{UAH} IS DEATH THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SSEJUSA AND KAREGEYA?

IS DEATH THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SSEJUSA AND KAREGEYA?

INTRODUCTION
Gen. David Ssejusa and Col.Patrick Karegeya were at the helm of intelligence services of Uganda and Rwanda respectively. They both fell out with their respective Presidents and fled to exile. In exile, they both publicly declared their intentions to dislodge their respective Presidents by force of arms. Col. Karegeya was murdered in South Africa while Gen. Ssejusa still lives in exile in London.

ACADEMIC
They both studied law at Makerere University. Karegeya did not do the Post Graduate Diploma in legal practice and thus was not an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda. On his part Ssejusa much later on did a Post Graduate Diploma in legal practice and is an enrolled Advocate of the High Court of Uganda. 

ASSOCIATION WITH MUSEVENI
After the ouster of Iddi Amin, Ssejusa joined the national police. He was arrested with arms while deserting to join Museveni's NRA guerrillas.  He daringly escaped from Jinja Road Police Station and fled to the NRA in the bush. On his part, Karegeya was also arrested while heading to the bush to join Museveni"s NRA. He was detained without trial in Luzira Prison for years only to be released by the military junta around 1985. He straight away headed for Museveni's NRA in the bush.

 INTELLIGENCE SERVICES
During Museveni's bush war Ssejusa was the first Director General of Intelligence and Security (DGISO) with Jim Muhweezi as his deputy. Around 1984 he disagreed with Museveni and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for insubordination that he completed around late 1985. He did not resume serving the intelligence services till a few years ago when Museveni appointed his as the coordinator of Intelligence Services - a position he held till he fled to exile in 2013. This position was controversial in that it was just a smokescreen meant to hoodwink Ssejusa and the public. On the contrary, he was rendered inactive (Katebe) and was instead being monitored by Museveni's intelligence services. 

For his part, upon taking over power by Museveni Karegeya became a Sergent and served as an Aide de Camp (ADC) to the then DMI Mugisha Muntu at Basiima House. Later he became a Lieutenant and headed DMI's counter intelligence department when Paul Kagame was a Major and head of Personnel Administration and FINANCE in the same department.When the Rwandese refugees were deserting the NRA to invade Rwanda, Karegeya was moved to the Anti-smuggling unit in Uganda. He played a crucial role in mobilising resources and coordinating RPF's external operations. When the RPF took over power in Rwanda, Karegeya moved to Rwanda where he headed the countries' External Intelligence/External Security.

COMMAND CAPABILITIES
Ssejusa actively fought the five years guerrilla war. He proved beyond doubt that he is a capable commander and leader. He was severely injured but survived death upon treatment by Dr. Kiiza Besigye. He is the only commander who would OPENLY disagree with Museveni and he came out of the bush alive. During the final battles for taking over government, he commanded the Kyenjoja, Hoima, Masindi axis that made his forces to take over northern Uganda. Shortly after he was assigned to command the 163rd Brigade based in Kampala that was in charge of the peaceful central and western regions. When formal ranks were introduced, he was one of the four Brigadiers and above him was only Fred Rwigyema, Salim Saleh and Museveni. Later on Museveni removed him from command positions and made him a Minister of State for Defence. As a Minister, he physically commanded the anti-LRA operations in northern Uganda before Museveni recalled him and relieved him of the Ministerial position. He missed out on advanced military command courses but instead Museveni kept promoting him. He can only plan a modern war basing on his natural intelligence.

On his part, Karegeya never got any exposure to either military command training or positions. Throughout his military service he served under intelligence though with little or no training in the same field.

CLOSENESS TO THEIR COMMANDERS IN CHIEF
Right from the bush days, Museveni treated Ssejusa with suspicion. Much of the unsubstantiated intelligence indicated that Ssejusa harbored Presidential ambitions. Following the death of the NRM chairman Prof. Yusuf Lule and the fall of Kampala, the High Command and NRC convened to elect a successor and Ssejusa presented himself as an alternative against Museveni. Museveni took the day and has held that office for the last 28 years. His detention in the bush, left out out of the final onslaught on Kampala, being appointed Minister, relieved from the anti-LRA operations, deliberate denial of advanced military training, rendering him redundant for years, fake appointment as Coordinator of Intelligence services etc were all  
aimed at taming his influence in the military. He lost his closeness to Museven over two decades ago and it cost him the failure to realise his full potential.

Karegeya served his Commander in Chief deligently. As head of external intelligence for a decade when the Kigali's regime had most of its enemies based out side the country, Karegeya played a vital role in diffusing and taming the explosion of an ugly situation. He was seen as Kagame's right hand man both inside Rwanda and internationally. With no viable command experience, Karegeya had no appetite for military ranks and command positions. He looked contented with intelligence and security docket. He was a major architect of Rwanda's external policy. During the ugly Uganda/Rwanda sour relations Karegeya played a central role. To Museveni and company, Karegeya was the 'bad boy'. His being relieved of the security docket and appointment as the army spokesman came as a big surprise not only to himself but to the global military community. His subsequent court martial, demotion and dismissal equally came as a bigger surprise.

