, Besigye interjected and said: ‘’ the USA president has no powers to dismiss any judge as it is the case with the people at Uganda EC’’.
Kintu Nyago continued to say that the elections were free and fair and that Besigye is just a sour loser. He quoted the European Union and Africa Union (AU) reports that verified the 2011 election as free and fair. He actually said he respects the opinion of the AU more since ‘it matters most to me being an African’’. At this point, Shaka Ssali came in to say that he has also read both reports and they indicate that the political field was not leveled especially if one reads between the lines.
Retired Justice George Kanyeihamba
Kintu asked Shaka Ssali to verify his statement, and at this point the later said that he had hosted retired Justice, George Kanyeihamba, on the political show about a couple of times and he said the same thing as Besigye for both 2006 and 2011 elections. ‘’Kanyeihamba said that the 2006 elections would have been cancelled if one Joseph Mulenga had not settled for a promise of a job by president Museveni in the Africa court’’, said Ssali.
Kintu then roared with accusing Kanyeihamba of being another sour man because he wanted the Africa court job himself. Kintu also asked Besigye what the FDC MPs are doing in a parliament yet the Museveni government is supposedly illegitimate. Besigye responded to this by saying: ‘we are engaged in a struggle that is not going to end through one course of action. So our people are in parliament to use this platform to further the struggle. For example, walking out on the president when he was giving the state of the Nation Address, was one of our ways of demonstrating’’.
Besigye concluded his exchange with Kintu by giving him some simple advice:’’ Museveni has two images. I was able to see his contradictions much earlier than others possibly because I was his doctor in the bush. The new ones, who have just joined him, like Nyago, may be hanging on to an artificial Museveni’’.
At this point, Ssali Shaka asked Besigye what he was exactly doing in USA, and Besigye said that he had come to seek consultation on the injuries he suffered during the attacks he had experienced by brutal soldiers on several occasions. He also said that he intends to meet various members of the Obama administration to discuss the issues in Uganda. He revealed that he had already met Assistant Secretary, John Carson, and several other US State Department officials.
Besigye also indicated that he has been talking to members of the media in the USA. For example, he had a meeting with the editorial team of the both the Washington Post and NewYork times, and everything went well.
The show basically ended with some phone callers from Sudan, Ghana and Tanzania, all of which despised President Museveni for what he was doing to the opposition in Uganda.One caller requested him to stand down.
Just a point of correction to Mr.Nyago: it’s true that the Constitution of the United States of America specifically states that federal judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. However, in some states, judges are appointed by the governor or Senators. For example, in Michigan, every eight years, delegates and senators in the General Assembly must vote on whether to renew or reappoint judges.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom
Museveni’s Assassinations Claims are Giving me Sleepless Nights!
28 Dec 2010 5 Comments
in 2010-2011 elections, Africa, Bahima and Banyarwanda, East Africa, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Museveni and NRM, Obote and UPC, Politics
Dear readers,
The recent revelations in Assange’s Wikileaks and Timothy Kalyegira’s Uganda Record about how president Museveni is worried that he may be assassinated by Libya’s Gaddafi, have brought me some sleepless nights. Political assassinations are not something we should encourage on our continent. Museveni may be a bad leader for us now but assassinating him can plunge our country into some form of endless violence and conflicts ,as happened in Rwanda after the assassination of Habyarimana. We don’t need that at the moment, and I certainly believe that Gadaffi does not want Uganda to end up in that state.
I have no connections with Uganda intelligence but I still believe that president Museveni just panicked to the extent of seeking US help; because he pushed his buttons too far as far as Gadaffi is concerned. To be fair to Gadaffi, I’m one of those who really dream about a United States of Africa (USA), an idea Gadaffi is championing now and trying to sell to other African leaders.
Gadaffi is not someone anyone would wish to mess with because he has shaken big nations such as USA before and they did not like it. So it’s not wise for Museveni to start pumping his testosterones publicly when engaging such a character. We need to find a common ground as far as Libya is concerned.
Nevertheless, something interesting is boiling up in all these assassination reports though we don’t know if there are true or not: President Museveni’s end looks to be nearer but how will it be? I think that is the question on most people’s minds because our president has been in power for so long.This has forced me to compare President Museveni and Habyarimana, and see if there have got any similarities or differences, though i pray that the ending is not the same.
Habyarimana just like Museveni came into power through violence. While Museveni’s violence was justified because he had to get rid of Obote Dictatorship and had a convincing democratic plan on paper, Habyariman’s was not because his coup did not have any democratic plan ahead. Habyarimana came into power when the order of the day in East Africa was getting rid of presidents through coups. Amin ousted Obote in 1971 and Habyarimana did the same on Kayibanda two years later.
Both Habyarimana and Museveni introduced something called ‘the Movement’ when they came into power. Everyone in their respective countries was required to be a member of this so called ‘Movement’.Museveni’s Movement is now a political party and enjoying most of the state benefits.
Habyarimana hated the ‘tutsis’ just as it is claimed by some people though I’m not sure, that president Museveni hates some tribes in the north. Habyarimana had only one Tutsi in his cabinet, one ambassador in the Foreign Service, and two deputies in the national assembly. He kept a picture of Tutsi huts in flames in his presidential house.
Habyarimana, just like Museveni, was also friends with the Bakiga communities. It is actually claimed in some circles that Habyariman was a mukiiga not a true munyarwanda.Bakiiga were Museveni’s allies in Luwero bush war though some have started falling out with him.
Habyarimana’s end came through assassination and this is what is worrying me as a Ugandan if such a scenario was to happen to Museveni. I think some sections of the Hutus in Rwanda and the Tutsis in both Uganda and Rwanda masterminded the assassination of Habyarimana. When RPF was launched in 1987 in Kampala, one of their main aims was to force the return of Tutsi back to Rwanda whether Habyarimana wanted it or not. There were to do this using all the necessary means. General Rwigyema joined RPF in 1988 and later about 4000 Tutsis also deserted UPDF for RPF with the sole purpose of fighting the Habyariman government.
On the other hand, some sections of the Hutu radicals in Rwanda were not happy with the Arusha agreement of August 1993 that provided for the establishment of a broad based transitional government that would include the Tustsi. But the truth was that even Habyarimana never believed in this agreement becuse he was a tutsi hater. He just signed it to buy himself time to organise his ‘house’ and probably the hutu radicals knew it as well. So why would they kill him? But then again most of the evidence points to the fact that the Hutu radicals may have killed him. For instance, on 03/04/1994, radio Mille Collines warned that ‘a little something’ was about to happen before Habyariman was killed two days later. This is all confusing because how can a radio make such an announcement and nobody in the intelligence took it seriously. May be the radio was warning Habyarimana. Who knows?
As a Ugandan, I just hope that president Museveni and brother Gadaffi find a way of sorting out their differences very soon because it is not certainly good for Africa if these two guys continue to be on a collision course. Gadaffi is now an old man and a bit wiser. He is not like the Gadaffi of 70s and 80s who used to kick ass all the time. So Museveni should take advantage of this to mend fences with Gadaffi as soon as possible. Personally, i don’t wish president Museveni to die that way and that is why I urge him to improve Uganda foreign relations with our neighbors very soon.Under this environment, anybody can do something to our president right now,very well knowing that fingers will be pointed at Libya.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
The Catholic Church Should Openly Support Condom Use and Contraception
29 Nov 2010 1 Comment
in cultures, health, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Museveni and NRM, Religion, science
Pope Benedict XVI
The Catholic Church has done a lot of immeasurable good things in Africa and elsewhere in the world but I still cannot understand why they cannot openly support the use of condoms to reduce Sexually Transmitted Diseases(STDs), and the use of contraception methods. The church has played a crucial role in educating; treating and bringing hope to a lot of Africans. It has quietly worked against evil systems, such as South Africa’s apartheid and African dictatorships, as was the case, for instance, when one cardinal was allegedly used to support Yoweri Museveni’s NRA rebels against Obote and Iddil Amin regimes in Uganda. Pope John Paul II also worked against communism and strongly opposed the war in Iraq, calling it a defeat for humanity which could not be morally or legally justified.
Nonetheless, recently, Pope Benedict XVI seems to have done a simple but not a ‘sharp’ u-turn on use of condoms when he said that people should use them which were a bit better than his April, 2009 message on his trip in Africa when he said that the use of condoms worsens the HIV problem. Benedict was born in 1927 and he has seen how the world has been changing since. So we expect him to see a lot of things differently though we expect him to review the abstinence message too. The church has been preaching abstinence outside married life and faithfulness within it and probably it would be effective if it was followed, but the truth is that people don’t do so.
There’s a lot of disinformation on the internet about regarding the safety of condoms. I suspect that the Catholic Church or religious leaders have something to do with it. The main problem with condoms is that they may break, or fall off when using them. I just don’t see how an HIV virus would get through these pores when water doesn’t. It’s physically impossible. Unless the condom is damaged, the risk to HIV is very low.
Therefore, the Vatican and other religious groups’ claims about permeable condoms are wrong. The World Health Organisation has already advised people to disregard messages from the church about this issue. The message of “abstinence” and “high-risk partners” should be preached alongside the use of condoms. There are some people who cannot abstain from knocking on certain ‘HIV addresses’ even if they are not landlords or tenants. They may just go there just to drop ‘letters’ or ‘leaflets’ or ‘ just delivering take-aways’, and we need to find a way to protect them. So postmen, ambulance people, take-away people and marketers all need to be protected from the dogs in the houses.
Several organisations including Lancet, a UK Medical journal, have been criticising the church over their condom message and I think the criticism has started bearing some fruits going by the pope’s recent message. We just hope that the rest of the church takes this message seriously, after all, condoms have already been proven as effective, in most African countries and beyond a doubt that they help in reducing the spread of HIV-AIDS and other STDs.
The Church’s prohibition of contraception is also wrong since it does not seem to have any Biblical foundation, apart from the story of Onan spilling his seed on the ground, which is a special case. It seems more likely to have come from Aristotle, the source of much bad doctrine. The Pope has continually forced his own views on how women may control their own fertility but I think it is wrong.
