We must unite now to resuscitate our dead country
By M. Suleman
28th Feb 2011
In order for one to understand who the true Museveni is, I think one ought to have seen that memorable picture published in the media in 1986; the picture of Museveni as a small thin man in army uniform with a tinned mug in his hand.
The media scrambled to dig into Museveni’s background in an attempt to introduce him to the wider public which knew little about their President to be. A lot of information was being churned out by his opponents; many of whom displayed no love for him and even prophesized doom for Uganda.
They described Museveni as a ruthless man who had his own army made up of people from Rwanda and from Western Uganda as early as 1979
It was also alleged that it was Museveni’s army which massacred Muslims in Western Uganda in 1979; that it shot demonstrators who were agitating for the restoration of President Yusuf Lule; and that it was also involved in the massacres around Kampala [after Lule’s downfall] which were designed to discredit the government and create an excuse for Museveni to usurp power.
Others have since said that Museveni went to the bush not because he was a democrat who had been cheated out of victory but because he was power-hungry man who was determined to be President at any cost. They were also stories that while in the Luwero triangle, Museveni’s forces killed many UPC branch Chairmen.
That Museveni’s NRA rebels would wear UNLA uniforms and then enter villages to massacre people as a way of discrediting the UNLA forces. Similar stories again emerged in 1986 when it was alleged that in the assault to take over Kampala, Museveni’s forces surrounded the “Anyanyas” and mercilessly massacred them; leaving their bodied scattered around Jinja road roundabout and along the Golf course.
All in all, these stories portrayed Museveni as an uncouth, callous, heinous, disingenuous, power hungry, blood-thirsty and backward man. As a young man then, I had admired Museveni’s courage and bravery. But the stories that I was hearing about him took a back and I eventually refused to accept Museveni as a suitable President for my country.
Today, 25 years down the road, I am convinced more than ever that all the allegations against Museveni have proved themselves. I remember the Uganda of those days; the Uganda I knew as a young man; the institutions Uganda had then; the hopes Uganda had then; the pride Uganda had then; the ambitions that we as young men and Ugandans as whole had to build a great united Uganda; our education; our sports; our cultures; our flair as a people and our pride of Ugandanism.
25 years down the road, I almost collapsed when I saw EC Chairman Dr Badru Kiggundu, a well educated Makererian, arrogantly praising himself and his staff for a job well done. This summed up the fundamental change Museveni promised in 1986.
It showed the magnitude and depth of rottenness in our once beloved country. It also showed me, in black and white, how the backward man called Museveni has over time brainwashed and transformed sections of our people into unbelievable backwardness.
Given what happened before and during the sham elections of 18th February, one wouldn’t have expected such rubbish to come from Dr Kiggundu. But I am not angry with and do not blame Kiggundu. He is not different from many Ugandans who, despite the quagmire our country is in, still claim and believe that Museveni has done a lot for Uganda.
That he has fought poverty, built roads, good education, good infrastructure, no tribal and personal army, a kind police, no nepotism, no corruption, brought peace in the whole country; a gift from God according to Museveni’s own close relatives. In my view, it is no longer necessary to debate with such Ugandans.
They are victims of Museveni’s negative “fundamental change” that we must all feel sorry for. Museveni was backward, has remained backward for 25 years, and he has sadly transformed a cross-section of our people into ridiculous backwardness. Many of our people have been psychologically disoriented. They are sick. Some have become morons!
So the sane Ugandans still left out there are now faced with very heavy challenges. To start with, we must remove this sick Museveni from power at all costs. We then need to thoroughly de-toxicate many of our people from Museveni’s political venom. What I am saying is that Uganda is dead and we have to resuscitate it now. Difficult as it may be, there is no turning back now because to do so would mean that we sink with our dead country to the dogs.
