----Original Message Follows----
From: james ssemakula <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Buganda Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [UNAANET] An Opinion defending Muniini -curiousity killed rat!
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 17:17:48 -0700 (PDT)
Ms. Mugisha,
I do not envy your job of trying to pacify warring factions, but I do appreciate the effort.
Your labors as an arbiter would have been more fruitful had you adopted a neutral stance, if only for appearances. However, anyone who can read between the lines can see whose side you are on. Be that as it may.
My, oh, my! Am I just imagining things or did you just deny, in writing, and in you official capacity, that Mr. Muniini is not a member of the Reform Agenda (RA)? It seems wonders never cease, the Pope doesn't have to be Catholic! Ok.
Now, I must admit that all this time, I have under the mistaken impression that Mr. Muniini was/is a member of the RA. I doubt that I am alone in this belief. For one, folks who were at UNAA Detroit, which was attended by both Mr. Muniini and Dr. Besigye � the RA�s leader, came away with an impression close to mine.
Also, during the last presidential elections, I seem to recall that Mr. Muniini was deeply involved on the RA�s side. But this might be to a faulty memory. Perhaps there is something nasty in the water or the air in my neck of the woods.
That said, if I went to the RA website, would I see the names of all RA�s officials, i.e. is the list inclusive and/or exhaustive?
Let me assure Ms. Mugisha, I stand by what I wrote about Mr. Muniini in the article I submitted to The Monitor.
Let me also assure you that I have absolutely zero motivation to slander, libel or otherwise defame Mr. Muniini, and I have nothing to gain in engaging in the assassination of his character.
However, I�ll continue to hold his feet to the fire for his unexplained efforts to malign us, the Baganda: we are not amused! And, by withdrawing my support for the RA I am saying to you, politicians, in my feeble way, that we the lowly people, the masses are fed up of being manipulated, and set against each other. That is, there is a political price to pay for your folly and/or irresponsibility. There is a limit to how much abuse the populace can bear.
Obote set up the Acholi right from the 1960s, perhaps even earlier. See Ibingira�s book African Upheavals Since Independence. And now, the RA is continuing, even before they have set foot in the State House.
My layman�s understanding of slander is: utterance in the presence of another, false statements damaging to the third person�s character or reputation. Libel is the written form of slander. And to defame is to injure or attack the reputation or honor by false and malicious statements, malign, slander or libel. But then again, you are the legal scholar, while I am illiterate in those matters. Nonetheless, Mr. Muniini may sue me for a lot of things: slander won�t be one of them (If he is threatening to sue me through you, please inform him I am not fazed).
In you defense of Mr. Muniini�s solid reputation as columnist, I was struck by your disregard for the harm and hurt he caused us the Baganda.
Just in case you missed it, here is what Mr. Muniini wrote in his August 4, 2003 column (in part):
==
However, I think that the major reason for the lack of public outrage over the massacres of fellow Ugandans in Katakwi [Teso] and Pader [Acholi] is racism. Uganda-style racism; the old north-south divide.
The truth is, Tingasiga, the massacres in Katakwi and Pader happened to "them," not to "us."
They occurred "over there", in the land of "they" who did it to "us" in the Luwero Triangle and elsewhere before "we" overthrew them from power in 1986.
That the vast majority of people of Acholi and Teso had absolutely nothing to do with the crimes committed by the pre-Museveni regimes is a truth that must not be allowed to interfere with such prejudices.
That the people of Acholi and Teso are our brothers, our kinsmen, fellow Africans, bound together by a history that we cannot undo, fated to a common destiny, is a detail that must not be accorded room in our consciousness.
To do so would ruin the great illusion of being different from "them" who are from "over there." It would make it hard for us to say, with a smile, that "they" deserve it.
Whether it is the Kanungu massacre or the violence in Bunyoro, the violent cattle-rustling in Karamoja and Teso or the abduction of girls from Lango and Acholi, many Ugandans see these crimes as purely local matters, of concern to members of the relevant "tribes." It is "their" problem, not "ours."
This is the same attitude that has been shown by many people from the southern parts of Uganda, especially from Buganda and the Western Region, in response to the long nightmare that has gripped the Acholi people for nearly two decades.