The pope’s U-turn in just a year’s time is a confirmation that merely because one is famous (or wealthy) doesn’t make one intellectually or morally superior to the rest of humanity. In reality, most of the so called famous people have a very limited understanding about how the rest of the world works, and are more interested in feeding their own fragile egos than examining the consequences of their actions. Many of them access no information, and base opinions solely on what is fashionably correct. They aren’t reviewing abstracts in the journals looking for relevant articles, reading up on epidemiological studies, or picking up a calculator to crunch some numbers to do a basic sanity check before publicly uttering inanities like some statements that have come to be associated with the Catholic Church over the years. Most of the time, they are merely regurgitating the same message they have heard over and over again, from the usual drones. So people following these leaders should use common sense before they take everything they say on board. We all love our religions but we also accept that very few people confess to their sins in public. So we need to find a way of protecting most especially the silent sinners because they may turn out to be useful some day.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
I’m indifferent as far as Obote is Concerned. I don’t hate him
25 Oct 2010 1 Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, Lule and Uganda politics, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Museveni and NRM, Obote and UPC
Dear Ugandans,
I would also like to say that I don’t hate Obote as per some statements I have seen flying around by some writers. I’m indifferent as far as Obote is concerned despite the fact that I lost a father during the time when he was the man controlling the system.
As I assume some of you already know, UPM which later evolved into NRM was a combination of several political parties. Let it also be known that most of the founders of UPM were former UPCs. When UNLF stopped being in existence and Binaisa was out of the office, some members of UPC who did not want to join DP thought of forming a new party. At first, they called themselves the ‘Third force’. This group was led by Akena Pojok(then minister of Transport and a UPC), Opira (former deputy chief of intelligence in Obote 1),Erisa Kironde(chairman of UEB in Obote1),Ruhakana Rugunda(then deputy minister of health), Bidandi Ssali(then minister of local Administrations),Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and other UPCs. The ‘Third force’ also recruited from DP territory and they managed to get guys like: Matia Kasajja of Hoima, Bernard Buzaabo, Dr. Bwambale and so many other DP supporters. They also went for neutrals and the biggest fish they got was Professor Tarsis Kabwegyere.
This ‘third force’ came up with a better name: ’Uganda Labour Congress’ in May 1980 which they later changed into UPM. Museveni(FORMER UPC) was chosen the leader of UPM. Guys like Yona Kanyomoozi, Ephraim Kamuntu, Dr. Ezra Nkwasiibwe, Kabwegyere and Pojok did not want Museveni to become the leader of UPM but they failed to block it. Actually, Kabwegyere later decided to join DP. So basically when one analyses all these political parties, they have been almost formed by the same people from older parties.
UPM (started before 1980 elections by the Musevenis) later changed its name to Uganda Liberation Movement when some UNLA soldiers joined them. Uganda Liberation Movement then changed to MOSPOR(Movement for the Struggle for Political Rights) which later also changed to Peoples resistance Army(PRA)-more like a replica of the ghostly rebel organisation started by Besigye in 2004. It was this PRA that later united with Uganda Freedom Fighters (UFF) of professor Lule to form NRM.
Museveni also formed an alliance with the UFM(of Kayiira) and the UNRF when they met in London to form what is called Uganda Popular Front(UPF). FRONASA formed in the 1970s doubled as the military wing of UPM.
Yes, most Ugandans supported all these alliances, may be just as like we are asking the current opposition parties to unite for a common cause. The scale used to measure the unpopularity of a leader is when a leader attempts to rig an election, just as Obote did in 1980. When a leader does that, it means he has not got the majority of the population behind him.
Baganda did everything to support the war against Obote for obvious reasons. For instance, some families in Luwero lost their lives at the expense of hiding Museveni and the then NRA rebels. Obote was hated among various groups of people. The Banyarwanda hated him because of his isolationist policy against them headed by Rwakasisi. The west Nilers hated him because of the massacres committed there by UNLA soldiers in 1980s by Oyite Ojok and company.
I do not rule out the fact that some of the murders in Luwero might have been committed by NRA rebels . However, because of the nature of the war fought in Luwero, it’s fair to say that UNLA did more killing than NRA. Please click on the links below to see the names of some of the people killed in Uganda between 1981 and 1984.
http://semuwemba.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/1980-84-uganda-murders1.pdf
http://semuwemba.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/more-1980-84-uganda-murders.pdf
Obote may have done some good things for Uganda under Obote 1 but it does not make him a messiah of any sort. These 1980 murders were committed at his watch as the leader of Uganda. He rigged the 1980 elections and that was enough to get him on his bike by force. We should not cover soil with faeces just because we want to eat mushrooms.
Thank you
Abbey
The covers of the book and the first of the pages of the Obote strategy to rig the 1980 elections
02 Aug 2010 1 Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC
The covers of the book and the first of the pages of the Obote strategy to rig the 1980 elections which is Appendix II, pp. 101 and 102
Submitted by: Lance Corporal (Rtd) Patrick Otto
UAH FORUMIST
According to the Moshi conference delegates’ list, Comrade Olara Otunu was actually in UFM just as recently as March 1979
02 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, Lule and Uganda politics, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Moshi conference 1979, Obote and UPC
Mao & and His Group Are as Fake as the Regime they claim to oppose
13 Jun 2010 8 Comments
in 2010-2011 elections, IPC, Lule and Uganda politics, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Moshi conference 1979, Obote and UPC, Politics, Presidency, Tribalism
Dear friends,
How does DP expect to decampaign IPC but at the same time expect them to cooperate with DP at parliamentary level during the 2011 election? I listened to Mr. Mathias Nsubuga who is the DP’s Secretary General, today on London based Ngoma radio, and he quoted a lot of history, how alliances have historically weakened DP due to loss of members,blah blah. But he clearly missed the gist of the point why opposition parties in developing nations form coalitions: the incumbent always uses the state apparatus to frustrate the opponents and therefore it becomes difficult for an opposition party to win an election on their own.
Mathias Nsubuga rightly quoted the alliance made in 1961 between KY and UPC and what later happened afterwards in 1966, but he forgot to tell people that the alliance had received its initial objective which was to stop Ben Kiwanuka from becoming the Prime minister. Whatever happened afterwards can be attributed to other factors but not the alliance itself. It should also be noted that between 1961 and 1971,DP lost members to UPC despite the fact that they were not part of any alliance at that time. For instance, UPC catched a big fish in 1964 when the then DP Secretary General, who was also the leader of the opposition, Mr. Basil Bataringaya, crossed to UPC.
The alliance made at Moshi in 1979 also achieved its initial objective of removing Iddil Amin Dada from power. The different groups that were fighting Amin on their own could not have achieved this objective. On the military front, FRONASA, Kikosi Malumu and others had to combine efforts to fight dictator Amin. Whatever happened afterwards, like the forced resignation of Professor Yusuf Lule, cannot be attributed to the disadvantages of an alliance. But if we had people that reason like DP-Mao at the time, probably Iddil Amin would have remained a president of Uganda for longer.
After the 1980 elections where UPC openly rigged and denied DP a chance to take over power for the first time since independence, again a mother of all alliances had to be formed to kick out dictator Milton Obote . Before the alliance was formed, DP again lost its members to other parties particularly the ‘third force’ which was formed by former UPC members who wanted to fight Obote but did not want to join DP. For instance, the ‘third force’ recruited DP members such as:Matia Kasajja of Hoima, Bernard Buzaabo, Dr. Bwambale and several others. So the argument that DP only loses members after alliances had been formed does not hold water at all. Secondly, if different parties had not worked together, probably Late Obote Militon woul have died the president of Uganda since he had the support of Julius Nyerere who was controlling Uganda through a remote control from Tanzania.
DP claims that they lost a lot of members after 1986 through an alliance formed with Museveni at the time to form a broad based government but I think this is a fallacy meant to hide the internal weaknesses of the party. Those DP members who decided to remain in NRM other than returning to DP would have done the same if those very privileges they enjoyed while in NRM had been offered to them outside this alliance. For instance, president Museveni has managed to get on board UPC guys like Agrey Awori, without necessarily forming an alliance with UPC itself. He also unsuccessfully tried to recruit UPC’s giant lady, Cecilia Ogwal, during the CA elections when the issues of federo had caught fire in parliament, and he therefore needed UPC to be on his side to block Buganda from getting federo.
Let’s assume that we take DP’s reason to lose their members to other parties because of alliances as a bit weighing, but how does DP explain their hypocritical claims that they would be ready to form an alliance with the IPC if president Museveni does not get the 51% required for some to win all election. Will this not make them lose their members to other parties OR the party will be strong then after just a period of 7 months to the elections?
Finally, I’m still so skeptical about Mr.Mao’s presidential candidature and intentions because this is not the first time he is talking about a Nile Republic. He at one time wanted the north to secede from the south. He is a secessionist like JEEMA’s Hussein Kaynjo and this is not material for a Uganda president. He does not really believe in One Uganda, One people project. Secondly, because Mao has been elected DP president by one faction of DP, he is gonna affect the fortunes of the IPC candidate in the north since some people in the north believe in him. With this, president Museveni does not need to win the north to remain the president of Uganda come 2011 since Mao would do the job for him. If DP-Mao also fields candidates in Buganda in 2011, then the Buganda opposition vote will be divided between the IPC and DP-Mao candidates .It will actually be the same everywhere if Mao goes ahead to think in terms of ‘ONLY DP’ and ‘ONLY MAO’.
With that I can only conclude that by DP-Mao staying away from IPC, they are looking at themselves as bigger than anybody else and I find this arrogant and sickly. The reasons they give for not joining the IPC are as fake as the current regime in power. Therefore, any sane Ugandan who is tired of the Museveni regime should shan them completely. Only IPC candidates should be supported in the 2011 elections by opposition supporters. I hope the donors do the same thing.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom
A clear transcript of the letter with AM Obote’s proposals for rigging the 1980 elections
29 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC, Tribalism
Submitted by Lance Corporal (Rtd) Patrick Otto(UAH forumist)
Submitted by Lance Corporal (Rtd) Patrick Otto (UAH forumist)
Majority of Ugandans generally hated UPC’s Obote
25 Mar 2010 81 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, 2010-2011 elections, Bahima and Banyarwanda, Buganda, kingdoms, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC, Politics, Tribalism
Obote and Sir Edward Mutesa before kingdoms were abolished
Dear friends,
I have always found articles in the media written by Mengo officials, such as Buganda’s Attorney General, Appolo Makubuya, about the relationship between Obote and Mutesa11, very interesting. And i think It is very wrong for some people to argue that Baganda generally hate Acholis or northerners in general. Baganda are very welcoming people and they have welcomed everybody starting with every name in the alphabets from A- Z including the Acholis. The person to blame for attempting to create divisions between the Baganda and the northerners was late Obote, but good enough he is dead and ,therefore, we can afford to move on or repair the damage he left behind if Museveni also goes sooner.
