DRC STABILITY SHOULD NOT BE A PASSING INTEREST

Last week we were reminded, by the attack on Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School in which at least 40 people were killed, that instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) will have to be dealt with one way or another, it will not go away by itself.

For us mere mortals we wonder about the Allied Democratic forces (ADF). How do they continue to terrorise our people? Why can’t we just go into the Congo and fish them out? What is the ir problem with us?

"To answer these questions with any seriousness we probably have to go all the way back to the 19^th century, when Belgium’s King Leopold carved out the vast mass of land at the center of the continent for his personal enrichment. DRC is bigger than the European Union by land mass. DRC is almost eighty times the size of Belgium...

In the years when it was he is personal fiefdom, between 1885 and 1908, he put the natives to work in building arguably the biggest rubber planation in the world. Leopold terrorized the Congolese to ensure they met rubber production quotas including conscripting whole villages to work for him, wiping them out if they did not, mutilation, child slavery, rape and any number of depravities humans are capable of. It is estimated that up to 15 million Congolese died during the period.

Leopold did not coat his intentions with high sounding motivations like bringing civilisation to Africa. He did not think the African deserved any courtesy.

International pressure – maybe by those missing out on the Congo’s huge bounty, was used to pry the Congo from King Leopold greedy fingers and hand it over to Belgium.

It goes without saying Congo’s modernisation project got off to a less than enviable start. The Belgians like other colonialists did the bare minimum for the Congolese, focusing more on extraction of its natural endowments.

When they left in 1960, they ensured this extraction continues by putting in place lackey’s like Mobutu Sese Seko. Mobutu famously chided Emperor Bokassa of neighboring Central Africa Republic for building good roads in his country.

“These same roads will be used to kick you out,” Mobutu told him. Mobutu’s philosophy means that today most of DRC is unreachable by land and to get around you have to fly. DRC is easily the most connected country on the continent by air.

The net effect of this thinking is that public goods like security, justice and social services can not be delivered to the people. As a result poverty is endemic, poverty like we have no conception of in Uganda. Invariably this leads to lawlessness and insecurity...

So, its not hard to understand why Eastern DRC, more than 2000km from Kinshasa – about twice the distance from Kampala to Mombasa, is the way it is. There are dozens of militia groups running around, set up to protect areas from other militias but they in turn terrorise others for survival.

The UN have had a mission in the area for the last 20 years, which has failed spectacularly in pacifying the area. An impossible task for a handful of foreigners to do in an area the size of Buganda region.

It is useful that DRC has joined the East African Community (EAC). This could attract more investment to eastern Congo. At the bare minimum if we could open up the road infrastructure and trade can flow more seamlessly, wealth can be created for more people in that region and then we will have a real chance of stamping out lawlessness in eastern DRC.

As it is now if we were to do it by force, we would need to raise a full army or two in the area to have half a chance.

That is how history goes. In more “developed” countries they battled lawlessness and terror for centuries before a critical mass of people were created for whom peace and stability was critical. These people – middle and upper classes, had the reins of power and the ability and will to enforce the law.

Sadly, history suggests that it will get worse before it gets better. History also shows that the thing with history is that we do not learn from history.

GENERAL TUMWINE AND THE MAKING OF TOUGH TIMES

General Elly Tumwine was laid to rest on Tuesday after succumbing to cancer last week.

Tumwine was the army commander of the National Resistance Army (NRA) when they took over Kampala in 1986. He remained a high ranking official of the government and even when dropped as security minister in 2021, was still seen as a leading light of the NRM.

But whenever the origins of the NRA are revisited the fact that he shot the first shot that started the bush war in February 6, 1981 is trotted out. This made him a huge symbolic figure in the Movement’s history.

One wouldn’t fail to note the timing of Tumwine’s demise at the beginning of a week during which 48 Generals, him among them, many of them bushwar veterans, retired from the army.

Clearly a passing of an era is underway that would be interesting to put in perspective.

When the story is told of the beginnings of the bushwar we gloss over the fact that Tumwine and many of his contemporaries, many university graduates, were the crème de la crème of their generation.

When I went to university much later in 1992 it was impressed upon me that of all the kids I started primary school with only 2,000 or about 0.1 percent of us had made it to University. At that time there were only two universities, Makerere and Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST). If that was true for us imagine how much truer this was for the Tumwine’s?

The Amin administration by the time Tumwine graduated, had decimated the economy, but earlier generation’s reported that before they had finished their final exams they already had job offers from government and the top corporate companies.

