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”).

The United States DOD has defined an occupied territory as:

Territory under the authority and effective control of a belligerent armed force. The term is not applicable to territory being administered pursuant to peace terms, treaty, or other agreement, express or implied, with the civil authority of the territory.

We argue that even a casual but sober review of Uganda’s political history should lead to the conclusion that the aggrieved people of Buganda, under their Kabaka (king) have a case to declare their nation an occupied territory under the authority of a belligerent armed force.

• Fact: Buganda has internationally recognizable boundaries that in 1967 were not in dispute by any of her neighbors (Tanzania, Busoga, Bunyoro, Ankole, Tooro and Lango).
• Fact: The natives of Buganda constitute a distinguishable nation, with distinct cultural practices, national language and customary laws that developed over more than 500 years ago.
• Fact: In 1962 the civil government of Buganda, headed by Kabaka of Buganda, entered a legal agreement (Uganda Constitution of 1966) with other nations and populations in colonial Uganda to federate and gain independence as a single country.
• Fact: In 1966 Prime Minister Obote and his supporters, without consulting Buganda’s civil government or population, illegally overthrew the Uganda Constitution with the use of armed forces. The then Kabaka, Muteesa Walugembe, was exiled to the UK where he died under suspicious circumstances.
• Fact: Between 1966 and 1986 various warlords, including Obote, Idi Amin and Museveni captured Uganda state power through the violent and illegal use of arms.
•  Fact: After Yoweri Museveni captured power by the force of arms in 1986 he organized an exercise to develop a new national constitution that would return the governance of Uganda to a legal status. The flagship activity of the constitution making exercise was the independednt Odoki Commission (leg by Justice Odoki) which collected information that would be properly address the aspirations of all the people in Uganda.
• Fact: According to the “Odoki Report”, over 90% of the people of Buganda explicitly demanded that they be governed under federal form of government which prevailed before the overthrow of the 1966 Uganda constitution.
• Fact: Museveni, Bidandi-Ssali and their supporters illegally (under natural law) broke the terms of the constitution making process and administratively invalidated the demands of the people of Buganda and introduced an experimental substitute that they dubiously name “decentralization”.
• Fact: Since 1986 has, through decrees and targeted laws, constructed a legal system that is selectively punitive to Buganda, her people and her civil leadership, the Kabaka institution. One example is the currency reform decree which devalued the Uganda Shilling by 90% in an environment where Baganda held over 60% of all cash wealth in Uganda. Another example is the 1998 Land Act which set “mailo” land rent (nearly exclusivel found in Buganda) to less than 1$ (US) regardless of size and freely gave away Buganda’s 9,000 square miles customary lands but not those of other nationalities.
• Fact: Museveni, Tinyefunza and their accomplices have issued numerous public statements over radio in newspapers threatening to “destroy” elements of Buganda’s civil leaders, calling Buganda leaders “hyenas”, reminding Baganda that “you don’t have the guns”, telling Kabaka Mutebi to fire Buganda leaders “who don’t agree with Government” and even reminding Baganda of the “1966 crisis” when the 1962 constitution was overthrown.
•  Fact: Buganda’s civil leaders (Kabaka’s Government), with overwhelming support, are only demanding that Museveni and his supporters stop the injustices again the people of Buganda – return the 9,000 square miles and other properties and restore the only form of governance that Buganda has ever willing accepted (federal).

Over the weekend of July 19, 2008 the people of Buganda held a national conference (Lukiiko Ttabamiruka) to discuss the issues of land, poverty and governance which confront them. The Uganda government seems to have underestimated the conference until, on July 18, 2008, one Buganda official, Lubega Ssegona, eloquently’s spoke about its expected results in front of Government agents.

Unexpectedly powerful speeches by Kabaka Mutebi, his wife Nnabagereka Nagginda and others seem to have created virtual panic among Government officials and their Baganda collaborators, resulting in one of the most ill conceived political decisions by Museveni since he came to power. The government arrested Betty Nambooze, Peter Mayiga and Lubega Ssegona (detainded just before the meeting) to preempt further political damage. And in the process handed Baganda nationalists the strongest case so far that the Uganda government considers any expression of Buganda nationalism as a crime. Evidence that Buganda is all but occupied by a belligerent force that will not tolerate and use force against the national aspirations of the native population. Isn’t Buganda under armed occupation?