The truth is that Obote seemed to have had some banter to settle with Baganda. For instance, In a speech broadcast on radio Uganda, obote told a rally held in soroti in 1981 that if the baganda did not behave themselves, they (the Acholi-Langi alliance) would do to them what they did to the west Nilers in 1980. Secondly,Phares Mutibwa in his book ‘Uganda since independence’ also wrote that at Kololo(outskirts of Kampala city) , one Acholi soldier wrote on the wall:’killing a muganda or a munyankole is as easy as riding a bicycle’.
Nevertheless, the Acholis have never forgiven Obote for dividing the Acholi district into Simba and Moto Moto factions because he wanted to prolong his stay in power. Obote wanted to keep them fighting each other since a unified Acholi would worry his leadership and he was right when one looks at what happened at the later stages of his leadership. Obote depended on rival factions within the party to lead UPC for a long time. In Toro, he clandestinely supported a rival UPC group called ‘KAGOROGORO’ under Rwambarali against another one under Samson Rusoke. That is how he run his shows in UPC for a long time till the day called ”Mulindwa” happened in 1985.So why should Baganda continue to hate the Acholis who also later realised that they were just being used by Obote?
It is very unfair on the rest of Ugandans who hate Obote and UPC when someone just picks only on Baganda. Obote’s injustices did not limit themselves to Buganda borders alone such that when Dr.Otuunu or any other UPC leader is apologising, s/he may find himself doing it to the whole country apart from Lango. Obote was not only hated in Buganda but the rest of Uganda and the following may explain why:
Sedition charges started with Obote and Museveni just polished it. Sedition charges did not start with president museveni as he learnt that from one of his predecessors, Dr. Milton Obote. Journalists and the media were some of the biggest casualties of the government’s sensitivity to criticism during Obote and now Museveni.
Black Mambas started with Obote not Museveni. When president Museveni sent the ‘black mambas’ in the case of Dr.Kiiza Besigye and other PRA suspects Vs the state of Uganda, and black mambas surrounded the court, he was just polishing what he had been taught by his political master, Milton Obote. When Obote stole the 1980 elections just like most political thieves, he started manipulating the judiciary as a way of keeping himself in power. Lawyers who tried to represent people in courts were intimidated, detained or killed. For example, Cprian Kawoya was abducted from the high court while the court was in session and later murdered by Obote’s ‘black mambas’. Other lawyers killed or tortured under similar circumstances include: Hon. George Bamuturaki, Gideon Mutanga, Sewava Sempala,e.t.c.
UPC was the first party to ban political parties in Uganda under Obote 1 in 1968 under the famous Lugogo ceremony.So, when Museveni came into power in 1986, he did the same thing till 2004 when multi partysm got a breather after donor pressure and court cases fronted by DP and UPC.
Makerere students generally hated Obote because he used the campus to spy on students, intimidate and kill students. The Obote army intimidated and killed a lot of students at Makerere university in the 1980s purely because they wanted to devise ways of either UPC dominating the Guild or closing it altogether if UPC couldn’t have it. At one time, one George Bwanika was shot and damped in Namanve forests. UPC used the offices of the then Dean of students, George Kihuguru and the Deputy Vice chancellor, Gingera-Pinycwa, to plung the whole university into chaos with the help of obviously the army.
However much I admire the political acumen of Dr.Milton Obote, he made the gravest mistake of attempting to weaken Buganda by attacking the Lubili in Mengo in 1966.Obote himself is on record saying that was his lowest point in leadership.
A lot of Ugandans were killed under his watch between 1980 and 1984. For example, Hajji Abbasi Kibazo: Chairman Uganda Taxi OPERATORS Cooperative Union. He was arrested from his office in Kampala and taken to Makindye Barracks where they did what Kampalans call ‘OKUMUMIZA OMUSSU’ (murdered). Actually, he failed to protect the Ugandan population in Luwero when he was ‘legally’ made a president by a UPC chaired Electoral Commission after the 1980 elections. So many Ugandans lost their lives in Luwero and elsewhere because of the NRA rebels that cropped up after these elections
Obote was the man who started coups in Uganda by illegally ousting President Sir Edward Mutesa in 1966. This same year he illegally abolished kingdoms and is partly responsible for the death of Ugandans in the Lubili attack of 1966.
He is responsible for militarisation of politics in Uganda and this is exemplified by so many examples in his government (Obote 1 and 2). He also started the tribalisation of the army in Uganda when he recruited a lot of his tribes mate in the Uganda Army after taking over from DP’s Ben Kiwanuka.
He is responsible for producing a 1967 constitution that makes the offices of the Vice president and prime minister not independent of the presidency. The president can fire the VP and prime minister any time and this was started by the changes brought about in the 1967 constitution. The 1962 consitiution had separated the powers of the president, vice president and Prime minister but Obote changed that, and no president has rectified this up today.
It is also believed that president Obote did not want the Islamic University in Mbale to be built while he was in power. These allegations were made by president Museveni at one of the Mbale University’s graduation ceremony. Museveni also reportedly said that Obote did not want Uganda to be a member of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). Obote’s reason, according to Museveni, being that the two were linked to Idi Amin.
Obote was the politician who started the ‘TEMANGALO’(Corruption) environment in Uganda though it is arguably believed that NRM has been worse in this department. For instance, the GOLD ALLEGATION scandal of 1960s was the start of pure state corruption in Uganda and if it had been punished properly, probably it would have set a good precedent in Uganda politics. Another example is when Prime Minister Kintu Musoke attacked Obote for having bought a government house on Prince Charles Drive in Kololo at a giveaway price. The prime minister wanted to prove that Obote was the first politician to purchase a government house and to convince the public that it was therefore in order for President Museveni or his brother Maj. Gen. Salim Saleh to purchase the same house. Let us also remember that Uganda House was built using tax payers money though this could not be proved properly in the courts of law.
Apollo Milton Obote is the only party leader the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) had before he died. Remember UPC was established before even Uganda got independence. But you going to find a lot of UPC supporters asking a man who has been a leader of FDC party since 2005 to step aside because he has served one term.
Obote used men like Rwakasisi to terrorise Banyarwanda in the 1980S. Actually, some registration schemes were started in towns like Masaka headed by some guy I have forgotten. Surprisingly, Rwakasisis is now ‘reformed’ and a state buddy of president Museveni. He is one of the presidential advisors on security.
It’s an open secret that UPC under Obote rigged the 1980 elections and that marked the beginning of rigging in Uganda politics. It had never happened before. That’s why we are not surprised that even when Dr.Otuunu won the UPC presidency and beat his opponents fairly, some UPC still stuck with the 1980 mindset are telling people that he rigged.
As for why most Ugandans hate UPC more than the British, it is because these were colonialists who came in Uganda, did whatever they had to do and later packed their bags at the end of colonialism. They left a very good development program in 1960s (that included among many things the building of hospitals, for Obote 1 which he partly implemented. Uganda is now an independent country though we have failed to be economically independent. Donors are still pulling the strings as we have all seen with threats of cutting aid if Africa does not embrace homosexuality. Africa has got a lot of natural resources and it should be in a good shape now economically but our post independence leaders let us down.
Byebyo ebyange
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
Documents at the Moshi Conference before Amin’s downfall
22 Mar 2010 2 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, history, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Moshi conference 1979, Obote and UPC
2.
Lance Corporal (Rtd) Patrick Otto
UAH forumist
Some of the Names of the people killed in Uganda between 1980 and 1984
22 Mar 2010 1 Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC
Luwero war was justified despite whatever Museveni has become today
20 Mar 2010 15 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, 2010-2011 elections, FDC, history, Legal issues, luwero war after 1980 'theft'
Dear people,
Whatever has become of president Museveni today, I still believe the Luwero Triangle war was justified and I support the initiative taken by Museveni and others to fight the Obote’s government. To broaden this discussion a bit, I’m gonna mention the main principles of the justice of war which are: having just cause, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used. Museveni and Group had a just cause: getting rid of a dictatorial government which had stolen the 1980 elections. The authority that declared war was a mixture of UPM and other registered parties in Uganda (forming something called NRM/NRA) and their intentions were good at the time and most Ugandans supported them particularly the Baganda. NRA/NRM fought a guerrilla war for only 5 years and that justifies the envisaged success. They knew that the population was behind them and that’s why they chose the Buganda spot where Obote was openly hated.
Child soldier
What exactly happened during the course of fighting in Luwero like killing innocent civilians; using child soldiers; and so on, cannot make a war unjustifiable and we have got international bodies that deal with people who break rules of war fare. For instance international agreements such as the Geneva and Hague conventions are historical rules aimed at limiting certain kinds of warfare. The real Luwero war was justified and there is no question about this. If any crimes were commited by the Museveni soldiers while in Luwero, then some body should investigate this and hand it to over to the international bodies but it does not make a war unjustifiable.
Mr.Otunnu, the UPC president is already asking for investigations in the Luwero war and it was very wrong for General Tinyenfunza to threaten him in response. By the way, these NRM guys don’t make threats as Mr.Otunnu may think. Let him ask Besigye who has since been subjected to anything you can think of, to the extent that he had to shift the remainder of his close family abroad. He has to make tours to USA every now and then to see his wife and son. Ambassador Otuunu should be ready for the fire in the kitchen because it’s gonna be very hot.
However, I must warn Ugandans that there are legal arguments in this area of what is considered moral and immoral when fighting a war. It is not an easy case of pointing fingers as some people are doing now. For example, to defeat Germany in World War II, it was deemed necessary to bomb civilian centres, or in the US Civil War, for General Sherman to burn Atlanta. Secondly, how do you morally justify the discovery and use of nuclear weapons in a war and end up killing more people than those that were killed in Luwero Triangle and bushes? The Soviets acquired nuclear and thermonuclear weapons in 1948 and 1953 respectively but an attack in 1948 was not seriously considered. An attack on the Soviet Union was quickly rejected by Eisenhower in 1953—although the main obstacle seems to have been the feasibility of removingpermanently the threat in one attack. Similarly, would you consider the Israeli destruction in 1981 by F-15’s and F-16’s of a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor in Iraq a just war or not—although the U.S. and U.N. at the time formally condemned the attack and the Israeli policy? There are several examples including the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
The problem with some UPC supporters is that they just take things at face value without critically analyzing issues. Now let us analyse the internal dynamics of the war before they start comparing the Joseph Kony war and the NRA war (1980-86) .First of all, there is a difference between the conventional war and an irregular war (guerrilla war). Conventional wars have clear front lines in which attacks take place mostly from barricades and stable positions. Violence against civilians and combatants takes place in clearly distinguished spaces. Civilians are generally isolated from the battlefield: while some may live close to the frontlines, or even go there to visit combatants, their life is somewhat independent from the events taking place in it. The American Civil war (1861-1865) was a typical example of a conventional civil war. We have not had that kind of war in Uganda history since independence.
