Who killed Kayiira?
By David Kibirige
March 7, 2004
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KAMPALA - For 17 years now, mystery still surrounds the gruesome murder of former minister and guerrilla leader Dr Andrew Lutakome Kayiira. Kayiira was the Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM) military leader with lawyer Francis Bwengye as head of its political wing. On March 7, 1987 Kayiira was shot dead at the home of a friend, then BBC correspondent Henry Gombya, at Konge, Makindye on the outskirts of Kampala. Because of its [killing] high profile, President Yoweri Museveni ordered that the famous Scotland Yard investigate the murder. Scotland Yard did come and investigate but several years later, nothing is known about the report, or who killed Kayira. Not surprisingly, Kayiira�s death has dogged the country and at every presidential election, his ghost returns to haunt President Yoweri Museveni. Fingers were pointed at Museveni saying it was he who did not want the Kayiira report made public. Ironically Mr Ssemogerere was the minister of Internal Affairs at the time of Kayiira�s death. The police, which carried out initial investigations, fall under the Internal Affairs ministry. Ssemogerere resigned his ministerial post in 1995 to contest for the presidency. So the question is why has Ssemogerere kept quite all this long? Contacted by Sunday Monitor on Wednesday Ssemogerere said he could not discuss the Kayiira issue on phone. He said he was going to attend a funeral. Again Sunday Monitor tried to speak to him on Thursday in vain. Kayiira was a Democratic Party (DP) firebrand politician who as early as 1986 had started calling on Ssemogerere to relinquish party leadership. Again in the March 2001 presidential elections, Kayiira�s death cropped up. Museveni�s closest challenger, Dr Kizza Besigye challenged the president to tell Ugandans who had killed Kayiira. Again ironically, Besigye was time minister of State for Internal Affairs, at Kayiira�s death. In his book The Price of Freedom which he wrote after Kayiira�s death, Mr Bwengye blamed government for the murder. Informed sources told Sunday Monitor that government bought off all copies. Even Bwengye does not have one. Highly placed sources told Sunday Monitor that after writing the book, government sent then national political commissar, Col. Kizza Besigye and Lt. Gen Salim Saleh off all copies in addition to �oiling Bwengye�s hand� which persuaded him to come back home. Bwengye conceded that it was Saleh and Besigye who negotiated his return but denies ever receiving money. �The book was published abroad and I had no contact with government, so how could I have negotiated for a buy off,� Bwengye told Sunday Monitor on March 4. Asked if Sunday Monitor could borrow his copy since as the author he might have one, Bwengye said; �My copies were borrowed and never returned.� He however said that at one time he requested The Monitor�s then managing editor, Charles Onyango Obbo to publish the book but that he received no reply. Last month during Monitor FM�s popular Andrew Mwenda live programme, Bwengye gave his reasons why he suspects elements in government eliminated Kayiira. �I and Kayiira were acquitted of treason charges because there was no evidence. Peter Kabatsi [then solicitor general] said we were free. Two days later, President Museveni while addressing the Law Society said although people like Kayiira were released, they were guilty. Two days later Kayiira was killed,� Bwengye said. Pressed if he thought it was Museveni who killed Kayiira, Bwengye said: �soldiers did it�. When asked if he thinks Museveni can assassinate someone, he said: �I do not think Museveni is an assassinator (sic) but a man who has been fighting wars can not shoot into trees.� Advised to drag the government to court for killing Kayiira, Bwengye said; �When Lule was removed, some people went to court and court ruled that he had been removed illegally but nothing happened. There have been many court rulings but this does not change the system.� Museveni-Kayira background Immediately after the December 10, 1980 general elections, Kayiira was of the view that a guerrilla war was inevitable. On the other hand Ssemogerere as party leader said they should form the opposition in parliament. So Kayiira formed the Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM). In fact it was Kayiira who went to the bush first; to be followed by other guerrilla groups including that of Yoweri Museveni. Kayiira felt that by telling the youths not to join the bush fighters, Ssemogerere denied him a block Baganda fighting force. In fact when Museveni appointed Kayiira minister after the fall of the Gen. Tito Okello Lutwa junta, he (Kayiira) felt that it was not because of his DP leanings but because he had a fighting force. As early as 1986 Kayiira had shown �signs of being problematic�. For instance even before the whole of Uganda had been �liberated� by the NRA, he was telling Museveni to come clean on issues like multiparty politics and federalism. Some of his commanders were arrested and killed by the NRA. This was on suspicion that elements within UFM were planning to overthrow Museveni�s government. At the end of 1986, Capt. Abbey Kalega Sserwada, one of the UFM commanders was arrested and detained at Lubiri. Up to now no one knows his fate but Sunday Monitor has learnt he was probably tortured by senior NRA officers and had his ears cut off before he was killed. On October 7, 1986 Kayiira, then minister of Energy, was arrested for allegedly planning to overthrow Museveni�s government. He was arrested with two cabinet colleagues; Evaristo Nyanzi and Dr David Lwanga. Baganda army officers had apparently spied on them. During court proceedings senior Baganda officers came out and testified that the politicians had approached them. They had recorded proceedings which court dismissed on technicalities. Later some people tried to kill Bogere by showering his car with bullets. A few days after his acquittal in the wee hours of March 7, 1987, armed people stormed Gombya�s place and showered Kayiira with bullets. Uganda police makes arrests After the death, police arrested five men who it alleged had killed Kayira. Government said two had escaped from Luzira. They were Robert Magezi and Sylvester Wada. Those paraded in court were John Katabazi, Peter Kiwanuka alias Backfire and Musisi Kizito. In the trial that followed, Justice C.M Kato of the High Court acquitted them but they