"That these princes could have forsaken their place at the high table of society to become outlaws suggests two things; either they were mentally unstable or the times were so desperate they could not see any hope for the future, despite their high qualifications....

People who know these ladies and gentlemen more intimately, report that they are as sound of mind as the next man.

When you came out of university you were hopeful for the future and ready to take on the world, this clearly was not the case in 1981, at least for Tumwine and his contemporaries.

Despite their larger-than-life personas today and their influence on society over the last three decades, these renegades were the minority in a population, which had resigned itself to the leadership of the day.

It can be argued that they lost their idealism as soon as they assumed the reins of power. The dynamics of running a state means they have had to face up to the realities of what it takes to hang on to power. It is often a messy business and forces men and women to do things they never dreamed they would do.

 Uganda nor the NRM is no different.

Power gives one the ability to influence events, without power your vision for the future remains a pipe dream. How you exercise that power is down to the wielder of that power and what society is willing to allow you to get away with.

Its for this reason, if you want to be remembered as a hero or saint, die young or do not wield power. That is why we venerate people like Jesus, Che Gueverra, Thomas Sankara and John F Kennedy on one hand and Mahtma Ghandi, Mother Theresa and even Nelson Mandela on the other.  Exercising power Is not for the faint hearted and rarely leaves those in power with unsoiled hands.

So it should come as no surprise that a section of society feel hard done by Tumwine and his contemporaries on one hand, while the generals maintain the conviction of their cause, shown by the way some of them closed ranks behind Tumwine.

One image that emerged from events surrounding the General’s farewell was the a 28-second video clip of dozens of 4WDs leaving Kololo Ceremonial Grounds after Tumwine’s state funeral. Most of these were official government cars, an indication of how much richer government is than it was when the young Tumwines threw their fate at the mercy of the gods.

This event brought to mind the saying, “Tough times create strong men; Strong men create good times; Good times create weak men; Weak men create tough times”

 

 

BOMBS ON ADF AND THE LARGER QUESTION OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION

Two weeks ago our own Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) attacked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) bases in eastern Congo.

Reports had it that the artillery and airstrikes were concentrated on an area of about 150 square kilometers. The ADF cannot have enjoyed the experience and while news is scanty, given the area that was flattened fatalities must have run in dozens never mind casualties.

Unfortunately, the operation is open ended with no time frame set to pacify an area, mostly dense tropical forest, bigger than the whole of Uganda.

The repercussions on our budget will be negative but we have to trust that this is a sacrifice we have to make with the long term in mind.

"For starters the security threat that the ADF pose cannot be overemphasized, but even more important is the security threat of having huge lawless, ungovernable areas bordering us. If it is not the ADF it will be someone else who has evil intentions on us using the Congolese jungles as his launch pad...

It does not help that there are more than 1 hundred armed militia’s roaming the area praying on the population and one would imagine happy to sell their “expertise” to the highest bidder. The emergence of these militias is not all down to criminal intent. In an area where the state has been absent for coming to half a century people have to protect themselves and sometimes in so doing they may just decide to prey on weaker neighbours and soon there is a full scale arms race in the area. And what is to stop them one day cross our imaginary borders and attacking on Ugandans?

The sustainable thing to do is to bring the area under some kind of central control by force initially, which should have been the job of Kinshasa but more importantly by creating an environment in which economic activity can flourish.

Sustainable peace comes from interdependence. Trade is right up there as one of the best ways to create interdependence. When we have no mutual benefit to ourselves war and predation become a real possibility.

So the collaboration with the Kinshasa to improve the road network in eastern Congo is actually what we should be focused on. Any military victories will be temporary but making movement in the area easier is not only useful from a security perspective but will automatically encourage the movement of people, goods and services.

An interesting story from the Mobutu Ssese Seko era explains why DRC – larger than western Europe, has less tarmaced roads than Uganda. During a state visit to neighbouring Central African Republic, then president Jean Bedel Bokassa drove Mobutu through wide, tree lined streets to his palace. At some point Mobutu, who was supposed to be impressed by this show of development, couldn’t hold it any longer, “My friend these goods roads of yours are how you will be overthrown!” he said.

This egocentric thinking has doomed the DRC to confusion and poverty.

"As it is now DRC and mostly the eastern expanse is fast becoming Uganda’s largest trading partner accounting for up to $400 million in exports. We have seen in our own lifetimes how little tarmac can totally change the economy of neighbourhoods and regions....