In Guerrilla wars (like Luwero Triangle), such a clear spatial distinction between battlefield and non-battlefield areas is lacking, as the war takes place unevenly all over the territory. In consequence, there is a greater mingling of civilians and combatants. So despite the fact that it is called the Luwero Triangle war, civilians were killed in other parts of the country as well. The battle lines were not limited in Luwero.
Civilians are killed in a guerrilla war when, for example, civilians hide potential victims, they help them to flee to other places; they give false indications to the groups, remain silent, or even engage in violent confrontation with the group. Going by this explanation, it’s so likely that the Obote men or UNLA would be the one to exert violence on the civilian population during the Luwero Triangle war. Several people were killed between 1980 and 1985 because they were thought to be ‘Bayekela’ (rebels) or helping the ‘bayekela’. Obote had no support from Buganda where most of the killing took place. He had ‘lost’ an election in 1980 but he decided to impose himself on the people of Uganda. So the aggrieved party here was the people of Uganda.
In Kony’s case, civilians in the north were most likely killed by the rebels because of non-cooperation with an enemy or occupier (NRMO government), civilian disobedience, and ideological opposition- “civilian defence”. Actually, the war in northern Uganda was one of the trickiest civil wars in the world because It’s very difficult to know who was doing the more killing between LRA and UPDF.
The difference between the Joseph Kony war or LRA war and Luwero Triangle war was that Joseph Kony failed to mobilize majority of the population in the north to support his cause unlike museveni who convinced majority of the population in the south of Uganda to support his cause to get rid of Obote dictatorship. Where there is a high level of mobilization of the population, armed groups are prone to target civilians in order to sweep the rears of potentially challenging enemies.
Well the point am trying to make here is that wars are justifiable depending on what I have mentioned above. However, what happens during the war does not make a war unjustifiable. Therefore, Museveni’s war against Obote’s forces was justifiable and if he had not done it, probably some body else would have done it.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom
UPC murders in 1980s should not just be forgotten but we must also record current ones
20 Mar 2010 13 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, Buganda, history, kingdoms, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC
People,
We all feel bad about the people that died during and after the Luwero Triangle war. This war happened in Buganda and that means so many baganda died more than any other tribe. It is this very tribe that supported president Museveni and hated Obote and UPC. This very tribe still hates Obote and UPC and it is starting to hate Museveni.The Baganda killed in Luwero were not only UPC members as alleged by Obote or UPC supporters. Yes,both the NRA guerrillas and the UNLA killed a lot of people in the Luwero triangle and outside this triangle. However, there are several Ugandans that lost their lives from the time UPC rigged the 1980 elections , and among them include the following:
- Joseph Nsubuga from Rubaga: He was killed along with his father and brother in law and their house was destroyed by a dynamite
- Mr.Kinaalwa: He was chairman East Mengo growers Coop union. He was killed with 14 others following a visit by Paul muwanga and Hajji Musa Sebirumbi.
- Alhajji Jabiiri: he was an elder from west Nile.When he returned to Uganda, he was arrested by police and later killed
- Nelson Kirya Kalikwani: he was a veteran from Busoga who was picked up by security forces and taken to Luzira where he later died from.
- Hajji SSali from Kabalagala: One of the founders of UFM. His house was bombed and all his family wiped out on the planet earth.
- Katongole and his wife( mukyala we): both shot dead by UNLA soldiers at road block at Kabalagala
- Anna Nantongo: she was a housewife but she was raped and strangled by UNLA soldiers
- Lt.J.J Odong : Killed on orders from the army branch in Mbarara
- Joseph Kyobe: he was an ex-magistrate of Lungujja.Both his sons were shot dead.Later the government apologized for this death with reasons of mistaken identity
- Capt Darlington Ssengendo from Lubaga: he was shot dead at Bakuli by UNLA soldiers
- Lt. Byarugaba: he was picked from officers mess in Moroto barracks and disappeared
- Lt.George Kalenzi: he was killed by RSM Okello of Makindye barracks
- Lt.Kutawanyika Mugisha: UNLA bastards killed him near Kampala on a road block
- Captain Levi Mugarura: he was arrested at Nsambya Housing estate by Oyite-Ojok’s bodyguard and later killed in the nile mansions
- Prof Joseph Ruremenkuba Muhangi: he was gunned down by soldiers at a road block near Kampala.Some body tramped up charges against him( as is the case today under Museveni) that he was gonna poison UPC’s Paul Muwanga
- Cypriano Kalule Kawoya: This one was a lawyer. He was taken out of court in Kampala by soldiers and his body was later found on the outskirts of the city.
- Moses Suubi Mugomba. He was based at Soroti flying school and was killed by soldiers in Jinja
- Mrs Juliet Sebina: she was shot dead on her way to see the husband in prison soon after Vice president,Muwanga Paul, took over their petrol station on Entebbe road, near the clock tower
- Stephen Mulira: he was the managing director of Lint MARKETING Board .He was arrested at road block and taken to the Nile mansions by the then army chief of staff, David Oyite Ojok.
- Sam Karuhanga Rutehenda: he and his brother were killed because they were suspected of helping out on Museveni’s guerrillas.
- The list is so long including my father and other relatives who were killed during that period. If any body wishes, they can add on it, because one day, some one has got to answer for these murders, atleast when s/he dies and meet God. My father was shot while hiding in the garage and left to bleed to death under his car.
I ask Ugandans to start compiling the list of any body politically killed from 1986 up to now. We need to know the dead because they should not be forgotten just like that.One day all the information considered as classified under Museveni will become public. If I had time I would have put out the whole list of ‘UPC murders’ . Please make records of everybody disappearing and dying under Museveni/NRM. If you don’t make these records, nobody will make them for you. Write a book of these murders, keep it safe, and publish it in future if necessary.
Nevertheless, I agree with the assertion that some people were unfairly punished in Buganda after the fall of Obote 1. The cases I know- involved their houses being destroyed and that was it, but not murders. One of the victims was Mr. Busulwa in Nakatundu, Kangulumira(BUGERERE), whose house was put on fire but nobody was killed. Mr.Muwonge in kyabazala was also a victim. My grandfather was also a victim of these crimes and I’m still confused as to why he used to support Obote, but then again he is a Ugandan and he has got a right to associate with any party.
One thing he has always told me though- is that Obote was the most intelligent president Uganda has ever had but he misused his intelligence and that’s why he landed in trouble, and I believe him. Why did he have to antagonize the Baganda by attacking the Kabaka’s Lubili in Mengo? Why wouldn’t he find another way of settling his ‘wars’ with Sir Edward Mutesa instead of attacking the Lubiri and killing a lot of people? It was a very stupid egoistic decision and I pray that Museveni is not advised by anybody to do the same some day because we seem to be moving towards the same direction.
The way forward is a truth and reconciliation committee which is similar to the one the South Africans had after the release of Nelson Mandela. My worry is that we cannot have such a committee under the NRM government that is taking us back where we came from.
Byebyo ebyange
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
Luwero war was justified despite what Museveni has become today
19 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, international, Legal issues, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC
Dear people,
I still believe the Luwero Triangle war was justified and I support the initiative taken by Museveni and others to fight Obote’s government. To broaden this discussion a bit, I’m gonna mention the main principles of the justice of war which are: having just cause, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used. Museveni and Group had a just cause: getting rid of a dictatorial government which had stolen the 1980 elections. The authority that declared war was a mixture of UPM and other registered parties in Uganda (forming something called NRM/NRA) and their intentions were good at the time and most Ugandans supported them particularly the Baganda. NRA/NRM fought a guerrilla war for only 5 years and that justifies the envisaged success. They knew that the population was behind them and that’s why they chose the Baganda spot who openly hated Obote and his regime.
What exactly happened during the course of fighting in Luwero like killing innocent civilians; using child soldiers; and so on, cannot make a war unjustifiable and we have got international bodies that deal with people who break rules of war fare. For instance international agreements such as the Geneva and Hague conventions are historical rules aimed at limiting certain kinds of warfare. The real Luwero war was justified and there is no question about this. If any morals were not considered by the Museveni soldiers while in Luwero, then some body should investigate this and hand it to over to the international bodies.
Mr.Otunnu, the UPC president is already asking for investigations in the Luwero war and it was very wrong for General Tinyenfunza to threaten him in response. I first heard the statement:’we will crash you’ when Besigye decided to start the Reform Agenda prior to 2001 elections. A certain ‘gentleman’ called General Salim Saleh allegedly aired the same words. By the way, these guys dont make threats as Mr.Otunnu may think. They mean real business. Besigye has since been subjected to anything you can think of , to the extent that he had to shift the remainder of his close family abroad. He has to make tours to USA every now and then to see his wife and son.Ambassador Otuunu should be ready for the fire in the kitchen because it’s gonna be very hot. He should seek comfort in Dr.Kiiza Besigye who has seen it all before- the threats, the prison, the charges, the courts, the handicuffs, exile, loss of relatives,……………..Those who are just joining the field should pay a visit to the good doctor.
However, I must warn Ugandans that there are legal arguments in this area of what is considered moral and immoral when fighting a war. It is not an easy case of pointing fingers as some people are doing now. For example, to defeat Germany in World War II, it was deemed necessary to bomb civilian centres, or in the US Civil War, for General Sherman to burn Atlanta. Secondly, how do you morally justify the discovery and use of nuclear weapons in a war and end up killing more people than those that were killed in Luwero Triangle and bushes? The Soviets acquired nuclear and thermonuclear weapons in 1948 and 1953 respectively but an attack in 1948 was not seriously considered. An attack on the Soviet Union was quickly rejected by Eisenhower in 1953—although the main obstacle seems to have been the feasibility of removing permanently the threat in one attack. Similarly, would you consider the Israeli destruction in 1981 by F-15′s and F-16′s of a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor in Iraq a just war or not—although the U.S. and U.N. at the time formally condemned the attack and the Israeli policy? There are several examples including the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Well the point am trying to make here is that wars are justifiable depending on what I have mentioned above. However, what happens during the war does not make a war unjustifiable. Therefore, Museveni’s war against Obote’s forces was justifiable and if he had not done it, probably some body else would have done it.
