Binaisa's 3-point solution to Kony war
By GODFREY LUKONGWA BINAISA
July 7, 2003The time to act is now and not to continue apportioning blame, but to save our
country form disintegration. Unless we swim together now, we shall sink separately.
Unless our government comes up with a solution now, the war in the north may
become an African version of the 30 years war that ravaged Europe from 1618 to
1648 when it was ended by the Treaty of Westphalia. The nations that were involved
ran out funds, there was a terrible loss of life and destruction of property. This is
what is happening now in the north.
The time to act is now and not to continue apportioning blame, but to save our
country form disintegration. Unless we swim together now, we shall sink separately.
A three point programme is suggested:
The president should send a high powered delegation to Britain, to plead with the
British government and convince that government, that for its role in Uganda before
independence when it practised the old Roman adage of divide et impera a-k-a divide
and rule and filled its Uganda army, the King's African Riffles, with soldiers from the
north, who Britain claimed were great warriors.
The first British appointed Ugandans were ignored, officers such as Capt. Ashe
Mukanga, a Muganda who served in World War 1, Capt. Daudi Chwa II, the Kabaka of
Buganda, Lt. Prince Yusuf Suna, Lt. Prince George William Mawanda both from
Buganda, Lt. George Rukidi, the Omukama of Toro were all left in limbo. At that time
the northerners who were preferred were given one roomed grass huts, three
blankets for a mattress, and the third with which to cover their bodies, they were
made to sign on for nine years, at the end of which they received neither gratuity or
pension, but were only exempted from paying a head tax of Shs 15 per year. The
northerners who did not join the army, joined the police and prison services. The rest
worked in the sugar estates of Lugazi and Kakira.
After independence, their firm grip on the security forces was used by them to stage
two coups in 1971 and 1985. President Yoweri Museveni ended their grip on the army
in 1986. Leadership of the army reverted to the southerners.
It is this loss of leadership of the armed forces, which had hitherto been used by the
northerners to grab political power and unleash reigns of terror, that is responsible
for the war. This loss of the big jobs made the likes of LRA leader Joseph Kony to
resort to war. Unless Ugandans clearly understand the reason Kony is fighting, they
will not be able to win the war soon. The northerners want their jobs as leaders of
the armed forces back right now before they can be persuaded to stop the carnage. I
believe that the leadership of the armed forces shall continue to be based on merit
only.
Secondly, the British government should be requested to pay for what I call a mini
Marshal plan similar to the American plan after World War II for western Europe. It
could be called the Tony Blair Plan, if you prefer.
The reason for such a plan is firstly that Uganda stands on high moral ground in
making the request. It is a well known maxim of equity that equity imputes an intent
to fulfil an obligation. The purpose of this request would be to compensate Uganda
for the wrong the British government committed more than 40 years ago when they
left their weapons of mass destruction in the hands of people who had no experience
to handle such weapons, besides wantonly using them to gain power and riches.
Uganda does not have the money in its budget to pay for what it will cost to
rehabilitate more than 60 years of misrule and mismanagement of the British army in
Uganda before independence. It is further suggested that Uganda government may
permit the British to stay in Uganda to supervise their money until the end of the
plan.
Such a plan would be two-pronged;
(a) Military to engage Kony's troops.
(b) Non- military - this would be the most important and urgent - would be directed at
winning the hearts and minds of Kony's troops as well as all youth in the north,
between the ages of 12 and 35, to persuade, cajole, and do everything to win them
over to the side of peace, and thus deny Kony the field from which he recruits his
fighters. This may entail recruiting civilians from all parts of the country to go to the
north as missionaries of peace.
All of us have been to the same schools with northerners, we have played
together and stood together throughout the period we were a British colony. We
have to create thousands of jobs and job training centres for the thousands of
unemployed youths, who are hungry and suffering from all kinds of diseases that are
curable but for the malnutrition. These youth look to Kony to break their boredom.
The plan would include building the infrastructure and new schools and dispensaries
to make everybody in the
north feel that he is a Ugandan.
The writer is a former president of Uganda
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
Mitayo Potosi
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