While few would openly admit to such racist attitudes, many have expressed in private conversations that the nearly one million Acholi in concentration camps deserve the dehumanizing fate that has been theirs for more than a decade.
This is the attitude that almost certainly informs the reaction of many people from south of Lake Kyoga to the recent massacres in Katakwi and Pader.
It is "them," not "us."
Another possible explanation for this reaction is that these killings were perpetrated by a UPDF gunship which was presumably hunting for anti-government rebels.
Ours is a society where we ration condemnation of injustice and crime.
Etc
==
Ms. Mugisha, exactly what don�t you understand or find ambiguous in the above excerpt from Mr. Muniini�s column? Or is there any doubt as where Luweero is located? And how did I slander, libel or defame Mr. Hard-Nosed-Military-Approach? Which false statements did I make?
Did it occur to you to ask of a man who professes to be so very concerned about the Northern War and pain and suffering visited upon the hapless Acoli to the point of calling the Baganda unempathic and racists: He recently (July 3 � 7 2003) convened a convention of the Banyakigezi in Toronto, Canada. which was attended by some of the Movements heavyweights, some in government or parliament � how much time did they spend discussing this tragedy and what solutions did they come up with?
If they did not include this on their program (see www.banyakigezi.org), I doubt it was for lack of opportunity; for the attendees had time to visit the Niagara Falls, go off to a berbecue on some exotic island, etc!
And how does the foregoing compare with what our Kabaka, our Nnaabagereka, musicians, and all others have said in calling for a negotiated settlement to end the tragic war in Northern Uganda vis-a-vis the �hard-nosed-military-approach� of Mr. Muniini?
It is amazing (read insult to our intelligence) that a man can malign an entire people, and yet a person of your intellect is consumed by the well being of the perpetrator, rather than the offended group of victims! (do lawyer defend or stand for justice & fairness anymore?)
I vaguely remember some preacher mumbling, eons ago, something about the ease with which we can see specks in other people�e eyes, all the while ignoring the logs in ours. Perhaps it applies here.
Like I said before, Mr. Muniini intentionally set out to �tar and feather� the Baganda (sensu http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca/issues/072597/2Forum/Letters_to_the_Editor/let01.html, but see also www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_and_feather). Surely, if you cannot see Mr. Muniini�s bigotry and/or its possible consequencies then truly the RA itself is in dire in need of reform.
In such a climate, there is little or no hope of achieving anything meaningful or satisfactory to either side in private discussion.
Ssemakula
Anne Mugisha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:Mr. Ssemakula,
I resisted joining this debate because I really saw no need to intervene
between two great minds with differing opinions who can easily accept
constructive criticism, unreconcilable views and personal opinion, for what
they are. However I cannot sit by in silence and watch a person revoke
support of the Reform Agenda on the basis of a disagreement between himself
and an individual whom he believes to be a fellow supporter of RA. Let me
make this clear, Dr. Muniini has been writing his Opinions before the advent
of the Refrom Agenda and his writing has evolved to encompass new views and
dispel old ones as a personal reaction to the changes, particluarly
political ones, in Uganda. I have noted a convergence of views between the
vision, mission and culture of RA and Dr. Muniini's views, but I do not at
any one time recall Dr. Muniini declaring himself to be a member of RA. As
much as we would like to claim him as ours I woud be dishonest to call
Muniini our member. I am aware of instances where Dr. Muniini has tried to
guide the vision of RA and often we have listened to his guidance but he did
so independently as he has in the past done for the Movement and other
political organizations.
The point am trying to make I guess is that Dr. Muniini is entitled to his
opinions as indeed you are entitled to disagree as vehemently as you have.
I believe that the Editor of The Monitor in his wisdom realized that you
were slipping into imagined territory and character assasination when you
wrote about Dr. Muniini this way:
" intellectually dishonest, if not an outright liar, who seems to be
hell-bent on spreading misinformation maliciously designed to malign the
Baganda"
The work of a good editor is to save his media outlet from unecessary law
suits of slander, defamations and so on. Dr. Muniini has built a solid
reputation as a columnist and it cannot be thrown out of the window and into
the gutter simply because you are furious at his utterances in one or two
pieces of his work! The Monitor editor must have known that and hence he
nipped the law suit in the bud.
