By Stephen Lwetutte
LONDON-UNITED KINGDOM/NEWSDAY:
It is hard to imagine how the contemporary history of the Great Lakes region of Africa would have pun out without personalities such as President Moi of Kenya, President Mobutu of the then Zaire (now DRC), President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Presidents Amin and Obote of Uganda, President Habyarimana of Rwanda and rebel leaders Yoweri Museveni Uganda), Desire Kabila (DRC), Fred Rwegyima (Rwanda), John Garang (South Sudan) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda). The last five, save for Fred Rwigyema, also subsequently also became leaders in their respective countries. There is also a glimpse of interplay amongst all these actors without being sure who owes whom what in their armed destructive armed adventures. The story, largely still shrouded in secret deals and agreements is, however, slowly unravelling. One fact, though, is beyond doubt and dispute – the scale and scope of destruction, human displacement and loss of life is absolutely massive. The price paid by the citizens is high!
Yet the squabbling appears to be on now – over a couple of weeks ago, an emotionally charged Museveni stated publicly how he was his own self-made person who never enlisted any assistance from anyone to get to where he is today. Ssirina gwe nneguya [Luganda for l don’t give a damn about anyone], he roared in excited gesticulations! He has also previously warned against calling him a servant, insisting that he is no one’s employee, but rather a freedom fighter whose family is sacrificing to lead Uganda – a volunteer if sorts. He has promised on a number of occasions previously to retire to his farm and country home in Rwakitura, but claims to heed the “public outcry” for him to stay on for subsequently terms every time he resolves to quit. It now almost 36 years and counting.
As if directly to respond to President Museveni, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda told a gathering that, on 6 November 2021, attended the wedding in Kigali of Teta Gisa, daughter to late Major General Fred Rwigyema, the first leader of the Rwandan Patriotic, whom Kagame replaced, that “[w]e fought as Rwandans. We went to war to liberate this country without anyone’s help. It’s not acceptable that anyone that is not Rwandan will show and tell us what to do. It’s simply unacceptable.” It will be remembered that President Obote’s UPC government ordered in September of 1982 a massive eviction of people of Rwandese origin from area in South Western Uganda into refugee camps, affecting an estimated 100,000 people at one point and prompting the UN to protest to the Obote government.
Rebel leader Yoweri Museveni is reported to have taken advantage of the crisis and found fertile recruitment ground from the camps, on promises that he would resolve that Rwandese question, including assisting them to return home, if they joined him to fight Obote’s government. The rest, as they say, is history. To the Baganda, he understood to restore their Kingdom if the supported his rebellion, including pleading with His Majesty Kabaka Mutebi (then Crown Prince) to turn up and shore up his support at a time when the rebellion was on the verge of being defeated.
Related articles
The Luganda proverb Nantasiima abulwa amuwa [ungratefulness ruins opportunities] should ring a bell to both President Museveni and Kagame. Lives have been ruined and lost, communities destroyed, not for personal gratification to get them to their current station in life. Only the very naive and gullible can believe that these individuals never needed, sought and received assistance as they now publicly claim. Luweero in neither in Rwanda nor anywhere beyond the Kingdom of Buganda, but that’s where Museveni and Kagame operated for five years – the Kingdom has never recovered and is still reeling from the effects of their activities.
The Vietnamese have a saying that “when eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree”. It is all very well for these gentlemen to now deny they ever enlisted assistance from anyone, but the common people know the true facts and records will be there for posterity to consider. I am sure all the assistance given by everyone in the region to make life better will be appreciated: by the Kenyans who hosted Ugandans for years, the Ugandans who hosted and facilitated the Rwandese, the Sudanese and Congolese, the Tanzanians who facilitated Ugandans, and history will judge them kindly, but harshly so for those responsible for the misery and death of millions. The dozens of millions of deaths caused by Hitler during World War II are still remembered 82 years down the road.
For now, the real issue the citizens have to grapple with is how to deflate and manage the big egos of Presidents Kagame and Museveni, and avoid dragging the regional nations into their battle of egos: both are full of themselves, self-absorbed, full of their own importance and happen to believe that they are better than others.
This region is populated by over 400 million other citizens who should count, be acknowledged and respected. They are the real deal to consider, and will exist long after these two are gone. The survival and thriving of our nations will very much depend on mutually friendly and beneficial co-existence through time.
The writer is a Multilingual Human Rights Practitioner, formerly at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London for over 20 years and now Legal and Human Rights Consultant.
Do you want to share a story, comment or opinion regarding this story or others, Email us at newsdayuganda@gmail.com Tel/WhatsApp........0726054858
Discussion about this post