Ssemakula <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Mr. Mujungu,
There was no date on the story you posted about this increasingly confused accident (?).
If one draws a timeline and stick events as they were reported one gets a muddy picture. Do you recall that it was reported that bodies were recovered and taken to Mulago hospital to morgue and that they were being guarded - like they were about to get up and run away! A little later it was reported that Sudan had jammed about releasing Uganda bodies.
The question is: whose bodies were under guard at Mulago if Sudan was still holding those aboard the ill-fated chopper?
Now we hear of an extra body which, somehow, been determined to be that of a "joy-rider" (assassin?). When was the last time you took a joy ride on a presidential chopper?
One wonders whether the hand that brought down Rwanda's Habyarima & Burundi's Ntaryamira, DRC's Kabila, Uganda's Nkwanga, Kayiira, etc is at work again. Then there was Savimbi who was done in by someone else.
Now we have a president who is scared of going near an aircraft moving furtively about the country to go to Yei by road (was Kony on vacation?) telling us he cann't rule anything out, after which an exra body shows up.
btw: do you know if there was report about the crach that killed one Col. Jet Black something or other? Or the one in which a multi-million mig jet fighter turned into Empuuta's breeding ground at the bottom of L. Nnalubaale (aka L. Vic), or the one which fell from the skies recently and turned out to be unlicensed?
Anyhow, here is what they are saying.... Daily Nation's account is interesting.
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Mon, Aug 08, 2005 19:54 UT Sudan "extremely disturbed" by Ugandan presidents comment
Saturday 6 August 2005.KHARTOUM, Aug 5, 2005 (Sudan Tribune) The Sudanese government said today that it was extremely disturbed by the Ugandan president, Yoweri Musevenis statement regarding the plane crash that killed the late first vice-president and Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) leader, John Garang, after his visit to Kampala.
Salva Kiir, the new leader of SPLA/M, makes a point during a mourning for former rebel leader John Garang in Yei village in Southern Sudan August 5, 2005. The cause of a crash that killed Garang in the Ugandan presidential helicopter is unclear, Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni said on Friday on a trip to mourn his friend. (Reuters) Speaking to Sudan News Agency (SUNA), the minister of information and telecommunication, who is also the official government spokesman, Abd-al-Basit Sabdarat, said that the cause of the disturbance was that President Museveni was the one who informed the government that the plane was missing after more than 12 hours from its take off from Kampala and he also knew that the plane was Ugandan and the plane crew was also Ugandan, and it also departed from his country.
Sabdarat added that President Museveni also knew that the Sudanese government had set up a technical fact finding committee to investigate the plane crash and that the committee would begin its work after the deceased was buried on Saturday 6 August.
Sabdarat said that issuing statements or possibilities before the investigations were completed would only damage the investigations.
The government spokesman went on to say "We are making efforts to investigate the saddening incident and we have already started our investigations by setting up a technical committee and we hope that all parties, especially Uganda, would stop issuing statements which are not based on facts."
Sabdarat said "We urge the Ugandan government to provide us with all the information that it can provide."
He affirmed that the plane crash concerned Sudan the most as it lost its first vice-president of the republic, the deceased, Dr John Garang , whose death has deeply affected the country.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bodies of 7 Ugandan Helicopter Crew Due Home
The Nation (Nairobi)
NEWS
August 8, 2005
Posted to the web August 8, 2005
By Nation Correspondent
Nairobi
The bodies of seven Ugandan crew members who died in the helicopter crash in southern Sudan on Saturday, last week, killing 13 people, including Sudanese First Vice-President John Dr Garang, are expected home today.
The airmen were about half of President Yoweri Museveni's total crew.
Among them were the President's chief pilot, Col Peter Nyakairu, co-pilot Paul Kiyimba, State House head of protocol Sam Bakowa, flight engineer John Munanura, Maj Patrick Kiggundu, the President's air hostess, Ms Lillian Kabaije, and Corp Hassan Kiiza, a member of the elite presidential guard unit.
Other Sudanese officials who died in the crash are Lts Ali Mayen Majok, Deng Majok Kuany and Mayen Deng Mabior and Cols Amat Malwal, Oboki Obur and Amaybek.
Mr Okello Oryem, Ugandan minister for International Affairs, said yesterday that pathologists had completed their work, and that they would escort the bodies to Uganda, where they are expected to hand over a report to the Office of the President.
Completed their work
"The pathologists completed their work, and the report is ready; the bodies are expected here on Monday (this) afternoon," he said.
The Uganda government sent a team that included four top pathologists to southern Sudan on Thursday to identify the bodies. They were led by Cabinet minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
Families of the seven Ugandan victims flew back home on Friday after identifying their bodies. They were initially expected to arrive in Uganda on Thursday, which had been declared a public holiday and a day of national mourning.
