Will Ssuubi deliver the hopes of Buganda?

Will Ssuubi deliver the hopes of Buganda?
In late July 2010, apologetics of the Mengo establishment launched a political mobilization platform code-named Ssuubi 2011 with an aim of mobilizing masses in Buganda region to support the country’s opposition in next years general elections. Ssuubi 2011 which plans to use the leverage of former Mengo Katikkiro’s Dan Muliika and Joseph Mulwannyammuli Ssimwogerere has also enlisted the support of a cross-section of Buganda opposition politicians including renegade Democratic Party Members opposed to the manin stream DP leadership led by Norbert Mao. The renegade members led by the Party’s former spokesperson and Mukono North MP Betty Nambooze and former Party Legal Advisor Erias Lukwago have voiced their support for the Inter-Party Cooperation. This realignment of forces in Buganda has added a new twist to the already fragile relationship between the Kingdom of Buganda and the National Resistance Movement government.

Another Kabaka Yekka?
The project has met with significant criticism from a wide section of Ugandans across the political spectrum with many calling it a rebirth of the Kabaka Yekka, a political group credited for having abeted violence and rigged the 1961 elections to the disadvantage of the Ben Kiwanuka led Democratic Party. According to observers the realignment of forces galvanizing support around a cultural entity purportedly under state threat will only be able to elevate certain individuals to political office but also widen the rift between the central government and Mengo. Accordingly the promoters of this group now seek to resuscitate the Federo idea as a rallying point for massive kingdom-wide support.

This coupled with long held grievances of the Kingdom politburo which include the return of the 900 sq miles, re-opening of the Kingdom radio CBS, Return of the kingdom properties and misunderstandings over the proposed regional tier system of government throws the Central government into a precarious situation. While they may not manage to uproot the incumbent from power, this group is more likely to influence majority voting at parliamentary level. Buganda MP’s especially those from the NRM have been blamed for having betrayed the Kingdom by appearing hostile to the interests of Mengo on various occasions in Parliament most vividly, on the occasion of the passing of the Land Bill 2007.

In 1961 when Kiwanuka was attacked for trying to become an alternative to the Kabaka, the custodian of the interests, culture and identity of Buganda. KY supporters pitted Kiwanuka against the Kabaka to discredit him but that was more than 40 years ago and the conditions on ground were favourable. KY anticipated support from the UPC and held access to the instruments of coercion which are now held by the NRM. While launching the group in Masaka, promoters of Ssuubi 2011 promised to show them the presidential candidate who the Kabaka would have chosen.

While this can be brushed aside as another opportunistic statement calculated to sway votes, promoters of Ssuubi seem to have gained the explicit recognition from the cultural authority. While granting leave to his two former advisors and Ssuubi main promoters, Kabaka Ronald Mutebi acknowledged their contribution to the Kingdom and expressed his acceptance for their timely decision to actively take part in national politics.
In Buganda the King pleases (Kabaka asiimye) and this is a vague term that could also mean that the King supports, wishes, abets or recognizes a certain decision or action. The Kabaka perhaps aware of the trend of events has encouraged his subjects to massively register for next years elections to influence decisions to shape their destiny as a people (and under threat) The tone and timing of the events of the past few weeks points to a premeditated arrangement to foresee the realignment of forces to combat what Mengo call the Central government’s continued harassment of the cultural institution. The stage was set with the failure of the Kabaka-Museveni talks and the Kasubi tombs fire all having roots with the closure of CBS radio and the September 2009 riots in Buganda.

Will Ssuubi deliver the hopes of a Kingdom
Critics point to circumstances surrounding the formation of the group as lacking ground to sustain a successful opposition to Mr. Museveni. Ssuubi bears the DNA of the Inter-Party Cooperation a loose coalition of Ugandan opposition groups and its this reason that impedes its entrenchment in Ganda society. The Democratic Party which is opposed to the IPC enjoys wide support in Buganda and the unsteady relationship between the two will affect voting patterns. Its founding memers including renegade DP members will have to cut a balance between accepting to be viewed as destablising agents of DP riding on the back of opportunism or as members of the Inter-party Cooperation which is largely viewed as a construction of the Forum for Democratic Change.

Following a failure to resolve feuds within the DP, a section of DP members utilized the disagreements between the DP and the IPC to gain leverage by using the IPC as an alternative force to front their interests. The need to tailor their interests to suit the demands of their electorate in Buganda elicited the formation of Ssuubi to isolate Norbert Mao as guarantor of the interests of Buganda.
Bearing in mind the unquestionable authority of the Kabaka in rural Buganda and utilizing the recognition and wide popularity of Daniel Muliika a radical former premier , the vocal Betty Nambooze and Medard Ssegonna, the IPC’s formation of Ssuubi 2011 was meant in all manners and purposes to resuscitate the Kabaka Yekka conditions under which the Kbaka wish or pleasing holds supremacy over the interests of modern political party activity. In this instance Ssuubi 2011, is a mutation of the Kabaka Yekka which was formed from the Kakamega Club, an exclusive inner circle of the Kabaka’s close confidantes and friends.
But the hopes of the 800-year old Kingdom appear enormous to rest on the shoulders of a loose coalition of political forces even when these forces have the confidence of a monarch. Not so possible especially when the forces have only allied for a year against an antagonistic force that has ruled for the last quarter of a century. This is however not to appear pessimistic, true that the Ssuubi members will be able to gain parliamentary seats but even when all the 80 Buganda seats in Parliament are held by the IPC it will be no match for the over 200 NRM MPs.

It rests therefore that for as long as Mr. Museveni wins the executive position, the Ssuubi project will remain a total failure. What will happen to the aspirations of a Kingdom in the event of putting all its eggs in a basket with a hole.
Will it signify the defeat of the Kabaka?

Why reading is paramount.

