There are signs that a still unknown group could be getting training and carrying out terror operations in Buddu county, reportedly in demand for Buganda Federo.  Since January 2009, the group has harassed or killed over 50 people around Kyanamukaaka, Kyesiiga, Kiziba, Mutondo, Bisanje and surrounding areas in Kabaka’s Buddu county.  According to local residents, the group previously dropped leaflets in the area warning area MP and Museveni confidant, Edward Sekandi, to resign as MP and speaker of parliament if he cannot support Federo for Buganda. According to reports, the victims tend to be either Banyankore or Banyarwanda, even though some use Kiganda names.

The affected areas are generally along the Masaka to Mutukula road.  Since 2006, these areas have reportedly seen an influx of money, believed to be from either Uganda government or Rwandese sources, to enable Banyarwanda to buy huge pieces of local land. In mid 2008, violence broke out when a Rwandese national bought 1.5 square miles of settled land from a Muganda and started evicting Baganda bibanja (plot) holders, making them homeless. There is a high level of frustration and anger among Baganda, especially unemployed youths, about what they see as neglect and victimization by Mr. Museveni’s government in favor of foreigners.

Both the commander of Uganda police, Kale Kayihura, himself a Munyarwanda, and Edward Sekandi, the area MP, told the government New Vision newspaper on July 10, 2009 that the night killings are the work of criminal thugs. However, neither of them could explain why in many cases the killers, who mostly use machetes (pangas) leave behind easy to carry expensive property.

According to a source close to Mr. Museveni’s state house, the president first received intelligence reports over 1 year ago that Baganda might start an insurgency against government.  The source claimed: “Except if he is pretending and it is his own terror operation, president Museveni seems to be confused about how to face Baganda armed groups on Buganda territory. Given the extreme levels of corruption in the security organizations the intelligence reaching the President, especially about the loyalty of Baganda NRMs is often faulty and misleading. For example, it appears that many local Baganda in Masaka have a lot of information, which they are not sharing with the local DISO or police because they strongly disagree with Museveni on land and Kabaka issues. Some of these NRM officials are the ones who call Mambo Baado on CBS Radio and say, ‘Tukooye abasajja!’ (‘We are fed up with these people!’). Others also feel that Museveni is going and they now want to keep their distance”.

A  New York based Muganda analyst and thought leader thinks that Baganda need more information before getting excited about this so called Baganda insurgency for Federo. He explained: “First, the tactic of terrorizing civilians in the area which is supposed to benefits from a new war has Museveni’s fingerprints all over. Many Luwero veterans have publicly admitted that the NRA used staged ‘Obote murders’ in Bulemeezi and north Kyadondo to recruit unsuspecting relatives to fight for Museveni. Therefore, I would not be shocked if this is an NRM group created to terrorize Baganda in Buddu and to trap potential volunteers. But even if it is not Museveni, one still has to ask if this could not be Acholis, Rwandese or anti-Museveni Balaalo trying to once again ‘use’ Baganda as stepping stones.”

The analyst added: “Remember that in 1995 Museveni started a policy of cutting down all forests in Buganda, even Mabira. The job to carry out the policy was assigned to Bakiga to be supervised by Kahinda Otafiire and Salim Saleh. Most Ugandans mistakenly believed that the objective was just to make money from timber. Yes, Kahinda Otafiire, Saleh and even Mrs. Janet Museveni made millions of dollars from timber but to Yoweri Museveni, the key thing was to wipe out all possible training grounds for anti-NRM forces in Buganda. Why did Museveni leave the forests in southern Buddu untouched? If he did it intentionally for future covert operations or as a possible escape route, then there is a 75% chance that the Buddu insurgency is a Museveni ‘kiwaani’ (fake) to terrorize Baganda and trap his potential enemies. If it is not, we will find out soon enough.”

On Thursday February 26, Katikkiro JB Walusimbi stood up president Museveni of Uganda when he did not turn up for the much publicized land negotiations between Mmengo and Museveni.  According to our sources, Walusimbi could not go because key members of his cabinet overruled him. They insisted that Mmengo must not negotiate with Museveni about giving up anything to him on his proposed Land (Amendment) Bill, 2008. They argued that it would be disobedience to Kabaka Mutebi who had publicly called it a bad bill and told all Baganda to oppose it. Equally important, they insisted that while talking to Museveni was alright, it must be about full restoration of all Buganda’s property and political rights – not begging.