But unconfirmed reports said there was a hitch - an extra body which had not been claimed by either the Ugandan or the southern Sudan government.
Earlier reports had said that there were 14 people aboard the presidential helicopter.
The possibility of an extra body at the crash site fuelled speculation that the aircraft may not have crashed due to bad weather.
It also forced the Khartoum government to hold the bodies until investigations into the crash were completed.
However, the Uganda government denied the report, saying that the delay to transport the bodies to Uganda was due to the failure to distinguish them from those of Dr Garang's team.
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Mon, Aug 08, 2005 19:32 UT Ugandan president skips Garangs funeral
Sunday 7 August 2005.KAMPALA, Aug 6, 2005 A day after stunning the world by suggesting that the helicopter crash in which Sudan vice president John Garang was killed may not have been accidental, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stayed away Saturday from the ex-rebel leaders funeral.
Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni(L) views the body of the late First Vice-President of Sudan John Garang in Yei, south Sudan, Friday 5, 2005. (AFP). Museveni, who had been expected to attend the service for his longtime friend in the southern Sudanese town of Juba, was conspicuous by his absence at the ceremony which several other African leaders attended.
Uganda had announced earlier in the week that it would be represented at the funeral "by the highest authority in the country" but had not specified exactly who that meant although Museveni as head of state and government fits the description.
Ugandan Information Minister James Nsaba Buturo would say only that Museveni had gone on Friday to the town of Yei in southern Sudan "to see the body and after paying his last respects, he returned to Uganda."
In Yei, the Ugandan leader raised eyebrows by suggesting the July 30 chopper crash in which Garang died might not have been accidental, contrary to official explanations.
"Some people say accident, it may be an accident, it may be something else," Museveni told mourners in Yei, noting that Garang had perished on his presidential helicopter and that an unspecified "external factor" might have been responsible.
The comments irked Sudanese officials and distressed diplomats and others in Sudan where there has been fierce speculation that Garang was assassinated.
Sudanese Information Minister Abdul Basit Sebdarat said late Friday that Musevenis remarks were "extremely worrying" in light of the fact that an international team is now investigating the crash.
"Uttering statements or speculations ahead of the investigation would harm the probe and the chances of finding the facts," Sudans official SUNA news agency quoted Sebdarat as saying.
Anger over Garangs death and conspiracy theories are blamed for much of the deadly violence in Khartoum and Juba that erupted after news of the fatal helicopter crash broke on August 1.
UN special envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk told reporters in Juba on Saturday ahead of Garangs funeral that there was no reason to think the crash was anything other than an accident due to poor weather, darkness and possible pilot error.
(AFP/Sudan Tribune)
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Joseph Kamugisha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Omw. Mujungu:"Shifting of goal posts by M7", is a normal practice in his Uganda. Adding "fuel to speculation" is also normal in most circles. But depending on who is adding "fuel to speculation" is another thing becuse we a re talking about fourteen innocent lives which perished in a Presidentila chopper which the President had defended as being fit to fly especially after the recent overhauling.But at the end of the day, investigator's don't only go by how recent the aircraft was overhauled or serviced. Their investigations may require finding out why some senior government officials made "extremly disturbing" comments before the investigations were even started and who the "joy riders" were,how they got on board, who allowed them on board, were they armed, did they provoke a scuffle on board that lead to the crush or were they the ones in the pilots seat thus leading the choper to it;s fateful landing site?Owa maawe, Mujungu, all those questions above and more, i'm sure will ned some qualified answers to a good and reputable investigating team.Kamugisha
Johnson Mujungu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Rev., agreed. Even worse perhaps, the shifting of goal posts by M7 in the midst of an inquiry will only add fuel to speculation.Regards,----- Original Message -----From: Joseph KamugishaSent: Saturday, August 06, 2005 5:12 PMSubject: Re: [UNAANET] Garang - an extra body not claimed by either the Ugandans or the SPLM/A.Omw. Mujungu:The posted article, says in part:"..........But preliminary inquiries suggest that the stranger could not have been the cause of the accident but a joyrider.
In widely reported remarks by the international media, Mr Museveni said on Friday in Yei in southern Sudan that the helicopter crash may not have been an accident, contrary to earlier official explanations.........."I wish the speculator's could hold onto their speculations and allow the investigator's do their job first.Now, as far as this "joy rider" is concerned, i hope the "black box" was secured to tell whether there was a scuffle on board before the crush or not. Otherwise, with his body badly burnt, his presence on board will forever be a matter of "speculation".Kamugisha
Johnson Mujungu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Bodies of Ugandan crash victims arrive Monday GRACE MATSIKO JUBA
The bodies of the seven Ugandans who died in the helicopter crash with Dr John Garang last weekend arrive back home this Monday, bringing to an end the agony that their families have endured.