Why reading is paramount
Watching the Zain Africa Challenge made me think and reflect about something. Knowledge is what remains after learning much in the same way as education is what remains after school. Here where Africa’s strongest brains at work in a competition that has had more competitors thrown off as the Competition proceeds to each round. The Zain Africa challenge which pits universities across Africa in a knowledge competition has been touted as a major intellectual undertaking not so for its cash prizes and institutional grants but its ability to bring together in competition some of the top brains from Africa’s Universities . I say top not because they are originators of complex theories or that their names are inscribed in academic journals but because of their ability to express their knowledge of the most important things any human should be knowing.
But what is the success behind these competitors?
The challenge provides a rare opportunity for exercising of the competitor’s general knowledge on a wide variety of issues ranging from science, current affairs, sport, history, culture, literature e.t.c. It’s a simplified way of testing individuals or teams’ knowledge of various aspect of life from a wide spectrum of choices. But what makes them outstanding is their exposure to a wide variety of reading material from a spectrum of subjects. Knowledge is accumulated overtime through exposure to a wide range of literary choices.
Thus one remains awed when a student of technology takes on a medic in a battle of wits over the history of ancient Greece and Mesopotamia as much in the same way as an aspiring Artist is challenged by a poet in a duet over the isosceles triangle. This is representative of the fact that reading is not for the acquisition of good grades only but development of the mind to deal with complex challenges. The ability to compete in this challenge represents an individual’s wide spectrum of knowledge and fast thinking which can only be enabled by a good reading culture facilitated from childhood through to adulthood.
The influx of gadgets and the internet grossly undermined the development of the still weak reading culture in Africa. Books remained to be text-books and little emphasis has been put in to reading outside the curriculum. Reading empowers the individual and develops their communication skills and self esteem. Uganda needs to invest hugely into this area and interventions by such organisations like the Uganda Library Association, Reading Initiative Foundation of Uganda; Uganda Book Publishers Association should not only be commended but supported. Similar undertakings like the Newspapers in Education should be lauded for their continued promotion of literacy in less fortunate regions of the country.
Moses Kalanzi
The author is an Advocacy Officer with the Reading Innitiative Foundation of Uganda.

Towards a rights-based approach in the implementation of the DDR program in Uganda; A critical Assesment

TOWARDS A RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DDR PROGRAM IN UGANDA

• By Moses Kalanzi
  
  Abstract
  The conflict in Uganda has persisted for long and many means have been employed to bring the conflict to an end. These include the military offensive, Peace talks and Amnesty. This commitment of part of the Ugandan people to end untold suffering has much gained momentum with the last innitiative of granting Amnesty to combatants and collaborators with the prospect of ensuring lasting peace and reconciliation in the country. In this study the researchers seek to investigate the human rights dimension in the implementation of the Amnesty Act 2000. The purpose of this work is to address the institutional and legal barriers to the implementation of the Amnesty Act 2000. The study is not an attack on the workings of the Amnesty Commision but rather developed to act as a guide to the successful implementation of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintergration Programmes.
  
  In the analysis the study recommned a rights-based approach to the implementation of the DDR and recommends to increase the role of civilian actors in the implementation of the Act. Its the recommendation of this research that funding to lubricate the succesful implementation of the DDR be increased.
  
