The oldest Baganda nationalist organization, Abazzukulu ba Buganda, have issued a statement announcing that they will hold special ceremonies to mark 44 years since the government of Uganda occupied the Kingdom of Buganda by force of arms. The ceremonies, on May 24, 2010, will start with a congregation at the main gate (Wankaaki) of the Kabaka’s Palace (Lubiri) at Mmengo at 8:00 AM. One hour later, at 9:00 AM the sons and daughters of occupied Buganda will match for 5 kilometers (just over 3 miles) to the Kasubi Tombs site. At Kasubi, the Baganda will hold a seminar on Buganda national issues.

 Below is the full text of the announcement in Luganda.

 Eri Obuganda

OKUKUNGUBAGA OLWA BUGANDA OKUWEZA EMYAKA 44 MU BUWAMBE

(24^th May 1966 – 24^th May 2010)

Nga 24 May 2010, gigenda kuwera emyaka Ana mw’ena (44) bukya gavumenti ya Uganda ewamba Buganda. Olunaku olwo amagye ga gavumenti ya Uganda lwe gaalumba Ssekabaka Muteesa mu Lubiri eMmengo gye yeerwanirako n’asimattuka okumutta n’agenda mu buwanganguse e Bungereza gye yagyira omukono mu ngabo mu 1969.

Kw’olwo endagano ya 1962 eyali eggatta Buganda ku Uganda mu ngeri eya kyeyagalire lwe yamenyebwaawo. N’olwekyo okuva olwo Uganda yeekakaatika bwekakaatisi ku Buganda. Buganda teri mu Uganda lwa kweyagalira wabula ekakibwa bukakibwa ku maanyi ga mmndu. Buganda eri mu buwambe okuv’olwo.

Olw’ensonga eyo buli lunaku lwa 24^th May bwe lutuuka Abaganda abakimanyi era abakyalumirirwa  Obuganda bakungubaga. Okukungubaga kuno kubaamu okutambula okuva mu Lubiri lw’eMMengo okutuuka e Kasubi Nnabulagala mu masiro g’aba Ssekabaka gye bakkomekkereza okukungubaga okwo n’omusomo ogukwata ku buwambe Buganda mweri.

Okukungubaga kuno kukulemberwamu Olukiiko lw’Abazzukulu ba Buganda okuva mu 1999. N’omwaka guno, nga 24^th May 2010, okukungubaga kuno kugenda kubaawo. Abaganda abalumirirwa Obuganda abasobola bajja kukung’anira ku wankaaki w’olubiri lwe Mmengo ku makya ku ssaawa bbiri we bajja okusimbula ku ssaawa satu ez’okumakya batambule okugenda e Kasubi ewanaabeera omusomo ogukwata ku nsonga za Buganda.

Olukiiko lwa Bazzukulu ba Buganda lukusaba okwetaba mu kukungubaga kuno, era n’okuyamba mu nteekateeka yaakwo. Mu ngeri yonna (eg SMS) kkunga Obuganda okukungubaga ku lunaku olwo, sondayo ku nsimbi z’okupangisa ebikozesebwa n’okusaasaanya ebiwandiiko by’omusomo ogunaakolebwa kw’olwo, etc.

Olukiiko lw’Abazzukulu ba Buganda lwamerawo mu 1985 olw’obwetaavu bw’okuzzaawo Buganda nga bwe yali. Jjukira nti Buganda Ggwanga ttonde eryatondebwa Katonda nga Ttongole. Okuva mu 1985, olukiiko lw’Abazzukulu ba Buganda lutuula buli lunaku olw’okubiri mu wiiki. Buli muzzukulu wa Buganda wa ddenbe okukiika mu Lukiiko luno kasita taleetamu bitiibwa bye, byabufuzi bye, ddiini ye oba enzikiriza endala yonna ekontana oba evuganya n’obwetaavu bw’okwetengerera kwa Buganda. 

Alina ky’abuuza ku nsonga eyo kuba ku ssimu y’omuteesiteesi eno 0772534210.