The 200 km of paved road that we shall help build in the region are just a tip of what is necessary to unlock the vast potential of that region and may very well serve as a useful stimulus for our economy to rebound in coming years.

If in these times when roads are not usable year around we are doing almost half a billion dollars in trade it is conceivable that we can more than double that with the most basic of road infrastructure in place.

Improved economic activity in the area will make joining up in militias less attractive and once the communities have tasted peace and stability will be loath to support any militias.

"Of course for the DRC they have to step up. Uganda’s presence is at best temporary, we would rather have our sons and daughters back home than roaming the jungles of Congo with a target on their backs....

Which brings us to the wider question of regional integration. It starts with recognizing that our borders, really only lines on paper, do not insulate us from the poverty and underdevelopment on the other side. That shared prosperity of first border communities and then whole regions is how will keep our worst excesses from consuming us all.

If it takes a handful of disheveled types running around playing war, to quicken the cause for integration so be it.

 

 

OUR SECURITY IS TOO IMPORTANT TO BE LEFT TO THE POLICE

On the night of July 11, 2010 two bombs were set off at Kyadondo Rugby grounds and the Ethiopian Village in Kabalagala, leading to the death of 76 and injuring dozens more, in the worst terror attack in Kampala.

Six years later, then high court Judge Owiny Dollo convicted 13 people for the attacks. During the trial a conspiracy that stretched from Ahghanistan to Somalia, that roped in Kenyan and Tanzanian accomplices was uncovered.

Three bombs were meant to go off that night, but one in Makindye malfunctioned and was discovered in an abandoned bag by staff the next day. The two that went off were detonated by suspected Somali suicide bombers.

That was the last we heard about suicide bombers in Uganda, until three weeks ago when one Matovu Muzafari blew himself up and killed one other passenger, travelling in bus heading west on the Kampala-Masaka road.

"At the risk of understating the obvious, signing up to be a suicide bomber is not for the faint hearted...

. From what is known suicide bombers are often young, and their trainers have exploited some past injustice against them or their families to brainwash them into giving up their lives for a cause. So the Muzarafi incident threw up some interesting questions. Had we started breeding our own suicide bombers?

The Tuesday attacks seemed to confirm that. Seen on CCTV camera one bomber, with a backpack was seen walking past the entrance to the Central Police Station (CPS) before he is engulfed in a orange ball of flame and smoke. The second bomber was seen riding up parliament avenue towards parliament before he and his boda rider exploded.

"By definition, no one knows how a suicide bomber behaves before he presses the button. But security minster Major General Jim Muhwezi suggested the bombers may have been unknowing accomplices to the crime. Using the CPS bomber as an example Muhwezi said he was on the phone when the blast went off, his body language suggesting he was still moving on to another destination. 

In the earlier case on the bus it was reported that Muzarafi’s accomplice Nsubuga Muhammad, alighted from the bus minutes before the bomb blast. In hindsight Muzarafi may have been oblivious to his eventual mission and that Nsubuga may have detonated his bomb remotely. We will not know for sure as Nsubuga was killed soon after by security agents.

Given our experience, where suicide bombers have been the most lethal, it should bring some relief that we may not have suicide bomber cells in Uganda.

That being said, if we needed any confirmation that security issues cannot be left to the security agents, this week was it.

The attackers live among us and they can attack at any time of the day or night. It may be added that previous bob attacks were during the night but possibly because the curfew restrictions the bombers have decided there are not enough targets at night.

Now not only should be on the lookout for luggage left unattended but also for unusual behavior from our neighbours and desist from helping carrying unknown luggage around.

The village councils need to be reactivated. They need know who all the residents in their areas are, where there have come from and other relevant details.

"The point is personal vigilance is more important than ever. The war is being brought to our doorsteps...

The police are pointing at the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and this too is interesting. In the 1999 spate of bombings in Kampala the story was that the ADF, under pressure in their bases in the Rwenzori mountains were hoping to divert security attention from operations in western Uganda.

These attacks may suggest the ADF are suffering unwanted pressure in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) bases and these attacks it is hoped can ease their pain.

Stay safe!

LESSONS FROM THE ETHIOPIA TRAGEDY

This week marked one year since the Ethiopian civil war begun.

What begun as a political dispute when current prime minster Abiy Ahmed rose to power and sidelined the once dominant Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) flared into a full blown civil war and now the imminent fall of Addis Ababa.

This is a tragedy on many fronts not least of all because these developments will set the continent’s second most populous nation back politically and economically.

