Following the pattern of most dictator regimes coming to an end, Museveni and his collaborators in the armed occupation of Buganda are starting to behave like grasshoppers. Getting increasing paranoid, Museveni has become ruthless in dealing with real and imagined enemies. From Betty Nambooze to Kabaka Mutebi, he is willing to be reckless in the name of survival. And like grasshoppers, the NRM top brass are now so sacred that they are starting to cannibalize each other. This is what happened in the 1970’s as Amin’s Nubians and Kakwas started to fear their own shadows.

During the last 7 days alone, three key figures in the NRM system have escaped death or been killed in what most analysts agree to be, at best, highly suspicious circumstances. The architecture of the NRM occupation of Buganda through the arbitrary decentralization system, Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, narrowly escaped death when a speeding motorcycle ran his vehicle off the road in Bunyoro. Mysteriously, the motorcycle rider and his bike both disappeared. The police commander in the area, a Munyankore named Tumusiime, insisted that although they believed that there had been an accident, they could not do anything because all the important evidence had been carefully removed. A shaken Bidandi Ssali told the local press that he was sure that some people had tried to kill him.

The same Saturday, Brian Bukenya, the son of one of Museveni’s key collaborators in the NRM occupation of Buganda, vice president Gilbert Bukenya, dies in a freak. Brian Bukenya graduated in Law from the United Kingdom before joining the Uganda occupation army (UPDF) under pressure from his father. According to sources, the vice president who is obsessed with replacing Museveni if a chance arises, wanted his son to be in the army to emulate the president’s Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Although Museveni feigned approval, a source close to state house tell us that no one in Museveni’s akazu (secret Balaalo kitchen cabinet) was amused. Key akazu figures like Salim Saleh, Jovia Saleh, Janet Kataha Museveni, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, David Tinyefuza and Sam Kuteesa all saw Bukenya’s move as a challenge. The source adds that, although it is difficult to pin down the culprits, once Brian Bukenya and his father made clear that they were bent on getting him in the Sandhurst Military Academy, his fate was sealed.

Brian Bukenya, who was reportedly born out of an adulterous relationship that Bukenya had with a friend’s wife, died when the vehicle in which he was travelling from Kabamba to Kampala overturned.  Mysteriously, the driver, who survived, told police that after the accident he became unconscious and does not know how he got from the accident scene to his sister’s house in Kibuli, an hour’s drive away. The driver, Nathan Lwanga, also insists that he was speeding because the deceased, Brian Bukenya, told him to do so.

And on Tuesday, another major contributor to the NRM armed occupation of Buganda, Maj. Gen. James Kazini died in another bizarre case. According to the Uganda occupation police force, led by Rwandese Karyekezi Kayihura, Kazini was killed by his girlfriend who struck him with an iron bar. However, Brig. Elly Kayanja one of Museveni’s most ruthless security operators insists that the story is suspect. According to our source in the Uganda’s porous security community, Kazini’s confessed killer is an ISO operative. Kayanja headed ISO about 10 years ago before he went on to form the notorious Operation Wembley.

What remains unclear is the strength of Museveni’s hand in any of the three high profile deaths of NRM diehards.  Either way, the writing appears to be on the wall. The NRM occupation army is starting to eat its own limbs, beginning with Brian Bukenya and James Kazini. And Bidandi Ssali now has a new job – watching his back. Brig. Elly Kayanja confirmed that the grasshopper syndrome has taken root when told the Uganda local press that he advises all army officers, especially senior ones, to move with their pistols on the ready.

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

L-R: Dr Steven Lwetutte (Amnesty International officer on matters concerning with Eastern Europe), Downing Street, Lawrence Muyimba (Treasurer Buganda Centre), Chairman Buganda Centre Deo Kiggundu Malagala and Harriet Senyonjo dilivering a petition to British Prime Minister’s Office, No 10 Downing Street last month.

LONDON: As pressure mounts and more petitions continue, the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the first time has come out to speak about the September 11, massacre of 30 unarmed civilians and continue incarceration of over 800 people in the capital Kampala. “The UK government is deeply concerned about the recent rioting in Kampala,” reads  in part an October 23, letter, to expatriate Ugandans who last month petitioned the UK government and the International Community demanding that Uganda’s foreign backers to withdraw their support to dictator Yoweri Museveni’s regime after the September massacre of innocent civilians.

Judith Mann from Great Lakes Section on behalf of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), wrote: “With our EU partners, we have raised our concerns about the use of excessive force by the police and defence during the riots with the government of Uganda and we have encouraged them to instigate an independent investigation into the riots.” This followed the increase petitions and lobbying by several groups of Ugandans abroad. Since the September, Kampala, streets carnage three groups most of them potential voters in the UK polls, have petitioned British Prime Minister’s No. 10 Downing Street. Whilst, others have prepared several dossiers to the House of Commons, House of Lords, and the European Union.

Although, the Ugandan President Museveni in his speech to the Parliament just after the riot, he justified his forces’ action as they handled the rioters. It has now emerged Uganda Government’s narrative of the events to the International Community is different. Museveni, in his televised directive was “Shoot and Kill’ order when the riot broke out on September 10, as Military Police and other armed security operatives blocked Prime Minister who was preparing His Majesty Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II’s visit to Kayunga an area  in Buganda Kingdom.  However, it has now been understood that when asked to account for the deaths and random arrests, the Uganda government’s message to the FCO is like chalk and cheese.

“The Ugandan authorities have told us that this will be investigated and that where appropriate, individuals will be held to account,” reads a FCO communiqué, contradicting, Museveni’s speech in which he labelled the protestors  as ‘shadowy subversive activities’ against his regime and  ‘hooligans’ whose purpose was meant to loot and destroy properties. During the September 11, riot, allegations of a foreign country, in this regard suspected to be Libya, had allegedly channelled huge amount of money to Buganda Kingdom to fund anti-NRM activities. The kingdom has vehemently denied such allegations, calling it playing dirt politics by Museveni’s regime to divert attention from  legitimate demands and possibly to persecute official from Mengo establishment.
The current-day Uganda acquires its name from the ancient Kingdom of Buganda, a hereditary monarchy that once covered the southern part the country including the capital Kampala. His Majesty Mutebi II, the custodian of the Kingdom has unsolved issues with the central government which include; the return of 9000sqmile of land, its County headquarters and a demand for Federal system of governance that can check corruption. In addition to now the formerly cherished CBS FM radio station which was closed during the recent riot.

In a separate communiqué to this reporter, another officer Ms Stephanie Sandison, said that the General Affairs External Relations Council of the European Union express its concern over the September’s riots in Kampala, arguing the Ugandan Government to resolve any political disputes through peaceful dialogue and democratic  institutions. That,  the Council also urges the Government to do its utmost to assure that there will be a level playing field in the run up to the general elections of 2011 and that these elections will be free, fair and transparent. Ms Sandison said; “This has been agreed jointly by all EU Member States, including the UK.  A full copy of the text can be found at: tttp://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/gena/110787.pdf.”

“We continue to monitor the political situation in Uganda closely and regularly discuss human rights issues with the Uganda Government,” said officer Ms Sandison from the Great Lake Region when reacting to question why the British Government unfailingly continues to cosset the tyrannical regime given the well documented human rights abuses. Reacting to a demand made in several petitions by expatriate Ugandans to have the September protesters released, Ms Sandison, said: “We continue to push for further action on human rights issues such as media freedom, illegal detention and politically motivated harassment.”
“The UK Government remains determined to bring stability to the region and will continue to work with the international community and partners in the region to bring this about,” says Ms Sandison.

Not used to public debates, fearing and well aware of the power of the media, President Museveni, justified CBS FM closure, when he claimed that it was inciting violence. Then the government accused CBS and other stations of inflaming violence that erupted in the entire region.

Meanwhile Ugandans in Diaspora joined the 120 country groups to continue lobby the UK Government and EU donors to scrutinise the Uganda Government in to protect their interests. In the last month, Ugandans from different organisations abroad have approached potential lobbyists over the current situation in Uganda.

“A total of 30 innocent civilians were brutally murdered by Museveni’s security forces last month and about 1000 people are still incarcerated in secret places, so, it’s our duty to check this situation,” said a member who attended a meeting with top UK Bishop and a member of House of Lords. The deputation, who has so far secured an informal approach with some UK MPs and members of House of Lords, is lobbying to give accurate and truthful information to the Commons about Uganda.

“We want to inform the legislators here that, the government’s continue backing of Museveni, is putting the British interests in Uganda at risk,” a member who attended an hour meeting at one of the Cathedral on October 19, told this reporter. Exclusively, this reporter has learnt that with the group has also prepared a similar dossier to be circulated to the European Parliament in Brussels-Belgium. A source said: “We are not going to use any form of force, but our brains and the power of the pen. That is why many politicians and Uganda’s foreign backers have welcomed this kind of approach. Let Museveni spend millions of dollars to decorate his corrupt regime, we are encountering his lies by delivering factual evidences,” said a source.

