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President Amin begs soldiers to end coup

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By Faustin Mugabe

Posted Sunday, July 19 2015 at 01:00

In Summary

Foiled coup. We continue from last Sunday with retired Captain Isaac Bakka's narration about the attempted coup to overthrow president Idi Amin. When Bakka took orders from Brig Charles Arube and Lt Col Elly Aseni, he set off from Kampala in his Italian-made Fiat Mirafiori on a 10-hour journey to Masindi, Arua, Gulu, Lira, Soroti, Mbale and Jinja garrisons to inform their trusted soldiers of the planned coup, writes Faustin Mugabe.

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"As I reached Kireka; listening to my car radio all along as I was driving, there was light music [from Radio Uganda] which we had put there.
Immediately that light music ceased, there was a special announcement. 'Here is Col Juma Oris with us in the studio,' the announcer said.
Then the minister of Information and Broadcasting said: 'This is Col Juma Oris, the loyal troops have gained control – reckless officers had attempted to disturb our peace and security, but they have been overpowered.'
'However, this is a special announcement: Col Elly Aseni, Captain John Maturima, 2nd Lt Isaac Bakka, Lt Mawa are still at large and are the principal planners and organisers of the chaos that has been witnessed in the capital city. Please, if seen shoot on sight if they resist arrest'.

When I received this on my car radio, I got mixed feelings. Should I proceed…? What do I do? I knew that the whole country had received that radio announcement. How will I know who is going to disobey that order and who is going to respond?
It was now time for me to take a tough decision. I decided to branch off (via what is now the Northern Bypass). I knew all the roads there. Going through Naalya and then I connected to Gayaza Road.
From Gayaza, I crossed over to Kawempe. From there through Kitetika, I connected to Kasubi, Rubigi. I went through those other villages up to Rubaga where I had a friend.

When I reached that friend, I had a phone there; I called the barracks [Malire at Mengo]. When I called, Capt Patrick Kimumwe, who was an adjutant [administrative assistant to a senior officer], picked the phone. He said, 'Muko things are dangerous; don't dare come here. All of you are wanted.'
I knew a certain sergeant at Malire. I told Kimumwe, 'I appreciate the information. Call me Sergeant Mathew Yumaah. I want to talk to him."
Bakka outwits Amin and survives death
When Sergeant Yumaah came on line, Bakka spoke to him in Lugbara. The intention was that Kimumwe, who hailed from Busoga, should not understand what Bakka was telling Yumaah.

I told Yumaah that this was a matter of life and death. And for me to escape death, Yumaah had to act. In a matter of seconds on the phone, I had convinced Yumaah. The sergeant was now ready to save his superior, and a friend.
I told Yumaah to put Capt Kimumwe at gunpoint and only allow him to speak to me on phone.
"I said this man [Kimumwe] is Amin's Muko [brother-in-law]. He is a brother to Wanume Kibedi [minister for Foreign Affairs] and he is a brother to Mama Mariam Amin [the president's official wife]," says Bakka.

His intension was to use Kimumwe as a bargaining chip. Bakka was convinced that if Kimumwe spoke to Amin, the president would act swiftly. Putting Kimumwe at gunpoint was to intimidate Amin to come to Malire Barracks. And it worked.
When the terrified Kimumwe communicated to Amin, he acted promptly. On phone, Bakka threatened violence.
"So I told him [Kimumwe] to call Amin to come to the barracks [Malire] within 15 minutes. And if he does not come in 15 minutes, I'm going to retaliate and broadcast a statement from another section of the radio," Bakka says.

"He [Amin] should not think that he alone knows about radio broadcasting. I am going to broadcast a statement that he recruited foreigners from Sudan, and he himself is a Congolese. I will mention that he used a team of foreigners to rule Uganda and we shall not accept that. And I will call Ugandans to rise up. I will call Ugandans in exile to rise up and say let us recapture our country from foreigners led by Amin.

'Fearless man'
Kimumwe knew Amin's signaller; immediately he wrote the message, Amin's signal operator received the message within seconds and gave it to the president. Amin immediately got on his jeep and came to the barracks.
That's where you could see that Amin was a fearless man. Other leaders would not have come. They would say, 'If I go there, these people will kill me.'

