How Demonising Dr Obote Kept Museveni In Power, Will Deny Kyagulanyi Presidency And Continue Dividing Uganda.
” Killer, murderer, traitor, butcher, heartless, should die again!” Names given to what I insist and say father of the nation, Dr Million Obote.
35 years, President Museveni used the Obote dark shadows as a scare crow. ” A good Muganda is a dead one ” we grew up knowing as said by Dr Obote. Some one testified that he said in good faith.
When a relative of his wife, a muganda,( by the way, Obote married a muganda and his children are Baganda/ Lango blood).
When the deceased was sick, no one went to see him, when he died, Obote asked during burial ” so a good one is the dead one?” When alive no one bothered, typical of Ugandans, we are good at crying than solving problems. The moral question is, who can hate his wife and tribe like that. Yes, as students of politics, start your research on why they say politics is a dirty game. Always talks are twisted.
The 1966 conflict that saw the unfortunate Butcher and maiming at Mengo brutally orchestrated by Iddi Amin the then army chief Iddi Amin backed by the British who clandestinely planned to host Dr Obote took a toll.
Just 6 years after the overthrow of Kabaka, and abrogation of the constitution in 1966, Amin became President ” remember kabalagala jonya song,” welcoming Amin. The moral question is, how do trust a Butcherman who brutally murdered your people and deposed your king?
How do you trust the colonialists? Remember Kabaka took refuge there, sadly murdered under British watch only to report he died of Alcohol poisoning, too much Alcohol, really? Again, Idd Amin, president, brought back the remains of Kabaka getting heroic welcome.
In 1980s, President Museveni used the Buganda to achieve his life presidency. He knew what any government can do to stop rebellion. He knew the price and cost.
He knew, when the institution of Buganda gives support to his rebels, the Baganda as a tribe will embrace it. Indeed the entire Buganda embraced the war since Museveni wittingly told and assured them EBYAFFE, returning the kingdom and what Obote took away.
Using their intelligence, government knew the strategy of Museveni. The moral question is, why put a people in arms way? Besides cross fire, government, like in LRA war, where NRM branded many collaborators. Many were killed, brutalized and massacred.
Whatever happened in Buganda was worse in the North. By the way in the 2 decades war, 1.8 million enslaved in camps, more than 100 thousand children abducted, culture destroyed, farms destroyed and livelihood too with Hope’s reduced to mere rambling of motor vehicles engines bringing relief food.
Terrible. By the way, this time two enemies, government who tortured the people and the rebels who killed and abducted at will. Imagine bodies killed and boiled in pots, hundreds murdered in thousands over years. By the way, mouth cut, ears etc. Sickness like Ebola and nodding disease were introduced. Poverty, desperation sees hundreds committing suicide weekly.
At the peak of the war, 1997, President Museveni, displayed skulls in Luwero and used UPC and name Obote and tribes in the North to scare Ugandans. He said, electing opposition will bring the 1966 and Luwero pain back.
The moral question is, why display skulls, why use tribalism and Obote to achieve. So if you hated Obote and UPC that much, why work with family? Is it part of destruction? But God is the answer. The children of Dr Obote do not know Lango, they speak Luganda. The fact that they bowed to you doesn’t mean defeat but God. Again, the other question is. If Obote was the man behind killings which I don’t dispute, who killed Dr Kayira? He had all the secrets and sincerely a President material. The questions are myriads. Ugandans, in times of pain, clean tears and start thinking.
Yes, this created the infamous North and Southern questions. Buganda hates Obote and allies and anyone talking facts, truth and falsity.
The Northern Uganda people and part of East has issues with Museveni. He used Baganda Kadogos or child soldiers commanded by Rwandese in Gulu like Kagame and the Rwegyemas before going back to Rwanda who did unpatriotic commands causing the war.
They revenged. The war , others called it brilliant genocide, tramatised people. Any happenings tribal or not is taken as such. Like, war in DP to make Kyagulanyi a DP supported has sparked issues.
The northern people are saying, they are chasing Mao because they want their own. The ugly hand of power hungry Museveni is there. It plays in his hands. Division is good for him. But the hate, the propaganda and ugly conflicts will make the North not support a muganda because if the Kadogos can revenge for the death of parents under another president, what of if a muganda is President and Kabaka is the king! Yes, Uganda comes from Buganda, you can’t divorce the two though, but once bitten twice shy!.
WAY FORWARD.
Ugandans, I nonchalantly sat and thought. How can one man, a human being be President for life in the 21st century?
A man from one of the least or fewest tribe. I asked myself why? But studying the Musevenism, I realized, he is extremely a wise man who took advantage of various conflicts.
Besides the major, south and North divide, he capitalised also in simple conflicts. He knew the Acholi Lango conflict, and helped Acholi Generals, the Bazilio and Tito to overthrow Obote, it became easy for him especially when Gen Oyite Ojok was killed by 1984.
Then the conflicts between upper and lower Acholi, Kitgum and Gulu. In ministerial appointments, all ministers from Acholi are from Kitgum [ upper Acholi], Anywar, Oryem, Onek.
Yet Acholi is one. Again, setting of 8 districts from Gulu and Kitgum also created huge conflicts. ” We can not accept, pader people to get jobs in Agago etc.”. of course, this applies to all districts partitioned from the original 53 of one Uganda. We have seen Kingdoms emerge and fights even in Buganda.
These conflict precipitated, life presidency and corruption. It works for one man who no doubt is capable of handling power to a family member if he wasn’t power hungry. He can’t of course. He can even kill his own for power.
WHAT WE MUST DO.
We have one option, bury hatchets, forgive and do truth telling and start a new beginning. We need National reconciliation. President Museveni will be remembered as father of the nation if he stops and hand over Uganda to Ugandans. Else, history will condemn him and time will prove him wrong.
Mwaka Lutukumoi
emwaka1977@gmail.com