Despite lack of recognition and, sometimes, outright hostility from some Buganda Government officials, Abazzukulu ba Buganda are widely recognized one of the leading groups in protecting Buganda’s rights. Abazzukulu, as they are often referred to, have for more than 10 years actively argued that Buganda has been under occupation since 1962, and needs to free herself. They are responsible for exposing many anti Buganda plots by Museveni and at Mmengo. For example, in the 1990’s Abazzuklu ba Buganda led the ejection Princess Ndagire from Kasubi tombs after she was hired by Museveni to discredit Kabaka Mutebi by calling him a son of Daudi Ocheng.  Another example was in July 2004, when Abazzukulu challenged Mmengo over Shs 800m which Museveni’s government is alleged to have secretly paid to members of Katikkiro Ssemwogerere’s team to disorganize planned Baganda demonstrations for Federo.

Except for the brief period when Dan Muliika was Katikkiro, the relationship between Mmengo and Abazzukulu over the last 15 years, has been quite tense. In 2006 the group did not spare, even Muliika, when they accused him of being soft for glorifying Federo. Abazukkulu insist that Buganda has been under occupation, since 1966. Federo is a cowardly compromise that demeans what our ancestors died for and the only solution is full national independence under our Kabaka.

Below are the minutes (in Luganda) of a meeting members of Bazzkulu had with Katikkiro JB Walusimbi on August 31, 2009. This was less than two weeks before the infamous genocidal massacre of Baganda by Museveni’s NRM police and army. Throughout the meeting, Abazzukulu expressed disappointment with what they view as incompetence, corruption and anti Buganda activities at Mmengo.

ENSISINKANO Y’OLUKIIKO LWA BAZZUKULU BA BUGANDA NE KATIKKIRO OWEK J B WALUSIMBI NGA 31/08/09 

Ebikulu ebyaali mu nsisinkano eyo

Okussoka kwa byonna tukwebaza olw’omukisa okutusisinkana n’okubaganya naffe ebirowoozo ku nsoga zaffe, wadde ng’ezimu tewazinnyonyoka.  Ekituwandiisizza kwekulamba ensisinkano yaffe naawe kulw’okulondoola byetwayogerako.

Ettemu eriyinda

Olukiiko lwakulaga obweraliikirivu bw’Abaganda ku butemu obugenze mu maaso okumala ebbanga; ng’omwo mwemwaali n’okwokya abaana be Buddo.  Lwakutegeeza nti kati mu Buddu, e Kyannamukaaka, Kyesiiga, Kiziba, Mutondo ne Bisanje mwaali mutemuddwaamu abantu naddala ng’abatemu beeyita abalwanirira federo n’ettaka.  Naye gavumenti egamba nti abo babbi.  Ekyo olukiiko lwakigerageranya n’ekyokuttirimbula abaganda nga Joseph Mubiru ku mulembe gw’Amin- naye ng’akabinja akabatemulanga kaasasulirwanga gavumenti ya Nyerere.  Ate era nga mungeri y’emu abaganda abattibwa e Nankulabye mu 1964, gavumenti yakiteeka ku batamiivu.

Olukiiko lwakutegeeza nti okutemula abantu naddala abaana kati okudenda mu maaso kukkweekeddwa mu “kissadaaka abaana”. Kati bakugasseeko n’okubba abaana abawere mu malwaaliro mu Buganda.

Olukiiko lwakulaga nti lubuusabuusa nti ebyo sibitegeke butegesi ebigenderera okuteekesaawo etteeka eriyingirira ebyobuwangwa byaffe..  Era olukiiko lwakutegeeza nga bwekiwulirwa nti waliwo etteeka nga lyayitaako n’emungalo za Dr Nambatya nga lisuubirwa okukola ng’erya 1929 eryawera ensinza n’enzikiriza Nansangwa.

Olwebyo olukiiko lw’Abazzukulu lwakusaba okuzuukusa enkola ya Gwanga mujje eyambeko abaganda okwewa obukuumi.  Era lwakusaba okuteekawo okulondoola obutemu buno obugenda mu maaso ng’okundoola gavumenti ya Rwanda eweebwa Bungereza sente okugula ettaka lya Buganda. 

Olukiiko lwagattako n’okulondola ebitebe by’amawanga ag’ebweru agali wano ng’ekya Bungereza ne Sweden, n’ebitongole byaabyo ebyobwannakyeewa ebikolera wano.

Kyalabika nti naawe obweraliikirivu obulina naye ng’obusobozi obukola ku nsonga eyo olina butono.  Era walaga obweraliikirivu ku bavubuka abatalina mirimo abangi, abanywi bejaaye okuba nga bayinza okweyambisibwa okukola ettemu eryo.

Ku kyokuzuukusa enkola ya Gwanga Mujje wabuusabuusa obusobozi bwaayo okukola mu kibuga nga Kampala kubanga abantu beefaako bokka tebakyakolangana n’abannaabwe.  Naye walaga essuubi nti mubyaalo enkola ya Gwanga Mujje eyinza ob’olyaawo okusoboka okukola.

Olukiiko lukkiriza nti tolina busobozi bummala.  Naye era lukimanyi nti osobola okubaako ky’okola mu mbeera eno.  Twaakuwa amagezi okweyambisa ebitongole ebirwanirira eddembe ly’obuntu, n’ebyamawulire, bannaddiini n’abaganda bannakyeewa abalina obumanyirivu mu nsonga ezo.

Map ya Buganda

Olukiiko lwemulugunya ku kya Mmengo okuffulumya Map ya Buganda entongole ng’eriko amasaza 18. Nga map eyo ebulako amasaza 2 Buyaga n’eBugangaizi.

Olukiiko lwakubuuza nti nga bwetukyaali mubuwambe, bwebulikya ng’amasaza amalala nga Buluuri, Singo, ne Bugerere gatwaaliddwa ng’olwo Mmengo era effulumya Map endala eraga nti amasaza ga Buganda gali 13?

Emivuyo gy’ettaka

Olukiiko lwebuuza lwaki mmengo eyogera ku mailo 9000 zokka n’erekayo mailo 8000?

Olukiiko lwakubuulira emivuyo egikolebwa Buganda Land Board.  Lwakutegeeza nti abayeekera Kabaka abali mu BLB, bagoba abaganda ku ttaka n’ebaliwa abagwiira.  Okugeza mu Gombolola y’omukulu w’ekibuga mu Kisenyi mu Buwanika zone awaali enju y’omuwanika BLB yagobawo Abaganda abakolerawo n’ekakasa obwannanyini  bwa Gaster Mugoya  eyabba ettaka eryo ng’ayita Uganda Land Commission (ULC).

 N’e Makindye Ssaabagabo, e Buziga e Konge BLB egoba abaganda ku ttaka, eriwe mukyaala Museveni eyalibbira mu Uganda Land Commission.

Ekifaananyi abayeekera bano kyebalaga abaganda kiri nti Kabaka y’abagoba ku ttakka okuliwa abagwiira.

E Nansana abantu bajjibwaako sente 200,000/= okuwandiisa ebibanja byaabwe naye nga tebaweebwa alisiiti.  Era olukiiko lwakutegeeza nti abayeekera bano abaliira Kabaka munda bagendera mu motoka za BLB okugoba abantu ku ttaka n’okumenya enyumba zaabwe nga bwekyaali eBusaabala.

Olukiiko lwakubuuza lwaki ovumaganya Ssabasajja n’okumukyayisa abantu be  ng’oyita mu Kitongole kya Buganda Land Board.

Kunsonga ezo watuddamu nti;

Ekyogeza ku mailo akenda kokka n’ebalekayo eddala kiri nti mailo akanaana kali mi mikono gy’abaganda.

Ku kya Buganda Land Board watutegeeza nti eno BLB eriwo kati teringa eri eyaliwo eya 1962-66.  Eno evunaanyizibwa ku lusuku lwa Kabaka olwa mailo 350 lwokka.  N’olwekyo nti Buganda Land Board (BLB) teri mu buyinza bwo.  Nti Kabaka yagifuya butereevu.

Watutegeeza nti ebyo naawe wali obiraba era obiwulira.  Naye obuyinza bwo butono ku BLB.  Wabula watugamba nti abo betwaayita abayeekera bwetubasanganga aga balya enguzi oba ngabakola emivyo egyo tubakkwaate tubakuleetere, nti ojja kutandikira awo-okubakolako.