The signs however have been staring us in the face. While rapid economic growth over the last twenty or so years – the size of their economy was doubling every eight years,  made it look like Ethiopia was on an irreversible path to development you cannot paper over the realities of poverty and inequitable development...

It is not news that Ethiopia has not been the best place for journalists to work in recent years and what triggered the recent uprising is the government’s alleged blockading of Tigray, preventing much needed relief aid from reaching the northern region which is being ravaged by drought.

The details are, of course much messier, but one can guess that Ethiopia’s politics, which is organised along tribal lines is at the heart of it.

And therein lies the challenge of running a developing country, at least in our part of the world.

The reality of power is such that you have to cobble together a power base to propel yourself to power and once there to maintain you there.

When a leader in our parts look around the easiest coalitions are family and tribe, not labour, landowners or industrialists as happens in more developed economies.

All the textbooks will tell you that the narrowness of such powerbases are a recipe for intolerance and instability and are not the best base from which to launch a democratic nation.

And for the while that it works everybody thinks “this time it will be different”, but you cannot subvert the laws of society for long before they turn around to bite you.

As Bill Clinton said when he run for the White House in 1992 “It’s the economy, stupid!”

Any leader worth his name in the world and more importantly in our neck of the woods, has to have the economy at the top of his agenda.

He has to make it his ambition to create the class structures that supersede the politics of tribe and ethnicity. They do this by creating the environment for economic growth, making it easy for business to thrive – you ensure safety of property rights, lay down business enabling infrastructure and allow the markets to thrive....

The cold war showed us, with the collapse of the communist block, that countries are only as credible as the viability of their private sectors.

The private sector creates the economic activity that can be taxed. With these taxes government can provide public goods and most especially education and health services. Education and health are critical because they are the rungs on the ladder required to allow for social climbing of even the lowest members of society. They improve the quality of your human resource.

Education, for one is a great equaliser, allowing students to criss cross the country, interact with other tribes and demystify all the myths surrounding our differences. It also allows them to transcend their ethnicity and causes collaborations that eventually lead to the creation of classes with wide cutting interests.

There are two reasons why leaders do not pursue this progressive course; it takes a long time for these transformations to take root and in the meanwhile they revert to their politics of ethnicity to hang on to power.  But also because it will very well mean working yourself out of a job as the people become more empowered and clamour for the share of power. It is inevitable.

But also, for the simple reason that political expediency does not allow for the selling of long term dreams that you will not be around to see through.

"A better educated, middle class dominated country is unlikely to revert to brute force to resolve political disagreement. They have too much to lose...

Better that than to encourage tribalism and fratricidal war as we are witnessing in Ethiopia, which bursts out and undoes all your good work.

AFGHANISTAN AND THE FOLLY OF FOREIGN INTERVENTIONS

It has been almost a month since the US government made good on their intention to cut their losses in Afghanistan and flee the central Asian hellhole.

It will be 20 years tomorrow since terrorists – Mostly from Saudi Arabia, flew into the Twin Towers in the New York and the Pentagon to trigger the “War on Terrorism”. At the time the Talban were in control of Afghanistan and suspected of aiding Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

US President George Bush wasted no time in not only setting the cross hairs on Kabul and cobbling together a coalition of nations to invade Afghanistan, topple the government there and bring Bin Laden to justice. At least that is what he told the world. A claim, which came under question when he decided to throw Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the mix under the pretext that he had weapons of mass destruction.

Bush declared victory in Iraq but not Afghanistan, his successor Barack Obama got Bin Laden and it was left to Donald Trump to negotiate an exit plan and current president Joe Biden to execute that plan.

Thankfully the US has not tried to claim victory in Afghanistan. It would be a pyrrhic victory if they did – it cost 170,000 lives and $2trillion dollars. While the US has emerged smelling more of manure than roses, a few billionaires have built their fortunes upon the rabble of Afghanistan...

It was always going to be a clumsy close to this chapter of US history. This had been their longest war the US has fought , the duration meaning they had put down some semi-permanent roots that could not be uprooted at a moment’s notice. As a result, they have had to evacuate many of their collaborators and support them for the foreseeable future at great cost to the blissfully ignorant US taxpayer.

Whichever way you look at it, this a misadventure, like Vietnam, the US will be anxious to put behind them as soon as possible.

Analysts have in past weeks mulled over why the US had to beat a hasty and messy retreat from Afghanistan, even if it was to great embarrassment to themselves.