M. Junju Kamulali

(Ssentebe)

The new president of one faction of the Democractic Party (DP) has explained on his Facebook page that his name does not stand for Milton Apollo Obote. The posting by Mao says:

I was amused when I found that the Obote bogeyman was being used against me. Some people have started a whispering campaign that my name Mao stands for Milton Apollo Obote! Yet in reality this is a clan name from the P’Mao clan of Pawel in Acholiland whose great great great grandfather was called Mao. I also have over a dozen other Acholi names given to me by my many relatives. But this is the nature of the game. But we shall not be cowed. Our counter attack will be lethal.

We can report that during his student days at  Namilyango College in Kyaggwe county, Mao encouraged schoolmates to believe that his name stood for Milton Apollo Obote. A Namilyango old boy who informed us about Mao’s Facebook page told us: “Since the mid 1980s Nobert never complained about the Milton Apollo Obote thing when we said it. In fact he started as a strong UPC supporter, like his late father.  If anything, he encouraged people to think his name was connected to Obote. I can believe him now if he says that it is not true but why claim it is a new whispering campaign?” We have independently confirmed this with two other Namilyango old boys.

We Are Heading For A Civil War, Kyanjo’s Words May Be Prophetic

By Seezi Sewagaba

The situation as it stands at the moment, with the impending general elections in about a year’s time, with all signs showing that it is going to be rigged, then all ingredients [that] are necessary to spark off a civil are in place. People are so fed up of the NRM, that picking up arms as honourable Hussein Kyanjo hinted is the only viable alternative. Museveni has underestimated the people of Uganda as his predecessor Milton Obote did. He has put his trust in the gun and even armed his tribesmen to the brink. This is going to be his undoing. In this coming civil war, three tribes are going to be more involved than the rest, namely Baganda, Banyankole and Bakiga. The remaining tribes will as usual side with the winning side. All pleas to Museveni have fallen on deaf ears. He has great confidence in the ability of his armed forces to uphold and sustain his regime. He might not be as lucky as Robert Mugabe and Muamar Qadaffi whose regimes have lasted longest in Africa’s political history.

As I said in [an earlier] article a few months ago, a civil strike can definitely cripple Museveni’s regime. Museveni’s military machine is just a paper tiger, behind which the coward Museveni hides. A determined civil disobedience or strife, sustained over a period of one month can definitely bring Museveni’s ramshackle regime down. All we need is determination and the willingness to sacrifice a few lives. All I know is that we have got a lot of allies in the armed forces and the police who are tired of this regime with its tribalism and corruption. What is needed is to set off the spark and the whole edifice will burn down.  Museveni will get more and more dictatorial and paranoid as his regime lasts in power. We have seen nothing yet about this dictatorship.

Every year parliament looks helplessly as billions of taxpayers’ money is allocated to the State House to be used by members of one tribe namely the Banyankole. Almost every weekend, lavish weddings are held by Museveni’s close tribesmen and women marrying off their daughters using taxpayer’s money. A lot of money is dubiously allocated without any rules to be followed.

People close to the President have built mansions which don’t match their incomes. The finance department of the UPDF at Mbuya is all manned by Banyankole. Even a mere clerk working there, eats daily at the most expensive restaurant in Bugolobi, a high income Kampala suburb, where a meal costs 4000 shillings. The workers in this finance department drive very expensive cars which don’t match their incomes. By comparison, the police personnel live in dilapidated houses at Naguru. Some live nine people in a room. They only survive because of taking bribes from civilians. This shows how Museveni and his tribe’s people are so selfish. I cannot see how the police personnel and many non- Banyankole soldiers in the army can fight to defend Museveni’s regime if Museveni cannot see the pathetic conditions under which they live.

