According to a press release issued by the Uganda Democratic Federal Union (UDFU), the organization will host a summit on human rights on May 1, 2010. UDFU is led by Mr. Remigius Kintu, a long Washington DC Muganda resident. At least two times this year Mr. Kintu attended and spoke very prominently at the Boston Buganda emergency meetings hosted by Ggwanga Mujje Boston. For about  4 or 5 weeks Ekiba Kibe program on Free Buganda Radio has been advertising that Ggwanga Mujje Boston will host a Buganda liberation conference on May 1, 2010 (see “Ggwanga Mujje Boston To Hold Buganda Emergency Conference On May 1st”).

The decision by Mr. Kintu’s group to announce a competing conference on the same day as the Boston Baganda meeting, so late in the game, may not go well with the Boston group led by Mr. John Mayanja.

Mr. Remigius Kintu describes himself on the Linked In network as the owner of  Blue Nile Trading Corp. and International Trade and a development consultant. Among the other speakers at the UDFU summit is Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang  professor and chairman of the African Studies Department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Nyang is a Gambian who previously worked as an advisor to the NRM government. Also among the speakers is Mr. Yoga Adhola, a UPC activist and former editor of Milton Obote’s The People newspaper. When he writes to Internet discussion groups, Mr. Adhola usually finishes with: “Mr. Adhola belongs to the UPC’s conservative wing of leftist purists and was editor of the party’s newspaper, The People, during Obote II”. Milton Obote is the former Uganda president who overthrew the Uganda constitution in 1966, exiled Ssekabaka Edward Muteesa II, and is blamed for poisoning the former Kabaka.

The UDFU press conference is reproduced in full below:

Columbia, MD, April 29, 2010 – Urgent Conference on Uganda: Saturday, May 1, Washington, DC

The Uganda Democratic Federal Union (UDFU), led by Remigius Kintu, will host a summit on human rights, “Urgent Conference on Uganda,” Saturday, May 1, in Washington, D.C. Presenters will address President Yoweri Museveni’s eradication of open elections, his massacre of all Ugandans who oppose him, and the conflict in U.S. policy which simultaneously denounces and supports his regime.

 “UDFU’s open forum will feature defenders of political freedom from all over the world,” said Kintu. “Speakers and attendees will develop strategies to expose and redirect the Obama administration’s support of Uganda’s oppressive government.” Saturday’s program will be held at the University Graduate School, 1325 D Street, S.E., Washington, D.C., from 1:00 to 7:00 pm.

 The UDFU believes Uganda can be democratically governed in the future once Museveni has been ousted. “We hope to establish a more democratic regime as early as 2011,” said speaker Deo Kawunde-Miti. “We will bring the best players together to devise ways of running upcoming campaigns, utilizing new social media in the villages to circumvent Museveni’s blockade of conventional news media, and contest every elected official from East to West.”

 The conference will also address the Obama Administration’s ongoing support of Museveni despite the dictator’s abysmal human rights record and authoritarian rule that stand in opposition to President Obama’s and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s stated foreign policy objectives.

 The opposition to Museveni contends the United State’s support of democracy in Africa is tempered by policy considerations that elevate U.S. strategic interests in the resource-rich African great lakes region over traditional American values. The United States State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and other federal agencies use Uganda as a central stage for operations throughout the African great lakes region. Museveni has curried favor with US administrations by assisting in the war against terrorism and by contributing 3,000 Ugandan soldiers to the peacekeeping efforts in Somalia.

 Uganda is the latest example of United State’s support of dictatorial regimes in Africa, Asia, and Latin America – a policy that extends back to Guatemala in the 1950s, Chile under General Pinochet in the 1970s, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq in the 1980s and 1990s.

Museveni first seized power in Uganda in 1986.  He continued to rule in the 1990s through sham elections. In 2001, he had the term limit provision of the Ugandan constitution eliminated so that he could, in effect, be “President for life.”

The urgency of this conference is underscored by Museveni’s escalating human rights violations. In April, Museveni’s security officers shot and killed in cold blood 20 Ugandan students engaged in a nonviolent demonstration against Museveni in Kampala.