Byebyo Ebyange.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
How the 1980 elections were rigged
10 Mar 2010 27 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Moshi conference 1979, Obote and UPC
Like I promised Ugandans, we are going to get a detailed evidence of how the 1980 elections were rigged by UPC .I found this topic very interesting because whatever means UPC used to steal the 1980 elections are the same means NRMO are now using to steal the presidential elections in Uganda. It shows that Ugandan leaders never learn anything from history and that makes us doomed. So how did Obote’s UPC steal the 1980 elections?
Obote while in exile in Tanzania wrote to Paul Muwanga ,who was then a cabinet minister under Binayisa’s government, to do everything possible to get UPC back to power even if it meant staging a coup. The letter is a public document which can be seen by anybody in various textbooks and is dated 06/02/1980. Muwanga ,Rwakasisi and group implemented this plan in July 1980 by getting rid of president Binaisa through a ‘coup d’état’. Before the 1980 elections were held, Muwanga wrote to the UPC tabliqs to start laying grounds for the rigging of the 1980 general elections and they awarded him handsomely. Muwanga’s letter is also public property to those who want it.
Another document written by Obote on 12/08/1980 reveals how Obote personally laid out the master plan as to how UPC would stop the election, or, if it was held, rig it, or seize power by military force if his party lost. This document is also public property if any one fancies it.
The appointment of the Electoral Commission was also strongly part of the process of rigging the 1980 elections. First, the military commission was full of UPC people and there were the ones that appointed the Electoral Commission (EC)- just like the current EC is full of people loyal to NRMO and Museveni. The few voices in the military commission who were anti-Obote like Yoweri Museveni could not change anything. Secondly, the chairman of the electoral Commission appointed by Muwanga and group was a strong UPC cadre called Kosea S.M. Kikira. Furthermore, the EC was both partisan and incompetent. Most of the people appointed did not have any experience in election monitoring apart from the chairman himself.
The military commission (MC) was the one that kept announcing the election programs instead of the EC as required by the constitution. The MC reached to the extent of dismissing the 14 DCs who had been appointed as Registration Returning officers by the EC, because they had refused to be comprised by UPC and Muwanga. Muwanga replaced them with 15 UPC members to pave a way for the rigging within the EC.
In addition, the MC interfered with the voter registration exercise such that a certain man who was acting as the UPM publicity secretary called George Grace Bakulu Mpagi, decided to challenge the irregularities in the courts of law. However, the judge came out with almost a similar ruling as the judges in the Besigye Vs Museveni cases of 2001 and 2006, when he said that everything was unlawful but his hands were tied.
The nomination exercise was also flawed and almost every electoral law was broken by the Muwanga and group for the sake of winning the 1980 elections. For example, polling stations in the 4 Kampala constituencies did not open until mid-day which broke the EC laws but was done with the intention of showing common wealth observers that the situation was the same all over the country where there were few observers.
As if that was not enough, UPC made violence and intimidation part of the rigging process just like we have got the Kakoza Mutale of NRMO. For instance, a rally organised by DP candidate,Mr.Anthony Ocaya was disrupted by the UPC gangs while he was campaigning in Gulu. Muwanga also wrote to the Kayihura of that time-directing him that potential DP candidates particularly: Martin Aliker , Hajji Akbar Nekyon, Yoweri Kyesimira and James Kaigiriza, be banned from speaking at public meetings and rallies.
UPC did a lot of things to rig the 1980 elections but the most embarrassing one was when Paul Muwanga stopped the returning officers from announcing the election results and he directed he alone was to announce the results and declare the elected candidates. He took over full control of the EC when he realised that UPC was losing to DP. Obote refutes this in his memoirs published in the monitor newspaper before his death but that was expected from a fulltime politician like him. Muwanga then released the doctored results after 18 hours to the EC whom he asked to announce them on the radio Uganda.
The question that bothers me from all this is that:’ why would Museveni employ the same tactics used by Obote to rig elections in 2001 and 2006 yet he was part of the MC and witnessed how the country went into decline after the rigging of the 1980 elections?’ Does this make Museveni a better politician than Obote or they are birds of the same feather.
Tulabye nyo banange.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
UK
Sedition charges started with Obote and Museveni just polished it
10 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, 2010-2011 elections, Buganda, kingdoms, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC, UPC current politics
Sedition charges did not start with president museveni as he learnt that from one of his predecessors, Dr. Milton Obote. Journalists and the media were some of the biggest casualties of the government’s sensitivity to criticism during Obote and now Museveni. Pro-baganda newspapers like the economy had a breather after the fall of Amin but things started getting tougher afterwards. Obote also got tougher on foreign journalists who had had freedom under Lule and Binaisa. Many newspapers like the weekly topic were closed down by government officials under obote 2. Anthony Sekweyama, the editor of the main Luganda newspaper, Mumansi, and two other employees of the paper were arrested in March and held for three weeks on sedition charges. They were released in mid-April, but the paper — which was the voice of the opposition, Democratic Party — did not reappear until the middle of May. Even the Chief Editor of the new Sunday edition of the government Uganda Times was detained after only editing two issues. The Obote government was apparently annoyed by an article criticising the US boycott of Libyan oil. Obote had turned his previous socialist policies on their head and had been hard at work courting Western investors. No doubt he did not wish them annoyed by a government paper. Surprisingly, Museveni’s paper: Resistance News of the NRM was left on the streets for a while-a point which strengthenes the argument of those who say that Obote always did undermine the strengths of Museveni from day one.
Museveni’s idea of the media centre headed by Robert Kabushenga did not come from the moon. Obote was the man who first introduced Newspaper and Publications Act to lay down conditions for the starting of a newspaper or magazine in Uganda. Museveni’s media centre is an equivalent of Obote’s Press Accreditation Committee (PAC) which had representatives from the Ministries of Information, Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs. Ugandan journalists wishing to send material to foreign sources had to be approved by the same body.
In addition,The throwing away of foreign journalists from Uganda did not start with Museveni as some people think. Four Western journalists who included: Christabel King, Nick Worrall, June Dechter and Bob Dietz, had their accreditation withdrawn before the December 1980 elections which brought Obote to power, mainly because they were considered unsympathetic to Obote. Then four other journalists resident in Kampala also had their press credentials withdrawn and these were: Cameron Morton (September 1981), Mark Lee (December 1981), Tom Lansner (November 1981) and Trent O’Keefe (January 1982). Visiting correspondents, including representatives of the Daily Telegraph and British Independent Television News, were also thrown out of Uganda. The Minister of Information at that time, Dr David Anyoti, said that only qualified and bona fide journalists were permitted to work in the country. He condemned freelance journalists as bent on ‘sensational and subjective journalism’ and condemned the foreign news media for using ‘second-rate yellow journalists’. Cameron Morton, for example, was put under house arrest and expelled immediately after reporting army massacres in the West Nile and Trent O’Keefe had his accreditation withdrawn a few days after a BBC report of the murder of five churchgoers by Ugandan troops during a Sunday service in Katiti village in Luwero district. Actually, any body telling you that the killing of Ugandans like bees in Luwero started with NRM is just kicking himself in the teeth.
Black Mambas started with Obote before Museveni copied
10 Mar 2010 Leave a Comment
in 1980 Uganda elections, FDC, history, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC
As far as I know, Black mambas were in existence during Obote 2 and Museveni’s government and not in FDC. Whatever Obote did during his reign, Museveni can do better. When president Museveni sent the ‘black mambas’ in the case of Dr.Kiiza Besigye and other PRA suspects Vs the state of Uganda , and black mambas surrounded the court, he was just polishing what he had been taught by his political master, Milton Obote.
When Obote stole the 1980 elections just like most political thieves, he started manipulating the judiciary as a way of keeping himself in power. Lawyers who tried to represent people in courts were intimidated, detained or killed. For example, Cprian Kawoya was abducted from the high court while the court was in session and later murdered by Obote’s ‘black mambas’. Other lawyers killed or tortured under similar circumstances include: Hon. George Bamuturaki, Gideon Mutanga, Sewava Sempala,e.t.c.
Another incident is when Barak Kirya was acquitted of treason charges in Dec 1984, he was rearrested in the same way Besigye was rearrested and taken back to Luzira Prison. Kirya just like Besigye was co-accused with others on treason charges( who included captain Mark Kodili, major Hussain Ada, Captain Sajjad Soori, Frank Kivumbi and James Balamu), who were also acquitted by the judge but the Obote’s ‘black mambas’ surrounded the court and these guys could not leave the court room. They were eventually forced out and taken back to Luzira. So Ugandans, the black mambas you saw in 2006 who surrounded the high court did not start with president Museveni. He is doing exactly what Obote used to. We shall see all these things as we continue throughout this year and see how UPC and NRM are now similar in the way they approach national issues. The man (Matsiko) who wrote an article in the monitor this week about the similarities between NRMO AND UPC did not just dream. We have got UPC 111 now in Uganda.
Abbey
‘killing a muganda or a munyankole is as easy as riding a bicycle’,said an Acholi soldier
01 Mar 2010 17 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, 2010-2011 elections, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC, Tribalism
Dear readers,
Uganda is a long way to uniting as one country which is sad. Late Obote divided the country so much and the current politicians are also still taking advantage of these divisions. Obote practically divided the north and south of Uganda from the 1960s. Museveni rightly used this division to get rid of Obote dictatorship and getting himself into power.
Obote used to call the freedom fighters in Luwero Triangle ‘bandits’ after he illegally imposed himself on Ugandans on the evening of Saturday,11 December 1980 ,and unsurprisingly some UPC supporters are also using the same words(bandits) of their mentor in some of their messages. It’s no secret that Obote hated Baganda and the vice versa was true. For instance, In a speech broadcast on radio Uganda , obote told a rally held in soroti in 1981 that if the baganda did not behave themselves, they (the Acholi-Langi alliance) would do to them what they did to the west Nilers in 1980.
Phares Mutibwa in his book ‘Uganda since independence’ also wrote that at Kololo(outskirts of Kampala city) , one Acholi soldier wrote on the wall:’killing a muganda or a munyankole is as easy as riding a bicycle’.
