By Joseph Pinytek Ochieno
April 18 - 24, 2004
| I was a young student at the time, and actively involved with the National Union of Students of Uganda (NUSU). Only a few months earlier, we had been entertained by this giant of a magic figure, commonly known as Chief (for Army Chief of Staff), at the International Conference Centre, Kampala.
So when I woke up to the news that Maj. Gen. David Oyite-Ojok had died in a helicopter crash, I simply could not believe it. For a long time, I thought I was dreaming. When I got out of the house, all I could see were people severally gathered - all sombre. Women, men, children. It felt like a rotation of an eclipse, just that it repeated itself. Coming back to the radio, it sounded now real. The messages, the tunes. The nation was in mourning. After about an hour, I struggled to have a bath, but I recall that I could not. I decided to go to Kololo at the home of a relative and junior minister, hoping that some good news would come. Nothing. Instead, I found that most of family had gone to the home of the soon-to-be renamed 'Late Chief'. The sad national mourning continued. I simply cannot recall any one single death that has genuinely touched the heart, soul and feelings of the nation as that of David Oyite-Ojok. To me, it was very personal. As a young Ugandan who woke up to real nationalism with the liberation of Uganda in 1979, Oyite-Ojok was simply my national military hero, just like Milton Obote continues to be my political hero and the democratic father of the nation. Every Ugandan who had access to a radio or television recalls Oyite's sweat voice that announced the demise of Idi Amin and the first and only military liberation (in the true sense of the word), of Uganda since Independence, on April 11, 1979. At the time no one knew what would happen next, but thanks to Oyite-Ojok and the Tanzanian Peoples Defence Forces, the total liberation Uganda was achieved. Considering what has happened since, one wonders what would have followed next if it was some other 'liberator' who had reached Kampala 'first'. But it was the encounter at the International Conference Centre which wrapped up my admiration for the Late Chief. As part of the National Youth Day Celebrations, he had paid a surprise visit. The reception that Oyite received told it all - it was beautifully wild. That encounter has changed my life for good. Oyite-Ojok told the cheering youths "never again, never should the youth and people of Uganda ever allow themselves to be ruled by a dictator". "Never," he went on, "should Ugandans ever be duped that an army man can play the role of a politician. Not even me (thumping his chest), David Oyite-Ojok should ever deceive you that I have the capacity and the right to govern this country as a soldier." He went on to say that no soldier in the world, however professional, not even an American general is trained to govern. He concluded that soldiers are trained in their profession to defend their citizens and national territorial integrity and that the role of the youth was to educate themselves and learn to build their nation as their own, but also as tomorrow's leaders. I recall a one Vivian (head girl) from Kololo High School who was so excited she sought to know from the Chief when active recruitment of women for front line combat would begin, because she wanted to see more women playing central roles in the nations defence! Reading from Badru Mulumba's piece in last week's Sunday Monitor (April 11), I wondered why this sad saga is being re-visited particularly now. After all, Oyite must be a very sad man in his grave considering that hardly two years after his death, the soldiers against whom he had warned jumped into State House and there they remain in different shades, as I write. A sad man because Museveni has systematically shouted to amplify his dismal role in the fight against Idi Amin, while trying his best to bury the facts behind the defeat of the then Libyan backed Amin regime. Thankfully, Ugandans are not that silly. I personally recall the headline in Africa's most prestigious international magazine, "New African", shortly after the fall of Kampala. It called Oyite-Ojok, 'Africa's Lion of War'. I will revisit my archives to see if Museveni or his NRA is mentioned anywhere. Badru (Mulumba) is right; after all, to argue that following the July 1985 coup and the subsequent arrival of the NRA in January 1986, Uganda was ushered into the most chaotic time ever, in our history. To however suggest that the ill fated flight was a mission to purge a section of the national army is to miss the point and to play into the hands of those divisive forces in Uganda today, who benefit and thrive in name calling. Oyite was too professional an African soldier to fall prey to such petty politics. We should not forget that by the time of his death, Africa was littered with military dictators. That we had one of Africa's most proficient and forward looking soldiers in Uganda at the time in the name of Oyite is a credit to the man and the political leadership that had nurtured him. The little I know is that he was if anything, very anxiously already trying to build a new and truly professional nationalist army. Considering how external forces have historically contributed to the instability in our country and the embrace of dictators like Museveni and Amin before him, it can be very tempting to speculate on the third force behind the crash, accident aside. Surely who has benefited from Oyite's death, except for Museveni and those who continue to keep him in power? For that reason, I would not be surprised how 'nice' Museveni tries to be to the family. Every ordinary African knows the conduct of witches and wizards either by the graveside of their victims or around the compounds of the bereaved. If Oyite-Ojok was proven wrong on the role of the military in the governance of our country, he should rest assured that it will not be forever. In less than a generation, Uganda will be able to provide the kind of leadership that he represented, a government like the one he left behind and a commander-in-chief not based on their bullet skills, but the power of the ballot. If I had my way, I would strip Museveni off his newly acquired rank of General (built on the blood of our people), and appropriately rank Oyite -- albeit posthumously. He was after all, Africa's Lion of War. Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
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