People like David Jamwa who embezzled peoples’ pension funds and even went to the extent of gambling using that money in an American Casino is still at large plus Patrick Mbabazi who helped himself to ten billion of it and escaped scot-free. Museveni’s call to fight corruption is a two edged sword. This is because corruption starts with Museveni himself, before it spreads to the rest of the country. He cannot accuse others of corruption without them accusing him of the same thing. That is why Mbabazi got away with it. If we are not careful, then I am afraid that one tribe might disappear from the map of Uganda. We saw it in Rwanda, and the same scenario can be replicated in Uganda.

The killing of thirty Baganda by the security forces following the riots which took place after the Kabaka was refused entry into Kayunga, was just a dress rehearsal of the misery to come. These people though branded thugs by Museveni, did not die in vain. Museveni thinks that Baganda are expendable creatures, that is why he sacrificed many Baganda lives in Luweero in order to come to power. That is why 80 Baganda Moslems were slaughtered in Mbarara, his tribal town. The next civil war is going to be fought hand with hand. Neighbour turning against neighbour. This time the guns will not matter much. Everybody with a grudge against another person will take advantage of the chaos and lawlessness to fulfill his revenge.

All this can be averted if Museveni steps down lawfully and allows the Constitution and Parliament to steer the country into the future. Like Saddam Hussein, Museveni will not have the time to escape should his regime fall through violence. The more he stays in power, the more he endangers the lives of his tribesmen the Banyankole. During Obote’s regime, the Baganda were the hate symbol. Now the Westerners especially Banyankole are hated more than Baganda were hated during Obote’s regime. I read about a story of an Itetso girl who saw her father shot dead by a Munyankole soldier simply because he was trying to help his friend who had been wounded. The Banyankole have repeated the same mistakes Obote and his troops made.

Seezi Sewagaba.

sewagaba@hotmail.com

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

On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, about 100 Baganda from Boston, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, together with one Acholi, loudly demonstrated against President Museveni at the United Nations headquarters in New York. They denounced Museveni’s NRM government for its repressive occupation of Buganda, massacres in Luwero during Obote 2 regime, corruption and incompetence. Notably, the Baganda were joined by one Acholi, a brother of UN official, Olara Otunnu. This is despite the big support which Baganda gave to Acholi’s during demonstrations against the genocide that Museveni permitted in Northern Uganda. Basoga, Banyoro, Iteso and other Ugandan populations who are huge victims of  the NRM government’s policies were nowhere to be seen.

The demonstrations were prompted by the NRM government’s recent restriction of Kabaka Mutebi’s freedom of movement within his kingdom and the massacre of over 20 Baganda which followed the Kabaka’s subjects resisted. Later Ggwangamujje NY/NJ issued a statement that declared Buganda to be under armed occupation by the NRM and its collaborators.

There was drama when Uganda’s ambassador to the UN, Ruhakana Rugunda, and Museveni’s secretary and lover, Amelia Kyambadde, unknowingly walked in the direction of the Baganda demonstrators. One demonstrator shouted, “Omubi Omukiga Rugunda wuyo!” and the whole group, energized, start shouting accusations at the two Museveni staff. Visibly surprised and seemingly scared Rugunda and Kyambadde veered away as they continued to walk past the crowd.

This is the first time that Baganda have demonstrated against a Ugandan government over the issue of Buganda political rights. The demonstrations were organized by members of Ggwangamujje Boston and Ggwangamujje NY/NJ. Another, larger, demonstration is planned for Saturday in Boston, where Museveni is scheduled to be chief guest at this years’ NRM Gala. At the Gala, Museveni is expected to, among other things, thank his USA based NRM cadres like Elizabeth Musaazi, Nakku Senkeeto, Edirisa Kironde, Moses Kalemba, Zabasaja and Senoga (see “Descendants of I. K. Musaazi, Kulubya and Yusuf Lule Risk To Promote NRM In America“) for taking over UNAA.