“The 24 years of Museveni and his NRM* dictatorship; its effect on Uganda and the great Lakes region” by Mr. Yoga Adhola, political activist and former editor of The People Newspaper. (*Museveni’s National Resistance Movement)

 “Non-violence through Economic Boycott and Embargo” by Dr. John DiJoseph Ph. D., Professor of Non-Violence Studies, Loyola Graduate University, Columbia, MD.

 “The Discovery of abundant oil and gold in Uganda. Is it a blessing or a curse?” by Mr. E. Leopold Edwards, founding member of TransAfrica Forum; Chairman, National Coalition on Caribbean Affairs Inc., Silver Spring, MD.

 “Federal Governance in Uganda” by Mr. Remigius Kintu, Chairman, UDFU, and author, Africa, My Beloved: A Liberation Plan for a Free & Sovereign Continent, American Heritage Publishers.

“Uganda After Museveni and his NRM Regime” by Mr. Deo Kawunde-Miti, Educator; Graduate of Makerere University, political Activist with Uganda Young Democrats.

 Closing Remarks by Remigius Kintu will be followed by a question and answer period and discussions. There is a $20 tax-deducted donation suggested. Refreshments will be served.

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.

A Muganda youth named Tesian Batenda requested us to publish her her appeal to other young Baganda. We have a policy of not publishing atricles and letters are too long (more two and half pages in MS Word). However, we thought that Tesian’s article and its contents were too important to reject on that basis. We do expect that in future Tesian will write articles that make her major points in fewer words.

Below is Tesian Batenda’s article with minimal editing to remove grammar errors.

Baganda Youth be watchful, vigilant and resist manipulations!

Put Buganda First

By Tesian Batenda

Those of you the Baganda youth of today, who have analyzed the series of events in our nation Buganda and theirs Uganda, you have noted that several elements repeat themselves in these two nations.   This explains a great deal why Buganda Nation has failed till now to realize her aspirations namely among others self-rule.

Firstly, up to the present day, we have never had Buganda army and that explains why we are being tossed like ping-pong in the so-called negotiations.  The Buganda delegations in all the negotiations lost significance and weight right [from] the 60s when the Kabaka Yekkas  sold Buganda nation to Langis UPC by the 21 Baganda MPs (Ekitole made an alliance with UPC).  Today Buganda’s participation to any negotiation cannot be termed as equal partners but as “YES SIR Partners” and of course to [rubber stamp].

What went wrong?

With Mengo you will always expect surprises and sometimes [shocking] ones. What I remember from my dead father, strong supporter of DP, before he died, the man never stopped talking about the moral, psychological, cultural grief, torture and  bitterness he suffered from The Kabaka Yekkas.  Instead of voting for DP, my father like many Baganda,  voted Kabaka Yekka (KY) because of their loyalty to the Buganda Kingdom and their Kabaka.

Kabaka Yekka (KY) dumping Democratic Party, predominantly fellow Baganda and selling Buganda to Langis, the ordinary Baganda have never stomached it,  Till the present day  the Kabaka Yekkas have never officially apologized to Buganda Nation for this blasphemy.

Can we say today that the DPs were totally innocent in this impasse, personally I say no,  the DPs in their political agenda had very little place for Ssabassajja and Buganda Kingdom (Recall Ssebana Kizitos DP) statement just after the riots of last September  “If Museveni does n’t like kingdoms he should abolish them.” I want to remind Ssebana Kizito, that Buganda Kingdom is not only cultural institution as M7 dreams. [Buganda] is the full identity of Baganda people to which [Ssebana] belongs.  Ssabasajja Kabaka is not only a man so as you and me or the rest, but he is the living symbol of our identity and our ancestors. Awangale Ssabassajja!  Telling M7 to abolish the kingdoms if he does not like them, Mr. Ssebana (DP) exaggerated the powers of that dictator because we were Baganda before M7 came, we are Baganda, and we shall remain Buganda with or without M7.