Olwa 24/May/1966

Olukiiko lwakutegeeza nti lumaze emyaaka kuminagumu nga lutegeka omukolo gw’okujjukira olunaku lwa 24/ May/ 1966 Buganda lweyawambibwa Uganda.  Olukiiko lwakujjukiza nti nga 21/may/2009 lwakusisinkana n’erukusaba olunaku olwo olwa 24 May lutongozebwa.  Nti era lwakikola mu buwandiike nga bwewalusaba.  Olukiiko lwayagala okumanya ensonga eyo weyimiridde.

Okuboolebwa

Olukiiko lwakutunuza mu nsonga yaalwo ey’okuboolebwa ku mikutu gyamawulire, newankubadde ng’ebibiina n’abantu bonna bakkirizibwa okuwa endowooza zaabwe eri abantu.

Emikutu olukiiko gyerugezaako okuyisa endowooza yalwo, abakozi baayo abakiiriza Abazzukulu bagobebwa ku mirimo.  Ebyokulabirako ye Nsereko Basajja Mituba (WBS), ne Sempala (Sapiensa).

Olukiiko lwakulopera nti ate yo ku CBS “Radio Yaffe” ekintu kyonna eky’olukiiko lw’Abazzukulu tekisobokera ddala kuyita ku mpewo.  Nti n’ebirango by’olukiiko  ebisasulire nabyo byaali tebikirizibwa emirundi egisinga.

Mu kuddamu ensonga zino watutegeeza nti ensonga ya 24-May ebbaluwa yaffe wagifuna.  Nti era wali ogenda kugitwaala mu Cabinet mugiteeseeko era olwa 24-May luteekebwe ku calendar lujjukirwe nga Abaganda mu butongole.

Ku ky’okuboolebwa CBS olukiiko walusuubiza nti ogenda kwogera n’abagivunaanyizibwaako olabe nti tuweebwa omukisa ng’abalala.

Eby’okukola oluvanyuma lw’okummibwa Federo

Olukiiko lwakutegeeza nti Buganda kyeyeetaaga kati bwetwaaze, kubanga ne Federo nabwo buffuge.

Olukiiko lwakutegeeza nti Buganda kati erina ebizibu bibiri byokka – ebisinga obukulu. Nti ebizibu ebyo bwe bigyibwaawo, ebirala byonna byekolako byokka.

Ekizibu ekisooka Buganda kyerina ye ffe Abaganda abaliwo kati.  Omuzungu bweyajja wano yakozesa eddiini n’obuyigirize n’agootaanya ebirowoozo n’okutegeera kwaffe, nga kati wetwaatuuka tetukyasobola kumanya nti Buganda ne Uganda Chemistry w’abyo wanjawulo nnyo n’olwekyo tebisobola kutambulira wamu wadde okugattibwa.

Buli bwetugezaako okubisisinkanya wabeerawo okubwaatuka.  Kino kiri bwekiti kubanga Buganda lyo Gwanga tonde butonzi ng’eyalitonda yaliteerawo obutonde/obulombolombo bwalyo mweritambulira.  Ate yo Uganda yateekebwaawo bantu buntu-ng’etambulira ku kupangapanga na kuffumbirira kwa kiryammere.

N’olwekyo eky’obutonde n’ekyobulyammere tebiyinza kugattibwa wamu n’ewatabeerawo buzibu.  N’omutonzi tasobola kukikkiriza, naddala bwekiba nti ekyekiryammere ate kyekigenda okuffuga eky’obutonde!!! 

Kyova olaba nga kati Abaganda bangi nnyo batuuka n’okulowooza nti awatali Uganda, Buganda tesobola kubeerawo.

Ky’ova olaba nti kati eby’eBuganda tuffunvubira buli kimu kukigonjoolera mu  byabufuzi n’abafuzi ba Uganda n’ewankubadde nga buli lwe tugezezaako tekisobose wabula  tukifunyeemu kutabulwa na kusoberwa!!!

Ky’ova olaba ng’Abaganda balowooza nti Kabaka ne Pulezidenti bafaanana/ benkana.  N’olwekyo pulezidenti bwaakola ebibye ne Kabaka bwateekwa okubikola.

Ky’ova olaba nga kati Abaganda banji balowooza nti nga pulezidenti bwakulakulanya ensi gy’afuga, ne Kabaka bwakulakulanya Buganda.  N’owulira ng’omuganda agamba nti “Ssabasajja Kabaka awangaale – akulakulanye obuganda.”

Enjogera eno ewulikika ng’entuufu naye evaamu ebizibu binji nnyo nyo byetutayinza kumenya netubimalayo.

Ekyokukolera ekizibu kino kifaananira ddala nga Martin Luther King ne munne Malkom X kyebaakolera baddugavu bannaabwe kyebaayitanga “Black Consciousness Movement” olw’okujja abaddugavu mu buddu mwe baali bamaze emyaaka eminji ennyo.

Naffe wano Abaganda, olw’obuddu omuzungu bweyatuteekamu emyaaka minjiko egiyise, okutegeera n’okukiriza kwaffe byasuulibwa mu bunnya n’etufuuka abatakyaalina bwesige mu Nyaffe Buganda netufuuka abatakyasobola kumulwanirira, kumukolerera nga bajjajjaffe bwebaakola. 

Nolwekyo waliwo obwetaavu bw’okuteekawo Buganda Consciousness Movement.

Olukiiko lwagenda mumaaso nerukulaga nti ekizibu ekyokubiri Buganda kyerimu bwe Bufuge.

Buli bufuge w’ebubeera bufuuka obuddu.  Obuganda obufuge bwe kika kya Federo bweyamalamu ebbanga bwagifuula OMUDDU- wa Uganda.

Ky’ova olaba nga tetulina ddembe ly’akwerowooleza na kwesalirawo – kubanga omuddu teyeelowooleza era yeyeesalirawo!!!

Ky’ova olaba nga tetulina ddembe lyakubeera na byaffe nga n’okututta webaagalira we batuttira newatabeerawo n’avunaana kubanga omuddu tabeera na dembe lyakubeera na bibye nga n’obulamubwe buba bwa mukama we.  Ne bwamutta, tewaba avunaana.

Ky’ova olaba nti ettaka lyaffe twerwanako bwerwanyi nga buli ayagala y’atwaala.

Tuteekwa buteekwa okulwanyisa okuffege/obuddu obwa buli kika, nga ne Federo mweri kuba nakyo kika kya Bufuge obuzaala obuddu.

Buli bwetwogera ku Federo tukimanye nti tuba twogera ku kika kya Bufuge/ Buddu kubanga tuba twettanira waggulu wa Buganda kuteekayo Uganda  ne waggulu wa Kabaka kuteekayo pulezidenti!!

Ky’ova olaba nti n’ewankubadde mu 1966 Buganda yali ekutte “full Federo” mu ngalo, Uganda yatukuba netugwa ku taka kwetukyalemeddwa okuva!!

Federo teyatuyamba kubanga mu Federo newankubadde twesigaliza “Obuyinza” obusinga naye baatusuula ku taka kubanga akusinga akukubisa gw’okutte!!

Ate era Owekitiibwa, amajolobera ge tuteeka ku federo si gaayo kubanga Federo emyaka ena gyetwamala nayo (ng’omuzungu agenze) tewali kyetwagikolamu kubanga emyaka ena twagimala amazzi tuffuuwako mafuuwe nga Gavumenti ya Uganda etukuumira ku bunkenke!!

Wabula tusaanye okujjukira nti obufuge/obuddu twabuyingira mu 1962 olwendagaano gyetwaakola nga tuli n’Amawanga amalala 14 olwensonga zino wammanga.:

1. Okutondawo ensi Uganda
2. Okutondawo gavumenti ey’okufuganga ensi Uganda
3. Olwokugatta amawanga 15 agagikola
4. Okuteeka amawanga 15 wansi w’obufuge/obuddu bwa Gavumenti ya Uganda.
5. Olwa Buganda  okupangisa gavumenti ya Uganda ettaka lye Kampala ne Entebe, gavumenti ya Uganda ekolereko emirimo gyaayo.

Wabula mu 1966 gavumenti ya Uganda yatema ettabi kweyali etudde bweyamenyawo endagaano gyetwogerako ne kiba nga kyategeeza era kikyategeeza nti byonna endagaano byeyali eteekawo byavaawo kubanga tebiyinza kusigalawo ng’endagaano eyabitondawo tekyaaliiwo.

N’olwekyo Owekitiibwa Katikiro, okumenyebwaawo kw’Endagaano eyo bwe Buwonero bwa Buganda kubanga kati Buganda terina ndagaano na muntu yenna.  N’olwekyo tewali ateekwa kudduumira Buganda wadde okugisongamu olunwe.