So basically, whoever was to fight a guerrilla war against Obote’s despotic regime had to exploit this divisionism which had been started by Obote from the 1960s when he made sure that the army was dominated by northerners. It is the very reason why museveni chose Luwero triangle as his spot to fight Obote because he knew that Baganda and southerners in general would support the rebels in everything. It was also claimed in a public lecture at Makerere University in 1988 by A.G.G Gingyera-Pinycwa, professor of political science, that the NRM/NRA went to the bush to remove the northerners from power, and I don’t think that he was far from the truth.
The questions we should also ask ourselves are:
- Who started this process of dividing Uganda into the north and south?
- What can be done by the present and future generation of Uganda to make sure that it does not happen again?
- Do northerners need some form of a sensitisation program to realise that anybody can become a president whether he or she is shorter than you? What matters is what that person has got to offer.
- Can the current tribal divisions in UPDF also cause us future problems if they are left unchecked for a long time?
Byebyo ebyange
Abbey.K.Semuwemba
God bless you!
Correcting some of the UPC lies on elections and 1980 murders
01 Mar 2010 2 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, 2010-2011 elections, Lule and Uganda politics, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC
Dear readers,
I would wish to push forward the spirit of reconciliation with the past and I guess I have already told Ugandans this at some point. My problem is when some UPC supporters come in a public forum and start calling Obote and UPC ‘Jesus’ when we all know what happened in the past.
1. Yes, it is true that UPC and NRM came to power differently but they have now got a lot in common. When one analyses Museveni’s 3rd term (6th term), it is operating on the same UPC principles of isolating enemies, weakening the baganda and Buganda kingdom, building an ethnic based army and call it a ‘national army’, e.t.c. UPC came into existence a result of Obote divorcing Iganatius Musazi’s UNC over the composition of leadership which was full of baganda. Obote then united with UPU which was also anti-baganda to form what is called UPC. So, as far as I know there was no vote in the formation of UPC apart from the usual ‘wakayima tondeka nyuma’ skills by Obote. UPC has never got the people’s mandate to govern Uganda because their leader has always been afraid of elections. When did Ugandans ever elect Obote to be their president?
2. The internal problems UNLF got were all pre-planned by the elements within UPC who were both members of the UNLF and the military commission. These people were all there to drive UPC interests and not a united government interests. They got rid of yusuf Lule and later on also got rid of Binayisa after realising that he was not gonna push UPC interests despite him being a member of UPC or oboteist earlier on. Obote himself acknowledged in the letter he wrote to Paulo muwanga on 6th January 1980 that: ‘……..the UNLF was founded as an anti-upc organisation……as my friends have told me, Lukongwa is most likely to go. Iam sure apart from our members, the rest of the members of the NCC would not want to consider the candidature of a leading UPC member such as yourself.’
3. Museveni’s FRONASA were by then part of the UNLA with their leader deputising Paul Muwanga in the military commission. Most of the murders that took place in Kampala happened after the rigging of the 1980 elections. Oh my God, so many people were killed like jiggers by none other than Obote’s UNLA since the Musevenis had gone to the bush after the rigged elections. There are specific well documented incidents that incriminate Obote’s forces in the crimes committed against Ugandans after imposing himself on them in the 1980s.
4. Ugandans did not ask Obote to come from Tanzania to come and lead them. UPC comrades did and he was expecting it because he had set the ground for it. Dr. Obote never wanted the 1980 elections to take place because he knew his party were gonna lose badly and this is evidenced in the secret document he wrote on 12/08/1980: ‘ our party is opposed to elections and will only accept the prospect of holding elections at the greatest of pains. I don’t need to remind you how much the Baganda hate me personally. Nor do you need to be reminded the demonstrations that followed Lule’s fall…….we must do everything possible to see that elections are not held on the 30th of September as proposed’. He also said in the same document that: ‘if it appears just before, during or immediately after the elections that things are not working out as expected there should immediately be a mutiny by the Army. For this purpose the chief of staff has already ensured that all commanders of the Brigades are loyal to us.’ Obote has never wanted to be an ordinary Uganda just like president Museveni as never wanted to be an ordinary Uganda. Both these guys are so superficial in their characters.
I’m not going to talk about the killing spree by the movement ,as some UPC members call it, before they came to power. In any case, they aren’t different from UPC now. I will leave that to NRM Supporters to serve you the ‘usual’ on their menus. All I know is that the situation in Uganda
deteriorated so much in the 1980s to the extent that there was no any other way of kicking out UPC dictatorship other than fighting it militarily. So I still maintain that the war in the Luwero triangle was justified. What has happened after this war makes you think twice about wars but what can we do with these men who don’t wanna listen. You tell me.
Abbey
GOD BLESS
Museveni’s mission is a lesson to Rwandese Haters
09 Feb 2010 4 Comments
in Bahima and Banyarwanda, international, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Presidency
Ugandans,
Please be careful not to get sacked into Museveni’s book:’sowing the mustard seed’, because it can have an effect on anybody after reading it. It shows a man who was on a mission from day one.It’s interesting because most people are only born with ambitions such as becoming a doctor, teacher or nurse or something like that- which are just straightforward careers but Museveni’s book portrays him as a man who wanted non of the above ‘give me a desk, suite and a pen’ careers. That’s why I keep telling people that ‘love him or hate him’, Museveni has got the ‘Reagan ‘ effect on the people of Uganda. Reagan also had that effect on the Americans despite keeping them in miserly. That’s why im not surprised that an FDC man like you is giving Museveni credit where it’s due.
May be this should be a lesson to people like Mr.Edward Mulindwa of Toronto- who keep portraying Rwandese immigrants in Uganda as scumbags. Yes,Museveni and Mugisha Muntu may have a Rwandese background but we should move ourselves above that if we are to move forward. The Californians voted for somebody with dual citizenship as their Governor’s in Schwarzenegger and there is now a movement pushing for the amendment of the US constitution such that he could ran for president in future. They want specifically Article II, which holds that a president must be a “natural born” citizen to be amended.
I don’t know if Museveni came to Uganda with anything apart from the clothes he had on but he has made himself somebody in the Uganda history and nobody in their right minds can deny this. I read somewhere that at least Schwarzenegger arrived in America with little more than a gym bag but he became a Hollywood star with lots of money and later a governor. So instead of people showering abuse to Rwandese immigrants in Uganda, may be we should instead do something about lives and compete with them.Abanyarwanda joined Museveni’s bush war in Luwero because they Obote and Rwakasisi was up inn their necks.Museveni gave them a home in Luwero. They later found a home in their country buy figthting Habyariman government. Abanyarwanda are still on a mission to strengthen their position in the great lakes region because they know that whatever they have achieved so far can easily be thrown out of the window. We should all be a mission or target human beings.
Nze Bwendaba
Abbey
Ugandans have never elected for Unmarried Obote
07 Jan 2010 4 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, history, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC
people on kampala street
Dear readers,
One UAH member called Mr.Musisi,wrote:’’When I say that Obote was elected into office unmarried, I surely mean 1962 – and did not get through rigging, regardless of process, and tye electorate preferred umarried Milton Obote’s UPC to married Ben Kiwanuka’s DP’’
I would like to say that apart from the time when Obote was elected to the Legco in 1958, he never directly got elected by the people of Uganda into any office. He never presented himself to be elected and when he did in 1980, he rigged his way into power which led to the luwero bush war because Ugandans could not accept him.
He was chairman of the Lango District Council before being elected to the Legco in 1958. Lango is not a populous district, and though his popularity in that district was built up soon after his entry into politics upon his return to Uganda, his power stemmed from the influence wielded by his clan rather than from any mass organization he was able to create there. So basically he relied on his clan to win that election as well not his popularity as a person or leader.
In 1962, Obote was ‘elected’ or chosen by parliament(and not the people of Uganda) to become our PM because his party had become the majority in the legislature. In 1966, he imposed himself on the people of Uganda and he assumed the powers of the president and VP but we spared him till when Amin kicked him out in 1971. He again imposed himself on us through election rigging in 1980 but we never allowed him to enjoy the chair even for a second because he was already very unpopular among the masses.
Actually, we should have had a General election in 1967 but because of Obote’s fear of elections, the Republican constitution was passed in that year and under it, it was specifically provided that all members of the then existing parliament were deemed to have been elected for a further term of 5 years. I guess Museveni picked the trickery of extending ‘5years term’ from the man buried in Lango and now we are stuck with him too.
In 1980,when Obote came back in Uganda via Bushenyi which was a strong UPC stronghold, he declared his intentions to stand for presidency. Because of his known fear of direct elections, he immediately failed to to call a delegates conference. He knew that some people within Upc were planning to get rid of him and this group was headed by Akena Pojok and Tiberondwa. They later held a bogus delegates conference( current NRM style) after some pressure within UPC in which he was endorsed as the party candidate without any one challenging him. He rigged the 1980 elections and the rest is now history as he is history too.
But I must also say that both Obote and Muwanga did not deserve to be in parliament in the 1980s for they were not elected. Paulo Muwanga should never have been in Parliament in 1980 as a member because he did not contest any parliamentary seat. He was also not specially elected by parliament to sit there as a member nor was his elected by his party to sit in parliament. So Muwanga and Obote’s membership in parliament in 1983 were legally very questionable. They both broke the 1967 constitution and we need to charge their graves if possible. The 1967 constitution itself Obote used to form a cabinet and open up parliament was not respected after stealing the elections. Because Obote did not stand as an MP somewhere nor specifically elected by the UPC parliamentary group,he broke the law to allow himself to be sworn in as a member of parliament
Democracy was not part of Obote’s dictionary or needs and anybody who relate anything democracy to Obote is taking Ugandans for a ride. So it is unfair to say that the electorate preferred unmarried Milton Obote’s UPC to married Ben Kiwanuka’s DP since Obote has never been directly elected by the people of Uganda. In any case, UPC went through because the electorate in Buganda loved their kabaka and voted for KY which had earlier formed a coalition with UPC to defeat Kiwanuaka’s DP. Obote and UPC alone would never have defeated Kiwanuka because he was even popular in the north.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
Rwakasis’s freedon, Muwanga and Obote’s death and tittles was just UPC PR
22 Nov 2009 Leave a Comment
in luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC, Politics, UPC current politics
Uganda house was allegedly built using tax payers' money
Rwakasisi should not be linked to our Nelson Mandela at all. Not every murderer or thief that pops out of prison should be linked to Nelson Mandela. I think this was a simple PR by UPC which did not go down very well. I’m also happy that Rwakasisi announced not to involve himself in politics anymore because his involvement would have been the biggest injustice to the politics of Uganda in 2009.He has chosen to die a man of God and let me hope that he does not do a U turn and start ‘mubajjeling’ in politics as sheikh Mubajje is doing.
