As Mr. Museveni’s Presidential Press Secretary, John Tamale-Mirundi is an employee of the Government of Uganda. Furthermore, when Mirundi speaks to news and other public media on political topics without explicitly saying that it is his personal opinions, then he speaks on behalf of Mr. Museveni. Mr. Museveni’s government is now sponsoring programs on Uganda FM radio stations where Mirundi delivers venomous anti-Baganda and anti-Kabaka propaganda messages under the guise of teaching about the ugly history of Kabaka Yekka (KY) political party.
The underlying theme of Mirundi’s statement of various Kampala FM stations is to create the image that Baganda are a dangerous and violent people who committed atrocities through their political party KY. Ignoring internationally famous NRM government corruption and election violence, Tamale “teaches” his audiences that Baganda, through their Kabaka Yekka (KY) party rigged elections in 1962 and unleashed violence on their opponents. He states arbitrary number of victims, even if they are very low compared to the numerous atrocities that the government appointed Uganda Human Rights Commission has cited against Mr. Museveni’s government.
In veiled attacks on Ssekabaka Fredrick Walugembe Muteesa II, Mirundi belittles KY for having uninspired and unprofessional leadership, without vision. Ironically, Tamale-Mirundi, who represents one of the longest ruling and most corrupt African dictators, keeps telling his listeners that “the problem with Ssekabaka Mutesa II was that he was not willing to accept any leader to be above him.”
To defend the frequent government bribing of members of Mr. Museveni’s parliament, Tamale Mirundi makes wild claims that Ssekabaka Mutesa II also bribed MPs to make him President of Uganda. Tamale offers no evidence, only relying on the fact that in President Museveni’s Uganda, the average person thinks that rampant corruption and bribery was usual even in 1963.
When we asked a New York (USA) based Muganda thought leader to comment on Mirundi’s crusade, he warned Baganda to wake up to the fact that Mirundi’s statements could be a step towards anti-Baganda violence that might compete with the Rwanda genocide. He said: “During Ttabamiruka ’08 a few of us were concerned about symptoms of possible genocide in Buganda. Unfortunately, Katikkiro Walusimbi and his cabinet boycotted the conference, so there was no opportunity for us to engage Mmengo on this serious issue. Ironically, Museveni who had no friends at Ttabamiruka, was smart enough to send minister Nankabirwa, Tamale-Mirundi, MP Kakooza and a few spies.
Now, these radio lessons by Tamale sound like what Habyarimana’s government taught on radio before the Rwandese genocide. It is worrying that, abusing and belittling Baganda is slowly becoming the norm, so much that senior Baganda officials in Mr. Museveni’s government which does it (e.g. Nsibambi, Sekandi, Bukenya and others) still get a friendly reception at the highest level in Mmengo. This misplaced sense of reality among Baganda is why so many genocides come as a total shock to the victims.”
The Muganda professional pointed us to a section of www.Wikipedia.com which speaks about how Habyarimana’s government used the media in the Rwanda Genocide. Below is part of the Wikipedia information (for more go to Rwanda Genocide on Wikipedia-Media Propaganda):
Media Propaganda
According to recent commentators the news media played a crucial role in the genocide: local print and radio media fuelled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued events on the ground. The print media in Rwanda is believed to have started hate speech against Tutsis which was later continued by radio stations. According to commentators anti-Tutsi hate speech “became so systemic as to seem the norm.” The state-owned newspaper Kangura had a central role, starting an anti-Tutsi and anti-RPF campaign in October 1990. In the ongoing International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the individuals behind Kangura have been accused of producing leaflets in 1992 picturing a machete and asking “What shall we do to complete the social revolution of 1959?” – a reference to the Hutu revolt that overthrew the Tutsi monarchy and the subsequent politically orchestrated communal violence that resulted in thousands of mostly Tutsi casualties and forced roughly 300,000 Tutsis to flee to neighboring Burundi and Uganda. Kangura also published the infamous “10 Hutu Commandments,” which called upon Hutus to massacre Tutsis, and more generally communicated the message that the RPF had a devious grand strategy (one feature article was titled “Tutsi colonization plan”).