Finally I would urge you to visit our web site at www.reformuganda.com to
familiarize yourself more with the leaders and idealogues of the Reform
Agenda as well as their vision and mission. You will find many names there
but am certain that Dr. Muniini will not be one of them. I would like to
take this opportunity to request you to reconsider withdrawing your support
for the Reform Agenda on account of Dr. Muniini's views and hope that we can
discuss further, perhaps privately, the possibilitiy of renewing your
confidence in our organization.
Thank you,
Anne Mugisha
>From: james ssemakula
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
>Buganda Discussion
>Subject: Re: [UNAANET] An Opinion defending Muniini -curiousity killed
>rat!
>Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 13:42:09 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Mr. Muwonge:
>
>I beg to differ with you. It is unfortunate that editors The Monitor
>butchered my essay, but that is their privilege. I am of the opinion that
>Mr. Muniini knowingly and intentionally set out to propagate disaffection
>of the Baganda.
>
>Here are some paragraphs from the unedited version of my essay to that
>effect:
>
>"Personally, this showed me that Mr. Mulera is intellectually dishonest, if
>not an outright liar, who seems to be hell-bent on spreading misinformation
>maliciously designed to malign the Baganda in particular. Other than a
>severe bout of self-deception, I am at a loss to even imagine why Mr.
>Muniini has resorted to �tarring and feathering� the Baganda."
>
>...
>
>"If this is the sort thing we can expect from the Reform Agenda�s
>ideologues, even in their �private capacities�, then Uganda is in deep
>trouble indeed: the Reform Agenda is itself in need of reform."
>
>...
>
> Finally, I beseech the Editorial Board of The Monitor to ensure that what
>regular columnists write bears some resemblance to the truth as it is known
>at that time, lest every Yahoo be emboldened to clog public discourse with
>their primordial but unfounded pre-occupations.
>
>So please, if you are looking for stereo-typing, scape-goating, etc you
>need look no further than the likes of Mr. Mulindwa and Mr. Mulera Muniini.
>
>And if I may add parenthetically, my days in the Reform Agenda are
>finished.
>Ssemakula
>
>Andrew Muwonge wrote:
>Jonathan,
>
>I have read the the article you posted written by Edward Mulindwa in the
>monitor. It sounds good. We are now blaming certain ethnicities in Uganda
>for the continuation of our political power wars, unlike in the past when
>we
>blamed the West. This reminds me of Julius Nyerere's words when he
>jockularly said "You have got to blame some body, better still if the
>receipient of the blame is a super power". Does this mean that Buganda is
>assuming the status of a super power? Or is some body somewhere in Canada
>unknowingly setting the stage for an other round of military action, this
>time in the South?
>
>Hey, and what about Mutebi's position? Would it be prudent of him to engage
>in open party politics despite the fresh memories which some of you have of
>the 1960s events that led to the fall of his late father, Edward Mutesa the
>second?
>
>Jonathan, we may have to go back to basics. Although looking for solutions
>and scape-goats for Uganda's problems may help, it may be a more
>constructive response to expended our energy on trying to look for the root
>cause of the problems, so we can target it with precision. Otherwise we are
>in "zero zone". That also means that we should unpack the "ffe kasita
>twebaka" statement referred to by Mulindwa, especially in as far as its
>import is the basis of the overwhelmingly popular rejection of multi-party
>politics (ebibiina).
>
>I for one, do not think Muniini intended to scape-goat or steriotype any
>ethnical grouping in Uganda when he wrote what he wrote, and therefore,
>those who would wish to defend him should take care not to asssociate their
>deep rooted biases with his article. We ought to note too that
>scape-goating
>is one of the compounding factors of our northern problem. We probably
>scape-goated some sets of ethnics for the 1962-1979 mess, and now we are
>cape-goating an other set for the current mess in the north. With all
>respect to Mulindwa's indeed good intervention, I wish to pose the question
>as to whether that scape-goating will move us an inch from the present
>quagmire beyond setting a stage for the next round of military tournament.
>
>Excuse my mistakes, I wrote this in a hurry!
>
>Muwonge
>
>
>
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