Surely the UPC wanted to use Rwakasisi’s freedom as a way to rejuvenate their party. That is why mama Miria rushed to call Rwakasisis a ‘Mandela’. UPC are very good at using painful situations to galvanise their party. They did it during Obote’s funeral. They also know very well how the death and funeral of their vice president Paulo Muwanga galvanised the party and brought it back from the limbo it had fallen into after the coup of July 1985.
However, Joseph Ochoeno is right about UPC playing a crucial role during apartheid. That is why Mandella very much wanted Museveni to make up with Obote before his death in Zambia. Mandella also invited Obote during his inauguration as president of South Africa. Mandela acknowledged Obote by name as one of the people who helped their struggle. Mandela also helped Obote with money while he was in exile in Zambia. Nyerere was also friends with both Museveni and Obote and they both tried very hard to bring the two together but Museveni could have none of them could have any of it.
With due respect, What was Obote studying in Ethiopia to be called a DR? Obote was expelled from the University for organizing a food riot, and there are no records anywhere to indicate he ever studied for a medical degree, or a PhD in any field. So what is with this fixation of calling the man Dr.? I think I agree with Mr. Shyaka Kanuma , UNHCR (Rwanda) Media and Information Consultant when he said in 2005 that people who praise Obote all the time can be assumed to reflect some pathological inability not to tell the whole truth. Have we ever heard of any UPC supporter or sympathiser coming up to say that Obote did A,B,C and D and therefore let us move on. It was only Omugeye Miria Kalule Obote who apologised in 2006 elections on behalf of UPC but she never told us what she was actually apologising for. That is why I have been asking Mr. Joseph Ochieno to give us a list of the things UPC was apologising for. By the way, Joseph promised to send us this list and we are still waiting.
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom
Note: Joseph Ochieno is UPC ‘s representative in the UK and Ireland
Video:
‘Sowing the Mustard seed’ is both Museveni and Obote’s book
22 Nov 2009 4 Comments
in luwero war after 1980 'theft', Obote and UPC, Politics
‘Sowing the Mustard seed’ is both Museveni and Obote’s book. It is a book which don’t tell us a lot about some of the main things we need to know. I actually pray that another of the historicals like Besigye and Muntu write a different book and keep it somewhere to act as a second reference to what happened between 1980 and 2006. We have been fed with enough lies about NRA and Obote and some of us have had enough. Some one somewhere needs to start telling the truth or we shall force the truth out of them.
The 1997 ‘Museveni- Obote’ or ‘sowing the mustard seed’ is a book that is much dominated by the name Obote and UPC.Apart from Museveni, the item, group, event, or personality that gets the second highest number of mentions is Milton Obote.
According to the Monitor newspaper(2005),In Sowing The Mustard Seed, Obote appears on 51 pages, followed by Amin on 47 pages, the Uganda People’s Congress party on 34, Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere on 26, Museveni’s first fighting force Fronasa on 25, the Democratic Party on 21, Museveni’s comrades Eriya Kategaya 19 and Martin Mwesiga 18 respectively, the National Resistance Army on 16, Museveni’s brother Lt. General Salim Saleh also on 16 pages, and the National Resistance Movement party on 10 pages. Museveni’s wife, Janet Kataha Museveni, appears only on 8 pages.
Absurdly, the UPC party of Obote gets more space in Museveni’s book than any political group Museveni has ever founded and led, from Fronasa, to the UPM, and the NRA/NRM.
I also just wish that the UPC guys like Ochieno Joseph stop hiding the truth about Obote and write everything for the sake of us, the young generation, who endeavour to find the truth wherever it is. It pains me when I open my inbox and read a message about UPC that is indefensible from Ochieno. This kind of stand does not do any fovours for UPC at all. UPC killed Ugandans and we want a UPC cabinet member like Tiberondwa or Rwakasisi to come out and say everything as it happened. We don’t need to be refered to Obote memoirs like Ochieno has been doing.
So basically we need atleast three books from another NRM historical and an Obote or UPC historical to corraborate what is in Museveni’s book.
Nze Bwendaba
Abbey
Notes:
Muntu had to defend Museveni against the Luwero murders out of principle. The luwero murders are something that keeps popping up in discussions here. I don’t know the full truth about this but all I know is that Museveni threatened to sue the Daily monitor and Obote in 2005 when Obote accused Museveni of being responsible for Luwero murders. Do you remember the Andrew Mwenda-Obote interview and when he was hosted on the KFM station? Museveni did not go ahead with the libel suit because some people thought that he would fall into Obote’s tricks of justifying something which was not there. It is believed that Obote made these allegations to whip up controversy and confusion because it is common knowledge that the UNLA [Uganda National Liberation Army] was guilty of mass murder in the Luwero Triangle between 1981 and 1985.I’m not a soldier and I did not fight in Luwero triangle but surely Obote failed to protect the Ugandans in Luwero and that makes him a weak statesman.
Differences between Luwero-Museveni war and Kony war
19 Aug 2009 1 Comment
in luwero war after 1980 'theft'
The problem with some UPC supporters is that they just take things at face value without critically analysing issues. Now let us analyse the internal dynamics of the war before they start comparing the silly Joseph Kony war and the NRA war (1980-86) again.
First of all, there is a difference between the conventional war and an irregular war (guerrilla war). Conventional wars have clear front lines in which attacks take place mostly from barricades and stable positions. Violence against civilians and combatants takes place in clearly distinguished spaces. Civilians are generally isolated from the battlefield: while some may live close to the frontlines, or even go there to visit combatants, their life is somewhat independent from the events taking place in it. The American Civil war (1861-1865) was a typical example of a conventional civil war. We have not had that kind of war in Uganda history since independence.
In Guerrilla wars (like Luwero Triangle), such a clear spatial distinction between battlefield and non-battlefield areas is lacking, as the war takes place unevenly all over the territory. In consequence, there is a greater mingling of civilians and combatants. So despite the fact that it is called the Luwero Triangle war, civilians were killed in other parts of the country as well. The battle lines were not limited in Luwero.
Civilians are killed in a guerrilla war when, for example, civilians hide potential victims, they help them to flee to other places; they give false indications to the groups, remain silent, or even engage in violent confrontation with the group. Going by this explanation, it is so likely that the Obote men or UNLA would be the one to exert violence on the civilian population during the Luwero Triangle war. Several people were killed between 1980 and 1985 because they were thought to be ‘Bayekela’ (rebels) or helping the ‘bayekela’. Obote had no support from Buganda where most of the killing took place. He had ‘lost’ an election in 1980 but he decided to impose himself on the people of Uganda. So the aggrieved party here were the people of Uganda.
In Kony’s case, civilians in the north are most likely killed by the rebels because of non-cooperation with an enemy or occupier (NRMO government), civilian disobedience, and ideological opposition- “civilian defence”. Actually, the war in northern Uganda is one of the trickiest civil wars in the world. It is very difficult to know who is doing the more killing between LRA and UPDF but my bet would be on LRA because they don’t have enough support where they are fighting from.
The difference between the Joseph Kony war or LRA war and Luwero Triangle war is that Joseph Kony failed to mobilise majority of the population in the north to support his cause unlike museveni who convinced majority of the population in the south of Uganda to support his cause to get rid of Obote dictatorship. Where there is a high level of mobilization of the population, armed groups are prone to target civilians in order to sweep the rears of potentially challenging enemies.
In a nutshell, there is no justification for the LRA war and that is why it is bound to end in failure. The best Kony can get out of this situation is saving his own skin. I know Mr. Matek,one of the UPC supporters, does not agree with us on this one but it is the truth.
Abbey
Who are the real Ugandan killers
05 Mar 2009 Leave a Comment
in luwero war after 1980 'theft', Politics
Ugandans,
I have been reading some messages on the UAH forum calling those who fought Obote dictatorship in 1980 to be ‘killers ‘or ‘murderers ‘ but is this justified at all. We all know that Obote was destroying democracy in Uganda in the 1980s and the quest for or preservation of “democracy” is often used as a justification for war.
Again, I keep asking myself these questions: is there any human being who is not capable of ‘killing’ a fellow human being if squeezed by a certain situation. Personally, I don’t support any body to kill any fellow human being but at the same time I know that I live in the world where most of human beings are potential killers (even those preaching against it). Human beings have done so much killing throughout the history of civilization. Since the beginning of civilization millions and millions of people have been killed in combat or died in the aftermath of combat. The socialists (Communists and Fascists) in the 20th century murdered more than 100 million civilians (source: “The Black Book of Communism”).
When we go back to the circumstances that led to the Luwero war, war was inevitable. Ugandans had to use all the ‘’necessary means’’ to get rid of Obote. It appeared to be an essential element of Darwinian evolution which is “red in tooth and class”, the survival of the fittest and where might is right. The pacifist Greek idealist and philosopher Plato also wrote long ago, “Only the dead have seen an end to war”. So probably, as long as human beings are squeezing fellow human beings in certain areas, these things are gonna be part of us whether we like it or not. The solution is to respect the rights of fellow human beings whether you are a president or prison officer or spy man.
Then there are people who fight the government of Uganda unjustifiably like Joseph Kony. He started his war with childish 10 God’s commandments and unsurprisingly he managed to get followers. Before Kony, there was Alice Lakwena who deceived people that she had magical powers and they still followed her. Anyway, like the Nazi leader Herman Goering once remarked that it was easy to lead people: into war, regardless of whether they resided within “a democracy, a fascist: dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.” All that was: required, Goering argued, is for their government to “tell them they are being attacked,…”
If we continue with ‘killers’ then even drunk drivers are killers because they cause a lot of road accidents every day. Personally, I also take women who abort their children to be ‘killers’ but at the same time they may have a good reason to do so. I still think that abortionists are ‘killers’ and they are wrong because I think the unborn are ” people” deserving the exact same rights as an actual born person.
Then there are people who are called ‘serial killers’ and I don’t know whether we have got them in Uganda . There are websites on the internet where the artwork, letters, locks of hair, even fingernail clippings and crawlspace dirt of notorious serial killers can be had for a price. Christopher Berry-Dee, a British criminologist who did a videotaped interview with serial killer, Michael Ross, in September 1994, copied his finished product and rough footage onto a DVD and began selling it on his own website, and another serial killer website, for $29, plus shipping and handling. Despite the fact that some Ugandans are saying everyday that Late Obote was responsible for the death of their relatives,UPC is using the name of the same man to promote their party. So may be, human beings have accepted killing to be part of their society as long there is an end benefit to one of the parties involved.