One thing is clear. Kabaka Yekka officials of the 60s never realized that dumping their fellow Baganda and choosing Langis would cause the greatest disaster to the Buganda Nation, which up to the present day has never been fixed.  Can one tell us how many Baganda have been murdered because of this blunder?!

Should the young generation Baganda make the same mistakes as the old guard of Mengo 50 years ago?  Unacceptable! We should learn from the past mistakes to design our present and future. Kikafuwe nti our children and grand children are going to live in this Katogo, they will [curse] us as we are [cursing] the Mengo officials of the old.

We [the] young Buganda must know very well that Kabaka Yekka  old garde of the 60’s and Mengo institution were from top to bottom brainwashed and manipulated by the British people.  Knowingly or unknowingly they embraced the prejudice of the British peoples against the Catholics and other religions, given at the time that Mengo was predominantly Protestant. After the elections of 60s the Mengo old guard chose their fellow predominant protestants UPC to form any alliance dumping their fellow Baganda of the Democratic Party.   What is surprising here, Protestants and Catholics of the same clans during their respective cultural functions like Kwabya Nyimbe a protestant or a Catholic would be the Musika or Musumisi as long as one belonged to the clan and it was acceptable.  Why not in politics?

Did Mengo officials see beyond religion and religious bounds, were they aware that they were executing their colonial masters’ prejudices against other religious persuasions?  Did Mengo KY recognize that they were not the authors of this prejudice, did they realize that in Northern Ireland the same British people were oppressing the Catholics handling as second-class citizens.

Why didn’t Mengo Officials put Buganda first?  As [a] Muganda youth  I want  to remind the old guard of Mengo [that]  when Obote started killing Baganda with his slogan “A good Muganda is A dead one”  he did not [differentiate] between  a protestant and a Catholic. [When] Idi Amin started killing Baganda he  did not  filter who was  a protestant or a catholic. [And] Museveni has murdered [masses of] Baganda with his instrument ‘LET THEM TALK ….  KILL THEM IN SILENCE  (Recall M7’s speech in Kigali University) or his famous order SHOOT TO KILL.  This dictator has never selected which religion a Muganda belongs to, he kills whenever he wishes whoever Muganda he comes across.

The Baganda are killed as Baganda and because we are Baganda.

We the young generation [of] Baganda must not make any mistake now,  the British colonialist have gone who manipulated and brainwashed the Baganda old guard, now we have other manipulators namely:  Some fellow Baganda the collaborators of the occupiers or our homeland, the Rwandese and others and, most important, political parties.

We the young Baganda today must not make any mistake like the Old Baganda of the 60s

“We must put Buganda First”. Forget all those political parties coming up in all colours,  they replace the British peoples of the 60s, they will never help you as a person.  “Put Buganda first”.  It is the only solutions that will ever change our lives and stop the cold murders our people are confronted with everyday in our own motherland.

Mbakubira omulanga  mwena abavubuka Abaganda toyonona kalulu ko mbu olonda gundi wa Kibina gundi, tulina okukola ekitole nga abaganda  nga tulonda omuntu omu analwanirira Buganda era n’ababaka  betwekakasa nti bagenda kulwanirira Buganda wattu.

The foreigners have killed our dear ones, they have raped our children, and they have stolen our land and so forth… Ggwe Omuvubuka omuganda bwoyagala okufuuka ndiwulira [nga] batema mu kasooli olyesanga mu ntamu nga batokosa.  Kunno kwekulabula okusembayo eri mwe abavubuka abaganda.

Abavubukka mweddize obuyinza bwa Buganda bwemuba nga ebigendererwa byamwe bilongofu eri Ssabasajja Kabaka ne nyaffe Buganda.  Bwetutakola tutyo twelinde okuyiwa omusayi ate nno tewerimba nti banno banamawanga  bagenda kutta bakadde.  Nendda, bagenda kutta ffe Abavubuka. Tewelimba nti bagenda kutta Acholis oba Bakiga oba Batoro oba Banyoro, Balango etc…, awo  welimba.  Abavubuka, Baganda ffe tuli ku waiting list.

If you put your stomach first because of some few coins you get from NRM, to promote NRM’s anti-Buganda agenda in [the]Buganda nation, they are using you like toilet paper. [When] they don’t need you anymore,  you will not escape them, if you do, your children will not escape them.  Ask Professor Gilbert Bukenya who now calls himself the Vice president of that country Uganda. If he is honest to himself and to you, he will tell you that money is not all what you need to be happy in life!

We the young generation Baganda today are suffering now [because of]  the mistakes made in the past.   You the Mengo officials must know very well that we are not going to follow your path.  Never make any mistake to sign any agreement with that country Uganda without prior consultations with the youth of our nation Buganda.  [Realize that] it is the Baganda youth of today who are being murdered or sleeping with empty stomachs due the decisions you made in the 60‘s [and other times in the past].

The institutions of our nation Buganda have always carried value and recognitions by the Baganda, young and old, and we believe in them. There is no Muganda who has ever been forced to respect the [Kabaka] and Buganda institutions at gunpoint, as what is happening in their country Uganda. Forget all about the integration with other tribes now because the terms of integration are not well defined  and that explains the Katogo we are navigating today.

The way forward:

We need a Buganda Block! It is only Buganda Block, which will promote our interest now. “Work with and for a Buganda nation ”.  Give your time and energy to liberate our motherland  Buganda nation so that we Baganda of today and our children can lead a dignified life, have and enjoy a feeling of security in our homelands.  Don’t forget we shall never have another life in another homeland. Buganda is our homeland our [ancestors] have fought and sacrificed their lives so that we the Baganda of today and those to come have a place to live.  Likewise, we are obliged to do the same for our children and grandchildren to come after us.

Baganda youth, resist any manipulations of any kind.  M7 calling Ssabasajja his colleague all along from London, and during the war was meant to manipulate the ordinary Baganda.  M7 has lost ground in Buganda, he knows very well that his days in Buganda are numbered. [However he remains a dangerous manipulator]. [Being  an opportunist],  he only invited Ssabasajja  together with the Bataka to meet and discuss the current crisis. Dear the Baganda Youth, are you so simple to believe this cynical invitation?  M7 knows that by appearing on a photo with Ssabasajja Kabaka and [the] Abataka of Buganda he will have the [evidence] to launch his propaganda [of] a cooperative and collaborative Buganda in the NRM occupation agenda for our Buganda Nation.

M7 needed [Kabaka and the Bataka only for] that one second [when] photographer pressed the Camera button, with  M7  standing near Ssabasajja Kabaka, [surrounded by] the  Bataka . That photograph is only enough for a dictator to show to the rest of the world and ordinary Baganda that all problems are resolved and the situation is normal.  We cannot permit our Nation Buganda to become  a new Palestine. They come wherever they come from to fight their wars in Buganda and who dies? The Baganda!

Baganda Youth never and never accept to devalue our mother Nation Buganda, and you should make it clear to your respective Batakas that our support and recognition of Buganda institutions has to depend on their conduct and loyalty to Buganda Nation.

Source of skepticism

As a young, concerned, devoted Muganda activist, I have profound reasons to fear decisions of Mengo officials and I urgue all the Baganda youth to be very critical and watchful of  all the movements taking place at Mengo.  Mengo officials are [supposed] not to serve two nations but one and that is Buganda Nation.

Some months ago I could not believe my eyes when I [heard about] Akena the son of Obote entering Bulange and the Lukkiko giving him a profound applause.  Bearing in mind that in politics you have not to hold permanent enmity,  your enemy today is tomorrow your coalition partner, however applauding for a son of a man who has humiliated and devasted our identity as Baganda this was a dose to much to stomach.  Is this due to desperation of Mengo Lukiiko, opportunism, or short memories of Baganda?  Did Akena come to apologize to the Baganda due the humiliation and murders the Bagandas have suffered committed by Langis? Did he denounce his late father’s dictatorship and murders committed on our Land?

[At about the same time] Omara Atubo (Minister of Lands in their Country Uganda), [another] Langi, declared his triumph [over] the land bill, [which land bill ensures that] ensures that the Kabaka of Buganda is no longer the [Ssabataka] of Buganda Those of you who [better know the] history of our Buganda Nation and their country Uganda, do you have [any evidence] that in the past our ancestors attacked Langis, humiliated them, graded their land, raped their women as what they have done to Buganda?

