{UAH} Generals who do not read history are bound to repeat its mistakes!

In 1979, the government of Idi amin came down with a bang! His soldiers scattered as did his libyan mercenaries many of whom were killed by the roadside. There are many roadside graves along Entebbe road filled with Gadaffi's men. Many of his soldiers run away to places as far away as juba and eastern Congo! the tough guys of yesterday lost their will to fight and die like men and fled like cowards!

The papers at the time published lists of people said to have belonged to the security services. The most notorious of these were members of the state Research bureau in Nakasero. Gruesome photos of the torture chambers in this facility were published around the world.

Among those people whose photos got published was that of a relative, the husband of a cousin of mine. He was one of the young guys who used to ride around in Datsun 120Y that were at the time associated with State research guys together with their signature bell bottoms and dark glasses.

Sam is a mild mannered well bult guy. At the time it was rumoured that his photo was published in the papers so he disappeared briefly. For a while later, he had to bribe police to stay out of jail. Todate, i find it hard to associate him with the notorious SRB and always wonder wheteher he ever killed someone. Needless to say, he has never discussed those days!In Obote II, there was a proliferation of security agencies. There was the regular military, the red berets, the special forces, the airforce, the regular police, the special branch, and the notorious NASA. This last one was as notorious as their predecessors the SRB and it is said that many of them had served in both units. There were scary places of which people spoke in whispoers.

At the time there was an informal curfew on many surburbs around Kampala and it was common knowledge that getting together and debating politics was pretty much marking oneself for things as bad as torture and death. Many people got out of the habit of going to bars and preferred the the open space bars on the streets and biwempe. Apparently it was easier to scatter rather than getting cornered inside a bar by marauding soldiers. Those were the days when being a soldier with a gun was next to being God!

But then came  1985 when Obote was expelled by his own men who went into business for themselves. Nothing changed. if anything things got worse. But less than a year later, they too were evicted from power and became the hunted. Big nasty men threw away their guns and uniforms and disappeared into the bushes and their villages and some even run away from the country! Many have never come home since!In 1972, there was a similar exodus of armed men many of whom spent the next 8 years in exile in Tanzania plotting their return. They did eventually return  in 1979 and went on to gain a reputation for themselves as ruthless and manytimes mruderous men!In 1986 when Museveni overun the Okello's all of these military and paramilitary groups dispersed. The army was effectively demobilised and replaced with a new one from the bush. The police and secret branches all disappeared. Many were later called back to the police but their power and self confidence was much curtailed. the public had lost their fear of uniformed men!

Having been instruct by decades of musical chairs where security forces who show themselves to be no better than mercenaries in the employ of the regime of the day keep getting recycled and replaced, it is surprising that the current police and security services have in the last few years harrassed and terrorised the civilian population and the opposition in the employ of the overnment. they appear to view themselves as occupiers with little connection to the community!

But they foirget that we have seen others like them before fall. That Ugandans have buried others like them in shallow graves by the roadside at least those who could not run away fast enough or discard their uniforms fast enough. That as surely as night follows day, they too are some day going to be running ahead of the crowd crying "saidiya mimi" to the very same people they used to tear gas and traumatise. That the same crowd now empowered will proceeds to tear them limb from limb, tie them kandoya and burn them with jerrycans just like their predecessors!

THat Ugandan security and police forces continue to view themselves as a mercenary force in the employ of the ruling power of the day! they form little attachment to the community and set themselves up as enemies of the community!

 Then they wonder why the mob then turns on them and lights them up with paraffin!One would have thought that an army and police with men and Generals who could read would at elast be informed by and guided by the events of the past. But they conntinue to make the same mistakes!

And now they pass the POMB bill which will allow them to continue to exercise neanderthal reflexes at an increasingly alarming rate! do not be surprised if some people get a magujja installed as their heir at Wankulukuku!Who is going to tell these people that in Uganda, the hunter always becomes the hunted and that the laws they pass and enforce today will be the very same lawys that shall be used to lock them up and throw away the key!


God save Uganda!

AUTHORED BY: DREW DEMBE

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H.OGWAPITI
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"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that  we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic  and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
---Theodore Roosevelt