  Objectives of the study
  The research was carried out with the aim of :
• Analysing the social, economic and political dimensions involved in the ressetlement and rehabilitation of rebels and the Human rights issue.
• Evaluating of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintergration Programes as tools in ensuring lasting peace and reconciliation and finding solutions to the succesful implementation of the Amnesty Act.
• Examining the challenges faced in reintergarting former combatants in areas affected by the conflicts in Uganda and implications to human rights preservation.
  Justification
  The occurrence of the armed conflict in Uganda for the last 22 years perpetuated by various insurgents fighting the NRM government has exerted untold suffering on the peoples of Uganda most especially the regions of Northern Uganda and some parts of Western Uganda. For example,the conflict between the Ugandan government and the LRA, which began in 1986, has devastated the country's north, leaving over 1.7 million people displaced, an estimated 100,000 dead and 75,000 others abducted by rebels. With the enactment of the Amnesty Act 2000, 'it has come to represent for many ugandans the hope that the conflict in the country can be ended peacefully'1( handbook) However despite the progress, the absence of a succesful Human rights -based Intergration and Demobilisation Policy may foil an erstwhile remarkable venture by encouraging ex-combatants to return to the bush. Its is the aim of this study to chart out ways of harmonising the paradox and to find solutions to the loopholes prevalent in the implementation of the Amnesty Act 2000.
  Methodology
  The complexity and delicacy of the subject required the researchers to adopt a multiplicity of methods in collecting the relevant data. The researchers adopted primary and secondary research methods, which consisted of interview,discussion and use of existing literature on the topic and the internet. The reseachers used textbooks available from current and past researches on the subject. Extracting the relevant data was limited by the fact that most of the available research studies were committed to tracing the loopholes of the Amnesty Act rather than attaching importance to the implementation of the Act. Other works were highly subjective thus irrelevant to the researchers.
  The researchers atempted to discuss issues related to the subject after research to harmonise findings soas to generate relevance on the topic. It was from the discussions that clarity and a deeper understanding of the human rights issue eveolving in the implementation of the Amnesty Act 2000.This was however without constraint as some discussants lacked facts though efforts were made to correct them.
  The focus of the study was to understand how Human rights issues were handled in the implementation of DDR. The areas of study were selected by the members and each member was assigned a particular area for contribution.
  The interview carried out was therefore designed to enable the student researchers have an insight into the workings of the Amnesty Commision and how the commision handles the Human rights issue. The researchers sought to understand the risks and opportunities involved in the implementation of the mandate of the Commission.
  The research was conducted from early April to early May 2008 which also worked to constrain the resources available to the researchers bearing time. Our findings are not exhaustive nor fully representative of the workings of the Amnesty Commision. The reesearch however offers insight into the operations and limitations faced by the Commission.
  Introduction
  The conflict in Uganda borrows substantially from the colonial past in definition of its causes which fragmented the country along religious and tribal lines. It is no exaggeration that most of the insurgent groups are fighting along these colonial-demarcated lines. For example '95% of LRA fighters are Acholi'{Profiles of the parties to the conflict Balam Nyeko and Okello Lucima (2002) http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/northern-uganda/profiles.phpA number of insurgent groups have been fighting the Museveni regime since 1986. These include UNRF, UPDA, LRA, HSM,UPA,WNBF, ADF. As a response to the persistent insurgency in Uganda, the government enacted the Amnesty Act in the year 2000. This move was to pardon, exempt and discharge former rebels who voluntarily give up fighting the government through military means from criminal prosecution or any from of punishment from the state. The blanket amnesty that the government offered to all people engaged in rebellions against the government of Uganda, including the LRA covers all rebel movements since the 26 th day of January 1986.
  The Amnesty Act 2000.
  The unacceptably high costs of civil war have caused Ugandans to re-assess approaches to resolving conflict(Barney Afako (2002 Reconciliation and justice: ‘Mato oput’ and the Amnesty Act,http://c-r.org/our-work/accord/northern-uganda/reconciliation-justice.php )The Act owes its origins to the commitment of the people of Uganda to seek reconciliation with those who have inflicted so much pain and suffering through conflict.(handbookp.1)Many concerns regarding the best way to achieve a sustainable peace in northern Uganda revolved around the need to end the cyclic violence and impunity that had plagued Uganda since independence.The first attempt was the Amnesty Statute of 1987, which was passed by the National Resistance Council (NRC), to encourage various fighting groups and sponsors of insurgency to cease their activities. When the government introduced an Amnesty Bill in 1998, it was revisiting an old political formula of offering pardons to insurgents as a means of ending intractable conflict. Previous de facto and de jure amnesties under the National Resistance Movement (NRM) had offered general and specific pardons to groups that had engaged in rebellion, notably the UPDM/A and the UPF/UPA. The failure of the military strategy to end conflict formed the basis for the enactment of the Amnesty Act 2000 by the parliament of Uganda to grant Amnesty to Ugandans who participated in acts of rebellion in various parts of the country since january 26th 1986. The Amnesty commision established to facilitate the implementation of the Amnesty Act 2000. The functions of the commsion are enshrined in Article 9 listed as (a) to monitor programmmes of -demobilsation, reintergration and ressetlement of reporters. Its the purpose of this work to study the preservation and violation of humna rights in the implementation of these programmes.
  ,Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintergration Programs and the human rights issue.
  Disarmament is the first phase of DDR, and logically precedes demobilization and reintegration, the Thesaurus dictionary defines disarmament as the 'act of reducing or depriving of arms' (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/disarmament)Demobilization refers to the process by which parties to a conflict begin to disband their military structures and combatants begin the transformation into civilian life. It generally entails registration of former combatants; some kind of assistance to enable them to meet their immediate basic needs; discharge, and transportation to their home communities. It may be followed by recruitment into a new, unified military force.After ex-combatants have been demobilized, they are effectively and sustainably reintegrated into civilian life to prevent a new escalation of the conflict. In the short term, ex-combatants who do not find peaceful ways of making a living are likely to return to conflict. thus the process of reintergration. The demobilisation of ex-combatants in Uganda gives minimal attention to human rights issues. These include sexual abuse, ethnic intorelance, torture and the abuse of the right to life.
  Social Stigmatisation
  In spite of the culture of peace and discourses of forgiveness and reconciliation within recipient communities, there are real tensions around reintegration and reconciliation surrounding the return of ex-abductees. Experiences within the LRA may have fundamentally altered the manner in which exabductees function as members within a family or as constituents within a community.(Violence, reconciliation and identity: The reintegration of Lord's Resistance Army child abductees in Northern UgandaInstitute for Security Studies (ISSDate: 10 Dec 2003http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/OCHA-64C9TC?OpenDocument )There have been cases of stigmatisation of ex-combatants by the victims of the attrocities and the communities in general.Community members have concerns that this reintergration may be negative, and that ex-abductees may be aggressive or violent as a result of the violence they themselves were exposed to.
  Women's rights and the DDR
  Among the demobilised ex-combatants one group is particularly invisible – women and girls associated with illegal armed groups. The current demobilisation process does not adequately address the consequences of the sexual violence they have suffered before, during and after conflict. Reintegrating into a society with rigidly gendered social structures will put enormous stress on women who have been accustomed to freer modes of behavior and fairer divisions of labor.(The Demobilization and Reintegration of Women Combatants, Wives of Male Soldiers and War Widows: A Checklist http://action.web.ca/home/cpcc/attach/The%20Demobilisation%20and%20Reintegration%20of%20Women%20Combatants,%20Wives%20of%20Male%20Soldiers%20and%20War%20Widows%20A%20Checklist.htmVanessa Farr "Gendering Demilitarization." )Each of the DDR processes involves and has implications for women, whether they participated in combat, have family members who did, or are members of a community trying to integrate former combatants. While some women joined armed groups of their own free will, large numbers were abducted into combat and/or forced to become sexual and domestic slaves. But no matter how they came to military groups, almost all of them are neglected during the DDR process.(13) 13) Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration, United Nations Development Fund for Women, www.WomenWarPeace.org (Reference to demobilisation in Mozambique (and Sierra Leone?).
  DDR and children's rights.
  Thousands of children have been used as child soldiers and child soldiers themselves are also accused of human rights abuses including unlawful killings, rape and other forms of sexual violence as well as widespread pillaging and looting.It is argued that DDR can succeed only if it addresses the needs of all child soldiers, including those who circumvent the official process, child soldiers who demobilise as adults, and girl soldiers. The handling of returnee child soildiers in Uganda has been obstracted by the re-recruitment of fromer child-soildiers into the army. According to UNICEF' many former child soldiers in Uganda who have been freed from the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have been drawn again into armed conflict – this time with the national army' ( Child soldiers trapped in vicious cycle of war KAMPALA, Uganda, 16 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/uganda_25184.html0). Those opposed to this mechanism ground their allegations on the perception that the government is using the reintegrated ex-combatants into the military ranks, as human shields in the process of military confrontation with their former abductors. Nevertheless, Uganda’s former child soldiers, haunted by exposure to violence at a young age, often find little solace when reintegrated into their home communities. When they return home, the nightmare continues, as they face stigmatization from their family and peers. The government of Uganda has not come up with a comprehensive plan for reintegration of ex-combatants back into their communities.
  Denial of the right to Amnesty and forced Amnesty
  Despite the eligiblity of some ex-combatants and collaborators to get amnesty enshrined under the Amnesty Act 2000 3(1) , the security agencies and Amnesty commision have denied this right which constitutes a violation of human rights. The classical case of Africanus Gabula, who reportedly belonged to a group called Kirimuttu, whom the commision failed to pardon is a case in point.(Treason convict seeks amnesty Monday, 24th March, 2008). At other times Amnesty has been used as a political gimmick to dissuade political dissent aimed at the Government of Uganda. Dr. Kiiza Besigye, an FDC politician believes that, his co-accused in the treason trial against the government of Uganda were subjected to torture to confess to belonging to a rebel group PRA hence forced to apply for amnesty to bail them out.( Nine more PRA suspects freed Friday, 16th February,2007 In february 2008, former UNRF combatants threatened to 'withdraw NRM support' if the government failed to pay their long overdue gratuity.(Ex-soldiers threaten to withdraw NRM support WAROM FELIX OKELLO monitor, February 5, 2008) This weakens the assumption of fairness in granting Amnesty and is likely to affect the legitimacy of the Amnesty Commission.
  