N’olwekyo kati Buganda ya dembe okwefuga yokka.  Kyeturina okukola nga Buganda  kwekuwawabira bannakigwanyizi abalemera ku ky’okufuga Buganda obuddu mu kooti y’e kibiina kyamawanga amagatte [UNO].

Owekitiibwa, wakiriziganya n’olukiiko ku kyokutwaala ensonga za Buganda mu kooti yensi yonna- mu kibiina ky’Amawanga amagatte.

Okusisinkana Ssabasajja Kabaka

Mukukubaganya ebirowoozo  naawe olukiiko lwasanga lulina obwetaavu okusisinkana Ssabasajja Kabaka, naye lusobole okumwanjulira ensonga ezo.  Nerukusaba olusobozese okusisinkana Ssabasajja Kabaka.  Owekitibwa watusuubiza okutukolera entegeka ku nsonga eyo.

Ekyaapa kya Bulange

Twaffundikira ne nsonga y’ekyapa kya Bulange. Ku nsonga eyo watunnyonyola nti ekyaapa kya Bulange kyayawuzibwaamu ebitundu bisatu.  Ekimu kwekuttudde Bulange, ekirala kwekuli oluggya lwa Bulange.  Ekyokusaatu kwekutudde ekizimbe Amin kyeyazimbako (Bulange Plaza).  Watulaga nti mwagala kufuula kizimbe kya Bulange plaza kizimbe kyabusuubuzi ekyawule ku Bulange.  Era watutegeeza nti ekyaapa ekikadde kyabula.  Nti kati kyemulina kya 1993.

Olukiiko lwebuuza ekyayawuzaamu ekyaapa ekyo emirundi esatu.  Olukiiko lwewunnya ekyayawuza ekyaapa ky’oluggya lwa Bulange okukigya ku kizimbe – Bulange kyennyini.

Olukiiko terwakiriziganya naawe ku nsonga y’akuzimba kizimbe kyabusuubuzi nga kirinaanye Bulange.  Netukusaba nti bwekiba nti ekizimbe ekyo mwagala kukimaliriza wadde nga tekyaali ku plan ya Bulange, bwekiba kizimbiddwa kireme kubeera kya busubuzi, zibeere office za Bulange.

Katikiro tewakaanya naffe kunsonga eyo.  Era naffe tetwakkaanya nanteekateeka yakukutula ku Bulange kifo kyonna kukifuula kintu kirala kyonna ekikendeeza ekitibwa ky’ekitebe ky’obwakabaka bwa Buganda.

Olukiiko lwakulaga obweraliikirivu bwerulina eri olukwe lw’abalabe ba Buganda olw’okusaanyaawo buli Kintu kyonna ekiraga nti waaliwo kko eggwanga erjyjtibwa Buganda eryefuga likirimegga eryekitiibwa etutumufu. Olukwe olwo olutera okukweekebwa mu nkulakulana po namakubo g’okuyingiriza obwakabaka sente luluubirira nadala kusaanyawo olubiri lw’eMmengo, Amasiro naddala ag’eKasubi, Bulange n’obutaka bw’eBika.

Olukiiko lwatuuka ku nkomerero, era nerugalwaawo. Olw’okulamba ensisinkano eno ku lw’okugoberera ebyakkaanyizibwako tukusaba Ssebo owekitibwa Katikkiro okirize otuteereko omukono wamanga wan

Katikkiro                                                          Ssentebe

………………………..                                             ……………………………

J.B Walusimbi                                                   Mubiru Njuki ku lwa Ssentebe
                                                                        Olukiiko Lw’Abazukulu Ba Buganda

Former Buganda Katikkiro, Daniel Muliika, and past president of the Uganda North American Association (UNAA), Frank Musisi will be the headliners at the October 17, 2009 emergency conference in Boston, USA. The official organizers are Ggwangamujje Boston. The organizaton has had no active executive since its elections failed elections in November 2008 (see ” November 9th Ggwanga Mujje Meeting Similar to Uganda and Kenyan Elections“).

After the September disturbances, however, the community elected Mr. Buwembo Mayanja to be the caretaker leader and see the association through the troubled times until a new executive is elected. So, Mr. Mayanja is the key decision maker, assisted by several other community members. It is Mr. Mayanja who announced the Emergency Buganda Conference shortly after Lt. Frank Musisi lost the UNAA presidency to Moses Wilson. This writer was there at the Chicago UNAA when, within minutes after Musisi lost the vote, he publicaly declared that he had been cheated and he was now going to focus on leading the Buganda cause in America. He made these statements in the presence of  Omulangira Wasajja and Buganda ministers Nakiwala Kiyingi and  Peter Mayiga who came to represent Buganda.

According to the Buganda Emergency Conference poster that the organizers have been cirulating over the last few weeks, the objectives of the event are (a) To examine the current conditions in Buganda and (b) to find ways to get out of the dire situation. However SMS messages which have been broadcast over Baganda cell phones by one of the organizers, Robert Kabuye, explain that the meeting will choose someone to be Buganda’s candidate against Museveni in the 2011 elections. The SMS messages have  led to some Bganda to suspect that the real goal of the Boston emergency conference may be to “crown” Musisi. This suspicion was strenghtned when Musisi told a Baganda meeting in Los Angeles last weeked that he had been “blessed” as the new leader of all Baganda in America. He never explained the process through which he had been chosen or whether either the Kabaka or the Katikkiro were part of it. And our efforts to confirm through Baganda American leaders if Mmengo or Kabaka appointed Musisi were unsuccessful.

Our sources both in Boston and Washington DC have confirmed that Mr. Mayanja is a strong Musisi supporter, as are several other Boston Baganda. The sources also say that other key Musisi promoters, including Mr. Kabonge and Mrs. Flavia Magoba of Washington DC, Mr. Male of California and Mr. James Semakula also of California. We have not been able to establish if Owek. Dan Muliika came to the meeting to promote Lt. Musisi or simply to present his opinions on the situation in Buganda. However, the former Katikkiro’s position should become clear today, after the true conference agenda is revealed and presentations are made. Robert Kabuye has announced that Mr. Muliika will be the keynote speaker.

Lt. Musisi is a member of the USA army who came to America with the help of his cousin and promnient anti-Buganda kingdom Museveni aide, the late Col. Serwanga Lwanga. The late Col. led the campaign to block the return of the Bulange to Buganda, claiming that Buganda has sold its majestic office building to Milton Obote of Idi Amin.

PRESS RELEASE

Uganda: Troops Killed Unarmed People in Riot Period
No Lethal Force Necessary in at Least 13 Fatal Shootings

(Kampala, October 1, 2009) – The Ugandan government should immediately order an independent investigation into the killing of unarmed persons during and after riots in Kampala on September 10 and 11, 2009, Human Rights Watch said today.

A Human Rights Watch investigation found that at least 13 people were shot by government forces in situations where lethal force was unnecessary. The Minister of Internal Affairs reported to parliament that 27 people had died during the riots and that seven were uninvolved in riot activity.

“Shooting in self defense is one thing, but we found that some soldiers shot at bystanders and shot through locked doors,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to put an impartial investigation in motion now.”

The riots in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, began on September 10, when police blocked a delegation representing the Buganda kingdom from visiting Kayunga district. The cultural king of Buganda, known as the kabaka, was planning to visit Kayunga for National Youth Day two days later. The visit was opposed by leaders of the Banyala ethnic group in Kayunga, who reject the kabaka’s authority. The kabaka’s supporters took to the streets to protest the police action, and violence began soon afterward.

Sources at Kampala’s main hospital, Mulago, indicate that 88 victims of the violence were admitted for treatment over this period, most for gunshot wounds. Victims were taken to other hospitals as well. According to the minister of internal affairs, at least 846 people were arrested for alleged crimes committed during the riots, and the arrests continue. At least 24 of the alleged rioters have been charged with terrorism for destroying government property, and many others have been charged with unlawful assembly and inciting violence.

During and after the unrest, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 50 victims and their family members, witnesses, doctors, and local and senior government officials. On-the-ground research was conducted into the circumstances surrounding the violence in the Kampala neighborhoods of Nateete, Kasubi, Busega, Ndeeba, Bwaise, Bunga, the Salaama Road at Nakinyuguzi zone, and in Mpigi town.

Human Rights Watch investigated several fatal and non-fatal shootings by security forces on September 10 and 11 that raise serious questions about the level of force employed in response to the riots. In a number of cases throughout the city, there is strong evidence that security forces shot individuals who were not threatening them or others.

This challenges statements by some government officials that live ammunition was only fired into the air to clear the streets of protesters.

However, President Yoweri Museveni, addressing parliament on September 10, after the riots broke out, contended that “initially police acted slowly” in response to the unrest. “Looters,” he said, “will be shot on sight, as will those who attack civilians.”