Some thought in the current depressed global economy it is an expense they can barely afford – they spent $300m daily to execute the war; some think that it was a distraction from trying to contain China, which over the last two decades has grown to be the second largest economy after the US and threatening to overtake it within the decade; the more charitable ones think the US has seen the error of its way and this signals an end to their meddling ways abroad.

That last one should be dismissed out of hand, if only because the US has the world’s largest military industrial complex that has to be kept sated – the US’ defence budget is larger than the combined budgets of the next 11 biggest defence spending countries.

I think the first reason that the war was too expensive, falls on its face in the light of the huge military industrial complex’s needs.

There will always be money for war especially if it supports local industry. Bullets don’t rot on the shelf, they need to be used to be replaced....

Which leaves us with the China question. Before our very eyes China has risen from the ashes of Mao Tse Tsung’s cultural revolution to challenge US in economic might and world influence. After the collapse of the USSR in the 1980s and 1990s the US became the unchallenged super power, running rough shod over everybody else with their liberal economy and multi-party democracy prescriptions for all the world’s ills.

Now China has inserted itself into the vacuum, which came as a surprise, not because the US never saw it coming than out of arrogance, the thought that the Chinese would never amount to much.

Bombing Afghanistan into the stone age, while a lucrative distraction had to be put on hold to contain China, which is flexing its muscles – literally and figuratively in everywhere from the South China Sea to Africa and Europe.

I tend to believe this last theory more. After the better part of a century playing big brother in the world, the US would not know how to or countenance playing second to a resurgent China.

So in coming years look out for more economic wars with China – Trump was just the beginning; proxy wars – the US does not go to war with a country it can’t win against and invariably a new world order – fundamentalist terrorism will fade into the background, with the US and China playing the elephants and the rest of us serving as the hapless grass.

MAKING SENSE OF THE MASAKA ATTACKS

Over the last few weeks news out of Masaka is of gangs running around unimpeded, attacking villagers with iron bars and pangas.

The brazenness of the attackers is such that at times they warn their victims ahead of time that they were coming and make good on their promise.

The events have moved from isolated incidents to a regular occurrence in the last month or so bringing into question what is going on.

In the last week the political and security leadership have come out publicly to address the issue. So far more than 20 have died and many others injured, while at the same time ten suspects have been charged in court.

"The chilling thing about the attackers is that they are not stealing anything during their attacks, although in one incident they sat down to help themselves to the food in the kitchen. This means they are not ordinary criminals....

Their intent is seemingly to sow fear in the area, to what end? It has been suggested that they are doing this to raise doubts about government’s capacity to keep people safe. These are the hallmarks of terrorism.

It reminds me of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) which run rampage in northern Uganda for two decades. Led by Joseph Kony, they claimed that they wanted to overthrow the government and rule the country by the ten commandments, but by their actions -- lopping off lips, hacking off limbs, abducting children and killing villagers altogether, did not suggest they were interested in winning the hearts and minds of the population in the area.

They effectively terrorized the region until Sudan, under pressure from the US’ “war on terror” allowed Uganda to enter South Sudan and dismantle their rare bases.

With LRA there was evidence of a unified command, which is different from Masaka gangs, who seem to be small groups hitting different places simultaneously and stretching the security infrastructure to the point of ineffectiveness.

It may be early days but unlike the LRA, the Stockholm Syndrome – where the captives begin to sympathise with their captors, doesn’t seem to have set in yet. But for how long?

You have to feel for the everyday person in the affected areas. They are caught between their attackers, who seem to attack at will and leisure on one side and the government on the other which seems to be slow to move on this new threat.

If government does not clamp down quickly on the attacks, the hapless villagers will begin to negotiate with their assaulters to the detriment of any security operations.  Tier reality is much different from us reading our news off our smart phones, this a real existential threat and will develop coping mechanisms that may seem unpalatable to onlookers.

Looking at either side of this “conflict” you have to wonder on one hand who these assailants are who are preying on vulnerable people and not for monetary gain or political capital? They coordination of their action suggests there is some central command, what kind of people would lead such a group to terrorise local populations? Is it possible that the leaders are not from the region, therefore their lack of empathy for the villagers?

On the other side of the pendulum clearly there has been a laxity of security. No surprises there if only because we know how the police are so under resourced. One can imagine the large areas that are under one police stations jurisdiction in the Masaka area and the station may not even have one patrol vehicle. And these inadequacies cascade down to the investigation and the intelligence capabilities.