  Recommendations
  From the foregoing, the issue of human rights in the implementation of the Amnesty Act still has many loopholes; the need to correct these is still enormous. The following is recomended-
  
  For sustainable resettlement and reintegration of the FAPs and IDPs to be attained, there must be security guarantee for both their lives and property. The government and its development partners need to have in mind a fall-back position on how to deal with the same community in case the Juba peace talks that have raised hopes for peaceful end of the war fail.
  Sensitization training should be made available to community members in order to address the negative attitudes that clearly exist and impede community based reintegration and reconciliation with the ex-combatants.
  Ex-combatants should create groups of their own, with elected leadership, which can interact directly with local leadership and NGOs. The ex-combatants groups should be able to critically assess their own needs and inform the parties of their intentions. This would also help to avoid duplicity in programming. Health concerns regarding HIV/AIDS and malaria, water and sanitation and other basic health services are prevalent in the camps.
  There is a general consensus within the war affected communities to grant full amnesty to the FAPs especially those who were in the lower ranks of the LRA because most of them were victims of abduction against there will. It is imperative to note that, "the Amnesty Act 2002 of Uganda empowers the Amnesty commission to promote appropriate mechanisms of reconciliation in the affected communities".
  It is crucial to break away from a simplistic view of perpetrators and victims, for some women have been both. Policymakers must recognize that many of the women and girls who participated actively in the conflict have also been victims of sexual violence. It is essential to recognize that not all women, whether ex-combatants, wives of ex-fighters, or war widows, will meet similar challenges after demobilization. The differences between women their capacities, experience, length of service, connection to, or disconnection from communities of origin, number of dependants, geographic location after demobilization, and levels of physical and psychological stress, will all influence how well they will manage their new lives. Given this, when training and rehabilitation programs are planned, they should expect to encounter, and aim to accommodate, differences.
  Ex-combatants must be systematized and analyzed from a gender perspective. Such analysis is essential for informing future reintegration efforts, bearing in mind the high number of female combatants in the If the Uganda DDR process is to become inclusive it should ensure a holistic gender-focused, "because girls and women bear heavy responsibilities for rebuilding social and cultural infrastructures and are significantly affected by post-war decisions, they must be publicly recognised and empowered as key actors"( Reconstructing fragile lives: Girls social reintegration in northern Uganda nad Sierra leone Susan Mackay)
  If the needs of a traumatized war generation are not adequately addressed they too will pose a threat to prospects of long term peace. Children’s rights need to be preserved for the successful implementation of the DDR and for ensuring lasting peace and reconciliation. It is argued that DDR can succeed only if it addresses the needs of all child soldiers. They should be separated from other ex-combatants, so that their special needs can be addressed and so they can avoid abuse by military authorities, who may force them to enroll in new military forces; quickly discharged and reinserted into society; placed in long-term reintegration programs that give priority to family reunification; provided with long-term psychological support, to help them recover from the negative experience of war and to limit asocial attitudes and aggressive behaviors; provided with education and professional training, which offer children with no professional experience an opportunity for a sustainable livelihood.
  Conclusion.
  The challenge of implementing the Amnesty law is formidable. It rests on the commitment of all stakeholders in the peace and reconciliation process. The violations of human rights in the implementation of the Amnesty law 2000 can still be overcome with a commitment from government, war-affected communities. There's still need to involve the international community. Funding needs to be increased to the Amnesty Commission to improve on and increase on the available resources for the successful execution of its mandate.
  This was developed as part of an academic research innitiative undertaken by the author as a student Makerere University between June-November 2008

Ancient Buganda burial site on Fire

Buganda under siege as Kasubi tombs are burned to ground
Unknown people have set ablaze the burial places of Buganda’s Kings in
what seems as the latest attack on the Kingdom of Buganda. The Kasubi
which harbor the last remains of the Kings of Buganda with a 129 year
old history were Tuesday night torched to the ground. The suspects of
this inferno have not yet been established. The fire which started
with Muzibuazaalampanga, the main ancestral house later spread to the
nearby huts at the tombs in a heavy fire which despite a heavy
downpour and fire brigade efforts could not be put out.
Thousands of Baganda loyalists thronged the site on Tuesday night to
mourn the incident, these included Eng Allan Waliggo Nakirembeka, the
head of the Clan Leaders Council, Mengo Minister for Culture and
tourism, Nakiwala Kiyingi and Prince Namugala among other Buganda
Kingdom officials. A visibly stricken Buganda Premier Eng. J.B.
Walusimbi regretted the incident and urged the people of Uganda that
the Kabaka’s government will come to the bottom of the case. He called
upon Baganda to remain strong amidst this confrontation and vowed that
the tombs will be re-built at whatever cost it may demand as soon as
possible. Wilberforce Luwalira the Bishop of Namirembe called upon
Baganda to remain calm and asked God to protect the King throughout
these hard times.

