{UAH} MUSEVENI LOST HIS MOJO - BACKOFF,SAYS KABILA

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Category: Politics News

Published on 06 November 2013

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Big Brother Museveni must not Bully Kabila, but Let DRC and New Found Allies Sort out the Longstanding Insurgency Once for Even the Good of Kampala

By Stephen K Muwambi

Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Kabila has grown military teeth.

It shows in the way he has managed to bite the so called M23 rebels, sending them packing. So decisive the feat has been, the hitherto chest-thumping rebels are now begging Kabila to ceasefire. Ceasefire, my foot! M23 has been engaging Kabila in endless talks.

Paradox

The Kampala moderated talks had only served to give the rebels a chance and time to replenish their military hardware and human resource. And then launch further incursions into Congo and destabilize the paradoxically Africa’s mineral wealth loaded, but poor country.

As the fighting raged on, Kabila’s government could not mine the minerals and reap money that is needed to pull DRC out of the poverty quagmire. All Kabila has been doing is buying military hardware and spending precious time and energy fighting the M23 rebels.

Suspicious, endless talks

It therefore came as a surprise when Kampala (read President Museveni) shouted out orders to Kinshasa directing his counterpart Laurent Kabila to talk to the rebels. Sincerely speaking, Kabila has been talking to the rebels. Museveni knows this quite well since he is the one who has been moderating the engagements.

Kabila has been religiously attending the talks in Kampala so have been the rebels, but only for the insurgents to return to the jungles and cause more havoc. As the peace talks raged on, reports that actually Rwandan President Maj Gen Paul Kagame was helping the M23 rebels continued to ring the air. Reports also had it that actually whenever the M23 felt weakened by Kinshasa they would call for resumption of the peace talks so as to buy time, replenish arms and human resource and then return to the trenches.

Nairobi peace-jokes

For Museveni to demand that Kabila, who is pounding the rebels into submission returns to the peace talks, reminds many of what came to be known as the peace-jokes that the then rebel leader and now President Yoweri Museveni engaged the raw Tito Okello Lutwa in. As the Lutwas sat into the peace-jokes, Museveni was busy stocking arms, till he finally hit town and upstaged them.

Could it be therefore that the President is demanding that Kabila returns to the roundtable as a trick to give time to the insurgents to stock guns and overwhelm the Great Lakes youngest President? It happened in the case of former President Pierre Habyarimana, whom Museveni kept directing to talk peace with the Kagames, as the rebels advanced onto Kigali and we better emphasize here that history is fond of repeating itself.

Rebels squandered chance

On a serious note, a destabilized DRC is a safe haven for insurgents fighting Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan and its neighbors. A stateless Congo has been a good hideout for ADF, Kony and rebels that have been fighting Kampala.

It’s why Kampala should help Kabila wipe out rebellion in the fashion he is doing it now. After all, Kabila gave the rebels a chance to talk peace, which they are demanding now, only for the insurgents to kick him in the teeth.

When Kabila was pleading with the rebels to disarm and join government, they kept laughing at him. Their demeanor sent the message to DRC and other peace loving countries such as Tanzania and South Africa, that the only language they understood was gunfire. Now that Kabila and his allies are serving the M23 rebels on gunfire, the rebels as well President Museveni must not complain, but take in the pounding.

 After all, our wise ancestors warned that he who ‘fears’ smoke, should keep away from the kitchen. And that the maize weevil which stubbornly refuses to exit the maize cob finally ends up cooked along with the harvested maize.

Contradictory

Museveni has always said coups belonged in the past. It would even be therefore contradictory at best and cynical at worst, for the same Museveni to stop a legitimate government from exerting its authority which is what Kabila is doing.

Precedent

When Alice Lakwena and his human butcher offspring Joseph Kony insisted on fighting Kampala, Museveni answered them in the same currency. Certainly, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. As such, Museveni must let Kabila do what he did when Kony proved stubborn. 

Impunity

Whereas M23’s boss Gen Bosco Ntaganda is facing war crimes charges at Hague based International Criminal Court, his rebel outfit continues to do what their leader is facing the music for. Seriously speaking, if that is not impunity and contempt for the international court, then what is it?

Sovereignty

Kabila may be young. Granted, Kabila senior, his dad, grew his political military teeth in Uganda. Museveni helped a great deal to prepare him for the big seat back in Kinshasa. But that does not mean that Kampala should continue to issue orders to Kabila. Congo is a sovereignty state- just like Uganda. As such, it should be left alone to sort out some of its internal affairs. After all, didn’t undermining Kagame make him cut wires and hit big brother Kampala via that legendary Kisangani 1 and 11 gunfire battle?

Museveni, who have spent good breath on hitting out at the big brother Western Countries and previously the late Libyan Leader Gaddafi for undermining African independent states and leaders, cannot be heard let alone seen doing the opposite of what he preaches by directing around Kinshasa and Kabila.

Our case

Congo has faced insurgency for time immemorial. It’s a crying shame that the African mineral rich country is among the poorest on the globe. DRC needs a break from the war. If peace can only be bought by gunfire--like it happened in case of Uganda--the let it be.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower