{UAH} UHRU, AL SHABAAB, BUTARE BOY

During the early 90s when the Somali war lords brought down a USA army helcopter, killed marines and took others hostage, Museveni being a war monger admired the bravery and courage of Somalis. Being a pro-east, no doubt Museveni must have celebrated the humilliation of "western imperialists (USA)". That is why he keeps saying that his NRA is succeeding where the USA failed thus African solution to African problems. Since then he developed a special liking for Somalis residing in Uganda. 

When the fight against global terrorism took centre stage, Museveni jumped into the theatre in order to win the support of the West and USA in particular. When his NRA led the peace mission in Somalia, his knew that the Conflict would last decades. He also knew that during that period he would be a regional strategic ally of the west such that it would not question his autocracy in Uganda. To prolong the Somali mission, his NRA led AMISOM had for years not been able to gain any major successes against the militants save for securing the airport and the Presidential palace. Still, the militants would occassionally carry out attacks not only on those two key installations but even on any part of Mogadishu. Its for this reason that when the UN sought the contribution of other countries, Museveni suggested that Uganda alone can provide the all the required troops and the UN should only increase provision of financial and logistical support.

In 2011 he was faced with the dilema of declaring if he was to run for another round of office as the world its breath. Coincidentally, Kampala suffered a terror attack that left over seventy people dead. Within a few hours after the attack Museveni was at the scene of attack giving briefs and captured by the international media houses. The attention of the international community and the West in particular was diverted. The whole world and Uganda in particular were in grief. Even leading world leaders who had shunned him had to telephone with promisses of increased support. In the ensuring confusion, Museveni did not need to declare intention to run for another term but simply entered the Presidential race. Interestingly, suspects were easily rounded up and they confessed faster than those in Guantanamo, courtesy of Museveni's 'superb intelligence'. Burundi which also has troops in Somalia, its capital Bujumbura - a softer target than Kampala has never been targeted. When the UN report implicated NRA'S involvement in DRC, he threatened to pull out of Somalia and the UN backed down. 

Since then the threat of a potential terror attack has been used by Museveni to clamp down on dissenting voices. The right and freedoms of citizens to move and assemble has been curtailled using the scare of a concocted potential terror threat. Issuing of terror alerts in Uganda always corresponds with the agitation by citizens to freedom of association and assembly. The current draconian laws being enacted i.e the Public Order Bill are also enacted and will be enforced against the background of concocted terrorism threats. As usual the NRA is using the Somali mission as a money making venture through irregular contracts, flawed procurements and diversion of financial and logistical resources. 

When Kenya intervened in Somalia and made great succeces against the militants, Museveni's NRA under AMISOM in Somalia also improved in their operations by moving beyond the Airport and the Presidential palace. Museveni strongly pushed for the Kenya troops to be incorporated into the AMISOM command structure. He had hoped that in this way the progress of the Kenya troops would be bogged down. Kenya troops have made tremendous success against the militants by securing Kisimayo and other key areas of tactical. But still calls for Kenya troops to leave Somalia have persistently come from both the militants and most recently the Somali government. If it was not for the new found marriage of convenience between Museveni and Kenyatta for the sake fighting the ICC and first tracking the EAC political federation, the NRA would clash with Kenya army as was the case with Rwanda in DRC's Kisangani. 

As Museveni's new found friend Uhuru Kenyata was battling international issolation over criminal charges against him in the ICC, alleged Somali militants attacked a Nairobi shopping mall. The incident has been marked by information black out as to who and how did the attack take place. As the Kenya goverment security Minister was the lead mouth piece in updating the world, in Uganda the Commander of the army took the lead in informing the world how the attack was masterminded by ADF's Jamil Mukulu. He also went ahead to issue terror alerts. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police in particular opted to keep mum. Coincidentally, Museveni was attending the UN General Assembly in New York. He used the occasion to put up a defence against the breaved Uhuru Kenyata's trial by the ICC. Will the Nairobi attack save Uhuru?

Posted by Uganda - A Change of Guards! 

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Robukui