{UAH} HOW WAS THE NRA CORNERED AND IT SOUGHT TO SURRENDER TO THE UPC GOVERNMENT; RIP OGOLE ''OPERATION BONANZA''
|
6:56 PM |
No comments |
HOW WAS THE NRA CORNERED AND IT SOUGHT TO SURRENDER TO THE UPC GOVERNMENT?
Life in the bush was extremely harsh especially to the ordinary fighters. There was total scarcity of every essential commodity like food, clothing, medicine etc. People fed on tree roots, stems and preserved animal skin if they were lucky enough. Ordinary fighters and the civilian hostages would die like flies from hunger, malnutrition and the related ailments. Salt was unheard of. The situation would be worse during the times of what would be termed 'total concealment'. This the time when everyone was supposed to observe total innactivity so as to conceal their presence from the enemy. Even lighting fire during the day was strictly prohibited to avoid smoke rising into the air. Even at night fire would be lit but covered to avoid aerial surveillance. It is in such times that the likes of Itongwa at one time threatened to defy the orders by breaking into the enemy defence in order to look for food.
On the contrary, the top leadership was living a confortable lifestyle. The little that would be available would be preserved for the top leadership. They ate chicken, sugar, plenty of salt, bananas, milk, and boose. While the ordinary fighters would be almost completely naked, the top leadership had heaps of clothes and foot wear. Every nice item charged (military slang language for forcefuly acquiring the possessions of a captured, killed or fleeing enemy) would have to be surrendered to the top leadership. In the case of NRA it also involved charging from the homes of civilians who had fled the war. Even the newly joined recruits would have to loose their personal posessions to the commanders. The top leadership had the opportunity to link with the outside world whereby they could replenish their basic requirements. While the ordinarary soldiers lacked a piece of blanket, top leaders would pile blankets to the bed size. Some had the privillege of getting specialised medical attention from Kampala and Nairobi. Some had house wives or sex slaves and were able to produce children. They all kept fighters turned house keepers at their residences for washing, cooking, and house keeping. That is what John Kazoora was doing at Kigongo's residence. Theforore the biterness in the eyes of the forgotten NRA veterans is in memory of such experhence.
Such kind of 'Animal Farm' situation became a wide cause of concern within the rank and file of the NRA. Museveni responded by arguing that "it was paramount to maintain a healthy command structure". He went further to decree that whoever rised such an issue again would face charges of inciting a mutiny. The current extravagancy, corruption, theft and misuse of puclic resouces by Museveni and his ruling clique has its roots in the bush days and is meant to 'maintain a healthy command structure'. Life continued the hardest way and some fighters even deserted though it was sucidal to do so.
Amidist those appalling hardships, around 1983 Museveni made a decision for all the civilians to leave the NRA hideouts. Among those civilians were the now Kanyaryeru war veterans and the teenage sex slaves of former Masulita secondary school. These young girls were left to find their way. Some like those who were pregnant were hidden in Kampala. Those who made it to Tooro were picked up by local NASA officials, interrogated but not tortured and allowed to resume school. If it had been the present Museveni regime, such girls would have been subjected to gruesome torture in Safe Houses (secret torture chambers). Such humanitarian gesture is part of the reasons Museveni always describes the UPC as having been week. However, the lives of these teenagers had been raptured beyond repair.
The above mentioned hardships and internal ethinic divisions coupled by the presure from the UNLA, the cohesion and survival of NRA was in balance. To resolve the imphase, Museveni convened a crisis meeting of top leadership. The question of whether the NRA should talk to the UPC government or not. The meeting got divided along those for and thore against. Museveni together with the Himas and the Rwandese were aginst but the voices of those for were louder. Katabarwa had been the most vocal of the pro-talks group. Museveni adjourned the meeting without reaching a decision. When he reconnvened it hours later, he simply announced that it was Sam Katabarwa who was to proceed to Kampala and make contact with the UPC government. Katabarwa intended to start by contacting Lt. Namiti Kagata who was UNLA's Director of Legal Services. Before he left, Museveni instructed him to contact Kintu Musoke and Bidandi Sali who and ask them to link him to Namiti. Museveni wanted to keep track of his movement for a trap. The two politicians shunned Katabarwa and he decided to go it alone. In between, he was arrested but he delivered the message and the government gave him a response to deliver to the NRA. On the way back he was waylaid, killed and burried by the NRA. Those against took the day.