The Kasubi tombs were a few years ago earmarked by UNESCO as an
international Heritage site one of the few in the whole world; it is
one of the leading tourist revenue earners for the Kingdom of Buganda
alongside other sites. The site also was the final resting place of
Kabaka Muteesa I who invited Christian missionaries to Uganda, Kabaka
Daniel Basammulekkere Mwanga who ordered for the massacre of the
Uganda Matyrs, Kabaka Daudi Chwa who was king at the signing of the
1900 agreement with British Colonialists and King Fredrick Edward
Walugembe Muteesa II who was deported by the British and later died in
exile after troops loyal to former president Milton Obote besieged his
Mengo palace in 1966.
The tombs which were built in 1891 housed a number of items including
the royal drums and a number of royal regalia were kept at the place.
Also in custody at the enclosure were a number of animals both
domestic and wild believed to have connection with the ancestral
spirits. Chairs brought by the European Missionaries, jewelry ,
cowries shells among others.
According to eyewitnesses the fire started at 7:30 pm on Tuesday
evening and although the cause of the fire has not been established
the possibility of arson is high. According to residents an unnamed
individual was seen entering the premises a few minutes shortly before
the fire. Attempts to put out the fire were futile as the heavy fire
spread from house to house and despite a Tuesday night downpour and
heavy fire brigade presence, little could be done to put it out.

According to Princess Kagere it is like Muteesa II has been killed
again, Kagere one of Muteesa’s daughters was struck by grief. Speaking
to the Press, Kagere said it was unfortunate that the remains of her
late father had been burnt. Mengo Attorney general Apollo Makubuya
said that the Kingdom will rebuild the fallen structures as soon as
possible although he was pessimistic whether they would ever retain
the fallen glory after the infernal.
Angry people blocked the police from entering the tombs and this
forced the police to retaliate by shooting in the air to disperse the
crowds. By Monday Midday a heavy deployment of both the police and the
army was visible. Gen. Katumba Wamala the Head of Land Forces was
leading the deployed security forces.

Museveni blocked from entering scene
At around 11:00 am Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni attempted to
reach the site and express his grief but was blocked by Baganda who
chanted slogans expressing solidarity with the Kabaka and the crown.
It took military might to clear the way for the Ugandan president who
was from the view of events an uninvited mourner. Mr. Museveni who
appeared under heavy guard was booed by the crowd which later sang the
Buganda Anthem for the whole period he was at the scene. The police
and army had to shoot in the air to clear the way for the President’s
motorcade. Earlier on a number of government officers were chased away
from the scene of the infernal as if to suggest that government was
connected to the arson. Rubaga Division chairman Peter Sematimba could
not wait for a rough-up as he fled the scene after angry Baganda
youths threatened to burn him.
By midday on Wednesday the Buganda cabinet was in a closed session
following the inferno. Fires believed to have been ignited by
arsonists have ravaged different parts of the Kingdom and it remains
to be seen whether this could be the climax. In 2008 and 2009 alone a
total of 40 schools in the Buganda region were torched in fires
believed to have been connected to the Kingdom’s stand on the Federal
arrangement for Uganda.

Linked to Makerere university riots
However observers of Uganda’s political spectrum have intimated that
the torching of the Lubiri had a possibility of relationship with the
student’s strike at Makerere University on Monday night which left
three students dead from shootings by an errant security guard.
Ignatius Nyongeza, Brian Angoka both Kenyan students and Aaron Mugezi
a Uganda students were killed after being shot by Richard Akasi a
security guard attached to Snowwhite guards. According to eyewitnesses
a drunken Nyongeza tried to hit a car belonging to NRM guild
presidential candidate John Taylor after they came to his hostel to
canvass votes for their candidate. Nyongeza who was a supporter of
Simon Peter Kamau a Kenyan student contestant was according to
eyewitnesses confronted by Taylor’s supporters. Following the
shootings Makerere students took to the streets protesting the
killings of their colleagues. Business came to a standstill in the
areas of Wandegeya, Kasubi and Nakulabye as rowdy students vandalized
property and engaged police and the army in running battles. The
shooting incident which happened at God is able Hostel left the
premises shattered by students who destroyed the hostel’s glass
windows. Students then looted a coffin at Wandegeya and proceeded to
Mulago hospital mortuary to retrieve the bodies of their fallen
colleagues but were stopped by a heavy deployment of police. The
students then overran the police as the force ran out of teargas.
According to Police’s political Commisar Hassan Kasingye, the errant
guard had been arrested and is currently detained at Central Police
Station in Kampala.

Meanwhile police has disarmed all security guards belonging to Snow
White Security guards, the police has also taken over the security of
all student’s hotels near Makerere following the shooting of three
students. In a related development the Makerere Guild elections have
been postponed indefinitely until further notice following the
student’s riots. According to John Ekudu, the Dean of Students
Makerere University, the surrent situation is not condusive to a fair
electoral process. The elections for the new guild leadership are a
tight contest between the Democratic party’s Shaban Ssenkubuge and the
National Resistance Movement’s John Taylor. Others in the contest are
Grace Cheruto, a Kenyan student and Simon Peter Kamau also a Kenyan
student. Kenyan students have increasingly taken active participation
in the Guild politics of Makerere University. Makerere University has
over 2000 foreign students with over sixty percent being Kenyan
students.

Otunnu Warns Museveni

Otunnu Warns Museveni
The end of president Museveni’s era as custodian of the Ugandan state
could be near. This according to newly elected Uganda Peoples
Congress President Olara Otunnu is not far as many Ugandans have been
made to think. Speaking at his first public appearance since becoming
UPC president in a tightly contested election , Ambassador Otunu
warned Mr. Museveni to prepare for his early retirement from the
position he has held for the last quarter of a century making him
Africa’s second longest serving ruler. “I have big news for Museveni,
that era is over, we are going to challenge Museveni frantically
without fear and intimidation” echoed Otunnu amidst cheers and
ululations from party diehards.
The former UN Undersecretary also warned security services against
intimidating opposition politicians as the country slides towards the
2011 presidential and parliamentary elections. “We shall not let
Museveni get away with accidental deaths and criminal killing of
(opposition) political leaders” According to Dr. Otunnu they shall
investigate all cases of intimidation and extra-judicial killing of
opposition members and hold Mr. Museveni accountable.
Otunnu is a survivor of a recent accident involving his motorcade and
the Presidential Guard Brigade in Gulu District of Northern Uganda. He
believes that the accident was an attempt at prematurely ending his
life thus blocking the democratic process in Uganda after expressing
intentions to stand against Museveni in the 2011 polls.
He also called for electoral reforms lambasting the Electoral
Commision for failing Democracy in Uganda arguing that there should
not be compromise with the Hajji Kiggundu –led Commision which has
been twice proved incompetent by the highest courts of law. Otunnu
also called upon the opposition to galvanise support around a single
candidate. According to Dr. Otunnu Political parties must unite to
cause regime change.
Otunnu a former minister in the Tito Okello government which ousted
Dr. Milton Obote from power in 1985, is among the main contestants for
the 2011 presidential polls which also have Democratic Party’s Nobert
Mao, Jaberi Bidandi Ssali representing Peoples Progressive Party and
the winner between Rtd. Col. Dr Kiiza Besigye and Gen. Mugisha
Muntuyera for Forum for Democratic Change. His main challenger to the
joint candidacy is Dr. Kiiza Besigye who has twice wrestled Mr.
Museveni and earned a term in prison alongside other state inspired
crimes including rape. Dr. Besigye also lost his brother Kifeefe in
Luzira prison on charges of treason and conspiring to overthrow Mr.
Museveni’s government.