Human Rights Watch said that investigations should look into the circumstances of the rioting and into how to improve policing during demonstrations. Thus far, there is no clear evidence to support the contention of some Ugandan government officials that the Kampala riots were organized in advance. The Buganda kingdom government has denied any role in organizing the riots. Some rioters do appear to have employed parallel tactics, such as burning tires to block roads in several areas of the city, especially on the afternoon of September 10.

Human Rights Watch urged the police and other security forces to abide by the United Nations Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The principles call upon law enforcement officials, including military units responding to national emergencies, to apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force, to use force only in proportion to the seriousness of the offense, and to use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The principles also provide that governments shall ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offense under their law.

“Much of the attention has focused on the politics surrounding recent events,” said Gagnon. “But the real tragedy is that families have lost loved ones in entirely unnecessary circumstances. They deserve to see justice done.”

Violence and the Response

Human Rights Watch found that in the early stages of the demonstrations on September 10, some protesters resorted to violence in some areas of Kampala, burning at least five cars, one passenger bus, and one delivery truck, blocking some main roads with burning tires and debris, looting shops, and throwing rocks at police and members of the armed forces. In Nateete, protesters burned a police station. In Bwaise, a factory was set on fire. No one was reported injured in either fire, and local hospitals did not report any burn victims. Police, some in riot gear, used teargas in several areas of the city.

Uganda’s inspector general of police (IGP), Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, told Human Rights Watch that military police and the army’s Presidential Guard Brigade were deployed under his orders to support the police beginning at around 4 p.m. on September 10, and that infantry soldiers were deployed in support shortly thereafter. Kayihura said that these units fired live ammunition into the air to scatter rioters.

Human Rights Watch’s research indicates that the security forces faced some situations in which the use of firearms may have been warranted. One witness described seeing a rioter steal a civilian security guard’s gun near Kampala Bus Park on September 10 and shoot a policeman in the leg. Kayihura provided two other instances, in Nateete and Sseta, where rioters fired on the security forces. It remains unclear if anyone was injured in those two instances, and those events were not investigated by Human Rights Watch.

Kayihura told Human Rights Watch that, while all government forces had been ordered to use minimum force, non-lethal options such as rubber bullets and pepper spray are not standard issue in all police posts. He claimed that the security forces had few alternatives to shooting live ammunition into the air. Other knowledgeable sources in the police told Human Rights Watch that the police stocks of tear gas had run low and that officials feared they lacked the means to secure the city without using firearms.

Where Lethal Force Was Not Necessary

However, among the episodes that raise serious questions about the use of force, in Bwaise on September 10, local people gathered to observe the fire brigade fight a fire set by rioters earlier that afternoon. An army armored personnel carrier drove by the crowd and the troops on board fired, striking Hussein Mujuuka in the back of the head and killing him instantly. At least 10 others were wounded by the gunfire. Several witnesses told Human Rights Watch that local residents responded by burning tires along the Bwaise-Kampala Road. They said that shootings by the military continued during the evening hours in Bwaise and that many other people were wounded. Deaths from military gunfire also occurred the same day in Kawempe, Nakulabye, Mulago, and the Ndeeba areas of Kampala.

Security forces using live ammunition caused many injuries and at least six deaths on September 11. Witnesses and victims told Human Rights Watch that most Kampala communities were trying to return to normal business after the previous day’s unrest. However, soldiers heavily deployed both on foot and in armored personnel carriers in some areas of the city fired live ammunition. There is evidence in some instances that they deliberately shot and killed or wounded people who were not actively involved in demonstrations or unrest.

For example, military units, some accompanied by police forces deployed in Ndeeba that morning, apparently ordered people on the roads to return home. Over several hours, soldiers shot and killed one person and seriously wounded two more. In each case, the victims were shot after they had entered their homes or workplaces. Witnesses said that soldiers apparently pursued people several hundred meters from the main roads and fired their weapons through locked doors. However, no official curfew had been imposed.

Kinaalwa Sseddulaaka Jackson, the owner of a dry cleaning shop about 100 meters from the Masaka road in Tomusange zone, Ndeeba, hid in his back storage room and locked the back door when an army armored personnel carrier entered Ndeeba and soldiers on board began shooting. A few minutes later, a uniformed soldier walked through the area and fired his AK-47 through Sseddulaaka’s back door, killing him instantly. Human Rights Watch researchers saw two bullet holes in that door, as well as five other bullet holes in doors and walls in the neighborhood. All were in the lower half of the doors and walls.

Soldiers and police also deployed around Nateete market that morning, closing the main gate even though the market was filled with food vendors and customers. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that uniformed soldiers, some wearing the red berets of the military police, began to attack people with sticks and batons, and ordered them to clear the streets and return home. Several women selling matoke (plantains) showed Human Rights Watch large contusions and bruises from having been beaten while trying to flee.

The witnesses said that the soldiers then began firing their weapons, both in the air and into the crowds. One customer was killed and another wounded. One female vendor showed Human Rights Watch where she had been grazed by a bullet on her hip, requiring medical treatment. Human Rights Watch saw three bullet holes in the market walls and three others through its iron roof sheeting.

In Busega, an area dense with open-air shops and stalls, soldiers shot and killed two people in separate incidents that morning. Residents and officials reported that on the previous day, rioters in the area had blocked roads with fires and demanded money from those trying to enter Kampala by car. Rioters had looted a Coca Cola truck and burned it. The situation calmed by 7 p.m. that day, and the shops along the road had reopened. Witnesses said the area had remained calm the next morning until a military armored personnel carrier and military and police trucks drove through, in some cases telling people to clear the streets and return home. The shops closed quickly when soldiers in the personnel carrier began firing live bullets, but 13-year-old Daoudi Ssentongo was struck in the head and killed inside his family’s shop when a bullet ripped through a refrigerator next door. His death triggered more demonstrations, and members of the community tried to block the personnel carrier from re-entering the area by burning debris in the road.

Near where the youth died, soldiers on foot chased people away from the main roundabout, evidently to arrest or deter rioters. Soldiers pursued several young men who ran away. Ronald Kasagga, who supplied ice to the area’s fish vendors, was fatally shot in the chest at close range by a soldier. Witnesses said that the soldier yelled “Stop!” and that when Kasagga turned around, the soldier fired.

Around 11 a.m. on September 11 in Kasubi zone 4, rioters had been taunting nearby soldiers and throwing rocks near a gas station on the main road, witnesses said. When the soldiers pursued them, they ran up the hill, past the home of Stella Kabasinguzi, who had left her house briefly, seeking bread for her three children. The soldiers approached her home, and Kabasinguzi immediately raised her hands in the air. A soldier shot her, in front of her children. She died on the way to the hospital. Human Rights Watch observed three bullet holes through doors in other homes in zone 4, more than 100 meters from the main road where riots had occurred. Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that a soldier on foot demanded that people go inside their homes, and shot through the doors when some hesitated.

Throughout the city on September 11, soldiers and police threatened and beat people to obtain information about the whereabouts of alleged rioters. A woman making tea outside her restaurant in Ndeeba was questioned by a uniformed soldier carrying an AK-47. According to several people interviewed separately, when she did not have answers to his questions, he poured the hot tea on her back. He then stuck the gun barrel into her mouth and demanded to know where rioters were hiding. She escaped only after bystanders diverted his attention.

Nile Broadcasting Services broadcast video of police and military patrolling areas on September 11, beating people sitting and standing near their homes in Kazo and throwing them into the backs of police trucks. The authorities did not request names or identity documents before arresting them. In one instance, when a man protested being forcibly removed from his home, he was beaten repeatedly. Police took truckloads of suspects to Kawempe police station. Human Rights Watch researchers observed similar actions on Salaama Road that afternoon.

On September 10, government officials told television stations to stop broadcasting live pictures of the violence. In some instances, government forces forcibly removed video footage from TV stations, appropriated journalists’ cameras and videotapes, and deleted photographs of dead bodies. Some journalists were beaten attempting to report on the unfolding events. The state-owned newspaper, The New Vision, inaccurately reported that mobs had on September 11 burned two people to death in Ndeeba. Local officials from Ndeeba and other knowledgeable sources informed Human Rights Watch that no rioters had burned people, but The New Vision has yet to issue corrections.

The Police Explanation

Police Inspector General Kayihura told Human Rights Watch that the police lacked capacity to respond to the speed and geographical breadth of the events of September 10. Unrest in previous years had centered on Kampala’s Central Business District and had not extended into the populous residential neighborhoods. He said that Uganda’s military police, the Presidential Guard Brigade, and regular army units had both the equipment and the mobility to respond to the unrest. He said that the military police, like the civilian police, have had training in riot control, and that the armored personnel carriers were deployed to help move units around the suburbs where riots were taking place. He said the Ugandan military possesses four of these vehicles – two Gila and two Mamba anti-riot vehicles, which can also be used for “fighting terrorism and insurgency.”

