Comments by Dr G.H.Kkolokolo (Paris / France) on the Buganda Post story “Kasubi Fire Requires Independent Investigation, Archbishop Kizito Lwanga“.

I very warmly thank His Grace Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga for his very courageous stand on Buganda as evidenced in his very wonderful Easter message, his position on Kasubi Royal Tombs, and recently his very wonderful sermon at Lubaga Cathedral on Easter Sunday. Indeed the extra-brave Lwanga, well in the very eminent footsteps of his three very prestigious predecessors: Kiwanuka and Nsubuga, Wamala, has continued to portray his exemplary attitude as a prominent citizen and as a very responsible Metropolitan Archbishop of an Archdiocese in a place where culture and politics and religion are not only centre stage but also equally an interplay traditionally entrenched in the life and the history of the Archdiocese.

For the destruction of Kasubi Lwanga, just like Wamala did a few years back where there was a seeming profanation at the Tombs, is right to come out with his proposal for an independent thorough investigation into the arson. The featuring of a mental case called Joseph Musoke as being the culprit is shallow and hollow! Nobody in Uganda and in the rest of the world, where results and findings of a respected bona fide inquiry are eagerly waited, will accept such a loose nonsense! This Kasubi thing is universal and it must be taken very seriously! One may lie at home but he won’t lie abroad where the international media and top figure institutions are also slowly mounting their research into the silly fires.

Mengo’s proposal for a commission of inquiry has been very warmly welcome and will naturally be supported both locally and internationally! And how gratifying to see that they are thinking of a universally respected person like His Eminence Cardinal E. Wamala to head the Kasubi inquest! Where Wamala is, there is always truth, justice, serious-mindedness, common sense and extra lofty wisdom and maturity. A commission headed by such a person will do a very commendable work that will impress the whole world and its findings will not be scape-goated conclusions.

Let Uganda profit from this unfortunate Kasubi event to have a new realism on several other near related issues the Archbishop has regularly dwelt on in his sermons and other teachings. For example he has always given due respect to debate on federalism, human rights, respect to Baganda, etc. Indeed, there need be a federal constitution for the country as a matter of ensuring natural identity of citizens, development at regional level, more respect of individual citizens, etc. The Archbishop is already top grade on this question since even the respected leaders of many political parties have already cemented it in their elaborated election manifestos. And, fortunately to the Archbishop’s broad vision, three of these party leaders are non Baganda who enjoy a very special international prestige on the world political stage! A federated Uganda will be a very strong country and will be an asset to the future East African Community. Europe, for example, will one day be one independent sovereign nation but that won’t prevent a place like France to be part of the entity, joining in as France with its confederations like the Principality of Monaco, the Principality of Andorra, the Territory of Belforth, etc..each one continuing to enjoy its identity and other privileges as enshrined in the French republican constitution.

Any future regional union will embrace Uganda as a federated country that will bring in vigor, dynamism and political maturity! The departing British left Uganda with a note sounding loudly in their mind, that of a politically well settled Buganda enjoying full federal status with the Kabaka as full head of state of Buganda whose dignity wouldn’t be politically superseded by anybody. In this they wanted to conclude acts of invitation to missionaries and other developers sent thru Queen Victoria. And that’s probably why in 1962 there was a Buganda Independence Day on Oct 8, before the national one the following day. This was to politically solidify the position of Buganda and of the Kabaka in independent Uganda. And it had to be like this! And the Archbishop was right to call for a dialogue between Mengo and the Central Government to fully and duly re-examine this Buganda question which is very crucial to Uganda’s political life.

Federalism as studied and agreed on with fellow Ugandans will not be synonymous with tribalism. It will be a policy of nationalism respectful of all individuals’ rights and duties as equal citizens of Uganda. Those who blindly criticize Lwanga on this point, are a bit sleepy! What will they say on his strong stand against human rights abuses and the lack of respect to human life as embodied in our national constitution? The other time 30 people in just a mere 3 days lost their life in Kampala alone! Can’t our security forces take a leaf from their French colleagues who in 2005 were called in to quell incendiary riots mounted by groups of Arab youths all over the country and finished their exercise with a very commendable balance-sheet: just one casualty, an Arab boy shot in the leg by a stray bullet! And the authorities had even to set up a commission of inquiry to find the soldier who fired that bullet! When you are a soldier with a gun, think of one’s life first!

And now Ugandan prisons are still packed with those September youths! And soon, you never know, as election fever draws in, many DPs, UPCs, FDCs,etc will be keyed in Luzira (for the good of the country!) Anyway, in any case there is now resolve to see a free and fair election in Uganda.

Thank you Dr Lwanga. And thank you for having accepted to preside over prayers at the Royal Tombs! Any very thoughtful religious leader should have done this in order to show sympathy to the Kabaka, to the Baganda, to Ugandans, and to the international community who in that Mausoleum saw the exact spot where official royal missives were commissioned to ask for missionaries, educators, modern developers, etc. It wasn’t the first time prayers were conducted at Kasubi Tombs. I remember one day a Mass was celebrated in the vast compound during the funeral of a notable Catholic prince. It was encouraging to notice the presence of religious leaders from the Catholic church, the Anglican Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Muslim Community! These four religious groups have always been connected to Buganda and its history, and also to the Kabaka since time immemorial! Their presence at Kasubi was therefore very much appreciated by all! Thank you, our religious leaders for not failing us at this dead hour!

Thank you Dr Lwanga for all your courage during this midnight period in our nation’s history.

Long live Your Most Royal Majesty the Kabaka!

Wangaala Ssebo Kitaffe Ssabasajja Kabaka Ekitangaala Ekimulisa Enjuba! Ssentasoboka wa Bannantasoboka!

Nnyaffe Nnabagereka, gerekera bulungi Obuganda nga Katonda akubeesa mu buli kizibu kyonna ky’ogabana ne Magulunnyondo oyo!

Dr G.H.Kkolokolo (Paris / France)

In his 2010 Easter message, Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of Kampala Archdiocese has called for an objective and independent inquiry into the burning Buganda’s revered Kasubi Tombs on 3/16.  The leader of the Catholic Church in Buganda said that certain unnamed members of the NRM government of sowing seeds of hatred against Baganda. He condemned the culture of corruption and lies that has taken root during the NRM era, where political and religious leaders are liars, traders are cheats, doctors under-treat patients and teachers mislead students.

Archbishop Lwanga demanded that the truth must be told about important questions like the burning of Kasubi Tombs and Buganda’s quest for self-determination. And he called on the British government to become part of the solution:  “If we are to solve some of the burning questions like the Federo  issue, the British Government should assist us in explaining to the people of Uganda what they meant by giving Independence to Buganda on 8 October 1962 and also giving Uganda independence but also including Buganda on 9 October 1962.”

Dr. Lwanga, who is a Muganda, of Mmamba clan, questioned the importance that the police is putting on of claims by a mental patient called Joseph Musoke that he started the fire at Kasubi. He said an independent inquiry should question NRM government officials, Buganda government officials and even members of its royal family. He wants everyone who appears to be anti-Kabaka and anti-Buganda to be questioned, which includes political parties and security personnel.

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.

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.