On the contrary, the top leadership was living a confortable lifestyle. The little that would be available would be preserved for the top leadership. They ate chicken, sugar, plenty of salt, bananas, milk, and boose. While the ordinary fighters would be almost completely naked, the top leadership had heaps of clothes and foot wear. Every nice item charged (military slang language for forcefuly acquiring the possessions of a captured, killed or fleeing enemy) would have to be surrendered to the top leadership. In the case of NRA it also involved charging from the homes of civilians who had fled the war. Even the newly joined recruits would have to loose their personal posessions to the commanders. The top leadership had the opportunity to link with the outside world whereby they could replenish their basic requirements. While the ordinarary soldiers lacked a piece of blanket, top leaders would pile blankets to the bed size. Some had the privillege of getting specialised medical attention from Kampala and Nairobi. Some had house wives or sex slaves and were able to produce children. They all kept fighters turned house keepers at their residences for washing, cooking, and house keeping. That is what John Kazoora was doing at Kigongo's residence. Theforore the biterness in the eyes of the forgotten NRA veterans is in memory of such experhence.
Such kind of 'Animal Farm' situation became a wide cause of concern within the rank and file of the NRA. Museveni responded by arguing that "it was paramount to maintain a healthy command structure". He went further to decree that whoever rised such an issue again would face charges of inciting a mutiny. The current extravagancy, corruption, theft and misuse of puclic resouces by Museveni and his ruling clique has its roots in the bush days and is meant to 'maintain a healthy command structure'. Life continued the hardest way and some fighters even deserted though it was sucidal to do so.
Amidist those appalling hardships, around 1983 Museveni made a decision for all the civilians to leave the NRA hideouts. Among those civilians were the now Kanyaryeru war veterans and the teenage sex slaves of former Masulita secondary school. These young girls were left to find their way. Some like those who were pregnant were hidden in Kampala. Those who made it to Tooro were picked up by local NASA officials, interrogated but not tortured and allowed to resume school. If it had been the present Museveni regime, such girls would have been subjected to gruesome torture in Safe Houses (secret torture chambers). Such humanitarian gesture is part of the reasons Museveni always describes the UPC as having been week. However, the lives of these teenagers had been raptured beyond repair.
The above mentioned hardships and internal ethinic divisions coupled by the presure from the UNLA, the cohesion and survival of NRA was in balance. To resolve the imphase, Museveni convened a crisis meeting of top leadership. The question of whether the NRA should talk to the UPC government or not. The meeting got divided along those for and thore against. Museveni together with the Himas and the Rwandese were aginst but the voices of those for were louder. Katabarwa had been the most vocal of the pro-talks group. Museveni adjourned the meeting without reaching a decision. When he reconnvened it hours later, he simply announced that it was Sam Katabarwa who was to proceed to Kampala and make contact with the UPC government. Katabarwa intended to start by contacting Lt. Namiti Kagata who was UNLA's Director of Legal Services. Before he left, Museveni instructed him to contact Kintu Musoke and Bidandi Sali who and ask them to link him to Namiti. Museveni wanted to keep track of his movement for a trap. The two politicians shunned Katabarwa and he decided to go it alone. In between, he was arrested but he delivered the message and the government gave him a response to deliver to the NRA. On the way back he was waylaid, killed and burried by the NRA. Those against took the day.
Posted by Uganda - A Change of Guards! a
Viele GruBe
Robukui
0 comments:
Post a Comment