As Mr. Museveni’s Presidential Press Secretary, John Tamale-Mirundi is an employee of the Government of Uganda. Furthermore, when Mirundi speaks to news and other public media on political topics without explicitly saying that it is his personal opinions, then he speaks on behalf of Mr. Museveni. Mr. Museveni’s government is now sponsoring programs on Uganda FM radio stations where Mirundi delivers venomous anti-Baganda and anti-Kabaka propaganda messages under the guise of teaching about the ugly history of Kabaka Yekka (KY) political party.

The underlying theme of Mirundi’s statement of various Kampala FM stations is to create the image that Baganda are a dangerous and violent people who committed atrocities through their political party KY. Ignoring internationally famous NRM government corruption and election violence, Tamale “teaches” his audiences that Baganda, through their Kabaka Yekka (KY) party rigged elections in 1962 and unleashed violence on their opponents. He states arbitrary number of victims, even if they are very low compared to the numerous atrocities that the government appointed Uganda Human Rights Commission has cited against Mr. Museveni’s government.

In veiled attacks on Ssekabaka Fredrick Walugembe Muteesa II, Mirundi belittles KY for having uninspired and unprofessional leadership, without vision. Ironically, Tamale-Mirundi, who represents one of the longest ruling and most corrupt African dictators, keeps telling his listeners  that “the problem with Ssekabaka Mutesa II was that he was not willing to accept any leader to be above him.”

To defend the frequent government bribing of members of Mr. Museveni’s parliament, Tamale Mirundi makes wild claims that  Ssekabaka Mutesa II also bribed MPs to make him President of Uganda. Tamale offers no evidence, only relying on the fact that in President Museveni’s Uganda, the average person thinks that rampant corruption and bribery was usual even in 1963.

When we asked a New York (USA) based Muganda thought leader to comment on Mirundi’s crusade, he warned Baganda to wake up to the fact that Mirundi’s statements could be a step towards anti-Baganda violence that might compete with the Rwanda genocide. He said: “During Ttabamiruka ’08 a few of us were concerned about symptoms of possible genocide in Buganda. Unfortunately, Katikkiro Walusimbi and his cabinet boycotted the conference, so there was no opportunity for us to engage Mmengo on this serious issue. Ironically, Museveni who had no friends at Ttabamiruka, was smart enough to send minister Nankabirwa, Tamale-Mirundi,  MP Kakooza and a few spies.

Now,  these radio lessons by Tamale sound like what Habyarimana’s government taught on radio before the Rwandese genocide. It is worrying that, abusing and belittling Baganda is slowly becoming the norm, so much that senior Baganda officials in Mr. Museveni’s government which does it (e.g. Nsibambi, Sekandi, Bukenya and others) still get a friendly reception at the highest level in Mmengo. This misplaced sense of reality among Baganda is why so many genocides come as a total shock to the victims.”

The Muganda professional pointed us to a section of www.Wikipedia.com which speaks about how Habyarimana’s government used the media in the Rwanda Genocide. Below is part of the Wikipedia information (for more go to Rwanda Genocide on Wikipedia-Media Propaganda):

Media Propaganda

According to recent commentators the news media played a crucial role in the genocide: local print and radio media fuelled the killings, while the international media either ignored or seriously misconstrued events on the ground. The print media in Rwanda is believed to have started hate speech against Tutsis which was later continued by radio stations. According to commentators anti-Tutsi hate speech “became so systemic as to seem the norm.” The state-owned newspaper Kangura had a central role, starting an anti-Tutsi and anti-RPF campaign in October 1990. In the ongoing International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the individuals behind Kangura have been accused of producing leaflets in 1992 picturing a machete and asking “What shall we do to complete the social revolution of 1959?” – a reference to the Hutu revolt that overthrew the Tutsi monarchy and the subsequent politically orchestrated communal violence that resulted in thousands of mostly Tutsi casualties and forced roughly 300,000 Tutsis to flee to neighboring Burundi and Uganda. Kangura also published the infamous “10 Hutu Commandments,” which called upon Hutus to massacre Tutsis, and more generally communicated the message that the RPF had a devious grand strategy (one feature article was titled “Tutsi colonization plan”).

Dear Maama,

In my last letter I told you that, most of us here believe that Obama is going to be bad news for African dictators. I also said that Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe are likely to be affected most because Barack is very well informed about the election rigging and civil rights abuses in these countries.  Word from my smart Baganda friends here (Think Tank) is that the potential for Baganda to get Obama’s attention are even higher than first thought.

One of the important new things is that now, Mrs. Hillary Clinton is the person most likely to become secretary of state (American name for Minister of Foreign Affairs). It is common knowledge that both Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were embarrassed by President Museveni when, after praising him a “new breed” of African leader, he bribed Parliament to remove presidential term limits. And when he went on to violently rig elections. With Mrs. Clinton’s deep knowledge about the Rwanda genocide, it should take little to draw her attention to violation of human, cultural and property rights against Baganda and the possibility of genocide-scale violence.

By the way I hope you saw in the Vision that a Musoga young man works for and is personally known to Obama. We don’t know if he would help Buganda interests but he would have little opportunity to lie that Baganda have no case if make the right noise in right places. But Namusisi in New York also told me that there are two Baganda young men who worked in Mrs. Clinton’s Senate office. The signs are that there is now a big chance for Baganda to take our case to the whole world and make the dictator explain why we are wrong when we demand for our 9,000 miles and freedom to have Kabaka leads the way we want. Things like the Buganda Post and other Internet stuff are powerful enough.

Some people here reason that Mr. Obama will do like all Western donors and pretend that nothing is wrong simply because the dictator keeps things in Uganda quiet. And that Uganda is critical to the situation In Sudan and Congo. But the people in the Think Tank say that after seeing Mr. Obama’s strong statements against America supporting dictators in short-term but creating long term disasters, he and Clinton have no choice but to pay attention to a well put case by Buganda. Even on a much more strategic country like Pakistan Obama, was not willing to be soft on dictator Musaraf.  He understands that Uganda is useless to America if it blows up Kosovo or Somalia style after something happens to the dictator.

Now, what I don’t know is how we can take advantage of these big chances when the man who Kabaka gave Ddamula and his close advisors appear to be focused on local things like negotiating with Museveni or renovating Lubiri with Libyan money or attending Rotary Club meetings.

Let me stop here maama. By the way, we have made the air-ticket reservations for December. Muna Gayaza munno says Hello.

Son,

Joshua