Police deployment at Makerere Hostels unwarranted.

Police deployment at Makerere Hostels unwarranted.

In 2005 in the pages of the daily Monitor Newspaper I warned about guns in Makerere University. Then I was a first year at University and had witnessed a student being shot by a colleague in a love-gone sour incident. I expressed dissatisfaction at the increasing gun culture in Makerere then with students attached to security agencies carrying guns . Recently 3 students were shot by a trigger happy guard over an election disagreement. I also warned about the militarization of students politics in Makerere with the influx of security agents during guild elections with a view of intimidating students. That same year a student was shot dead in a riot at campus and yet this wasn’t the first time that police under the same government had killed students. In 1990 at Makerere two students were killed by police in a riot at campus over student’s welfare during Mao’s reign as guild president. Now police has taken over the security of the student’s hostels but I don’t think this is a wise decision as police and students are sworn enemies. I commend the police for their work but am afraid they are prescribing the right medicine for a wrong ailment.

I don’t think the students died because of insufficient security but because of incompetencies of the police. Makerere has two police stations and a third one is in the offing but despite these cases of insecurity are rampant. Even if each hall was protected by a garrison, matters related to student’s risky behaviour would always arise as long as there are motivating factors such as a strike, an election or mutual disagreements amongst students.

Even if police was deployed, with constables shooting innocent children, the probability that disagreements between students (who are always known to have extra-ordinary detestation for uniformed characters) and police are bound to arise and trigger happy constables are more likely to unleash terror much in the same way as the private security guards.

Moses Kalanzi

Kampala

Why Buganda should not be sacrificed for the stability of Uganda

Why Buganda should not be sacrificed for the stability of Uganda.

The standoff between Mengo and the Central government is still on and despite the relative calm, an observer of curious instinct can interprete the ceasefire as a half-time rest as the two power centers prepare for the next stage. In this article i trace the genesis of the confusion between tribalism and ethnic nationalism vis a vis the nation state. It is my conviction that the Buganda question in Ugandan Politics has been grossly misunderstood and treacherous politicians have capitalised on this conflict to balkanise the populace often presenting the Buganda question as an anti-thesis to the Colonial creation-Uganda.

Early this year the President wrote a letter to the Kabaka decrying Mengo's handling of affairs to the point of accusing Mengo of fueling ethnic animosity against the Balaalo. I found the President's fears imaginary and far fletched and was compelled by virtue of my trade to add a voice. His remarks involved confusing tribalism with ethnic nationalism. Tribalism can be a mental concept, it has basis in tradition and persisting cultural differences and it has been given new forms and attached to it are new interests and loyalties. A good reader of History can find H.F Morris' work on Buganda and Tribalism cited in Gulliver's edited Tradition and transition in East Africa interesting. The current wave of discontent in Buganda cannot be understood as tribalism but rather as ethnic nationalism. This may not go well with some sections but academically the Kingdom appears to satisfy the main attributes of a nation even if we are not to consider its pre-colonial position and institutions. The "nation" question was a subject of debate in the 1960s and i find it valid to help explain the present relations between Mengo and the centre. According to our history as a colonial state Uganda, Buganda had for many centuries remained a sovereign state before she accepted ( after rigorous consultations spanning for over 10 years 1890, 1892, 1893, 1894 all of which had proved futile) the protectorate treaty of 1900.

One must contend that there's nothing like a Uganda nation except in the sense of which 18th century European diplomats spoke of the Turkish nation to embrace Greeks and Serbs that is to say all people owing allegiance to a common sovereighn and in that instance the ottoman empire. Buganda's institutions adapted to mordern conditions have remained intact even todate, the language, common identity, loyalty to the cultural institutions of leadership tantamount not only to the definition of a tribe but a nation in the European sense of the word.

As far as size and wealth are concerned, Buganda does not appear insighnificant say if compared to Estonia or Latvia or the Irish republic. Yet the creation of these states on the principle of self-determination and nationalism was heralded as laudable, progressive by the very circles that worked to condemn Buganda's nationalism and self-determination brushing it off as reactionary and tribal. The post-colonial regime has maintained the rigid postion of the Crown towards Buganda's griveviances denouncing Mr Kyanjo's ideas as treasonous and radical atleast if we go by official remarks from goverment. What is more treasonous that supporting the seccesion of Southern Sudan from the Centre in Khartoum?. Do the people of Southern Sudan have a distinct cause from the one fronted by Mengo? i might ask. Was Norbert Mao summoned to CPS when he advocated for the formation of the greater Nile State and therefore seccesion from Uganda? Is it not that the president of Uganda has supported Garang for the last twenty or so years to secede from Sudan?

Buganda Vs Uganda's nationalism

It is no exaggeration that the degree of loyalty the people of Uganda have to the state is only intellectual and in speeches lacking emotional roots. Ugandans attach much significance to their cultural and ethnic distinction than to the colonial creation Uganda. Its the problems of the post-colonial state that spur ethnic discontent brewing from disatisfaction.For example no nationalist can allow public service to be populated by people from one region than is in Uganda today. So long as the Baganda were satisfied with the policies pursued by the colonial government, they were prepared to give it their loyalty. No people in Uganda were as responsive to the colonial regime as the Baganda before the fallout between the centre and Mengo over policies that Buganda felt were to undermine its institutions. In the clash of interests therefore one would be inclined to opt to their family, their clan and nation( recognise the omitting of tribe). The Baganda were so much receptive to the policies of the British in all spheres. They entertained Kasanvu and the growing of cash crops while others societies in Uganda rejected this as exploitative. They have cooperated with all succesive regimes that have not interfered with their cultural institution. The only problem has been leaders thinking out of misplaced anxiety that the strength of Buganda is an anti-thesis to the stability of Uganda which thinking must be contested by any clear thinking Ugandan.