If I was in Bulange that day when Akena came to Bulange I could not see myself applauding for this man.  I would have reacted differently to express my opinion over Langis. Not necessarily violent but at least a moment of silence as a symbol of respect of the murdered Baganda and the physical, psychological, moral damage we have suffered from these people.

I have to remind the Mengo Officials that going to statehouse of that country Uganda is an act that absolutely not appreciated by Baganda now because you are not going to talk to leaders of our neighbors the Ugandans instead you are going to talk to thugs and murders of our children and rappers of your daughters.

Message to foreigners in Buganda

When we the Baganda activists demand secession of Buganda Kingdom from the country Uganda, how do they react? [They say], “That is Baganda arrogance, they don’t know what they [want], they consider themselves a superior race? [They claim] superior economic wealth and superior  political traditions and so forth!”  It is a real dilemma you and me will never solve, the Baganda people who are so arrogant, bossy with a superiority complex over other tribes yet they can’t miss us. I think if these [accusations they make] over Baganda [were] true and valid in their minds, then the day we demand our independency they would all go party to celebrate the departure of the arrogant, bossy Baganda.  Instead, the more mentally dependent they become on us as if their further life is totally impossible without Buganda. This shows you how far different our understandings and backgrounds are. The general and simple concepts are interpreted differently [and] this means to me even if the western countries transfer half their wealth tomorrow and pump it in Uganda and the occupied Buganda we shall remain poor, even [get] poorer.

The citizens of Uganda make their heads sick [over] the position of Ssabassajja Kabaka of Buganda. Well, to the contrary,  no Muganda is busy [opposing] the way Basoga or Batoro or Acholis or Banyoro govern themselves.  If you decide to come and settle in Buganda you are going to settle here on our terms, not the opposite.   Failure to do so, you will vacate no doubt about that.  If Baganda happen to come to your homelands and tell you how you have to govern yourself, make them vacate your homelands.  We have accommodated everyone in Buganda, you have all what you have on our land yet we are the arrogant bastards? Fine! Think what you think, do what you do, we are not going to live on your terms in our home lands. “This to the last Muganda”.   You are very soon facing the hard truth.  We are working around the clock to liberate our Nation Buganda from captivity.

Last Appeal to all Baganda youth

To all the Baganda youth, it is our time today and not any other time. We have to realize and make everyone know that Buganda self-rule is our future, our security and our development.

You should all know that our greatest realization in this coming decade will be SELF RULE of our Buganda Nation.   Everyone has to play his or her role according to one’s capacity. If we have to change our lives, we have to be very vigilant, and critical to resist all kinds of manipulations. Put Buganda first! Form ekitole kya  Buganda, with the guidance of the wisdom of the past you are the future of Buganda.  Make Buganda shine again!!! We have profound trust in you our youth!!

Tesian Batenda

A reliable Uganda intelligence source in Kampala has told us that Olara Otunnu, a Ugandan politician from Acholi escaped death when his van collided with president Museveni’s presidential guard brigade (PGB) vehicles. According to the source, who requested that her identity be kept secret, the accident which occurred around Masindi in Bunyoro is too much of a coincidence to be believable. She explained that: “Based on the way the NRM government works, this accident was clearly staged to shake up the former United Nations undersecretary a little. I can assure you that, from now one he will think much more about what he says, where he goes and who he trusts in Uganda. Mr. Museveni calls the trick  ‘personal destabilization’.”

Our source is confident that Otunnu suffered no serious injuries although he was clearly shaken. She could not confirm to us if the PGB men who seem to have staged the accident were actually injured themselves. However, she said that, to make things appear genuine, it was likely that the Uganda government might announce that the PGB men were seriously injured or even that one of them died.

Apparently, Otunnu was travelling from northern Uganda where, for the first time in more 20 years, he attended the same public  function as Ugandan dictator, Yoweri Museveni. The police, ISO and PGB are all actively monitoring Otunnu’s movements since he returned to Uganda and expressed his intention to stand the position president in the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) party. They both attended the consecration of a new Church of Uganda bishop for the Acholis in Gulu on December 20, 2009.

