|
The return of Dr. Apollo Milton Obote has seen all hell break loose. So is he really returning this time around? With accusations flying around between Government and the UPC, who should answer for Luweero? Is Obote telling lies about President Museveni?
The Monitor's CHARLES ETUKURI talks to The Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) UK bureau chief Mr Joseph Ochieno on his return to the coutry, UPC re-organisation and the way forward:
How was life in exile generally?
Exile is not something somebody should wish one to go to. Anybody who has been in exile should ensure that nobody else goes there. My exile was forceful and I never enjoyed each single day that passed by. Each day that passed made me long to come back home and as a matter of fact exile is a place everybody should at least avoid to go to.
How do you find Uganda different from the time you were here during your childhood?
It's probably too early to comment on that. But I have been to a few places in the outskirts of Kampala for the few days I have been here. The image we had of Kampala, as Uganda's capital city was different from what we are seeing here now. We were told that Kampala had fundamentally changed but I did not see anything dramatic to be proud of compared to towns like Nairobi, and major cities in South Africa among other countries I have been to.
I have seen a few people on the streets through my window seen a series of taxis and personal cars moving around the streets creating traffic in town.
I didn't get exci
ted for
once and look at these as individual achievements. We in the UPC had emphasised on public services and public utilities over individual achievements the current Government is emphasising.
|
|
|
WE ARE READY TO EXPLAIN THE LUWEERO INCIDENT- Joseph Ochieno (Photo by Natty Dread) |
By the time we left power we had public commuter means in places like the passenger trains, which were even plying the city routes, and you could travel to Nateete on train. I am now told that even the long distance passenger trains we left in place have collapsed. I don't want to weep because its too early but so far I notice nothing substantial to talk about and get excited over. I represent a political party which is actually ambitious and determined to restore our past glory and achievements.
Do you have intentions to permanently stay here or you are just coming and going away?
The republic of Uganda was founded for all Ugandans. My party stands out to be one of the oldest parties we have today and it is the party that helped usher Uganda into independence. We fought for this country and got its independence from colonialists and there is no way I can be a visitor in my own country. Uganda is my country and I am back to it. I am here to help my party the UPC rebuild and since the courts of laws liberated us from the york of some old draconian laws that existed in a section of the laws like the Political Parties Organisations Act (PPOA)
What is the state of Dr. Obote's health?
The President is in good sound health and before I came here I was with him. There is definitely nothing bad with him he is in sound health. If he was sick his son couldn't be here.
The idea of Obote's return began to form seriously in 1997, during that much-publicised "UPC Convention" in Lusaka but nothing came out of it. On his recent interview with the BBC Obote said that there was no deal for his return, and he could only come back home after the "dictatorship" of President Yoweri Museveni had been overthrown. Why the sudden shift?
Definitely Obote is coming back home this time round. I was with him when he was making that statement of his return .
There is definitely no change of position. He is coming back to Uganda and this is the position he held since day one. His argument was that he would return if the dictatorial provisions like article 269, sections of the Politi
cal
Parties and Organisation Act were scraped off and generally when there is a return to multiparty politics, a neutral electoral commission among others. He is returning sooner than later. He is a Ugandan and the first citizen of Uganda and the most deserving citizen of this country better than me and everybody else. He fought for the creation of this country and he is definitely going to come back.
Questions are being raised about Dr.Obote’s role in the Luweero massacres, and Government is apportioning blame on him. Would you for once think that he should answer for Luweero?
The media should rightly inform the people about what happened in Luweero. I am happy that Monitor is running the Obote series about what exactly happened but that is not enough President Museveni should be challenged more on this. Dr. Obote won the 1980 elections convincingly and until today nobody contests the elections on the grounds that it was rigged.
President Museveni decided to go to the bush despite UPC asking those that were aggrieved to go to court. Democratic Party led by Paul Kawanga Ssemogere actually w
ent to
court to contest the results. But Museveni who was not even a properly aggrieved party decided to go to the bush. We need to look at Luwero more objectively. It was a Democratic Party area and Museveni was pretending to be a prophet of others despite the fact that NRM had no representatives in Luwero.
How many scars are in Luwero that belong to the Luweero people?
President Museveni says that he won the war in Luwero and if they defeated us its straightforward that the person who is humiliated in war is left lying down the that therefore means that it is our soldiers who were actually killed. Besides this figure of 300,000 people allegedly killed in Luwero is not true this is misinformation and they are just adding salt to injury. We have never had those figures in Luwero this is Government propaganda.
The first people to be killed in Luwero were UPC Chairmen, chiefs and local Policemen. It was President Museveni who fired the first sho
t in
Luwero. I personally lost a cousin and my relatives in Luweero were harassed. If Museveni wants to instigate the truth, we in UPC have apposition and do know what happened and we shall come out and explain.
People were actually killed to scare them into joining the rebellion of the guerrilla National Resistance Army led by President Museveni.
Let him come out we shall speak. He says he wants to prosecute Obote in fact he has to answer for more crimes than any other leader. He has to be prosecuted for atrocities committed in Western, Eastern, Northern Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. People of Uganda have to be informed. We are the champions of true democracy in Uganda.
We want an opportunity for a truth and reconciliatory commission to investigate more and it should start right from the 1980 allegedly rigged elections to Museveni's launching of the war till today so that we may be able to lay the facts out. It should comprise of credible persons from established
democracies like South Africa, acceptable to all sides in order to give us an opportunity to unearth and get the true picture of our past.
President Museveni recently while on a tour to Northern Uganda stated that he intends to sue Obote because the former president is peddling lies about him. Do you regard this threat as being serious and is Obote is telling lies?
That seems more of a battle between Monitor and President Museveni. You see for along period of time President Museveni's book Sowing the Mustard Seed, which deliberately misrepresented the state of affairs of this country, stood unchallenged. But as your Managing Director put it to him let him do his own piece to respond to the President Obote's series I believe The Monitor shall give him space.
Do you foresee a situation where Obote ever finds himself in the same room with President Museveni sitting down and talking?
I don’t see that hapening soon because Obote doesnt have anything in common with President Museveni so I don’t see the possibility of them ever meeting and besides President Obote is an active and true democrat who does nothing but thinking about our country and the party. He is also a true family man who has a family that is much larger. He is a true father of this nation the first citizen. I dont know what President Museveni stands for.
What was your first impression when you met Obote, Ssemogerere and President Museveni?
Well I happened to come face to face with the three leaders while in my school days in Mwiri. I happened to go to Mwiri where our first citizen Dr. Obote went to and it was while there that the the trio came to campaign. I had fallen in love with UPC during my earlier school days and when President Obote came to Mwiri he electrified us with a very good speech and that even made me fall in love with UPC more.
Museveni did not impress us at all and infact he had to come with Rugunda who was an old boy of the school to be able to gather sympathy votes. Ssemogerere did better than Museveni and if we were to go to po
lls on
that day he was definately the last.
Would you consider yourself venturing into politics?
I am actually actively involved in politics even now I came back to help reorganise our Party pending the Presidents return.
We want to organise our party so that we are able to wrestle the Movement in 2006.
There are allegations of an apparent rift within the part and that some of old guards are not happy with the recent sudden massive sackings and reshuffles by the party boss. That this group is also allegedly organising to oust the Party President from his Chair?
There is nothing like this. Its rumours and I am sure that Our Party is as organised as it was we have no internal feuds going on and whoever says this is lying.
Way forward?
Open our selves up and form a truth and reconciliation commission to help us move forward, go to polls and have a free and fair election come 2006.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] | 