The problem for Walusimbi is that he had already assured Museveni that he could bring Mmengo to the table to negotiate the contentious Land (Amendment) Bill, 2008. So when the loyal Baganda ministers put their feet down he was left in a fix. And he opted to simply hide from Museveni. One source close to Museveni’s state house told us that: “Museveni is very annoyed that Walusimbi failed to turn up.  The president was made to look like a man who was promised some gold by Congolese con men and left holding a bag full of stones. He has been asking people near him, ‘What is wrong with Baganda?’ ”

It has been widely reported by the local Buganda press that Museveni and JB Walusimbi have been engaged in secret negotiations over Buganda issues since July 2008. What we can exclusively report from a highly reliable source very close to the Katikkiro is that the negotiations primarily focused on how to soften what Museveni, Walusimbi and other NRM big wigs think is Kabaka Mutebi’s excessive power today. Mr. Museveni and the Katikkiro had reportedly reached agreements the following key areas by January 28, 2009:

1. Museveni had convinced JB Walusimbi that if Kabaka Mutebi continued to accumulate so much power over Baganda it could lead to a show down where Baganda like him (Walusimbi) were going to lose lives and their businesses. And the way to control the Kabaka’s escalating influence was to remove Nambooze, Mpanga and Ssegona from CBS Radio and give the Katikkiro more control over Mmengo.
2. Walusimbi had convinced Museveni to pay off government rent arrears owed to Mmengo and authorize another 8 billion shillings to: (1) complete Bulange Plaza, (2) complete Twekobe, (3) pay some salary arrears for Bulange employees, (4) to facilitate (bribe) key Buganda officials and certain key Bataka (clan heads) for support, (5) to settle the debt that state house owed the Katikkiro’s Associated Consulting Engineers company, and (6) to buy support from Baganda peasants by giving them money through an NRM style program called Omumuli which Walusimbi designed with Gilbert Bukenya’s support.
3. The two sides had agreed that to soften Kabaka Mutebi it was important to isolate him more from the Baganda youths who are getting more dangerous, starting with the removal of Betty Nambooze from CBS. Curiously, the two sides had also agreed that the removal of Nambooze could be made simpler if it was accompanied with the firing of highly unpopular Baganda like Tamale Mirundi or Minister Kinobe or even Nsibambi.

What Museveni and Katikkiro Walusimbi could not control are the leaks about their so called secret talks over the months. For example, rumors of Museveni’s willingness to fire Tamale Mirundi or even Nsibambi to appease Baganda first surfaced in early January 2009. Apparently the many leaks helped the intended victims to plan and execute necessary counter moves.

A New York based Muganda thought leader told this reporter that it is the leakages which probably led Museveni to panic and hold that bizarre press conference on February 10, 2009. He said:  “I think that the leaks reached the intended victims at Mmengo Bulange and they fought back with rapid fire on CBS FM radio. Indeed, my contacts tell me that after getting an ISO briefing on the public response to the February 7th Mambo Baado presentation by Mpanga and Nambooze, Museveni decided to temporarily withdraw his Land (Amendment) Bill, 2008.  In effect, ISO people told him that Nambooze and Mpanga had mobilized Baganda youth to a point where public violence was inevitable if the land bill was read in parliament. In fact, in a slip of the toungue, Museveni admitted the role Nambooze and Mpanga in his panicky decision when he told the press conference:  ‘Don’t allow anyone to mislead you that we are withdrawing the bill because of the lies told by Nambooze and Mpanga on CBS radio’.”

The host and live audience of last Saturday’s Mambo Baado, the popular town-hall style radio program on CBS Radio were quite embarrassed when rebuked by Betty Nambooze for discussing European football during a time of crisis in Buganda. Nambooze, who claimed to be coming straight from a hospital bed put the host, Ssozi Kaddu Mukasa, and his live audience to task to why they were pre-occupied with football scores at a time when Ssabasajja Kabaka Mutebi’s movements in his kingdom were being restricted by Mr. Museveni.

