ugnet_: IN DEFENCE OF MUNIINI MULERA

[Mulindwa Edward]

Mr. Ssemakula   I have read your posting in Monitor under the heading "Munini; whistling and drinking?"  And I think that you are being very unfair to Muniini Mulera for you have decided to leave out some very crucial points in your response.   You started by informing us how the King of Buganda has spoken out on the matters of the war in Northern Uganda. Can you kindly tell us when he started to make those statements? Mr Ssemakula the war in Northern Uganda has been running now for almost 20 years, is it fair for you to bring in the name of Nabagereka, as a person who has called for talks to end the carnage, for as far as I know Nabagereka did not come into the picture of Uganda untill 2001, that is 2 years give and take. Is that a proof that Buganda was and has been concerned about the situation in Northern Uganda?   Personally I am not even moved by whether the King and Nabagereka, have taken these steps. I am more concerned about what the major Buganda out spoken did or have done since the war started in this part of Uganda. And I am going to give you some examples, Bishop Mikayiri Kawuma of namirembe, and Cardinal Emanuel Nsubuga, both stood in their sanctuaries and praised God for bringing peace back into Uganda under NRM. These two men of God, came to West Germany and addressed a meeting of several people including Ugandans, the main question to them was the situation in Northern Uganda. Both of them stated that Uganda was a new place and a peace full nation. But this is what was very important in that meeting, in closing, the Cardinal sat with several Ugandans, and in Luganda he said "Mwe mubuuza ki ebyolutalo ffe kasita twebaka" In fact for the record, that statement "Ffe Kasita Twebaka" was not introduced in Uganda by Buganda locals, it was introduced by Cardinal Nsubuga and Bishop Kawuma, in their message to the church. That is the originality of that statement.   Now let me go back to Buganda and NRM. Ugandans know for a fact that Buganda is in bed with NRM. When Ugandans are being murdered and our king goes to Rwakitura to dine and wine with the state, Ugandans must wonder why. But we must not only stop there, but we must ask our selves, what steps has the King taken to hold the mirror into the NRM's face. I can not help but wonder how much information our king has about the thousands of his people who were killed in Luwero District during the war. Has our king ever asked for that explanation from Rwakitura? What response did he get? I doubt whether he has ever asked that question for his bread and butter comes from Rwakitura, why and how can he get the strength to ask the actions of NRM? And that is the biggest blunder Buganda fell in, for if we can not financially maintain our King, we would have been better off putting the kingdom on hold as Ankole. For have you ever wondered what will happen if the next government in Uganda decides not to finance it?   It is interesting as well when you state that a good number of Baganda officers in the army are unwilling to fight, then Mwaami Ssemakula can you please explain why children in Northern Uganda are very scared of any body speaking Luganda? It is a fact that many UPDF officers are Baganda, and if Baganda officers refused to fight in Northern Uganda, that war would have ended immediately. The danger in your posting, is that you are thinking that what you posted in Monitor is what counts the most in Uganda of tomorrow, I tend to differ, what matters the most is what Ugandans who are being brutalized know, for I can bet you Ugandans know who are killing them, and they go by that not by Mr Ssemakula's account. You will be amazed to know that to today Ugandans in Luwero know which people killed them.   Buganda must know that a problem in Uganda affects all of us as a nation, directly or indirectly. And it is a shame that we even have this discussion today, for it is a sign that Buganda failed to understand that matters in Northern/Eastern Uganda are national matters. And collecting unfounded collections to clean up Buganda's name is not the solution. For as I said, it is Ugandans who are suffering who make the final decision, on whether Buganda was part of the problem or solution during their sufferings. And as long as that jury is still out there, I do not think that your defence for Buganda is warranted, for facts will in the end come in broad day light.   Edward Mulindwa Toronto             The Mulindwas Communication Group