CAPACITY TO MOBILISE AGAINST
Ssejusa ia an accomplished military leader and field commander. He a political mobiliser, intellectual but with less external connections courtesy of Museveni's deliberate decades of grounding. Karegeya was a political mobiliser and had mastered the art of spying. He had immense connections within Rwandas intelligence and military command structures, the region and global intelligence community. Over time, Museveni has been trying to sideline/phase out Ssejusa's military loyalists. With SFG at the helm of vital military installations, Ssejusa has to double his efforts and use his extra gray matter.
The political terrain in both countries is far different. Ssejusa came to the scene when the situation in Uganda is ripe for regime change. The helpless masses have lost all hope of peaceful regime change. The oppressive regime is fully aware of this and is vigorously building capacity to deal with any form of armed opposition. Ssejusa unequivocally stated what oppressed Ugandans wanted to hear - war. 
Karegeya went into opposition when the opposition in Rwanda was ethinic. Hutus in exile (genocidoers) and the ruling Tutsis. Karegeya initiated contact with the pro-Hutu FDRL and Kigali had cause to worry. Karegeya used his vast experience to moblise both within Rwanda's security apparatus and regional intelligence community. 

WHY ASSASSINATE KAREGEYA?
Karegeya's capacity to penetrate Rwanda's security services and the military command structure, his networking with the regional intelligence community and linkage with the pro-Hutu FDRL gave him a unique quality that posed a real threat to Kagame. His elimination (assassination) was a big victory forKigali.

CAN SSEJUSA BE ASSASSINATED?
Some circles CREDIT Museveni for not assassinating his political opponents. For Museveni, his real political base is the military and his real political opponents are those who tend to penetrate that constituency. He has repeatedly stated thus "who ever interferes with my army, I will send him six feet deep (grave)". In the bush whoever tried to challenge his authority never survived. The final nail on his rival UFM was when he murdered its leader AndrewKayiira. Former Obote II senior Intelligence
manager, Amon Baziira established bases in Nairobi and set up NALU with forward bases in the Rwenzori mountain. Museveni assassinated him from Kenya's State Lodge where he resided as a guest of the government. Ssejusa, given his background and plans is a real threat to Museveni. Ssejusa threatens to divide loyalty among the Hima dominated strategic command positions in the army. He represents hope for members of the military and ruling party who have not stolen public resources, the limping opposition and the frustrated masses. Already, for the first time some Hima army officers are facing charges of treason/subversion before the court martial with links to Gen. Ssejusa. It is this development that has prompted Banyarwanda to be flocking into Museveni's SFG courtesy of Kayiyura and Aronda. Museveni has publicly stated thus "....he know my ADDRESS. We have been waiting for him ...". Doesn't Museveni long to know Ssejusa's ADDRESS or his intelligence is failing him again!!! 
Unlike, Karegeya who later reconciled with Museveni and company and enjoyed behind the scenes close collaboration with them while he was  in exile, Ssejusa has very ugly relations with Rwanda. In fact Kagame cant afford to have Ssejusa in authority in Uganda in whatever top capacity. The differences are just historical right from the bush days. Therefore, unlike Karegeya, an assassination of Ssejusa would be in the best INTERESTS of both Museveni and Kagame. 

THE POWER OF INTELLIGENCE
Allover, intelligence is a vital component of any government. In democratic societies intelligence organisations run governments behind the scenes. In dictatorships, intelligence plays a vital role in sustaining dictatorship. It is the intelligence and the army that covered up for Egypt's Mubarak before the masses realised that they had been duped. It is his intelligence chief who was very close to Museveni's security machinery that is now the president and this week Egypt has announced plans of establishing a military office in Kampala separate from the embassy!!! Where some governments decide to help dissidents, its the intelligence agencies that take the lead. Intelligence officers are expected to have 100% loyalty to the government of the day. It is intelligence that directs all military operations and determines their failure and success. The rule of the game is that where an intelligence officer expresses political dissent or falls out with the system he is eliminated (killed) by any extra judicial means. A system may accomodate the defection of a military General but not an intelligence officer. That is why the likes of Amon Baziira, Rwanda's Col Karegeya and Joel Mutabazi had to be dealt with in exile. When former intelligence officers opt to dissident activities, their capability of interpreting situations and planning of their activities is rather advanced. Of course an intelligence officer must be intelligent but not all intelligence officers are intelligent. Actually of all people who serve under intelligence agencies, very few become intelligence officers. Intelligence operations involves some element of criminality. This is what knocks off former DMI and now leader of opposition Mugisha Muntu. He is too much of an honest gentleman to APPLY his intelligence experience tough he is intelligent and Museveni knows this. Museveni has his background in intelligence services. Museveni has been very clever not to breed career intelligence officers. One can accurately say that Museveni uses party cadres as intelligence officers. It is this experience that has helped him to gain and retain power by hook or crook. He has survived several military onslaughts because the those fighting him lacked the intelligence input.

Therefore both Ssejusa and Karegeya went into opposition with the right tools necessary to dislodge a military dictatorship. The later is dead and his organisation is suffering a set back but a relief to Kigali. The former is actively in exile and Kampalais not at ease. Doesn't Musevene need sleep?

INFORMATION IS POWER

Posted by Uganda - A Change of Guards! a

Viele GruBe

Robukui

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