The truth is that on the whole Ugandans are law abiding citizens and therefore a semblance of peace/security can be achieved with little resourcing of the police. But this will not always be the case. With growing populations, environmental degradation and increased urbanization crime will follow as night follows day and the government will be caught flat footed as it has been in these latest incidents.

The Masaka incidents point to the fact that we need to beef up our civilian policing capacity if only in preparation for an uptick in insecurity deriving from the above change in our circumstances.

TO BELIEVE OR NOT BELIEVE THE BUDGET

In last week’s budget we heard that the economy grew by 3.3 percent in this financial year compared to last year when the economy grew by 3.0 percent.

This is pitiful given that, prior to the covid-19 pandemic it was projected that this year the economy would grow by more than 6.0 percent.

During the Absa Bank Uganda post budget forum held on Friday it was interesting to hear various experts note that while the economy had been badly hit it was still showing growth, which has a lot to do with the way our economy is structured.

"It helps of course that we can feed ourselves as a nation. Despite the restrictions on movement and congregation the agriculture sector kept us afloat in this important aspect...

But beyond feeding us our farms also produce our biggest tradables among ourselves and in the region.

Commissioner General John Musinguzi who was a panelist at the Absa Bank forum, which was themed “Implications of the budget proposals on trade and manufacturing” said the two sectors accounted for just over half of the revenue collections.

While both sectors took a hit in the last year they still dominate the revenue collections, which suggests that it was wise for government not to restict the movement of cargo, never mind that truck drivers caused us a lot of grief in hte first pandemic wave.

While Absa mananging director Mumba Kalifungwa along with others were glad to hear governmnet maintained its commitment on the infrastructure development, Damalie Ssali, coutry director at Trademark East Africa however, pointed out that we also need to improve the roads within the country.

She reported that

Uganda loses $1.5m (Sh5.2b) daily from cars idling in Kampala traffic...

They are all connected – agriculture, higher trade volumes and manufacturing revenues and the traffic jams of Kampala.

The losses due to traffic are not just numbers, somebody has to pay for them. Beyond the increase in hypertension among drivers,  its the poorest who bear the burden of these losses in terms of poor service delivery. Because that is money that is disposable income that would have gone into buying goods and services, increasing demand for our products, keeping people in jobs or creating more altogether.

I suspect even the $1.5m daily loss is understated.

The finance ministry’s director of budget Ken Mugambe in speaking about the parish development model said at least sh5trillion has been earmarked for the programs, flowing down to the 10,000-plus parishes. While there are seven pillars of the model, government will focus on three – financial inclusion, beefing up the parish administration structures and data collection.

On one hand people see this as an attempt o byass the middlemen and get resources nearer the household, the critics however, point to the inadequate administration structures as the loophole, which will not only frustrate the program’s inception but also provide an avenue to enrich a few bureaucrats who take advantage of the confusion.

Other critics wonder whether the same work can not be executed through existing government structures and that the parish development model may be a duplication of functions.

"The intention is good, it may be failed by the implementation...

In the parish development model among other things they have provided for extension services, irrigation and bulking of products, which are useful if we are to bring agroindustrialisation into reality.

The truth is

while we can feed ourselves as a country, we do not produce enough surpluses to sustain a robust agro-industrial complex....

Production in the agricultural sector has to make quantum leaps before agorindustrialisation and its benefits of improved farmgate prices, higher export receipts and job creation can be a reality.

Increased agricultural production can increase jobs by more than the million jobs government looks to create by building industrial parks and free trade zones.

Increased production requires a market to absorb it. The East African Community now account for about a quarter of all our trade and the promise of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area look set to snap our increased production. But Uganda Manafacturer’s Association (UMA)  executive director Daniel Birungi, worried that if we do not have robust trade dispute resolution mechanisms as we have seen wth our dealings with Rwanda, where our common border has b een closed for two years, what hope is there for trading efficiently with countries far afield on the continent?

"So while we are feeling the pain of the covid pandemic in our pockets, continued macro economic stability, the improved business environment due to infrastructural improvements and the promise of increased agricultural productivity give us hope for the future....

Time will tell.

THE UPDF RETIREMENTS AND THE STATE OF THE NATION

In his seminal book “Guns, Germs & Steel” author Jared Diamond makes an attempt to explain why the north – economic north is rich and the south is poor.

"At the bottom of it is the agrarian revolution where farmers by adopting more modern methods of agriculture – crop spacing, irrigation and animal husbandry, were able to generate a surplus. This surplus was traded with neighbours or stored away to finance two classes of people that have been critical to the domination of western culture – the thinkers and the professional army...