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Boston, USA: Mengo Victim of Unconstitutional Acts

We Won’t Tolerate Mengo’s Unconstitutional Behavior
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/293/694329

Says Museveni
A RESPONSE

by Aloysius M. Lugira

Last Wednesday identified with 09.09.09 became a September day, which in Ganda Africism reflects eventful numerical situation. It was on that day that many of us in the Diaspora became aware of the intensity of riots that raged in Buganda in protest of the marginalization of a peoples’ heritage. His Majesty the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi was being blocked from attending to a function in his kingdom because a Uganda army Captain, against members of his family, had declared himself to be the cultural leader of Kayunga. This as of today, September 12, 2009, has led Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to record that: “In September 2009, declared its secession from the traditional Kingdom of Buganda. The King attempted to visit but was banned by the Ugandan government, provoking riots in Kampala”.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buganda

It is against this background that President Yoweri Museveni, on September 10 , 2009, at Entebbe State House chose to address the Buganda Parliamentary Caucus with the heading of: “We won’t tolerate Mengo’s unconstitutional behavior”.

President Musevei’s address to the Buganda Parliamentary Caucus is made up of forty paragraphs some of which are as short as two lines. The contents of the address non-chronologically include unconstitutional events of the terrorism which was perpetrated against Buganda in 1966. He then, without elaboration, mentions that he was a youth-winger of the Democratic Party, the party according to his words he considers to principled. To verify this one may be advised to check with Mzee Boniface Byanyima to know the whole truth about. The fact is that Museveni has estranged himself from his erstwhile benefactor..

Whatever President Museveni may be intending to mean by unconstitutional behavior his colonialist dictatorial stances are not likely to endear him to the people who would have otherwise cared to care. Insisting on addressing the Kabaka in the colonialist superiority complex form of “His Highness Kabaka Mutebi” instead of His Majesty the Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi creates an indignation that does not allow smoothness to prevail. Keeping inconsistently harping and derogatorily sneering at the understanding of the importance of the Kabakaship by the late Dr. Andrew Lutaakome Kayiira to many Baganda becomes nauseating. When in your address regarding monarchies you say: “We said that we were fighting for the freedom of Ugandans; once the Ugandans had got their freedom, they would decide on what to do.” In his Uganda Freedom Movement, that is exactly what the late Kayiira was about. He wanted Ugandans to have freedom and the freedom of having their Kabaka whose kingdom was unconstitutionally desecrated. Mr. President save us the inconvenience of suspecting you as being supportive of the unconstitutional events of 1966 in Uganda. It should certainly not be illogical to demand reparation from the Government of Uganda for those constitutionally criminal perpetrations against Buganda.

During the late 1950s speaking in Mbale the late President Milton Obote announced that his mission was to wipe Buganda off the map. Presumably according to your own words when you deserted what you have referred to as a principled party you landed into UPC with a leading position as a General Service Operative. According to what you have written in your Graduating Paper at the University of Dar-es-Salaam, it sounds logical that you are in for the destruction of Buganda.

The terrorism you have devised in the30th paragraph of your address is a case in point not only of “unconstitutional behavior,” but also of unconstitutional acts against

Baganda. In your own words you say: “On the issue of the Land bill we had to launch our own counter-campaign of sensitization and forming the bibanja associations. These associations have empowered and emboldened the bibanja-owners. Now that the bibanja members are empowered, some of them have started taking the law into their own hands, if we take the recent examples of lynching landlords in some areas of Kayunga.

Ugandans please, read and read this paragraph again. Should such terrorism be tolerated?

.

Boston, USA: Obsequious Dance For A Death Culture Captain In Kayunga Mr. President?

Fellow Ugandans,

Our inability to protect the Kabaka or the president for that matter in kayunga, sounds more and more like the Benazir Bhutto, case, where the state could not protect her in certain areas of Pakistan, we all know where that ended.

Kayunga is not a war torn area and should be accessible to all Ugandans including the president and the King of Buganda, even those who unfortunately lost their lives  trying to go there.

General Museveni, should reign in one of his rogue captains, responsible for creating a beligerent culture a climate of banditry and perhaps responsible for some gruesome murders that have occurred in Kayunga.

What if the Kabaka refused say General Tinyenfunza or Otafire from coming through Kampala or Entebbe or Nakivubo how reasonable would that wish be?

what does this Kayunga man hold against our president-to make him a siloed King and grant him such foreign wishes?