Kayihura said that seven of the 27 reported killed during the riots were not involved in the riots at the time of their deaths, and that they were hit by “stray bullets.” He told Human Rights Watch that the deaths were unfortunate and regrettable, but that the security forces had shown restraint in their response to the unrest. He said that two policemen had been arrested for shooting in the air in Kasubi (the arrests appear unrelated to the death of Kabasinguzi). He said that investigations would be conducted into the circumstances of all the deaths during the riots, but also cited section 69 of Uganda’s penal code, which states that police may use “all such force as is reasonably necessary for overcoming” a riot and police “shall not be liable in any criminal or civil proceeding for having, by the use of such force, caused harm or death to any person.”

According to statements quoted in The New Vision newspaper by the army spokesman, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye, military units were deployed under article 209(b) of the constitution, which states that the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces shall “cooperate with the civilian authority in emergency situations” and that once deployed, they act under orders of the inspector general of police.” Kulayigye contended that the situation was “a war” and that the riots had had “genocidal tendencies.” He placed blame for the deaths on the alleged organizers of the riots, but admitted that “the moment the bullet leaves the barrel, anything could happen beyond there.”

Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that Kulayigye’s statement might encourage members of the security forces to use unnecessary and unlawful lethal force during future encounters with demonstrators.

Museveni told an emergency session of parliament on September 15 that the government will compensate those who lost their properties and vehicles, and it will also assist those who lost family members.

Recommendations

Human Rights Watch urged the government of Uganda to take the following actions:

• Publicly acknowledge and condemn recent shootings of unarmed people by members of the security forces.
• Undertake an independent and impartial investigation into the actions of all soldiers and police alleged to have perpetrated human rights abuses during the September riots. Prosecute those against whom there is sufficient evidence in accordance with international fair trial standards.
• Issue clear public instructions to all government forces involved in policing to use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect human life.
• Seek out non-lethal options for police and military responding to demonstrations and protests, and ensure those options are standard issue for police stations.

Human Rights Watch urged donors to the Ugandan government, especially members of the Partners for Democracy and Governance Working Group, to take the following actions:

• Publicly express concern about human rights abuses committed by members of the military and police during the September riots.
• Urge government leaders to hold accountable, in accordance with international fair trial standards, members of the security forces implicated in human rights violations.
• Support the police in acquiring non-lethal options for riot response and ensure that relevant personnel from the police and military receive adequate training.

Background

The role of cultural royalty such as the kabaka in Uganda has been the source of debate historically. President Milton Obote outlawed all cultural leaders in 1966, but Museveni permitted them to return in 1995. Under the constitution, cultural leaders are barred from politics, but they still wield influence over their communities. The kabaka is the king of the Baganda people, the largest ethnic group in Uganda and a key constituency in the upcoming 2011 elections. Since independence, some Baganda political leaders have argued that the Buganda kingdom should be a federal state within Uganda.

Accounts from Victims and Witnesses of Shootings during Recent Kampala Riots

“It was 9 a.m. when I was returning from the village where we buried my friend Deo, who was shot and killed in Ndeeba on Thursday during the riots. When I arrived back to town, I saw a group of soldiers and men in civilian clothes with guns and sticks walking along the road. I ran to the other side of the road and to find a place to hide. The soldiers began to hit us with batons and kick us. They were beating other people in the road as well. I ran away and noticed I had a cut on my head from the baton, and I was bleeding. My friend and I went off the main road and hid by locking ourselves into a storage room near a friend’s shop. We heard the soldier’s footsteps and then he yelled, “Open the door!” I said, “But if we come out, you are going to beat us again.” He said, “You think bullets cannot reach you in there?” Then he fired his gun through the door. A bullet hit the inside of my arm and then entered my stomach and I fell down.”
- Gunshot victim in Ndeeba, September 11

“Things were calm in Mpigi that day. We heard about what was happening in Kampala and someone had lit two tires on fire, but the cars could pass. Faisal and I were standing on the veranda. The soldiers came in a government vehicle and started caning people. One soldier came carrying a stick and a gun. He threw the stick at a boy and then got out the gun. He pointed the gun towards us, and then fired at us two times. I ran and hid at a house nearby. And later, someone said that a man was killed. A bit later, I learned it was Faisal. He had been shot in the neck.”
- Witness to killing of Faisal Bukenya, September 10

“On Friday morning, I saw the boys throwing a few rocks at the soldiers, and then the soldiers started shooting in their direction. Eventually the soldiers rounded up a group of boys and held them at the petrol station. The soldiers were forcing the boys to jump up and down as punishment for throwing rocks. When they tried to move the group of unruly boys, some scattered and the military began shooting at them again. The woman with the three children was killed just then.”
- Witness to the killing of Stella Kabasinguzi, September 11

“She was just on the steps of her home on Friday morning. She had gone to collect some bread for the children. When she saw the soldiers, she threw her hands in the air, but he fired right at her and she fell. He was standing just a bit down from her.”
- Another witness to the killing of Stella Kabasinguzi, September 11

“I was here in the market, selling matoke on Friday morning around 8 a.m. Suddenly, the military came in and started beating people, telling everyone to leave the market. Even the security officer for the market was hit by batons from them. They even beat me very hard on the buttocks, while I was trying to run away. Some of them stole the money I had on the ground. Others started shooting into the market and a boy was hit and a man was killed.”
- Witness to killings and shooting in Nateete, September 11

List of fatal shootings investigated by Human Rights Watch
On September 10

1.            Hussein Mujuuka, shot through the eye by military in personnel carrier, in Bwaise

2.            Robert, Congolese national, shot by military near Qualicell Building in Kampala Bus Park

3.            John Bosco Kaagwa, shot in the back by military near Nakulabye trading center

4.            Ssadam Katongole, shot in the chest by the military at “Kubirri” – Mulago roundabout

5.            Deo Lutaaya, shot in Kabuusu by military in personnel carrier, near Petrol City, on Masaka Road

6.            Muganga Huzairu, shot in the abdomen in Nateete; died at Mulago hospital

7.            Faisal Bukenya, shot in the neck by a soldier in Mpigi Town

On September 11

8.            Ronald Kasagga, shot in the chest by military on foot near Busega roundabout

9.            Kinaalwa Sseddulaaka Jackson, killed by military on foot in Tomusange zone, Ndeeba

10.        Mustaifa Basajjabalaba, shot by military in Kitaka zone, Kibazo road, Busega

11.        Daoudi Ssentongo, killed by military in Busega roundabout

12.        Stella Kabasinguzi, killed by military in zone 4, Kasubi

13.        Customer shot by military in Nateete Market

Other deaths:

14.        Kakooza Hussein, beaten by the police in Nakamiro zone, Kazo, on September 11; died on September 17

Other fatal shootings reported in the media:

15.        Unnamed private security guard working for Saracen Security Company

16.        Patrick Kaijamurubi, military police, from Masindi, killed by a stray bullet shot by another military policeman while Kaijamurubi was fixing tire on his vehicle in Ndeeba

17.        Geoffrey Andama, high school student, shot at Shop Rite Supermarket, near the Clock Tower junction

18.        Benjamin Atere, 2 years old, died from gunshot on Mawanda Road in Mulago

19.        Frank Kafuma, sustained gunshot wounds at Nabweru in Kawempe division, died in Mulago

20.        Yawe Wesige Mukama, shot in Kawempe
To view a slide show of photos from the Kampala riots and their aftermath, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/uganda-riots

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Uganda, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/en/africa/uganda

For more information, please contact:
In New York, Jon Elliott (English, French): +1-917-379-0713 (mobile)
In New York, Georgette Gagnon (English): +1-212-216-1223; or +1-917-535-0375 (mobile)
In Kampala, Maria Burnett (English, French): +256-7

Justice Musoke Kibuuka has ordered the chief of Uganda police, military man Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, to produce Jane Nakambugu, a 14 year old Muganda girl who was abducted from her home by a police woman on September 1, 2009.  The order requires Kayihura to produce Nakambugu in court by September 24, 2009.

According to Jane’s parents, Yowasi Kalega and Esther Nakayiwa, their daughter was taken without explanation from her home in Kasana, Bulemeezi county, by a police woman and locked up at Kiwoko police station.

Jane’s parents told the judge that they followed their daughter and her abductor to Kiwoko police station to get the facts were told to come back after their daughter made a statement. They returned on September 3, only to be told that their daughter has been freed the day before. Suspicious of the police behavior, the distraught parents run to Justice Kibuuka’s court to plead for their daughter’s life.

