{UAH} "Crisis of cofidence in Uganda" by Kirunda M.Kivejinja.Review Part-II

Book Review: UGANDA 'Crisis of Confidence'

Preamble: Some people have said that 'The trouble with history is not that it repeats itself but that people repeat historical mistakes'. The work titled as above by a brilliant son of Uganda, Hajji Ally Muwabe KK proves this well especially on the eve of the repetition of a costly (in money, man-hours and later, in lives) a country-wide stage-managed, inevitably cataclysmic, political circus culminating in the staging, at Gulu, exactly 40 years ago in, in 1964, a conspiracy/coup against a single individual, biologically different from today's person but holder of the same office as that causing turmoil here today.

Though it had been cooking for years in advance of Gulu, it is this 1964 'theatre' act that set Uganda's management of politics on a nosedive to calamity, starting with infighting between the putschists themselves that became hot by the incarceration of some soon and blood-letting a year later, in 1966, thus opening the way for 'swine regimes' and a 'genocide' only 7 years later, in 1971.

 Comparison of Pece 1964 Vs Namboole 2914:                                                                             At Pece in 1964, the delegates shouted KAKONGE NA OBOTE, and this made it harder for the anti-Secretary General conspirators to execute their plans as originally laid out. They had to resort to a 'Plan B'. While no one will be let in capable of sloganeering: 'MBABAZI NA MUSEVENI' at Namboole, come 15^th December,  this does not rob this book of its immense significance as we move to Namboole stadium, 50 years on, after Pece stadium for action on the same party-post, same power struggle.

Old wines, new Skins.

When the reader goes beyond the subsequent series of 'Book Reviews' and then gets courage and luck to go back to the archives and delves into this prophetic piece of effort, the question that may come to mind is, '...are we back to Swine times?'- an interesting question because, some members of the 1964 cast, like Idi Amini's Finance Minister, now a General, the then youthful Kintu Musoke that threw punches for the UPC Buganda Regional office [at Radiant House,20  Kampala Rd], the Hoima octogenarian that has been at his desk since 1958 and was Amini's MD of the Peoples' Bank [UBC] in 1974 and has been deputy to today's focus and target of machinations plus, the author himself, who was among the youth expelled from the party in advent and wake of the Namboole sorry, the Gulu delegates conference for siding with the 'hated' Party SG from their days together  in India in the late 50's, etc.

 All these men are, once again, deep today's dress 'Theatre rehearsal' for the same act and play as was the case exactly 50 years back. Talk of History repeating itself!  Other individuals, e.g. the juvenile propaganda bullhorn and heckler-in-chief Anite (reportedly hailing from south Sudan), Todwong, Tumwebaze and other juvenile cheerleaders are simply marionettes, not in the know of what they are up to or where this may lead the country.

Forward to today: The King's men-Yesterday, Today, Forever.

The book makes interesting reading, especially regarding the similar categories of 'delegate sieving' bulldozers and enablers at Gulu in '64 and at Namboole in '14. Replace WWII veteran Sergeant  Kadhumbula with General Jim   and you have the same militarised politicians stage-managing a similar situation the same way, for similar goals and  similar desired results with one exception: while the 'game changers in '64 were bussed or rather  'railed' into Pece stadium in cattle and sugar-cane rail cars (in cattle and sugar-cane railway wagons... for the 350 mile journey, p.52), they almost spoilt the party, when, towards zero hour, they started shouting, like the other multitudes, 'KAKONGE NA OBOTE', 2014 target MBABAZI,  might not receive no standing ovations at Namboole. Why not? While Obote could sit at the DC's residence [p.52] monitoring conference events from a far, Nyarwino [soldier ant] Museveni cannot let his intimidating presence be missed for a second.

At Gulu in 1964, when the unwanted man's popularity became too much, "Word was sent immediately to the Commander-in-Chief: What is at the conference is unbelievable. Even the air around (the conference) is smelling Kakonge! [p.54] . One level headed delegate  among the schemers, noting Kakonge's popularity, suggested, "Let's leave the boy alone"  the answer from the pretender to the SG post, Ibingira, was clear, "If we allow Kakonge {read Mbabazi} to continue for another year as Secretary General, ....we shall end up only carrying flags ....and they, controlling every arm of Government! [p.55].

Plan B had to be switched on: the conspirators 'agreed to nullify all credentials ....and issue new ones so that those likely to vote for Kakonge would be locked out of the conference'.

 'A plane was ordered and Balaki Kirya proceeded to Entebbe , to the  government printer, Entebbe where new delegate's cards were presented. Special Force [what is Kawesi's called?] was deployed at the conference with powers to 'discipline trouble makers' [then Kakonge's,  today Mbabazi's boys-Reviewer's italics]. Reading further down the page, one learns that "These new credential were distributed to "special delegates" whose main task was to vote Kakonge out of the Secretary general's post. Note that, 50 years later, at Namboole, this same goal is being achieved through the back door. 'hold a conference to abolish the post of SG', with the obvious results. [Note: This however is tantamount to a coup against the current SG because he was elected for a 5 year term and this term has not ended. You can't change rules simply because they have bothered you-that is the purpose of rules, to be followed and to inconvenience law breakers-Reviewer].

Eye witness and participant Kivenjinja goes on, on the same page, (p.55) to predict what will probably not happen directly at Namboole, come 15^th December, but is already happening at the delegate 'sources' or grass-root party organisations, thanks to the RDC's and NRM militia and cadres in masquerading as 'Police'. The author narrates further: " The next (conference) day, the "Special Delegates" did their job. The majority of the original U.P.C. delegates who were known to be Kakonge's supporters were locked out of the conference....".  Kakonge was narrowly defeated. Ibingira replaced Kakonge as Secretary General. What is very intriguing, if not very curious to the reader, is the author's prediction, in the next sentence, capitalised here, of what would happen at Namboole exactly 50 years later. Please read on: " "The task was done. THE CONFERENCE THUS CLEARLY SET THE PATTERN FOR EVENTS TO FOLLOW ON THE NATIONAL SCENE...".

In otherwords, the organisers of the impending NRM 'coup conference' are following  rule-books of the U.P.C. swine regime, meaning, they are good students of Obote.

Opinion: Mbabazi and his suspected supporters will be edged out, by 'abolition of office', as Mitala would advice or, as the Civil Service rule- book tells us. Whether he will be allowed to finish his term on 'katebe' to avoid the  'palace coup' scenario being as obvious as it is unconstitutional and avoiding split is another question, depending on the strength of his support and on whether he stubbornly decides to remain in another, parallel NRM, whether a shadow one, or mainstream.

Review preamble by:

Christopher Muwanga,

Nakasero, Kampala.

Note: The angle of the above introduction will not colour the following and subsequent series of the book review -Reviewer.