Obote’s story a counterpoint to Museveni’s Mustard Seed?
It is a political autobiography, but also an apologia and defence where Dr Milton Obote hardly concedes anything that he has been held responsible for.
It is right for him to put his own side of the story, though perhaps we will hear nothing that we do not know already. In my opinion, Obote needs to be judged against the situation that he inherited from the colonial era.
The picture he paints for himself is that of a consistent champion of multiparty democracy and of the rule of law – someone who eschewed use of the military in maintaining himself in power. He presents Amin and Museveni as men who have used violence to take and maintain themselves in power.
The two dominant elements in Uganda’s politics since independence have been manipulation and manoeuvre, and Obote was a genius in these. The objects of manipulation have been ‘the pe
ople’
(as a fiction, as tribes, religions, and youths), parliament, the judiciary, and the electoral process.
The military (army, special forces) have been used for purposes of manoeuvre.
In Museveni, Obote met his match in the game of manoeuvres and timing. Presidents like Yusufu Lule and Godfrey Binaisa, not to mention Tito Okello, who were poor at manoeuvring did not last long. Obote counting on his popularity and capacity to manoeuvre did not realise the power of former youthful UPC cadres who had become opposed to his legacy and tactics.
He miscalculated when he thought to stage a heroic comeback against the forces arraigned against him, especially in Buganda.
The NRA may have done their own killings in Luwero, but the UNLA pursued a scorched earth policy, killing civilians on an unprecedented scale.
It would be more realistic for Obote to admit that during his second administration the army was really out of his control.
Rev Amos Kasibante
Leicester, UK
******************************
Former president Milton Obote is telling lies about his tenure. Iam lost when he says government soldiers never committed atrocities in Luweero Triangle.
Could he tell us who de-roofed houses and emptied coffee stores left by fleeing peasants? Surely, it cannot be Museveni bandits as he prefers to call them. They had no business with iron sheets as they were known to sleep in bushes and were not coffee dealers.
For the thousands of human skeletons picked from the countryside after the war, it’s inconcievable to count them on Museveni as Obote wants the public to believe since Museveni could not have killed the very people sustaining his war effort.
In Kampala from 1980 - 85, shops and offices closed as early as 3 p.m., and one could venture into the city after dark only if he wanted to meet his Creator, not forgetting the notorious pand
a gari
operations which some of its victims have never been seen again. If this is the security Obote alleges to have brought, God forbid.
The best Obote can do is to apologise to the Baganda instead of revoking memories of the dead.
Lastus Kibowa
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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I was amused but not amazed when I read Obote's account of why he nominated Oyite Ojok to become the Chairman of the now defunct Coffee Marketing Board. One remains baffled by the childish and stupid logic that Obote advances for justifying his actions.
"I appointed Oyite Ojok the Chairman for the Coffee Marketing Board because when we came (sic) to government we found that Uganda Government had no money. There was no fuel in the country and we needed foreign exchange ... so I appointed Oyite Ojok as Chairman of the Coffee Marketing Board to give that security at the plant in Kampala for overnight work, which we did. That is how I solved the problem of fuel in the country"
In typical Obote fashion, as Shakespeare once remarked, 'the devil will cite the scriptures to his cause,' he unashamedly and blatantly lies about such a scandalous matter
of
which he had no control whatsoever.
It was common knowledge during his tenure that Obote was a weak and vacillating leader who had little control over the likes of Paulo Muwanga and Oyite Ojok.
According to Muwanga's account, Oyite Ojok informed Obote that with immediate effect he would become the Chairman of CMB. Obote refused, whereupon Oyite Ojok berated him (in front of Muwanga) and said to him, "Milton, you are so ungrateful! You mean to tell me after rigging this election in your favour you dare to challenge me? We did not win for nothing." He left Obote in tears.
A Kadumukasa Kironde II
Butikiro Road, Kampala
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