The UPC was responsible for the abolition of Uganda’s federal government, the exile and murder of  Ssekabaka (deceased Kabaka) Edward Muteesa II, stealing 9,000 square miles of Baganda native lands and carrying out genocide against Baganda in Bulemeezi, Buluri, Ssingo, Butambala and other counties (Luweero Triangle). As  a student and young man, Yoweri Museveni was a very active member of UPC’s notorious State Research Bureau, which was central to many of atrocities against Baganda. Later he turned against Obote and seized power after a 4 year a guerrilla war centered in the Luweero Triangle. Over 500,000 Baganda were murdered in the war.  It is estimated that Museveni’s Banyankore led NRM/NRA murdered up to 30-40% of these and put the blame on Obote, to gain support and recruits.

Samwiri Mukasa
Buganda Nationalist
USA

I was shocked by Charles Onyango Obbo’s decision to ridicule Baganda and, by extension, our Kabaka in his Ear to The Ground column, which will appear in the Monitor newspaper of July 22, 2009. To paraphrase one smart non-Muganda, “A little power is dangerous”. Apparently, Mr. Obbo, a former UPC youth winger, is convinced that his relative popularity and longevity in the Opinion business, empowers him to ridicule a 1,000 year old kingdom. I say, Obbo’s little power is quite dangerous to us Baganda, other residents of Buganda, and even his own family.

In his column entitled, “Here are guerilla tactics for Buganda in its ‘war’” Mr. Obbo first admits that “Uganda will never be able to move forward until the Buganda question is resolved and taken off the table.” Then he proceeds to recommended, mockingly, a list of “clever guerilla tactics Buganda might adopt to win over the majority of Ugandans to its side.” Mr. Obbo tells Kabaka Mutebi and his Baganda to try the following to please and gain the support of other Ugandans: (a) convert the Bika by’Abaganda tournament to a Uganda district level competition, (b) change the Buganda regatta (boating competition) to a Ugandan regatta; (c) similarly, abandon the Buganda wrestling competition (Ekigwo Gombya) in favor of a Uganda version, and (d) start a new game, bull fights where bulls owned by Mr. Museveni would be able to field a team from his ranches.

In Mr. Onyango Obbo’s words, “I suspect most referees will be inclined to blow the whistle in favour of  Kaguta’s bulls. As a man who loves his animals deeply, I suspect this will warm Museveni’s heart to no end and he will look more generously upon Buganda’s representations.” And after condemning Buganda to future to the mercy of Mr. Museveni, Mr. Obbo wields his ‘little power’ to concludes on a serious note that, “Buganda will then discover an old truth; you can never win the game, if you don’t play.”

For years, before I read Charles Onyango Obbo’s latest column, I was a big fan. I learnt to overlook his UPC youth winger past because I believe that people can change. But more, importantly, because I thought that he was a smart person. I think differently now. For, it takes a fool think that this is the time to “kick Buganda in the stomach”, just to get some laughs and dollars. Mr. Obbo, I am no longer a fan and, thanks to you, I have joined those Baganda who would rather be feared, even if not respect me. Please stop attacking my Kabaka and fellow Baganda; keep off Buganda and our Kabaka. We have a saying, “Abaganda busa bwa mbogo!”.

Ssabasajja Kabaka Awangaale!

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

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

The CDJ statement is shown below, without any editing.

Campaign for Democracy and Justice in Uganda
CDJ

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

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

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

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

Signed by:
Mr. Olara A. Otunnu (Interim Chairman)
Mr. James Ssemakula (Interim Deputy Chairman)
Mr. John Mayanja (Interim President)
Mr. Mubiru Musoke (Interim Treasurer)
Professor Aloysius M.M. Lugira (Interim Secretary)
For further information, contact:
Professor Aloysius M.M. Lugira
Tel: 617-552-3539 or 781-439-3875
E-mail: lugira.cdj@gmail.com or lugira@bc.edu

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’.”