Buganda's demands backward

There is a tendency to discredit nationalist sentiments as backward, the Crown applied the tactic against the Irish. Buganda's demands have been down played as backward, revanchist and detached from the realities of the 21st century conditions. But this backwardness has involved a criticism of its cultures, history and institutions and the Kabaka not spared. One needs to consider that nationalism even in the developed West where people have struggled to achieve it or preserve their national identity tends to contain a large element of nostalgia for the past. (backwardness) Historical exploits both factual and legendary is what nationalism feeds on. In such a condition traditional leaders come to prominence to give the nation its traditional element however backward they might seem. Someone must have noted the increasing number of elite clan leaders in Buganda can we classify them as backward? Almost all Buganda Ministers are holders of degrees. What can be said about my lecturer Dr Masagazi Masaazi serving as Buganda Minister for education?

Change of tone and language

There is a mud-painting of cultural nationalism first as backward and later as treasonous atleast if seen from the president's speeches and writing . How the repeated use of "backward", "collaborators", "feudalism", "landlords" and recently Kamanyiiro in refference to Mengo takes center stage in this case is left for the reader to introspect. What inspired His excellency to work with people he knew who harboured intrigue and Kamanyiiro in the Liberation war? Is this the payment for the support the backward people gave to the revolution? How about their children who died while his current cronies in the regime were enjoying luxuries in Europe? Is the president re-echoing Milton Obote's K.A.B.A.K.A and the fight against feudalism? In 1966, Milton Obote revealed that he had exclusive evidence that Muteesa had ordered arms from a British firm Gailey& Roberts to overthrow the regime. During that time it was the highest crime to contest a governement sanctioned by the West equalled to today's war on terror, the Weekly observer recently ran a story that there was a conspiracy to connect Mengo to Alqaeda and to arrest the Kabaka. The weekly observer is known to have credible sources, are we braced for the next move as Ugandans? Then very recently the powers that be arrested Mengo ministers which i commented about in another article as a reactionary mechanism to trap Buganda leaders into submitting to the NRM government and its demands.

Moses Kalanzi

Kampala

Mr. President Correction of past mistakes a mistake too

orrection of Past Mistakes a mistake

An informed insight into the Lost Counties issue.

The president of Uganda has been in a number of forums been quoted as having declared a war against injustices with roots in colonial maladministration. The ex-leninist guerilla leader and avowed anti-colonialist {though now chairman of the colonial project] has on many occasions castigated the British for the kid-glove treatment of Buganda in the 1900 Agreement and the entrenchment of Ganda superiority through the divide and rule policy. Mr. Museveni has blamed the current land crisis and ongoing tensions with Mengo as effects of the 1900 Agreement much to the chagrin of the Mengo Establishment. Just like Obote he has attacked the British for having granted Buyaga, Buruuli and Bugangaizi to Buganda. This attempt at re-writing history rejects the conditions under which the territories enjoyed by the various benefactors of British rule gained them and while it may receive applause in certain quarters, it sows seeds of acrimony between ethnicities in Uganda. Mr. Museveni believes that by returning Buruuli to Bunyoro, inciting the Banyala and the Kabaka’s subject of Buvuma into secession, the disintegration of Buganda will be accelerated while forgetting that with the weakening of Buganda the country will be thrown into political confusion and economic stagnation. The misconception that once Buruuli, Bulemeezi or Bugerere go to Bunyoro then Uganda would be peaceful is based on an inherent fear of a stable Buganda by politicians’ intent on staying a little bit longer in power.

The excavation of historical facts reveals that the clock cannot be turned backwards suggesting that any attempt to do so would undermine Uganda’s territorial discipline. The platitude that time is a great healer depends purely on the assumption that memories good or bad fade but certainly not all bad memories fade. While we can accuse the Kingdom of Buganda to have risen at the expense of the disintegration of Bunyoro, the fact that many cultural entities rose out of Bunyoro should not be underplayed.

The foundation of Tooro Kingdom was a standard of defiance to Bunyoro. Is it viable to the new editors of our history to return Tooro to Omukama Gafabusa? The counties of Ruhaama, Rukoni, Ngoma and Rwenkindo all in Ntungamo were gained from Rwanda and the people of this area are Banyarwanda. The failure of the C.A to grant Ugandan citizenship to these people would have led to a secession of these people to Rwanda. The seccesion movement was led by Gad Gasatura, Higiro Semajwege and Augustine Ruzindana who had even vowed to cross to Rwanda on being denied Ugandan citizenship. Vast areas of Bufumbira belonged to Rwanda. Hon. Nathan Byanyima’s Bukanga County and Isingiro initially belonged to Buganda but were ceded to Nkore. Iron-rich Buhweju was also annexed to Nkore from Bunyoro under the reign of Kahaya and his son Rwebishengye. His grandson Mutambuka carried on the expansion over Buhweju. Rwebishengye had also invaded and plundered Kabula from Bunyoro in the East of Nkore and while Kabula then was under the jurisdiction of Nkore, it was not until 1949 that Bahima made an exodus from Nyabushozi into Mawogola and Kabula on a large exodus. This expedition was made by Prince George Herbert Mbata in defiance of Ankore government bylaws particularly one which forced peasants to make a compulsory contribution of ghee which was greatly resented by the Bahima “who also thought that they could live a freer life under the less paternalistic government of the Kabaka” {H.F Morris, Heroic Recitations of the Bahima of Ankore p.64}

Despite this Baganda have been regarded as ungrateful guests in Kabula since 1888 when fleeing Baganda Christians sought refuge in the land from Ntare V. Before then the land initially grabbed from Bunyoro had been sparsely populated with few Bahima.