In addition to the DVD, several of Ross’s handwritten envelopes were for sale on eBay in 1999; two years before the Internet’s largest auction house said it would no longer permit the sale of killers’ memorabilia out of concern for victims’ families.
People are always ready to protect killers especially if they are from their own clans or ethnicity and nobody is surprised by the actions of strong Obote apologists. For instance, an Israeli student finishes high school without ever hearing the name “Genrikh Yagoda,” the greatest Jewish murderer of the 20th Century.
Then we have got film stars like Michael Moore who practically accused Bush Junior to be a killer in his ‘fahrenheit 911 ‘ film- for those who have watched it. This was because of the death of American soldiers, of Iraqi women and children for the purpose, but was this the right word to use on Bush or not? I don’t know in Bush’s case but I know one thing for sure: Dr.Besigye does not deserve to be called a killer because he was involved in a struggle for democracy in Uganda between 1980 and 1986.
As so often in life, there is no real “solution” with a happy ending. People went to fight Obote dictatorship in the 1980s not knowing that we will have almost a similar problem afterwards. Buganda supported this revolution and the federo promised to them during the bush is not even in a walking distance to achieve it.
Byebyo banange
Abbey.K.Semuwemba
Common Man’s Charter Vs 10 point programme
10 Feb 2009 Leave a Comment
in history, luwero war after 1980 'theft', Politics
Let us go slow on the comparison between Common Man’s Charter and Museveni’s 10 point programme. I’m not a Museveni sympathiser but sometimes I’m forced to defend his paper policies when some one starts ‘sugarcoating’ Obote’s failures. Ok, let us see what we know so far about these two paper policies:
1.Obote’s first administration started off as market-oriented and pluralistic. Then in 1966 Obote changed for the worse as we all know by now. The Common Man Charter(CMC) was a step influenced by what was happening in Tanzania at the time. So basically Obote moved to the left in 1969 and the CMC was adopted by UPC at their delegates conference in the same year.Nyerere had a hand in most of Obote’s changes in Uganda from the 1960s till when his death.
On the other hand, Yoweri Museveni started on the left ideologically. In the 1970s he was virtually a Marxist-Leninist. People like Robert Mugabe were radicalised by armed struggle. Yoweri Museveni was de-radicalised by armed struggle. Robert Mugabe became more and more of a socialist in the heat of the liberation war. Yoweri Museveni became less and less of a socialist in the tensions of armed struggle against the Obote regime.
2.Like i said, the CMC buried Obote 1 because it was a threat to both the British andUSA interests in the region. The British had about 80 companies in Uganda wh faced the threat of nationalisation.On May 1, 1970 President Obote announced that the state would take over foreign enterprises in the famous Nakivubo Pronouncements.So the British through the Isrealis hatched a plan from South Sudan to get rid of socialist Obote. The USA also looked at the relationship Obote had with Nyerere as a threat to their capitalist interests in the region.
On the other hand, the 10 point programme had the blessing of most of the international community. Austria is where the 10 point programme was galvanised from and the movement held a lot of meetings there in 1985. That’s why the International Institute for Peace (IIP) president, Erwin Lanc, Austria’s former internal and foreign affairs minister and his wife, Christianne, were invited to attend the 15th Heroes Day celebrations at Ssembwe-Nyimbwa, Luweero.
3. The CMC was bound to fail from the beginning because, according to prof Ali Mazrui,the state had entered the market place of enterprise and pushed away the real entrepreneurs. It felt the role of government was to actively control and own business. They felt an equitable and just environment can only be created by government owning and interfering with business. The Government then simply rewarded supporters and chased away political opponents. A bedrock of nepotism and corruption and mismanagement was born. The companies were run down.
In addition, the CMC was introduced to make everyone relatively with money into their pockets to curb down on ‘kondoism’ or thuggery which was going at the time. Instead it just increased ‘kondoism’ as the rich kept being scared of the people. So it was a total failure. Let us also remember that Obote’s CMC was not pure socialism as that of Nyerere. So it was a bit of a confusing document with intentions which Mr. Nviri will give us if he wants to inishallah.
On the other hand, the 10 point programme had the support of the masses in Uganda mainly in the south of the country. Museveni’s point No.5 for an independent, integrated and self-sustaining economy, for which he is still fighting for, was and is a better attractive option for Ugandans than the so called CMC.
In addition,despite the fact that Museveni has not done much to get Ugandans out of poverty, his 10 point programme is evn still popular among the opposition. For instance,DP president is on record saying that DP will take up NRM’s 10-point programme and polish it in preparation for the 2011 general elections, the party president, John Ssebaana Kizito, said.
Abbey
Luwero war and UPC murders
29 Nov 2008 2 Comments
in 1980 Uganda elections, luwero war after 1980 'theft'
We all feel bad about the people that died during and after the Luwero Triangle war. This war happened in Buganda and that means so many baganda died more than any other tribe. It is this very tribe that supported Museveni and hated Obote and UPC. This very tribe still hates Obote and UPC and it is starting to hate Museveni.The baganda killed in Luwero were not only UPC members. Both the guerrillas and the UNLA killed a lot of people in the Luwero triangle and outside this triangle. However, there are several Ugandans that lost their lives from the time UPC rigged the 1980 elections. Among them include the following:
- Joseph Nsubuga from Rubaga: was killed along with his father and brother in law and their house was destroyed by a dynamite
- Mr.Kinaalwa: He was chaorman East Mengo growers Coop union. He was killed with 14 others following a visit by paul muwanga and Hajji musa Sebirumbi.
- Alhajji Jabiiri: he was an elder from west nile.When he returned to Uganda, he was arrested by police and later killed
- Nelson Kirya Kalikwani: he was a veteran from Busoga who was picked up by security forces and taken to Luzira where he later died from.
- Hajji SSali from Kabalagala: One of the founders of UFM. His house was bombed and all his family wiped out on the planet earth.
- Katongole ne mukyala we: both shot dead by UNLA soldiers at road block at Kabalagala
- Anna Nantongo: she was a housewife but he was raped and strangled by UNLA soldiers
- Lt.J.J Odong : Killed on orders from the army branch in Mbarara
- Joseph Kyobe: he was an ex-magistrate of Lungujja.Both his sons were shot dead.Later the government apologised for this death with reasons of mistaken identity
- Capt Darlington Ssengendo from Lubaga: he was shot dead at Bakuli by UNLA soldiers
- Lt. Byarugaba: he was picked from officers mess in Moroto barracks and disapperared
- Lt.Georhe Kalenzi: he was killed by RSM Okello of Makindye barracks
- Lt.Kutawanyika Mugisha: UNLA bastards killed him near Kampala on a road block
- Captain Levi Mugarura: he was arrested at Nsambya Housing estate by Oyite-Ojok’s bodyguard and later killed in the nile mansions
- Prof Joseph Ruremenkuba Muhangi: he was gunned down by soldiers at a road block near kampala.Some body tramped up charges on him that he was gonna poison UPC’s paul Muwanga
- Cypriano Kalule Kawoya: This one was a lawyer. He was taken out of court in Kamapal by soldiers and his body was later found on the outskirts of the city.
- Moses Suubi Mugomba. He was based at soroti flying school and was killed by soldiers in Jinja
- Mrs Juliet Sebina: she was shot dead on her way to see the husband in prison soon after Vice president,Muwanga Paul, took over their petrol station on Entebbe road, near the clock tower
- Stephen Mulira: he was the managing director of Lint MARKETING Board .He was arrested at road block and taken to the nile mansions by the then army chief of staff, David Oyite Ojok.
- Sam Karuhanga Rutehenda: he and his brother were killed because they were suspected of helping out on Museveni’s guerrillas.
- This list is so long including my father and other relatives who were killed at that time. If any body wishes, they can add on it, because one day, some one has got to answer for these murders.
Why the Luwero war was justified?
21 Nov 2008 Leave a Comment
in luwero war after 1980 'theft'
Regarding the justification of the Luwero war, I still believe it was justified and I support the initiative taken by Museveni and others to fight Obote’s government. To broaden this discussion a bit, I’m gonna mention the main principles of the justice of war which are: having just cause, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used. Museveni and Group had a just cause: getting rid of a dictatorial government which had stolen the 1980 elections. The authority that declared war was a mixture of UPM and other registered parties in Uganda (forming something called NRM/NRA) and their intentions were good at the time and most Ugandans supported them particularly the Baganda. NRA/NRM fought a guerrilla war for only 5 years and that justifies the envisaged success. They knew that the population was behind them and that’s why they chose the Baganda spot who openly hated Obote and his regime.
What exactly happened during the course of fighting in Luwero like killing innocent civilians; using child soldiers; and so on, cannot make a war unjustifiable and we have got international bodies that deal with people who break rules of war fare. For instance international agreements such as the Geneva and Hague conventions are historical rules aimed at limiting certain kinds of warfare. The real Luwero war was justified and there is no question about this. If any morals were not considered by the Museveni soldiers while in Luwero, then some body should investigate this and hand it to over to the international bodies. That is why we have got the ICC now disturbing Kony, Bemba , Taylor and others.
However, I must warn people that there are legal arguments in this area of what is considered moral and immoral when fighting a war. It is not an easy case. For example, to defeat Germany in World War II, it was deemed necessary to bomb civilian centres, or in the US Civil War, for General Sherman to burn Atlanta. Secondly, how does one morally justify the discovery and use of nuclear weapons in a war and end up killing more people than those that were killed in Luwero Triangle and bushes? The Soviets acquired nuclear and thermonuclear weapons in 1948 and 1953 respectively but an attack in 1948 was not seriously considered. An attack on the Soviet Union was quickly rejected by Eisenhower in 1953–although the main obstacle seems to have been the feasibility of removing permanently the threat in one attack. Similarly, would you consider the Israeli destruction in 1981 by F-15′s and F-16′s of a plutonium-producing nuclear reactor in Iraq a just war or not–although the U.S. and U.N. at the time formally condemned the attack and the Israeli policy? There are several examples including the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Well the point am trying to make is that wars are justifiable depending on what I have mentioned above. However, what happens during the war does not make a war unjustifiable. Therefore, Museveni’s war against Obote’s forces was justifiable and if he had not done it, probably some body else would have done it.