It is not yet clear why the Kiwoko police, notorious among the locals for its high corruption, would abduct  a 14 year old child in a style that was fashionable during dictator Idi Amin’s regime. However, Nakambugu was a 4th grade student at Kiwoko Church of Uganda Primary School, where, as in many Buganda schools, children as young as 10 have learnt to  openly and aggressively express their ethnic identity and commitment to the Kabaka. Moreover, Nkoba za Mbogo, the main Baganda youth organization now boasts over 100,000 members in branches starting from primary schools through universities and professional ranks.

On Friday September 11, 2009, president Museveni’s security operatives ambushed and kidnapped Robert Serumaga, a Muganda journalist, as he left a live WCBS TV debate where he spoke against Museveni’s mistreatment of Ssabasajja Kabaka Mutebi.  In a manner reminiscent of Idi Amin days, Museveni has resorted to arresting his political opponents by ambushing them , forcing them into civilian cars without explaining to them or others with them what is going on and  speeding them off to extralegal  ”safe houses” where they are tortured before getting handed over to the police.

After Robert Serumaga was kidnapped, he was taken to a torture facility and severely beaten up, according to doctors at Kampala International Hospital where the police took him after Museveni’s security operatives handed him over in bad shape. The head of the hospital, Dr. Ian Clarke, told the press that Serumaga has suffered multiple concussions as a result of the Idi Amin style head blows. He was also suffering from memory loss.

An inside view of sequence of events as Serumaga got kidnapped is provided by another journalist, Bernard Tabaire, who was a co-panelist with Serumaga on the TV program and an eyewitness to the crime. In his opinion piece published today by the Aga Khan’s Monitor Newspaper, Tabaire narrates abduction as follows:

I got to my car and promptly got distracted trying to tip a rather sleepy guard. The moment I opened the car, I heard commotion. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw someone being dragged up Dewinton Rise. Being a Friday night, I dismissed the whole thing as some drunkard being helped by friends. I shut the car door ready to fire up the engine. Just then I heard Maria’s voice. They are taking Robert, she cried.

Damn! It cannot be. It was 11 p.m. Minutes earlier, in the studio, we had talked about free expression being curtailed so casually yet so sweepingly in the chaos of the moment.

I turned my head. Three men or so were dragging Serumaga along the rough Dewinton Rise. They had reached a spot in front of Walusimbi’s Garage (corner of Dewinton Rise and Dewinton Road) that was all wet because of a broken water pipe some place nearby. A battered white saloon car was reversing into position on the Dewinton Road side of Walusimbi’s. With Serumaga bundled into the back of the car, it sped off towards Siad Barre Avenue and into Kampala’s dangerous unknown where, ironically, state security agencies rule.

That was rattling. It is one thing to hear and read about these things. It is another to see them happen to someone you know and to actually witness it. Rattled or not, our phones lit up. They had to. We had to get word out for all it was worth. In the process, I spoke to someone in the security services who claimed to be aware of all that was happening. The source said agents would subject Serumaga to severe psychological stress to teach him a lesson. And that the earliest they would release him would be Wednesday (as it turns out, he was released on Tuesday after being charged with six counts of sedition). The source also hinted that Serumaga was being picked up as part of an elaborate campaign to tame the media, and not so much for what he said that Friday night on WBS but for a series of utterances and writings over time on his Spectrum talk-show on Radio One and elsewhere. The source added that the government is tired of Mengo’s machinations and it was time to deal with it decisively; and that whatever happens, Mengo’s CBS radio would never return on the air. “CBS is banned,” the sourced said. “Whatever Mengo does, CBS is banned.”

Uganda’s vice president, Dr. Gilbert Bukenya has told Kabaka Mutebi and his subjects to forget about  the Federo, which they are agitating for.  Bukenya is supposed to have made these statements in an interview that is published in government owned and controlled Sunday Vision of September 6, 2009. Bukenya was echoing the statement made by president Museveni, during a July 12, 2009 public debate On WBS TV, where he (Museveni) declared: “I can never allow Federo for Buganda”.

August 16, 2009 Bukenya attended the Coronation Anniversary celebrations in Lubiri where Omutaka Nakirembeka chided the vice president and other Baganda members of the NRM government for  parroting their anti-Buganda bosses. Kabaka Mutebi , in what appeared to be a veiled reference to Museveni’s TV declaration, made clear that Buganda would not tolerate any more double-talk on Federo. The Kabaka said: “When we hear some people saying that they don’t know what Federo means, I think they have failed to understand what we mean. You should reply to them that Federo is all about justice and truth, and this is what we demand.”

On his part, Bukenya told Kabaka Mutebi and the tens of  thousands of Baganda present that:  ”Buganda’s Federo concerns are genuine and we need to talk about them seriously. I will make sure to recommend to the appropriate authorities that they be handled.”  Apparently  Bukenya  chose the newspaper interview format to inform  Kabaka Mutebi and his subjects to forget Federo, only saying, “We are giving them a regional government.”

Below is what Bukenya told Moses Mulondo of the new vision in response to a question on Federo. According to our sources in Ugandan media, Bukenya and Uganda state house were involved in composing both the question and the answer . Moreover, Bukenya’s answer was first  shown to the Uganda state house, by Robert Kabushenga, before publication. Therefore, all the vagueness (kavuyo) it contains is intentional.

Question: Do you think Buganda’s demands on federalism are genuine?

Answer: Lets  first of all make this very clear. Long time ago when the Europeans came to the centre of Africa here, there was an absolute monarchy. All the power and the leadership was enthroned in the king of that kingdom. He would even order for the killing of a person if he wanted. When the British came in they started taking away power from the king and giving it to the chiefs.

That was the beginning of process of reducing absolute monarchism. By 1950 monarchism was beginning to die out because the colonialists had introduced elections. Once they introduced the system of one  man one vote, democracy began to take over from the monarchy. Today you would be wasting time or dreaming if you thought of going back to the absolute federalism of the monarchy we used to have before the colonialists

But the Buganda kingdom is not demanding for the federalism it had before colonialism, rather, it is demanding for the federalism it got in 1962 after we had acquired independence

But the 1962 federalism is what we are giving them. We are giving them a regional government. They told you to manage many things; I do not know what they were told to manage in 1962. However, I want this to be re-emphasised for it seems to be our major disagreement. In a democratic arrangement you cannot expect that there will ever be a leader of a government without their being voted for by the population. It’s not possible.

That is why we have been saying, ‘why we don’t dissolve some power by creating regional governments whose leaders will be voted for by the people?’ The central government can give some power and you can call that federalism. But the previous federalism of an absolute monarchy is gone forever.

The full interview is available in the Interview sections of the Sunday Vision at www.sundayvision.co.ug.

Following in the footsteps of Milton Obote and Yoweri Museveni, UPC’s Olara Otunnu has, over the last 6 months, secured a deal (“mukago”) with respected foreign based  Baganda to promote his presidential candidacy. According to a press release dated July 11, 2009, Mr. Otunnu, an Acholi, has been joined four USA based Baganda men,  James Ssemakula (California), John Mayanja (Massachusetts), Mubiru Musoke (Massachusetts) and  Aloysius Lugira (Massachusetts) to form the Campaign for Democracy and Justice in Uganda (CDJ). According to our sources in New York, this is a major step in Mr. Otunnu’s plan to sell himself as the next savior for Baganda – following Obote, Amin, Okello and Museveni.

All Mr. Otunnu’s Baganda partners, with the exception of James Ssemakula, are long-term DP activists and it is not yet clear how their new relationship with UPC’s designated 2011Uganda  presidential candidate might affect their politics.  Additionally, Otunnu’s Baganda partners are all old men over 50 years old who have lived out of Uganda for decades. Interestingly, Mr. Otunnu has not included any of his many American based fellow Acholi’s in this group. Yet his UPC political and security infrastructure in Uganda is getting constructed exclusively by Acholis and anti Miria Obote Langis.

The CDJ leadership is clearly dominated by Baganda who are known to put Buganda and Kabaka first.  However, their press release does not even include the word “Buganda”.  Some Buganda watchers might interpret this as a sign that, like Nsibambi, Gilbert Bukenya, Sekandi and Kiddu Makubya, the CDJ Baganda members fear that direct promotion of Buganda interests would be “tribalistic” and embarrassing.

The press release announcing the formation of Mr. Otunnu’s CDJ is reproduced in full below:

—

PRESS RELEASE
 
Ugandans Launch Campaign for Free and Fair Elections
 
Kampala, Boston, London, Toronto
 
11th July, 2009
 
Today a broad spectrum of Ugandans launched a major national and international campaign for free and fair elections in Uganda. This collective patriotic mission is called Campaign for Democracy and Justice in Uganda (CDJ).
 