"We have agreed with the Sudan government that the bodies will be coming on Monday. Specific details will be given by the government," Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda told Sunday Monitor from Juba, where he arrived early on Saturday from New Site to attend Garang's burial.
SAD MOMENT: President Museveni takes a closer look at the remains of late First Vice-President of Sudan, Dr John Garang, on Friday at Yei. Garang was to be buried in Juba on Saturday. The bodies of Musevenis seven staff who perished in the crash wil arrive in Uganda on Monday. See story on Page 2 & 3. AFP photo The helicopter crashed near New Site, Garang's southern base.
Ruguda has been in southern Sudan since Wednesday with a team of Ugandan forensic experts and other investigators and also on a mission to have the bodies released.Families of the seven Ugandans involved in the crash on Thursday flew back after identifying their loved ones.
Sunday Monitor has learnt that DNA samples from the accident scene were taken to Nairobi for laboratory tests with the help of the United Nations.The bodies of Col. Peter Nyakairu, Capt. Paul Kiyimba, Mr Sam Bakowa, Lt. John Munanura, Maj. Patrick Kiggundu, Ms Lillian Kabaije and Cpl. Hassan Kiiza were initially expected to arrive here on Thursday, which had even been declared a public holiday.
But that was not to be after reports emerged alleging that there was an extra body which had not been claimed by either the Ugandans or the SPLM/A.
Initial reports had indicated that there were 14 people aboard the ill-fated Mi-172 Ugandan presidential chopper. The reported emergence of the 15th body of a male adult is fuelling speculation that the helicopter, after all, may not have come down as a result of human error or mechanical failure.
A security source said that the Presidential Guard Brigade, the elite military unit that guards President Museveni, has already taken a roll call of its personnel at Entebbe Airport to ensure that the strange person on the helicopter was not one of them.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army has also done the same. The Civil Aviation Authority security officials have also been told to check if they have a member of their staff missing. By the time we went to press, it was not clear whether the CAA had conducted such an exercise.
"People may want to read much into this but this could turn out that this person was a harmless man," a highly placed security source said. "However, this being an issue of concern to another country, all efforts must be made to identify this person. The responsibility is on us to identify the person, even if it turns out that he is a Sudanese."
The identification exercise has also been rendered difficult by the state of the stranger's remains, the source said. The body was reportedly burnt beyond recognition.The bag containing the remains of the unidentified person has been separated by forensic experts at the scene and has been placed right in the middle of the inquiry.
But preliminary inquiries suggest that the stranger could not have been the cause of the accident but a joyrider.
In widely reported remarks by the international media, Mr Museveni said on Friday in Yei in southern Sudan that the helicopter crash may not have been an accident, contrary to earlier official explanations."Some people say accident, it may be an accident, it may be something else," Museveni said, suggesting for the first time the crash of his presidential chopper in which Garang was riding after visiting the Ugandan leader may have been the result of foul play.
"I am looking [at] all options," he told a crowd of thousands of mourning southern Sudanese in Yei where Garang's body was brought as part of a funeral procession before the Saturday burial in the town of Juba.
"The [helicopter] was very well equipped, this was my [helicopter], the one I am flying all the time, I am not ruling anything out," Museveni said, while paying tribute to Garang as a visionary pan-Africanist and a great contributor to the continent's ambitions for unity and prosperity.
"Either the pilot panicked, either there was some side wind or the instruments failed or there was an external factor," he said. "The [international] inquiry will look at all possibilities."Foreigners barred
Meanwhile, the Sudanese have barred all foreign delegations from going to the burial site of Dr Garang in Juba for security reasons. Their participation has been limited to a church service in the city that is eventually to be the capital of the vast southern Sudan region.
The delegations that include Presidents Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa will speed back to the airport in Juba and fly out immediately after the requiem mass.Museveni is not attending, having paid his last respects to his comrade in Yei on Friday.
Museveni and Garang had known each other for nearly four decades and, once he came to power in 1986, the Ugandan President backed his friend's cause for a non-racist and secular Sudan to the hilt.Garang's body was to fly from Bor, his birthplace, to Juba for burial at about 4 p.m. The Ugandan delegation of ministers and security personnel is led by Mr Henry Kajura, a deputy premier and minister for public affairs. The ministers on the delegation are Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, Ms Betty Akech, Mr Mike Mukula, Mr Okot Ogong and Mr Nshimye Ssebutulo.
© 2005 The Monitor Publications Ltd.
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