That is how great scientists like Isaac Newton or Michael Faraday or Galileo Galilei were able to tinker around for hours in their labs and lay the foundations of modern science or allowed Aristotle and Socrates while away their days thinking about the organization of society.

The professional army barracked away from society and the study of military science in the same vein meant that the armies of western Europe were able to sweep around the globe form conquest to conquest, with the booty from this far flung empire – another surplus, helping to improve the living standards of their people.

The development of the modern army is in response to the need to project these country’s influence abroad and to defend themselves against other rivals imperial ambitions.

In lesser developed nations armies were smaller, used rudimentary weapons and little to no science in their operations.

When the war drums were beaten able bodied men reached for the nearest implement and rushed onto the battlefield to protect their lands and women. Or not. Driven more by passion than strategy.

No wonder a handful of soldiers were able to subdue all the tribes on the African continent.

Fast forward to the present. This week 341 officers of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) were retired in a lively ceremony at Bombo barracks.

Some had been in service since the 1970s having been passed down from the Uganda Army to the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) the National Resistance Army (NRA) and eventually the UPDF.

Before being demobilized they were oriented into civilian life, advised about how best to utilize their severance pay and how to access their pensions.

This was a great occasion not just for the UPDF but for the country as a whole. For one the fact that the UPDF can allow people leave is a sign of the peace prevailing in the nation. While they are still on call as reservists, the urgency to maintain all officers and men in situ is not there anymore and is not conceived for the near future.

It also means the Forces are being renewed with young people joining and coming through the ranks.

As a peace time force they need to be looking to improve the quality of the force rather than increasing the size of the force. Recently reported plans to convert Kabamba Military Academy into a university of military science points in this direction. We shall return to this.

Secondly, these can add to efforts to boost the economy. Soldiers by training and practice are disciplined and understand its usefulness. There is nothing worthwhile that can be achieved without discipline. In western economies demobilized soldiers become businessmen and consultants, their value recognized by business and their contribution valued.

In more competitive economies every edge counts and the army is recognized as useful resource for mining leaders.

The battles of the future will not be fought with the AK47 – a handy, sturdy gun, well suited to our low technology environments. The battles of the future will be fought in cyberspace, in the labs and with much more advanced technologies and out of necessity will require a different kind of soldier.

Continuous renewal of the forces can help in better appreciating this new reality.

I think I am young and as a member of the press, I am ahead of most people in our society in keeping abreast of recent developments. But any superiority I feel over my fellow man is often dissipated within minutes of sitting around ten year olds with access to a smart device and a data connection. 

"Not only do they have more access to information than I had at their age, but they are leveraging and manipulating it in ways that can only come from early adoption of these technologies and a fearlessness of the possibilities....

I shudder to think what they will be doing with their computers in a decade or so from now.

The physical demands of military service are a natural filter but given the rapid changes in technology and military science, we may be forced to be more proactive not only returning officers and men into civilian life but in accelerating the training of those still in the force.

OF GUN BUTTING AND STOLEN ROAD RAILS

A few days ago a few individuals decided to help themselves to the road rails on the recently done Mukono-Katosi-Nyenga road.

In the dead of the night these people parked their by the road side and helped themselves to 42 pieces of the guard rails. They would have got away with were it not for some vigilant residents who hid in the nearby bushes to witness the deed, in the process taking down the number plate and identifying the perpetrators of the crime.

Sometime during the process they got in touch with the nearby OC station to alert her to what was happening. But as it turned out she gave them the run around, didn’t turn up and failed to catch the culprits in the act.

It took the intervention from the OC’s superior the following day to get to the bottom of the crime rounding up the culprits and arresting the OC and another policeman as an accomplice.

You might have missed this story because we were all still reeling from the brutal arrest of Yusuf Kawooya last Friday.

"Kawooya was pounced upon by gun wielding men in broad daylight on a Kampala street. It is assumed that in his attempt to defend himself he may have put up a fight. Most of us wouldn’t know because the footage we saw started with Kawooya writhing on the ground as the gun toting (its on the tip of my tongue to say thugs) men half dragged him on the tarmac road, while gun butting his sides, which seemed like an attempt to inflict damage on his kidneys...

Within minutes of the afternoon incident the footage had torn up social media and given much fodder to the critics of the government.

On Saturday the security agents, as it turned out, were hauled before a disciplinary committee to answer for their sins before being carted off to jail. We await the conclusion of that case.

The two incidents are related in more ways than one.

