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Kampala Today marks exactly 25 years since the combined forces of the Tanzanian army and Ugandan exiles under the umbrella of the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) ousted Idi Amin's bloody regime. For most Ugandans however, today - arguably one of the most important days in this country's political history - will pass off unnoticed. It has not been celebrated since 1986, save for 2002 when the Museveni government briefly honoured it. For one reason or the other, President Yoweri Museveni's Movement government has chosen to downplay the April 11, 1979 liberation in favour of its own January 26, 1986 liberation. Yet the former perhaps commands more consensus among many Ugandans than the latter which was simply one political faction ousting another - largely for their own interests. It is a tragedy, therefore, that the 1979 liberation, perhaps the only time since independence that different political ideologies converged to defeat a common enemy, has been cast in the dustbin for short-term political expediency. We, as a country, owe it to the young generation and posterity to preserve and pass on our history with as little distortion as possible. Only then shall posterity learn from our past mistakes and even recognise our generation's contribution. It is pertinent, therefore, that as April 11 slides past quietly, all Ugandans of good will pause and reflect on the events of that day and think about the hundreds of Ugandans and Tanzanians who died so we could be liberated, and the thousands of the orphans and widows that the war and Amin's regime spawned. But ultimately, the question should be asked; what has changed over the last 25 years? http://allafrica.com/stories/200404110054.html |
