{UAH} Ben Kiwanuka predicted the destruction of Mengo – wife - Daily Monitor
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Ben Kiwanuka predicted the destruction of Mengo – wife
Where did you meet your husband?
We met at Villa Maria parish, Masaka District. This was way back in 1946 when I was studying and he had just returned from a brief service in the World War II where he fought in Jerusalem, the Holy land. We got married in 1947 when my husband was working in the Uganda High Court.
How many children did you have?
We had 11 but one died in a fatal accident. In 1952, we proceeded to London where we spent four years while my husband completed his law studies and was called to the bar at Grays Inn. We returned to Uganda in 1956. On returning home, my husband set up a law firm and that very year, he was also elected the leader of the Democratic Party.
Did you like idea of your husband entering active politics?
Yes, I did. It offered my husband the opportunity to play a leading role in Uganda's independence struggle that ultimately led this country to self rule.
When the DP won Uganda's first direct elections in 1958, were you surprised?
As everybody knows, there are winners or losers. I was naturally surprised.
How did you feel about Mengo antagonism before and after that election?
I became really worried for my husband. I advised him to quit politics since we were not short of other means to make money and a name. I thought the political hostility by the Mengo clique was misplaced and unjustified. But he said he had a mission to fulfill. He could not let down the people who had put such great trust in him, and he had to see the challenge through.
How did you feel when he became Uganda's first chief minister and then first prime minister?
I was very much excited. We were then riding the crest of popularity except, of course with the Mengo establishment and the people who had been misguided by it. But we knew the whole thing was based on religion, coupled with the fear on the part of the traditionalists of the wind of change which came with party politics and which posed a real threat to their entrenched interests.
Was Mengo hostility so serious?
It certainly must have been. Otherwise there wouldn't have been the need to form Kabaka Yekka when a Muganda was in power. Then there was the castigation and all the swearing by Mengo people to the effect that they would "rather be ruled by a dog than a Roman Catholic". There was a deliberate political plot nurtured on religious differences against my husband, otherwise it was unthinkable for Mengo to form an alliance with [Milton] Obote which gave birth to the UPC-KY alliance which ended up an unmitigated disaster.
Why do you say "unmitigated disaster"?
Well, we probably would not have had [Idi] Amin and what followed if it was not for that alliance.
Was the dislike by Mengo people of your husband due to political or religious reasons?
I think both, although the religious hostility was particularly crucial and served as fuel for the Mengo campaign against my husband. Political differences were used as merely as excuse to cover up a deep seated religious plot. This partly explains why Obote, a Protestant was preferred although he was not a Muganda.
How then do you explain the membership of Catholics in KY?
Two main reasons. Catholics who formed the leadership of KY were either doing so in their own interest as traditionalists or feudalists or out of sheer ignorance about the real motives behind KY. Secondly, the rank and file members of KY joined the party either as a sign of loyalty to the Kabaka or again because of ignorance.
Did you ever grow used to the developments as they evolved?
Far from it, there was a sense of resentment and fear. Although my husband never showed any signs of giving up; I was quite disturbed. All the time I remembered the troubles in Kenya resulting from Mau Mau activities and I also remembered the troubles in Egypt during the overthrow of king Farouk.
How did you relate the overthrow of king Farouk of Egypt with what was happening in Uganda?
The overthrow of king Farouk in Egypt was particularly relevant. I knew my husband's proposal for a constitutional monarchy under a federal constitution would cause problems because the Mengo people wanted the Kabaka to have unlimited powers and privileges and an unchallenged claim to divine right. But considering what happened as a result of the republican constitution introduced by Obote, my husband constitutional proposals for Mengo were most understandable and reasonable. In fact, DP was more reconciliatory to the kingship than any other party.
How about the allegation that your husband ordered Sir Edward Muteesa to go to Entebbe to discuss the kingship issue?That was one of the series of exaggerations used by Mengo people to incite public resentment against my husband. Another one of these was the "direct elections" issue which was also blown out of proportion in order to undercut the support my husband had in Buganda. But as the truth came out at last, my husband was vindicated.
So when DP was defeated in 1962, you were not surprised?
Not really. But it was a cause of real pain and grief both to me and my husband. I heard him say at a political rally after the election that Buganda had lost its last chance and that Mengo would get exactly the opposite of her wishes and that people would suffer greatly as a result of the mistake they made by returning the UPC-KY government in 1962.
I did not realise immediately the real meaning of his prophecy but as years went by I came to grasp of my husband's statement.
Why did your husband not try to come to an understanding with Mengo people?
He did. You remember he was once even accused of "nocturnal visits" to Mengo. But all his efforts were doomed to failure. The Mengo people had a preconceived plot to dump my husband because he was a Catholic. I say this because Sir Edward Muteesa and my husband were very close friends during the latter's exile.
What do you think caused such a serious break in friendship that it was beyond repair?
The friendship came to an end as a result of Kabaka's advisers. They had a lot at stake, so they advised Sir Edward to forget all about Ben Kiwanuka and treat him instead as an enemy. Although in public political reasons were advanced for the break, it was common knowledge in informed circles that the real reason was religious.
How did you react to Amin's take-over of power in 1971?
We were all excited and as my husband was in prison, under Obote's detention order, there was cause enough to rejoice when Amin ordered all prisoners should be released.
Did you like your husband being appointed Chief Justice by Amin?
No, nor did my husband aspire to that high office. He accepted grudgingly only after being persuaded by his close friends and fellow lawyers that he was probably the best qualified at that time to fill the post.
And then?
It became increasingly clear that Amin was no friend of ours – only an enemy waiting for the first excuse to pounce on us. The popularity of my husband at public gatherings also increased the problems in every attempt on our part to develop a workable relationship with Amin.
My husband attracted greater and greater attention as well as more admiration from the public than Amin did and Amin did not like the idea. So Amin used every opportunity to frustrate, downgrade and humiliate my husband.
I remember an official occasion during the January 25 celebrations in 1972 when we were deliberately made to wait for almost five hours before Amin and his ministers were due to arrive. On others occasions we were accused of attending official functions to which we had not obtained official invitation.
When did real trouble with Amin come?
This was in late 1972 after High Court had judgment by my husband when he declared to the effect that the army personnel had no power to arrest and detain somebody without an arrest warrant. This judgment brought the fateful events to a tragic climax.
Why didn't your husband try to run away when he saw danger?
He was the type that could not run away. He was a man of exceptional courage and he was immune to any threat. You could say he was a kind of Spartan when it came to anybody trying to challenge or deflect him from what he considered to be a moral duty. He would rather die.
"Sooner or later somebody has to die for a noble cause in this wicked world. If Amin kills me, somebody will take my place. But nobody will do unless someone sets an example first. We can't afford other people to undertake a moral challenge when we can ourselves. If I die I will have played my moral part," he told me.
What exactly happened?
The story is long but briefly, this is what happened. Before that controversial High Court judgment by my husband, intelligence reports from friends kept reaching us touching on Amin's anxiety about my husband's mounting popularity and the respect accorded to him wherever he went. Reports indicated that my husband had as a result become a top item on the agenda for discussion at every cabinet meeting.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/Ben-Kiwanuka-predicted-the-destruction-of-Mengo---wife/689844-3421470-item-00-6cjw9uz/index.html
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