The interim president of CDJ, Mr. John Mayanja, stated: “Previous elections conducted by the Museveni regime, which has been in power for 24 years, were massively rigged and manifestly lacked a level playing field. We must absolutely change this. This is the primary reason for the formation and launching of CDJ.”
 
CDJ will campaign for the following norms and standards:
 
. genuinely free and fair elections;
. transparent democratic practice and process;
. the rule of law and accountability;
. justice and equity for all Ugandans;
. national unity.

 
These norms and standards constitute the foundation for democracy and good government in Uganda and worldwide.
 
CDJ is not a political party. It is a non-partisan advocacy project committed to advancing the norms, principles, and standards set out above. CDJ is not affiliated with any particular political parties in Uganda; it is a broad-based network of Ugandan patriots, within the country and in the Diaspora, of diverse political affiliations and persuasion.
 
A particularly important date is approaching on the Ugandan political calendar. The country is preparing to hold national elections in 2011. CDJ will not support any parties or candidates in the forthcoming electoral contests. Its preoccupation is to mount a vigorous campaign for genuinely free and fair elections, with a level playing field for all.
 
The interim chairman of CDJ, Olara A. Otunnu noted: “Today, Uganda is a country in the throes of a grave national crisis and distress. The best way to combat this malaise is the institution of genuine democratic practice and process, beginning with free and fair elections. This would allow the Ugandan people to freely choose and shape their own destiny. It would ensure that leaders are held fully accountable for their actions before the law and the electorate. Democratic process also is the best way to prevent resort to violent conflict.”
 
CDJ calls on Ugandan patriots of all hues, both within the country and in the Diaspora, to come together and mount a robust campaign for free and fair elections in 2011. The interim secretary, Professor Aloysius Lugira stated: “The norms and standards for free and fair elections are now universally accepted. Uganda must not continue to be a perennial exception to universally accepted standards”.

This campaign is in support of the demands for electoral reforms which have been jointly tabled by the political parties in Uganda. The campaign is being launched today on the occasion of President Barack Obama’s speech in Accra; we are inspired by his seminal message, in particular on free and fair elections, accountability, anti-corruption, anti-ethnic sectarianism, anti-nepotism, and equitable opportunity, as indispensable components of democratic governance. Significantly this campaign also echoes and is in line with observations and recommendations made in 2006 by all election observers, including the European Union, the Commonwealth, and Ugandan civil society led by the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) and the ruling of the Supreme Court of Uganda.
 
2011 must inaugurate a new era for Uganda–an era of free and fair elections, with a level playing field. Ugandans demand, deserve and will accept nothing less. As President Barack Obama stated today, “History is on the side of these brave Africans.”
 
Signed by:
 
Mr. Olara A. Otunnu (Interim Chairman)
Mr. James Ssemakula (Interim Deputy Chairman)
Mr. John Mayanja (Interim President)
Mr. Mubiru Musoke (Interim Treasurer)
Professor Aloysius Lugira (Interim Secretary)
 
For further information, contact:
 
Mr. Jude Mbabaali
Foundation for African Development [FAD]
P.O. Box 2326, Kampala
Tel: 041 4510 486/041 4269 562
Mobile: 0772 444 663
Email: mbabaalij@yahoo.com; fad@infocom.co.ug
 
Professor Aloysius Lugira
Tel: 617-552-3539 or 781-439-3875.
Email: lugira.cdj@gmail.com; lugira@bc.edu

On June 27, 2009, Katikkiro JB Walusimbi appeared visibly confused and angry when the London Baganda he was trying to address confidently heckled him. The place was East London University, thousands of miles away from his more familiar Kampala. The Katikkiro, together with his two predecessors, Mulwaanyamuli Ssemwogerere and Emmanuel Ssendaula were the guests of honors at a function organized by a Baganda group called Saagala Agalamidde – led by Enock Kiyaga and Nkata Masembe. The current and former Katikkiros were accompanied by Mmengo deputy minister for youth, Mathias Mpuuga who, until a few months ago, was a key player in the Nkoba za Mbogo movement.  Only two weeks ago, however, the Uganda government Bukedde newspaper reported that Mr. Mpuuga publically appealed to President Museveni to start funding Nkoba za Mbogo.

Also present in the audience was ISO operative Aisha Kabanda who, according to our sources in Mr. Museveni’s state house, travelled on assignment to monitor and (if necessary) assist the Mmengo officials. Indeed, she is supposed to have filed the reports that the New Vision and Bukedde used to compose propaganda stories that left out the negative elements of the Katikkiro’s visit.

Despite frequent heckles from a few members of the audience, Katikkiro JB Walusimbi and his team made presentations on their development plans for Buganda. Owek. Walusimbi spoke glowingly about his Omumuli project, through which he intends to return Baganda homes to the “good times” when he was a young boy – with each homestead having a few chicken, 2 or 3 cows for milk, a bicycle and a “katandaalo”. He also lashed out at those who criticized him for accepting money gifts from president Museveni, claiming that the funds would develop Buganda but also boasting that he is a self-made man, not impressed by any money.

Owek. Ssendaula used a substantial amount of his allotted time to talk about his extensive international experience as a diplomat, in Australia and France and other assignments. Some members of the audience were visibly bored and uneasy that their former Katikkiro, the highest office in Buganda below Kabaka, apparently put exceptional importance on serving the anti-Buganda and corrupt regimes of Amin, Obote and Museveni.

When his turn came, former Katikkiro and architect of the aborted regional tier arrangement for Buganda, Owek. Mulwaanyamuli Ssemwogerere spoke about his successes as Katikkiro and his new responsibilities to run a Buganda unit trust investment fund in cooperation with what we have reliably learnt to be a Kenyan bank.  Curiously, the Uganda arm of that Kenya bank is ran Basaamya who happen to be former UPC wingers.  Mr. Mulwaanyamuli also declared his ambition to run the Katwe tower arcade “once its construction is completed” but it appeared that hardly anyone in the audience knew what he was proudly talking about. The three Katikkiro’s, all of whom have worked for or with president Museveni in different capacities, brushed off the efforts by some members of the audience to engage them on controversial subjects like Federo, land grabbing, selling Buruli county  for Shs 350 million (US$155,000), Katikkiro worshiping Museveni and corruption in Mmengo.

The three Katikkiros and their hosts seem to have underestimated the anger and energy of those Baganda who are tired of Mmengo’s failure to modernize and become transparent during their respective administrations. The angry Baganda kept murmuring and heckling the Buganda officials, at one time forcing Enock Mayanja Kiyaga, the master of ceremonies, to interrupt one of the speakers and promise that all questions and complaints would be fully addressed during a Questions and Answers period at the end.  The organizers and Kabaka’s representative in UK, Mr. Nsambu, were also not ready for the demonstrators, both inside and outside, who moved around with posters denouncing the current state of affairs at Mmengo and the dismal performance of the three Katikkiros. The organizers brought in police to chase those with posters away but they (the organizers) were disappointed when the police agreed with the protesters, who included a lawyer, that under the law no one could expelled.

When it came to the promised Questions and Answers time, it was most obvious that Enock Mayanja Kiyaga, the master of ceremonies, avoided picking on those thought to be unfriendly to the Mmengo team. This tactic did not work for long as complaints started to grow loud and Mayanja Kiyaga was forced to some people from the other side to say something. Soon enough the emotions were exploding and even the Kabaka’s representative was calling the protesters obscene names. The lightly attended meeting (compared to some previous Dan Muliika meetings) ended on an unpleasant note when the Katikkiro and his team were escorted out of the venue through a back door, without the customary final handshakes and mingling.

In a related story, we have reliably learnt that next day, on Sunday, the Mmengo team attended the Holloway Catholic Church, where the prayers were dedicated to the Baganda martyrs. According to our source who attended the meeting: “But the talk among the crowd was about what transpired the day before at East London University and no doubt this dictated the play ground of the Katikkiro’s activity on the day. When the Katikkiro was introduced people hardly clapped and his reception was so cold.”

When asked for comment, our New York based Buganda expert expressed concern that the three Katikkiros seem to be sincerely out of touch with the reality of today’s Buganda. He explained: “Messrs. Walusimbi, Ssemwogerere and Ssendaula mostly talk to old people, like themselves, whose livelihoods and health depends or has previously depended on Museveni. The problem is that very few Baganda alive today are over the age of 35 years and a huge majority of these youthful Baganda does not depend on Museveni. In fact they are suffering from Museveni and other foreigners. And none of these young Baganda understand or want to go own 3 cows and one “katanadaalo” in the village as in Owek. Walusimbi’s Omumuli plan. They are also too poor to buy trust units from the Basaamya former UPC youth wingers. Isn’t this what ‘being out of touch’ means? As Baganda say, ‘Akanaafa tekawulira ngombe’.”