were re-arrested by security operatives outside court and todate, their whereabouts remain unknown. Scotland Yard comes in When there was a general outcry that government was covering up investigations, Museveni suggested that the famous Scotland Yard should carry out independent investigations. British officers came, carried out investigations and compiled a report, which is a top government secret up to now. Sniffer dogs that were used had moved from Kayiira�s house and had reportedly led investigators to the Lubiri barracks. That is when the matter became tricky. Though government might not have been involved, some elements within the army may have had a hand in the high profile murder. Because of these developments, the matter took a very dramatic turn. Top security sources told Sunday Monitor that police did not have access to the report but it was with State House. Criminal Investigations Department (CID) boss Elizabeth Kuteesa was cagey when contacted March 4. Asked whether as the boss of CID she had the report, she said; �That is not a priority matter now, as there are many files. I will check and see if that report is here.� Asked how soon she could avail the report to Sunday Monitor she said; � I do not know; I do not work according to your deadlines.� She could not delve more into the matter. The president�s legal assistant and acting principal private secretary, Fox Odoi said the report was not given to State House. �The report was given to the Attorney General for legal advice since he is the chief legal advisor of government and, then Directorate of Public Prosecution was directly under him,� said Odoi. Justice Joseph Mulenga who was the attorney general then says he does not remember receiving the Scotland Yard report. �I do not recall receiving the Scotland Yard report. That is not something one can easily forget. I recall the trial but I do not recall ever getting that report,� Mulenga told Sunday Monitor on March 5. More and more mystery Days after the murder of Kayiira, Capt. Sajjad Sooria alias Sajjabi, a Pakistani fled the country. He was a UFM mercenary and Kayiira had employed him in 1981. Just days after the murder, Gombya also fled to exile where he has lived up to now. Gombya had apparently managed to divide Shs 40 million into two (under the hail of bullets) after they had been attacked and reportedly threw at the attackers to buy his escape. This was the official version Gombya gave to the press then and even in the 1990s he maintained his explanation in articles he used to write for The Monitor. And with his weight, Gombya apparently managed to jump from a fifteen feet high wall and fled. In April 1987, Bwengye during a press conference in London attended by Sajaad announced that the UFM was returning to the bush to fight Museveni�s government. Bwengye insisted government had killed Kayiira. Who was Kayiira? He was born in Mawokota, Mpigi district. He went to St. Peter�s Nsambya Primary School in Kampala before proceeding to Namilyango College. On his return he was promoted to the rank of assistant superintendent of prisons. In 1968 he went to the USA to study at the University of Newhaven where he did a degree course in criminology and mathematics. He did a master�s degree in criminology, themed on criminal justice. In 1975 he returned to complete his research paper on kondoism (armed robbery) for his PhD. He spent much of his time at Makerere Institute of Social Research when he was writing the paper. He married Betty Mutema after which he returned to the USA. He joined groups which were fighting Amin. He formed the Uganda Freedom Union with other people like former president Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa and Olara Otunu, a former Foreign minister and now based at the United Nations. After Binaisa, the firebrand Kayiira became UFU leader. He represented UFU at the Moshi Conference, which charted the way forward after Idi Amin�s government. He was elected a member the National Consultative Council (NCC). He was a deputy minister of commerce in the short-lived Yusuf Kironde Lule�s government, which replaced that of Amin. He later became minister of Internal Affairs. After the removal of Lule he formed the Uganda Freedom Movement with the mission of fighting to restore the professor. Kayiira�s deadly missions On June 10, 1976 Kayiira participated in an assasination attempt on President Idi Amin Dada during a pass out parade at Nsambya Police barracks. Three grenades were hurled at the presidential jeep. Idi Amin�s driver was killed prompting Amin to drive the jeep up to Mulago. Panic-stricken soldiers opened fire into the crowd killing more than 50 people. On February 23, 1981 Kayiira�s Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM) attacked Lubiri army barracks and the battle lasted eight-hours. UFM was one of the groups, which was fighting Apollo Milton Obote�s government after the December 10, 1980 elections, which were allegedly rigged in favour of UPC. UFM lost 67 fighters while government claimed it lost 5 soldiers. He later defected to NRA. This caused bad blood between Museveni and Kayiira. While he was away there were differences within his group leading to the formation of the Federal Democratic Movement of Uganda (Fedemu). Before he could reorganise his group, Tito Okello Lutwa and Bazillio Okello overthrew Obote�s government. He joined the Military Council with Lutwa as head of state. He constantly warned the military council not to underrate the NRA. By the time the NRA captured power, Kayiira was in charge of parts of Kampala. He was in charge of areas like Ggaba, Konge, Muyenga and parts of Makindye. Kayiira�s six children and wife live in the USA. |
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
Kony is said to be cutting off people's ears and mouths..but already way back in 1986 peoples ears were being cut off..in fact these things were happening in Luwero! So when we see ears being cut off in Acholi, Congo..Rwanda..we should begin to wonder who actually is doing this..NRA, which has been a constant factor in all these theater of killings..or "Kony"?
I quote:-"At the end of 1986, Capt. Abbey Kalega Sserwada, one of the UFM commanders was arrested and detained at Lubiri. Up to now no one knows his fate but Sunday Monitor has learnt he was probably tortured by senior NRA officers and had his ears cut off before he was killed."
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
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