I told sergeant Yumaah to put 'our' soldiers on parade and if Amin comes they should not harm him. But instead tell soldiers to ask him about several deaths that had taken place and what he had done about them.
'Why are the Maleras top men in our army? How many Ugandan brigadiers are in the Sudanese army? How many Ugandans are generals in the Rwandan army, in the Congolese army and in the Kenyan army? All the neighbouring states had some men in our army.

You and Obote are responsible for this, because after the mutiny of 1964, in the recruitment, you took advantage to recruit foreigners who were paying allegiance to yourselves,' Yumaah said.
Amin was totally humbled. When I drove into the barracks, soldiers clapped. I went straight to where Amin was standing and saluted him.
He said: 'Lt what is it? I didn't know what was going on. Please, what do you want me to do to sort out things?'

The soldiers said 'we don't want all foreigners'. They had listed them and on top of the list was Lt Col Hussein Malera, the commanding officer of the Military Police, Ali Toweli, the head of the infamous security police, and Lt Col Isaac Maliyamungu, the staff officer in charge of training and all operations.
The soldiers said 'If you don't agree, we are dismissing these people right now. And they are considered dismissed by the resolution of the soldiers of the Malire Mechanised Specialised Regiment acting on behalf of the entire army. And all soldiers of the Uganda Army must adhere to this message'."

From the barracks, Amin changed character and tone. Bakka says Amin summoned Juma Oris to go to Radio Uganda and issue a new statement. The statement cancelled the shoot on sight order Amin had given to all soldiers.
According to Bakka: "The new statement said these officers [Bakka and others] had discovered a plot to overthrow the government by Malera and his colleagues, and Brig Arube was on his way to inform Amin when he died.

But as a senior officer, he [Arube] had already assigned these men [Bakka and others] to take action against those plotting to topple the government. The statement also said Arube had died trying to defend the sovereignty of Uganda."
Bakka says the announcement that come at Six O'clock on Radio Uganda said Arube did not kill himself, but died in the hands of foreigners whom they were trying to neutralise.

Lt Bakka is transferred to Gulu

Retired Captain Isaac Bakka during the interview recently. After the attempted coup against Amin, Bakka was transferred to Gulu where he stayed from 1974 until 1979. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA

After the attempted coup, Amin made some reforms in the army. For instance, Brig Hussein Malera was retired from the army with all the benefits and given a lorry to transport him back "home" to West Nile. Later, Lt Col Aseni returned from hiding and was taken to the Court Martial. However, the military tribunal was "not convinced beyond doubt" and Aseni was thus set free. He was later appointed to Russia as Uganda's ambassador.
Bakka was later transferred to Gulu where he stayed from 1974 until 1979 when the Tanzania-Uganda war broke out and he was sent to fight the invading forces. By that time Bakka had been promoted to Captain.

Sunday Monitor talked to retired Sergeant Steven Sempagala, a.k.a Kifulugunyu, who during the attempted coup was at Malire garrison and witnessed events as Amin came to address them.
Like retired Captain Bakka, Kifulugunyu says Amin came alone in a car he cannot remember. But what he recalls is that Amin came with his son, Moses Mwanga.

And when he arrived, he said in Swahili, "You wanted to kill me. Here I am, kill me."
In Luganda Kifulugunyu narrated: "Nzi jukila waliwo akasajja bakayita sergeant Steven Asekwa kekatutasa. Kagenda mumasho ga Amin nekakuba saluti nekagamba. Singa tubadde bakukuta, twandikukubye amasasi ngoyila wanno. Ffe tubadde twagala Malera ata abajjasi baffe."

Translation
Loosely translated as: "What I remember, there was a man called Sergeant Steven Asekwa who saved us. He went before Amin, saluted him and said, 'if we wanted to kill you we would have shot you as you were entering here.' We only wanted Malera who is killing soldiers."
Kifulugunyu recalls Sergeant Asekwa accusing Malera and other Sudanese for recruiting non-Ugandans into the armed forces.

Asked what Amin's reaction was, Kifulugunyu said: "Amin concurred with the soldiers and told them not be divided by the wrong characters within the army. Amin later transferred the Malire soldiers to Bombo Barracks."
Kifulugunyu joined the Uganda Army in 1964 and officially retired from the Uganda People's Defence Force in 2011.
Although Kifulugunyu does not remember Bakka, he knows John Maturima as one of the best tank commanders at Malire.

Moses Ocen Nekyon

Democracy is two Wolves and a Lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed Lamb disputing the results.

Benjamin Franklin

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