{UAH} WHY MUSEVENI FEARS KILLING PEACEFUL ELECTION PROTESTERS
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WHY MUSEVENI FEARS KILLING PEACEFUL ELECTION PROTESTERS
Though Uganda's military dictator , Museveni has a track record of brutally suppressing and killing peaceful protesters, its not possible now to do the same against election protesters.
In 1979 after the overthrow of Iddi Amin, when Prof. Yusuf Luke was the President, Museveni was the Minister of Defence. When Museveni conspired with other to overthrow Prof. Lule - hardly six months in office, Ugandans came out on the streets to protest under the slogan 'Twagala Lule, We want Lule). The new President Godfrey Binaisa and the Tanzanian army Commanders refused to give orders for shooting at protesters. Minister of Defence, Museveni who has a personal faction (FRONASA) of the national army (UNLF) took it upon himself to deploy troops who in turn killed, maimed, and arrested hundreds of protesters.
In 1991 he brutally suppressed protesting Muslims at the Old Kampala Mosque but the protesters were so organised and determined that the incident keft 04 Police officers and 04 Police dogs dead.
In 2002, Nuseveni brutally suppressed a UPC party peaceful protest leaving one Journalist, Jimmy Higenyi shot dead, scores of protesters injured.
In April 2007 about 1O00 protesters matching through the streets of Kampala city protesting Museveni's leasing of 7100 hectares (1/4) of Mabira Forest to sugarcane investors. The peaceful protesters were confronted by the Police and the Army who shot dead three people.
In September, 2009 the army and police blocked the King of Buganda from visiting Kayunga. His subjects peacefully protested but were confronted by heavily armed police and the army who were even using armored cars shot dead 14 people, 100 were injured, and 164 were arrested and detained.
In March, 2010 Buganda Kingdom's Kasubi Tombs went up in flames. Given the bad blood between Museveni and the kingdom at the time, Baganda subjects were suspicious that the fire had been started by the regime. They made attempts to block Museveni from visiting the scene by erecting barricades and booing him. In the ensuing scuffle, his elite guards (SFC) shot dead three people.
In April 2011, during the Walk to Work protests, security forces shot dead five people including a two year old baby who had bulkets lodged in its head and ches, dozens were injured and hundreds arested. The protest was organised by civil society grouos under the umbrella of Activists for Change. They were protesting against soaring fuel and food prices that had been prompted by the regime's lack of fiscal discipline during the 2011 electoral process, the acquisition of fighter jets at $740M, spending $350M on Museveni's campaigns, spending $1.3M on his swearing in ceremony, etc. Inflation had soared from 6% to 11% and frustration over poor social service delivery of boiling.
In 2012 he brutally suppressed protesting Muslims of the Kibuli faction after they were intercepted at Clock Tower in Kampala. At Old Kampala main mosque, Military Police fired live bullets to disperse protesters. The Muslims were protesting leadership wrangles orchestrated by Museveni.
All the above incidents of killing peaceful protesters arose from matters that could be classified as having arisen from factional internal social discontents and not national politics that have regional and international impact. They took place at a time when the international community still had a false image of Musevebi. Also, at the time Ugandans still had a false hope in Museveni. The just concluded sham electoral process has taken place at a time when Ugandans have woken up to the reality that Museveni has been holding them hostage. That is why they could nolonger be intimidated and bribed but instead they turned up in big numbers and voted him out. The rigging of the polls and excessive use of force has exposed his dictatorship and brutality to the international community. He has always thrived on manipulating situations so as to create for himself a false image of a liberator and peacemaker.
He very well knew that he would miserably loose at the polls as had always been the case but was worried over the level of vigilance among the pro-change Ugandans following an effective mobilisation mobilisation by the opposition. He was also convinced that the masses would come out to physically protest his rigging. Therefore, because by nature he is power hungry, he had no alternative but to deploy his security forces at every corner of the country in order to scare off the would be protesters. Those security personnel that are armed to the teeth and patrolling key areas of the country can not shoot any single peaceful protester other than scaring them off with combat attires, battle vehicles, water canons and teargas. The highest they can go is to shoot rubber bullets at victims and live bullets in the air. This is because his security officers have been pestering him without definite answers on the question of criminal responsibility in the event of political killings. Museveni so much fears adding another count on the ICC charge sheet on top of those already in place. That is why he has of recent been decampaigning the ICC and spearheading the push for African countries to pull out of the ICC. For the same reasons he has been sending envoys to Dr. Besigye so as to lure him into dropping his claim on victory in return for a negotiated settlement. In the same regard, Museveni felt a sigh of relief when former Presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the election results as in his estimates he thinks the court process will divert public opinion while at the sometime cooling down tampers of the pro change Ugandans. He hopes to use the court petition to legitimize his fraudulent victory and hold on power.
