Cuban President Raul Castro headed the official welcoming ceremony for Ugandan president and dictator,  General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. During the ceremony held at the Revolution Palace in the Cuban capital, Raul and the Uganda warlord greeted their respective delegations and later held official talks.

Also present in the dialogue was Esteban Lazo Hernandez, VP of the Cuban Council of State and member of the Politburo of Cuba’s Communist Party.

Earlier, Museveni, who arrived on Monday in Havana for an official visit at the invitation of Raul Castro, laid a floral wreath before the statue of Cuban National Hero Jose Marti at Revolution Square.

This is the Ugandan dictator’s second trip to Cuba. He visited the Caribbean island nation in 1988, when he received the ‘Playa Giron’ (Bay of Pigs) Order. From Cuba, Museveni planned to fly to Washington DC by Wednesday, to hung around and plead with the USA White House for a chance to meet President Obama. Museveni is under pressure from his wife, Janet Kataha, to secure a meeting with Obama so that she can get a chance to meet the American president. According to sources in the Uganda foreign ministry, if Obama refuses to see him, Museveni is likely to stay as late as Saturday morning  before giving up.

Cuba and Uganda established diplomatic relations on May 9, 1974. Since the beginning of Cuba’s medical cooperation in Uganda in 1980, 179 Cuban health professionals have offered their services in that country. At present, a group of voluntary workers serve as professors at the Mbarara and Kyambogo universities.

A total of 131 professionals from Uganda have been trained in Cuba, and another 50, mostly from western Uganda, are now studying in the island nation.

Members of the Olara Otunnu led Campaign for Democracy and Justice in Uganda (CDJ) have explained that the participation of the 4 well known American Baganda is because, during “Ttabamiruka 07 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the Kabaka of Buganda urged Baganda to work for the acquisition of good governance, we need in Uganda, through seeking alliances and friendship with other ethnicities in Uganda.”

The CDJ document, sent to Buganda Post by Professor Aloysious Lugira, was responding to the posting by Buganda Post contributor, Bijugo Lumu, titled “UPC’s Olara Otunnu Enters ‘Mukago’ With America Baganda”.

The CDJ statement is shown below, without any editing.

Campaign for Democracy and Justice in Uganda
CDJ

CDJ is an organization which belongs to the members of this association. On July 15, 2009 on the Buganda Post website an article written by Chris Bijugo Lumu was published. It was in reaction to a CDJ Press Release dated July 11, 2009, which appeared on the occasion of President Barack’s Accra/Ghana speech. Seeming as if Mr. Chris Bijugo Lumu was reacting out of some sort of hunch, a feeling or suspicion not based on facts, gave his article the title of “UPC’s Olara Otunnu Enters ‘Mukago’ With America Baganda”. He continued on with such allegations that “Olara Otunnu..secured a deal (“mukago”) with respected foreign based Baganda to promote his presidential candidacy”, among other statements.

It is unfortunate that Mr.Lumu chose to comment on the CDJ Press Release July 11, 2009 the way he did. His comments betray the impressions that he did not give a thourough reading of the document. Or if it could have been the case that he was not clear about what he read, he was never bothered to consult the indicated contacts at the end of the Press Release.

Mr. Lumu should do proud to Buganda if he would care to take some refresher courses on the vital Social Anthropology of Buganda. To establish omukago does not mean to “secure a deal” with the sense of okuliira mu kavuyo as his context seem to be implying. CDJ is not about entering mukago as may be reflected in the unfortunate doings of the nineteen sixties. Here we are about associating for the sake of contributing to the return of political sanity in Uganda.

Mr. Lumu emphasizes that “Olara Otunnu, secured a deal with respected foreign based Baganda to promote his presidential candidacy”. In the Press Release it is made categorically clear that “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.” http://www.bugandapost.com/main/archives/436
The CDJ is not composed of only the five interim office bearers of the Association. There are many other Ugandans of a variety of backgrounds who are members of CDJ. The four Baganda who on an interim basis are at the head of the organization are there with full knowledge of the intentions of CDJ. Mr. Lumu points out that “CDJ leadership is clearly dominated by Baganda who are known to put Buganda and Kabaka first”. It is true.But these Baganda are there not to dominate, but to serve, with the view in mind of building for the future. In his Keynote speech at Ttabamiruka 07 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the Kabaka of Buganda urged Baganda to work for the acquisition of good governance, we need in Uganda, through seeking alliances and friendship with other ethnicities in Uganda. http://www.ttabamiruka07.com

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 M.M. Lugira (Interim Secretary)
For further information, contact:
Professor Aloysius M.M. Lugira
Tel: 617-552-3539 or 781-439-3875
E-mail: lugira.cdj@gmail.com or lugira@bc.edu

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

Dear Maama,

In my last letter I told you that, most of us here believe that Obama is going to be bad news for African dictators. I also said that Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe are likely to be affected most because Barack is very well informed about the election rigging and civil rights abuses in these countries.  Word from my smart Baganda friends here (Think Tank) is that the potential for Baganda to get Obama’s attention are even higher than first thought.

