Why Amin regime killers are free under Museveni Fred Guweddeko
Since President Museveni took power, all the convicted ex-Amin regime operatives, and those in exile for murder have won freedom under unclear circumstances. By releasing Mohamed Birikadde, Museveni confirmed his unconditional pardon to all the ‘criminals’ who murdered Ugandans under the dreadful Amin regime. These criminals deserve punishment. Clemency can only be upon apology to the victims. However, only the relatives of Ankole region victims of Amin regime criminals were recently invited to a conciliation meeting with President Museveni and promised compensation. NRM ignores the Amin family/regime members wishing to apologise and explaining the killings. NRM has instead pardoned, offered jobs and largesse to the Amin family/regime operatives associated with crimes and unrepentant about their reign of murder. The big question is how and why did NRM/A with well-intentioned leaders like Prof. Lule and (possibly) Museveni ally/unite with ex-Amin regime criminals. Before Lule and Museveni united, creating NRM/A, Kenya was the military patron of the UFF (Buganda rebels). The first batch of Kenya-trained Buganda guerilla field commanders were commissioned by Moi and Lule in October 1980. Tragedy befell the Baganda commanders when their reception link in Kampala, called Senngendo, betrayed them for money. Although this traitor was immediately after killed by UFF High Command in a broad daylight shoot-out at Bakuli in Kampala, Kenya withdrew military support to the Buganda anti-Obote rebellion and terminated the second batch trainees. Actually, this treachery explains the absence of Baganda field commanders in the subsequent NRM/A War, which some pro-Buganda on the CBS FM radio usually blame on alleged Museveni anti-Buganda sectarianism. Lule was heartbroken by the death of the commanders and opted out of the war, because of Baganda untrustworthiness. In this crisis, the Baganda resolved to unite with Museveni. Had Baganda not betrayed their field commanders and lost Kenya’s military support, they would not have allied with Museveni who had ousted Lule in 1979 and is now the obstacle to the aspirations that took Buganda to war. The union (NRM/A) lacked military patronage but Ghadaffi was already sponsoring two unpopular rebel groups. One of Ugandan ex-Amin operatives led by Brig Moses Ali (with a clean record), the other of non-Ugandan ex-Amin operatives under Brig Farouk Minawa (one of the Amin killers). NRM/A sought Ghadaffi patronage and the condition was NRM/A to unite with ex-Amin rebel groups. Problem was that the Moses Ali group was the core of destroying Buganda in 1966, while the Minawa group had defeated Museveni’s FRONASA guerillas in 1973-74. Greatest obstacle to NRM/A uniting with Ghadaffi/Amin was that Lule had past linkages to imperialist UK and Museveni to Israel. Minawa expressed in a ‘blind interview’ in Mombasa in 2007 that he convinced Ghadaffi to support NRM/A. Explaining why Museveni couldn’t punish or repatriate ex-Amin ‘criminals’ from Kenya, Minawa revealed some Ghadaffi assistance terms to NRM/A. Minawa asserted that through Ghadaffi war patronage, NRM/A is definitely an extension the ‘Amin’ regime. Besides overlooking the murdered Ugandans, Minawa said the Tripoli Agreement, made Brig Moses Ali (ex-Amin) the Vice President to Prof Lule upon NRM/A ousting Obote. The current mingling of ex-Amin regime criminals with NRM corruption villains reflects Uganda as a true territory of ‘Satan’. What matters however, is not so much the freedom of Amin criminals but the closeness between NRM and Amin regime and failure for Uganda to learn from history. *Mr Guwedekko is a researche*
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