Now we have spilled blood unnecessarily and Gwanga mujje calls are sounding in every township. This denial of movement to a sitting King is not going down the throats of Baganda well, and should not be the hill that defines the death of NRM in Buganda.

If I were an advisor to the president, I would ask him not to go out on a limb for an indefensible rogue captain, given all the murders presently witnessed in Kayunga. He as president has to draw the right line in Bugerere.

Tendo Kaluma

Concerned Ugandan Boston

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’.”

The wife of former Uganda dictator, Milton Obote and her camp within Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC), have been engaged in around the clock meetings with an Acholi faction for days, to avoid a major split in the party which was formed by her husband. A frustrated Muganda UPC member told this writer by email that the Acholis are determined to take control of UPC while Miria would very much like to see her son Akena replace her as party president. According to our source, the fight is one about real northerners reclaiming UPC from a weak Muganda leader and her half-Muganda son. He went on: “I stupidly joined UPC during last elections because I thought Mrs. Kalule was going to make UPC good for Baganda. Now assure you UPC business is really only for northerners. That is why they are bringing in the northern best hope Olara Otunu even before telling Mrs. Obote about it.”

According to the UPC party constitution, Miria Obote’s seven-year term as president ends in 2012.  And many political analysts in Uganda think that UPC is on the verge of collapse from lack of leadership, after a dismal performance by Mrs. Obote as president. Prospective replacement living in Uganda include her own son and Lira Municipality MP Jimmy Akena Obote (Langi), Yona Kanyomozi (Munyankore Mulaalo), Darlington Ssakwa (Mugisu), George Okrapa (Iteso), Joseph Ochieno (Japadhola) and Sospater Akwenyu (Acholi). These groups made up the bulk of UPC Youthwingers and army which, along with special units of Mr. Museveni’s national resistance army (NRA), killed and harassed hundreds of thousands of Baganda during the Obote II regime.

Recently an Acholi dominated UPC faction, led by an MP called Okello Okello, kicked off a campaign to recruit Olara Otunu (Acholi), a former United Nations undersecretary and minister in Obote II, to lead the party when Mrs. Obote leaves. Okello Okello and team recently met Mr. Otunu in Nairobi behind Mrs. Obote’s back, leading her, after finding out, to reshuffle party officials. The reshuffle seems to have created a crisis, which Mr. Obote is hoping to control starting with the press statement reproduced below. It is not yet clear how Baganda, who overwhelmingly, consider Obote and UPC, which was president Museveni’s original politically party, the kingdom’s original enemy.

UGANDA PEOPLES CONGRESS
NATIONAL SECRETARIAT
Plot 8-10. Kampala Road. Uganda House. P.O Box 37047, Kampala. Phone/Fax: +256-41-236748

PRESS STATEMENT
(Embargoed for release at 3:00pm, 12th June, 2009)

PARTY UNITY

Following the recent cabinet reshuffle there has been a lot of conflicting information and interpretation in the media and public domains.

I have today held a consultative meeting attended by amongst others Hon. Okello Okello MP Chua County and Hen. Benson Obua-Ogwa! MP Morato County. This consultation will continue but the meeting resolved as follows:

1.   This consultation agreed that in the interest of Party Unity and impending work leading to the upcoming Delegates Conference the recent reshuffle remains in force.

2.   That the recent reshuffle was not done in bad faith and it should not be misconstrued otherwise. This reshuffle is part of the ongoing strategy to expedite the process of establishing new Party structures, implementing the new Constitution and preparation towards the coming Delegates Conference in. October, 2009 during which new Party leadership will be elected and more importantly prepare the Party for next elections in 2011.

3.   I ask all Party members, friends and well wishers to focus on electoral preparation for a brighter future and a strong and united Uganda Peoples Congress Party in the coming days, months and years ahead.

For God and my country

Mama Miria Kalule Obote
PARTY PRESIDENT