Nwoya County was initially belonging to Bunyoro. Dokolo County also was taken from Bunyoro by the stroke of the 1900 Agreement. The Kumam of Kaberamaido used to belong to Bunyoro. Even Mr. Museveni birthplace in the county of Nyabushozi belonged to Bunyoro and so was Kashaari County. Can the president help Nyabushozi return to its rightful owners? The Batooro of Uganda still claim parts of Congo with distant relatives on the other side of the boundary. From the foregoing discussion it appears true that almost every corner of Uganda has historical roots in another corner of the country. Such roots have been strengthened by nationhood. Under the umbrella of foreign rule our forefathers started to forge bonds of nationhood despite ethnic differences. Now is not the time for making kings with queer tittles such as Saabanyala, Saabavuma, Saabaruuli or even Saabagabe. Mr. Museveni’s king-making qualities can be of great relief to the people of Ankore who now 23 years into his tenure have not had a cultural leader.

Lastly Kingdoms emerge through military economic and sometimes magical qualities and power; they are not accidents of history and never creatures of constitutions. Once they emerge, their sustenance is achieved through spontaneous and habitual obedience of the King’s subjects not by the provisions of the constitution or even the wishes of a seating government. Their existence cannot be corrected just as a clock can’t turn backwards.

Moses Kalanzi

CBS RADIO CLOSURE: GENOCIDE AND THE PARADOX OF MEDIA FREEDOMS

Over the past weeks an issue of eminent concern has been the centre of controversy in the country not for it's trivial character as has been advanced by regime-leaning politicians but mostly for its implication to good governance and the rule of law in the country. I first had this at the lawyers day dialogue at Makerere in 2009 where presidential assistant on Institutions David Mafabi likened CBS radio to Radio Television Libres du Mille Collines in extending hate propaganda. This was at a dialogue discussing Media Freedoms: Myth or Reality Then less than a week later Local Government Minister Kahinda Otafiire in his usual fiery attitude lambasted the Mengo estabilishment and reiterated his earlier position that Mengo operates as an NGO. He assured members present at the dialogue organised by the Makerere University Convocation and sponsored by Konrad Adenuer Foundatiion that the activities of CBS radio bordered terrorism and were fuelling ethnic divisions in the country and stuck a semblence to Mafabi's argument when he recalled the activities of Mille Collines in the Rwanda Genocide. Whether a common understanding has been reached by government to ally Genocide to CBS radio or views expressed by its loyal cadres, the crux remains that Mengo has managed to intensify Ganda consciousness amidst ethnic persecution as seen by ordinary Baganda. Word going round at Mengo from impeccable sources has revealed that the Kingdom is under pressure to lessen its criticism of the central government. By the NRM regime indicating a fear of Genocide purportedly perpetuated by Mengo which in itself appears an inadequate claim, it has opened up debate on who is actually fuelling ethnic animosity in the country. The misuse of the term Genocide will be the centre of debate in this argument. The term was invented after the second world war in reference to Nazi activities of exterminating the Jews and the Genocide convention was ratified on 9th December 1948.
The verdict of history has revealed to us that genocide is mainly a state crime and is usually practiced by those in power and to acuse Mengo of such a crime would be to reverse an agenda orchestrated by those in power. I advance that ethnic hatred aired on CBS radio as seen by our rulers is a veiled attempt to curtail media freedom under the guise of regulating content. Recently Police instituted a section on Media Crimes at CID and a number of the country's brains and resources are employed to record all statements 'injurious to stability of the country'. A radio presenter at the Mengo radio has even sarcastically demanded that the section be renamed CBS Crimes Unit. But one issue often forgotten by the accusers is that Radio Mille Collines enjoyed the support of the state. It enjoyed 24 hour power and was located(for security purposes)on the street just across State House. Its ownership was by state functionaries including the First Lady, Felicien Kabuga, Gaspard Gahigi, Ferdinand Nahimana and a host of others were well connected to the regime in power. Anyone who has watched the movie Sometimes in April featuring Uganda's own Abby Mukiibi will agree with me that Genocide as a crime cannot thrive unsupported by those in power. It was a small circle around Madame Agathe Habyarimana, the widow of President Juvenal Habaryimana of Rwanda, popularly known as the Akazu, or the Little House, which perceived the power sharing provisions of the Arusha Accords of 1993 as fatal to its ambition to cling to power and resolved to annihilate Rwanda’s entire Tutsi population. Suggestedly its is a small clique of politicians in Uganda keen on perpetuating Mr Museveni in power who seek to close down Buganda radio. While we can accuse Mengo of educating its citizens someone is arming his tribesmen with guns and the result has been terrorising of rural peasants and land grabbing in the countryside. Frank Chalk the Author of Hate radio in Rwanda has argued that the radio used to mould the opinions of rural citizens but that the role of the state in Genocide should not be underplayed. Genocide as a crime involves high organisation usually involving state machinery in concealment of objectives. It is more than a few presenters speaking their hearts out. To advance a claim that a Powerless Mengo with a government equated to an NGO,can incited genocide is to deny the magnitude of the issues discussed above. From a simple perspective, it occurs that Mengo in abid to organise its masses amidst temptations of desecrating the Kingdom by the NRM started up a radio station and later a newspaper Njuba Times. The King himself a former journalist with the DRUM Magazine,must have known the importance of the media in mass mobilisation for development. If Mengo is inciting ethnic hatred, it appears to be doing so as a counter-measure to counter those arming Balaalo for purposes that cannot be understood as of now. Lastly Genocide is a two-way traffic conflict in which like all wars one has an upper hand in victory. Even in Rwanda RPF had a hate radio the controllers of the RPF’s weakly powered radio station, Radio Muhabura (Radio Beacon) which only failed to counter Mille Collines listernership to have impact. Otherwise how do you explained a Tutsi-owned radio to Unite Rwandans as has been advanced by the western press when in its military and political composition it was 98 percent Tutsi. This should not be concieved as an affront to the Tutsi but rather a balanced overview. The Kabaka of Buganda welcomed the Tusti and even protected Kigeri IV at his court during the earlier conflicts. It has always been the politicians playing at the harp of ethnic divisions to elongate their stay in power that have always created instability.
Moses Kalanzi