By Ndawula Ronald
Growing up in Luwero Town I witnessed the events of the 1980 elections where President Museveni, and Kawanga Semwogerere were trounced by Milton Obote.
According to this election I really don’t know how it was stolen because I had not come of age to scrutinise the events but much of Luwero town was DP and not for Obote’s UPC who our parents accused of killing the Kabaka.
Still some Baganda like Paul Muwanga who had power anchored for President Obote and the reason for his winning the election.
We were taught to hate northerners by Musevenis war which was triggered by the stolen election of 1980.
We thought the people from the North were responsible for the death of our people and loss of our property.
It defeats my understanding to see the same electoral problems that ignited the revolution happening again in Kayunga, Soroti and Kasese with impunity.
A beautiful soul in Gen.Tumwine who fired the first bullet to kick start a liberation of Ugandans from misrule, impunity, equity and democracy must have died regretting his action.
For deep in his heart of hearts , Tumwine according to his last words to President Museveni had realised that his lost eye was in vain.
When I recall the happiness on the streets of Kampala in January 1986 people welcoming the NRA heroes I shudder at the social media exchange denouncing the fallen General depicting him negatively.
The people of Luwero who particularly participated in the struggle and died in numbers can’t have a single Municipality, and only posses a skeleton hospital devoid of medicine and incomplete office block for District headquarters in 40 years and not even a well developed market like one in Mbale, Jinja, Gulu and elsewhere.
It defeats imagination that a man who used the people of Luwero can make 180 degrees turn against the people of who gave their all to his now personal struggle!
When it comes to government appointments, the best Luwero can achieve is deputy RDC!.
Our parents and brothers were promised heaven on earth and never thought stealing elections will ever come back to Uganda, atleast not under NRM.
As the events are turning out, the liberators have turned out to be real tormentors and the people we were told to hate in a phony war are now darlings of the regime.
In the award winning film, ‘THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND ‘ the lead actor Forest Whitaker acted Uganda’s President Idi Amin who after chasing the Asians descended on the streets , went on redistributing asians’ businesses to his friends and cronies even without caring for capacity to run them.
When I see what’s happening to Uganda airlines and its directors and the developing story of Uganda’s oil companies infiltrated by hand picked directors, sons and daughters of the powerful, the Ministerial appointments and land give aways, the un imaginable corruption, reminds me of Ugandas unforgettable history under Amin.
When I hear stories of drones picking up people on the streets and the safe houses all this reminds of Nile mansions and killing dungeons in Amin’s era.
When I see the crumbling economy, and the credit crunch where newspapers are full of peoples properties for sale by banks and the roads nolonger jammed by traffic , cars are taking places of flower pots in homes as few can afford fuel, I really know and recall those unforgettable Amin times when we lacked everything.
Bishop Janan Luwum died because he faulted President Amin on his many atrocities and killings and knew Amin could not tolerate it and was heard telling a friend that, ‘they are going to kill me but i don’t fear’.
Though he died in an accident it was clear he was killed by Amin and he is one of the 20th century matyrs.
Surprised the other day when Joel Senyonyi the Chairman of COSASE committee was warned by the President and his Ministers for doing the right thing.
Joel Senyonyi was right to go to police much as he can’t hide but history will recall if any thing happens as it happened to Janan Luwum.
It is more dangerous to be a Muganda in today’s Uganda as you can never realise your full potential because you’re wrong from the start.
You can’t be a Vice president, a ministerial material because of your tribe, you can’t be a Speaker of parliament, you can’t be a chief judge, you can’t be a General in the army and you can’t be a commander in the police.
The Baganda parliamentarians today belong to Kitalya even without a case to answer and the rest are stooges of the powerful.
The best Baganda can have and do is to concentrate on Masaza Cup tournament and Kabaka’s birthday run the rest should be surrendered to God.
These are the times we never expected to return but now they’re here we should console each other and remind ourselves that history repeats itself and what goes around comes around.
Ndawula Ronald, the author is the former Chairperson of Luwero district