Nambooze, who looked both unwell and sad, told the listeners in Luganda, “Fellow Baganda, I am sick and I was in a hostpital bed, on IV drip, when I decided to switch on and listen to Mambo Baado. Obviously I expected the discussion to be about serious issues affecting Buganda such as the crisis that was created by those who barred Kabaka Mutebi from visiting his people in Buluuli, which is part of his kingdom. When I heard sports, I could not stay in bed.”

“How could you have chosen to make sports more important than the siege that Buganda and Kabaka are under?” Nambooze pointedly asked Kaddu Mukasa. The host claimed that it is the producers who chose the topic but many in the audience, who were now cheering Nambooze, seemed unconvinced. After Nambooze told the crowd that she was disappointed by the poor leadership shown on the Buluuli crisis but was returning to the hospital to have the drip reattached, the audience started to leave. It was not possible to establish by the time of this posting if the management of CBS could have intentionally chosen the topic of sport to appease Mr. Museveni.

In a related development, Katikkiro JB Walusimbi, spent the weekend conducting Rotary Club business. During the same time when Nambooze left a hospital bed to go and guide Buganda on the seriousness of Mr. Museveni’s decision to restrict Kabaka Mutebi’s freedom of movement in Buganda, Katikkiro Walusimbi was in Wobulenzi, Bulemeezi County, to open a new Rotary Club branch. At the ceremony, Katikkiro Walusimbi called upon the branch members to work very hard for the success of their organization and to promote volunteerism. He did discuss Mr. Museveni’s restrictions on Kabaka Mutebi’s on traveling to Nakasongola, less than 50 miles away from the ceremony venue.

Rotary Club International is a volunteer organization that is headquartered in the United States. Its popularity among both and the corrupt citizens of Uganda is largely due the opportunities it provides for local clubs to attract funds from wealth foreign clubs in Eu. Prominent members of Rotary in Uganda include former minister of health in Mr. Museveni’s government, Jim Muhwezi, who is infamous for misapprorating millions of dollars in public funds.

Betty Bakireke Nambooze has promised her listeners that the fight by her Civil Education Committee for Buganda’s land and human rights will soon be stepped up. She explained that the relative quiet that followed the illegal kidnap and captivity of herself, Lubega Sseggona and Peter Mayiga was only a tactical withdraw. The Civic Education Committee was appointed by Ssabasajja Kabaka, Muwenda Mutebi, with Nambooze as its chairman.

Nambooze made the remarks last Tuesday on the weekly CBS Radio FM talk show program Kiriza oba Gaana (Agree or Disagree). Earlier this week Buganda Post carried an exclusive report about the financial challenges the Nambooze and her committee were facing in continuing their work. During Kiriza oba Gaana, Nambooze said that they had made the tactical withdraw to give the Government campaign to sell the Land Act amendments fail by itself. She said (our translation), “We have given the other side a chance to sell their story but most people can see, no one is buying. So we are coming back soon to bring the truth to you again, and teach you what it really going on.”

Nambooze’s statements came only days after similar declarations by another Buganda official who was kidnapped and kept in captivity in August, 2008, Medard Lubega Sseggona (Lubega Sseggona Vows To Keep Fighting for Buganda). It is still not clear if there is any connection between the statements by the two popular Buganda rights advocates and the evidence that CBS Radio management is taking its orders from President Museveni’s government.

About a month earlier CBS Radio management and Katikkiro Walusimbi tried to discontinue Betty Nambooze’s programs, only to be stopped by Ssabasajja Kabaka himself. More recently, CBS management caved to the demands of Museveni’s minister, Amama Mbabazi, and refused to air live a program where his political opponents Jim Muhweezi and Kahinda Otafiire were to appear on September 28, 2008. Katikkiro Walusimbi has even appointed a special “internal censor” of CBS programs, Cambridge University trained Haj. Mustafa Mutyaba, to make sure that Mr. Museveni’s expectations are generally met by what is broadcast.

On August 6, 2008 Mr. Museveni’s government kidnapped Nambooze, together with Peter Mayiga, Buganda Minister of Information and Lubega Sseggona, Buganda Deputy Minister of Information. The three were illegally held for nearly a week until a judge ruled the detention to be illegal captivity. Originally the government claimed that the trio, together with others, had plotted to prosecute war against Uganda but when take to court, they were only charged with sedition.