Therefore, this is the first time Museveni has come under threat of protests challenging his hold on power. If well organised, he would simply run away rather than killing Ugandans and then risking being taken to the Hague before the ICC.
INFORMATION IS POWER.
In 1979 after the overthrow of Iddi Amin, when Prof. Yusuf Luke was the President, Museveni was the Minister of Defence. When Museveni conspired with other to overthrow Prof. Lule - hardly six months in office, Ugandans came out on the streets to protest under the slogan 'Twagala Lule, We want Lule). The new President Godfrey Binaisa and the Tanzanian army Commanders refused to give orders for shooting at protesters. Minister of Defence, Museveni who has a personal faction (FRONASA) of the national army (UNLF) took it upon himself to deploy troops who in turn killed, maimed, and arrested hundreds of protesters.
In 1991 he brutally suppressed protesting Muslims at the Old Kampala Mosque but the protesters were so organised and determined that the incident keft 04 Police officers and 04 Police dogs dead.
In 2002, Nuseveni brutally suppressed a UPC party peaceful protest leaving one Journalist, Jimmy Higenyi shot dead, scores of protesters injured.
In April 2007 about 1O00 protesters matching through the streets of Kampala city protesting Museveni's leasing of 7100 hectares (1/4) of Mabira Forest to sugarcane investors. The peaceful protesters were confronted by the Police and the Army who shot dead three people.
In September, 2009 the army and police blocked the King of Buganda from visiting Kayunga. His subjects peacefully protested but were confronted by heavily armed police and the army who were even using armored cars shot dead 14 people, 100 were injured, and 164 were arrested and detained.
In March, 2010 Buganda Kingdom's Kasubi Tombs went up in flames. Given the bad blood between Museveni and the kingdom at the time, Baganda subjects were suspicious that the fire had been started by the regime. They made attempts to block Museveni from visiting the scene by erecting barricades and booing him. In the ensuing scuffle, his elite guards (SFC) shot dead three people.
In April 2011, during the Walk to Work protests, security forces shot dead five people including a two year old baby who had bulkets lodged in its head and ches, dozens were injured and hundreds arested. The protest was organised by civil society grouos under the umbrella of Activists for Change. They were protesting against soaring fuel and food prices that had been prompted by the regime's lack of fiscal discipline during the 2011 electoral process, the acquisition of fighter jets at $740M, spending $350M on Museveni's campaigns, spending $1.3M on his swearing in ceremony, etc. Inflation had soared from 6% to 11% and frustration over poor social service delivery of boiling.
In 2012 he brutally suppressed protesting Muslims of the Kibuli faction after they were intercepted at Clock Tower in Kampala. At Old Kampala main mosque, Military Police fired live bullets to disperse protesters. The Muslims were protesting leadership wrangles orchestrated by Museveni.
All the above incidents of killing peaceful protesters arose from matters that could be classified as having arisen from factional internal social discontents and not national politics that have regional and international impact. They took place at a time when the international community still had a false image of Musevebi. Also, at the time Ugandans still had a false hope in Museveni. The just concluded sham electoral process has taken place at a time when Ugandans have woken up to the reality that Museveni has been holding them hostage. That is why they could nolonger be intimidated and bribed but instead they turned up in big numbers and voted him out. The rigging of the polls and excessive use of force has exposed his dictatorship and brutality to the international community. He has always thrived on manipulating situations so as to create for himself a false image of a liberator and peacemaker.
He very well knew that he would miserably loose at the polls as had always been the case but was worried over the level of vigilance among the pro-change Ugandans following an effective mobilisation mobilisation by the opposition. He was also convinced that the masses would come out to physically protest his rigging. Therefore, because by nature he is power hungry, he had no alternative but to deploy his security forces at every corner of the country in order to scare off the would be protesters. Those security personnel that are armed to the teeth and patrolling key areas of the country can not shoot any single peaceful protester other than scaring them off with combat attires, battle vehicles, water canons and teargas. The highest they can go is to shoot rubber bullets at victims and live bullets in the air. This is because his security officers have been pestering him without definite answers on the question of criminal responsibility in the event of political killings. Museveni so much fears adding another count on the ICC charge sheet on top of those already in place. That is why he has of recent been decampaigning the ICC and spearheading the push for African countries to pull out of the ICC. For the same reasons he has been sending envoys to Dr. Besigye so as to lure him into dropping his claim on victory in return for a negotiated settlement. In the same regard, Museveni felt a sigh of relief when former Presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the election results as in his estimates he thinks the court process will divert public opinion while at the sometime cooling down tampers of the pro change Ugandans. He hopes to use the court petition to legitimize his fraudulent victory and hold on power.
Therefore, this is the first time Museveni has come under threat of protests challenging his hold on power. If well organised, he would simply run away rather than killing Ugandans and then risking being taken to the Hague before the ICC.
INFORMATION IS POWER.
Posted by Uganda - A Change of Guards! a
Viele GruBe
Robukui
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