{UAH} THE MUSEVENI BUSH WAR ONLY BENEFITED TUTSI WHO RECLAIMED RWANDA

THE MUSEVENI BUSH WAR ONLY BENEFITED TUTSI WHO RECLAIMED RWANDA

The events of 1959 - 1964 in Rwanda led to a mass exodus of Tutsi from Rwanda to neighbouring countries. Uganda received about 100,000  Rwandese which was half of the total number of Tutsi who fled Rwanda at the time. Among those who were hosted in Uganda was the deposed Tutsi King Kigeri. Between 1962 and 1966 seven refugee camps were set up in western Uganda. Between 1961 and 1966 exiled Rwandese Tutsi made several futile attempts to invade Rwanda from Burundi, Congo and Uganda and regain power. In Uganda, many Rwandese Tutsi refugees left camps on their own and integrated into local communities. This integration process was made easier by the following factors:-
-   the existence of about 450,000 Ugandan Banyarwanda who were descendants of Rwandan communities who found themselves in Uganda as a result of the colonial partitioning of 1918. A pre 1959 census had showed that Banyarwanda were the sixth biggest ethnic group after Baganda, Iteso, Banyankore, Basoga and Bakiga. 
-   the existence of about 650,000 economicIMMIGRANTS from Rwanda who had come to Uganda as casual labourers.
-   their attractive physical appearance enables intermarriage with locals.

Different regimes in Uganda have used the Banyarwanda to advance their political interests. In the 1960s the UPC government with its Protestant bias in Ankole got suspicious that the predominantly catholic Banyarwanda would side with its rival DP. In this regard UPC organised a census for all indigenous Banyarwanda but before carrying it out the government was overthrown in 1971. The Iddi Amin regime made Banyarwanda a natural ally against the the ousted UPC and Obote in particular. Banyarwanda took up key strategic positions in civil and secret services.

In Tanzania among the exile groups that were opposing the Iddi Amin regime was Yoweri Museveni who formed the FRONASA. Under FRONASA, Museveni managed to assemble a small number of fighters alongside the main fighting group of Kikosi Maluum that was commanded by Col Tito Okello, David Oyite Ojok, Zedi Maruru and a few others. Among Museveni's FRONASA were some few Rwandese Tutsi refugees notably Fred Rwigyema. After crossing the border into Uganda, Museveni and his FRONASA embarked on a vigorous recruitment drive from Rwandese Tutsi camps. Notable among those recruited was Paul Kagame the current President of Rwanda.

When the post Iddi Amin government took steps to build a new national army is was agreed that non Ugandans should be excluded. The few who could be easily identified like Fred Rwigyema were excluded. Paul Kagame who at the time was attending an intelligence course in Tanzania was spared. Museveni who was the Minister of Defence and the leader of a faction (FRONASA) of the new army retained those who had been excluded as his private army. This was because he was planning to wage a sectarian war so that he gains the Presidency in Uganda and also help the Rwandese Tutsi to reclaim Rwanda.

When he took to the bush in 1981, he took with him a bulk of those Banyarwanda that he had retained in his private army. He chose to establish bases in the predominant Banyarwanda infested areas of Ngoma and Wakyato in Luwero district. Thereafter, many Banyarwanda flocked the bush to join Museveni's NRA. Obviously the UPC government got concerned because the development was inBREACH of the international convention on refugees. Some radical members of UPC attempted to move a motion in parliament seeking to expel the Rwandese refugees from Uganda but President Obote failed it. Instead radical UPC functionaries in Ankole took it upon themselves to harass, intimidate and expel Banyarwanda. It was not an official UPC policy and that is why the Banyarwanda outside Ankole were not affected.

By the time Museveni's NRA took over power in 1986, of the 20,000 of his fighters about 5,000 were Banyarwanda. Fred Rwigyema who had been the Acting Army Commander became the Deputy Army Commander and later Minister of State for Defence. Paul Kagame presided over the powerful Military Intelligence. Baingana was the Director of Medical Services in the NRA. Banyarwanda dominated most of the strategic positions in the army thus causing discontent among Ugandans. However, in order to protect the Banyarwanda, Museveni had during the bush war enacted a law in the draconian NRA code of conduct pertaining to 'sectarian grumbling'. When he took over power in 1986, the first law to be enacted by his government was the Anti-sectarian law whose purpose many Ugandans did not understand. The presence of and domination of Banyarwanda in the NRA was perceived by the other regions as an occupational force thus one of the reasons for the rebellion in northern and eastern Uganda.

In 1994 the Banyarwanda in Museveni's NRA invaded Rwanda. Rwandese Tutsi from the diaspora, Tanzania, Congo, and Burundi rallied behind the RPF to reclaim the Rwanda they hand lost in 1959. With Museveni's political and logisticalBACK UP the war took four years before culminating into the 1994 Rwanda Genocide and eventual capture of power by the the Tutsi led RPF. The Hutu government was toppled and sent into exile. Because Uganda was perceived as the God father of Tutsi RPF only 11,000 Rwandese Hutu fleeing the RPF advance entered Uganda in 1993 and were housed in Kisoro and Ntungamo before being relocated to Oruchinga refugee camp in Isingiro. In July 1994 Rwandese Tutsi ended the three decades of exile and regained their country. Their journey had started from Luwero in Uganda which was the cradle of the Bush War (the Museveni led five years guerrilla war against the UPC government). Those who wished to return to Rwanda did no and those who wished to take up dual citizenship (law enacted under Museveni) also did so and continue toEXERCISE their rights in ether country. 

For Ugandans, the Bush War was a Museveni disaster that led to deaths, destruction of property, reintroduction of military dictatorship, nepotism, gross human rights abuse, corruption, plunder of national resources and a life presidency. For the Rwandese Tutsi, Museveni was God-sent. 

It is for this matter therefore that it would be suicidal  for any serious plan to dislodge Museveni from power to ignore the stake of the Tutsi regime in Rwanda.  

 INFORMATION IS POWER 

Posted by Uganda - A Change of Guards! a

Viele GruBe

Robukui

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