One of the important new things is that now, Mrs. Hillary Clinton is the person most likely to become secretary of state (American name for Minister of Foreign Affairs). It is common knowledge that both Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were embarrassed by President Museveni when, after praising him a “new breed” of African leader, he bribed Parliament to remove presidential term limits. And when he went on to violently rig elections. With Mrs. Clinton’s deep knowledge about the Rwanda genocide, it should take little to draw her attention to violation of human, cultural and property rights against Baganda and the possibility of genocide-scale violence.

By the way I hope you saw in the Vision that a Musoga young man works for and is personally known to Obama. We don’t know if he would help Buganda interests but he would have little opportunity to lie that Baganda have no case if make the right noise in right places. But Namusisi in New York also told me that there are two Baganda young men who worked in Mrs. Clinton’s Senate office. The signs are that there is now a big chance for Baganda to take our case to the whole world and make the dictator explain why we are wrong when we demand for our 9,000 miles and freedom to have Kabaka leads the way we want. Things like the Buganda Post and other Internet stuff are powerful enough.

Some people here reason that Mr. Obama will do like all Western donors and pretend that nothing is wrong simply because the dictator keeps things in Uganda quiet. And that Uganda is critical to the situation In Sudan and Congo. But the people in the Think Tank say that after seeing Mr. Obama’s strong statements against America supporting dictators in short-term but creating long term disasters, he and Clinton have no choice but to pay attention to a well put case by Buganda. Even on a much more strategic country like Pakistan Obama, was not willing to be soft on dictator Musaraf.  He understands that Uganda is useless to America if it blows up Kosovo or Somalia style after something happens to the dictator.

Now, what I don’t know is how we can take advantage of these big chances when the man who Kabaka gave Ddamula and his close advisors appear to be focused on local things like negotiating with Museveni or renovating Lubiri with Libyan money or attending Rotary Club meetings.

Let me stop here maama. By the way, we have made the air-ticket reservations for December. Muna Gayaza munno says Hello.

Son,

Joshua

Most major news organizations have reported that United States Senator John Kerry is one of the people  being considered by President-elect for the post of Secretary of State (equivalent to Minister of Foreign Affairs). If Senator Kerry is appointed Secretary of State it could spell trouble for the Uganda government. Senator John Kerry, who represents Massachusetts in the USA Senate, has kept a close eye on the Uganda human rights situation for several years. He is very well informed about President Museveni’s record of massive election rigging and wanton corruption. It must be noted that Mr. Obama himself is quite knowledgeable about Uganda, Mr. Museveni’s dictatorship and his award winning corruption.

Obama’s presidency in general, and Kerry’s appointment to the cabinet in particular, could be bad news for the Museveni dictatorship. One piece of evidence is the letter below, which Senator Kerry wrote to the outgoing American President Bush on the eve of an October 2007 Museveni visit to the White House.

October 29, 2007
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I understand you will be discussing a number of important subjects with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni during tomorrow’s meeting, including the escalating conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  I also urge you to take this opportunity to raise certain issues related to President Museveni’s 2006 reelection.

Specifically, the first multi-party election in over twenty-five years, held in February 2006, was reportedly marred by intimidation, various voting irregularities, and a show of force by the government.  The main opposition candidate was harassed and put on trial.  Regrettably, these events came on the heels of President Museveni pressuring the Ugandan parliament to lift the Constitution’s two-term limit on the presidency.  Breaking his express promise to abide by the terms of the Constitution allowed President Museveni to seek reelection for a third time in 2006.

Given our strong interest in promoting democracy in Uganda and elsewhere around the world, I hope you take this opportunity both to ask President Museveni to reaffirm his commitment to the rule of law and to understand the steps he has taken since 2006 towards this end.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.  I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry
United States Senator

Source: http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=286288