In both incidents there was active involvement of security agents. These law enforcers were actively involved in breaking the very law they were sworn to uphold.

In both incidents it is hard to argue that these security agents had not done this before.

In Mukono it was suggested that the road-rail thieves were warned off by the same police who the crime was reported too. If that had not happened they may have stolen more road rails. So the police officers’ roll in the caper was to look the other way and ensure no interference from themselves as the resident law enforcement agents.

In the Kawooya arrest, except for the clumsiness with which they went about it --  the waiting vehicles, the arms and the numbers marshalled to arrest poor Kawooya all suggest they had done this before.

And in both instances they would have got away with had they not been “caught”.

In the road rail theft we would have dismissed it as old granny tales had the residents tried to insist that the police were in cohorts with the thieves. Or maybe not. But we would have thought the story had gone too far, to suggest the police knew about the incident and pointedly ignored calls to come and arrest the situation.

Had we not seen the footage in the second incident, we might have thought it was just a routine arrest of a suspect. Attempts to provide the detail of the arrest would have been dismissed as being melodramatic.

For starters we have to commend those who brought the incidents to light. It is obvious that without them both incidents would have been swept under the rag and far out of sight of the public conscience.

But more importantly it should be a signal to the security agencies that it cannot be business as usual.
Incidents in our immediate past with – the killing of senior police officers , the terror attack on Kyadondo in 2011 and other incidents offer enough proof that there people out there with designs to cause terror or at least public disturbance. So there is a need for security agencies in their various permutations...

We neither downplay nor dismiss these threats.

But is it too much to ask that our security agents stay out of criminality?

And secondly that in the pursuit of their business that they adhere to the laid out procedures and stick to the law? Onlookers would have been hard pressed to see how arresting the rotund Kawooya necessitated the show of armed force that we saw displayed in the minute long operation.

IS THE POLICE BEYOND REDEMPTION?

On Wednesday President Yoweri Museveni gave an appraisal of the state of security in the country, allaying the public’s fears and outlining what will be done to strengthen the security situation.

The president’s speech came in the wake of the arrest of former Inspector General of Police General Kale Kayihura and several police officers.  Allegations of everything from running protection rackets, murder, arson, drug trafficking, gun running and illegal repatriation of refugees are reported to be of interest to the investigators.

And this is only what we can deduce from recent press reports.

Twenty years ago Justice Julia Sebutinde was tasked with investigating the police and making recommendations for its running into the future.

"During the nearly two yearlong inquiry, not unlike what the above officers are being investigated for, the emerging stories caused sharp intakes of breath around the country. When she was done with her work the police had been revealed as an organised criminal organisation that instead of fighting crime was not only abetting it but its officers and men were actively involved in criminal activity...

The report should have prompted a clean out of the police.

So how come the same tendencies seem to have resurfaced publically nearly twenty years after Sebutinde delivered her report to the appointing authority?

Either, the criminal elements were not entirely weeded out and continued with their nefarious deeds, inducting new recruits in to their evil ways and perpetuating the criminal gang nature of the police.

Or a new criminal element overlaid or replaced the old system, its power growing to the point that it harboured grander ambitions than just shaking down traffic offenders, abetting highway robbers and protecting drug traffickers.

It is scary to think that with the near fourfold expansion of the police since the Sebutinde report, these criminal activities spread out from Kampala and went countrywide.

It is safe to say that the breakdown in police discipline – like many other things in this country, has its roots in the Idi Amin era. Based on the British constabulary the force was designed to enforce the will of the colonial government. Brute force was their default mode. With a breakdown of law and order and inadequacies of budgets the police would find it easy to prey on the very population they are sworn to protect.

The NRM initially focused on putting down insurgencies in east and northern Uganda, left the police to its own devices. With the rebellions put down it was time to turn attention to the police. But we seem to have chosen the path of least resistance, continuing with business as usual instead of general and systematic overhaul of the force. As a result the force has never been purged of its colonial hangover nor its criminal elements and the culture has co-opted everyone who has come in touch with it and like a drug made the drunk with a sense of their own importance.....

It did not help that the police is operating in a situation of endemic corruption, where everybody has a price and allegiances are in a constant state of flux.

Abraham Lincoln once said that if you want to know a man’s real character give him power. With enhanced numbers and budget the police has just become more of what it actually is.

Which brings me back to the President’s statement on Wednesday.

The speech was interesting more for what he didn’t say than what he said.

In his speech the president outlined a series of measures, 10 in number, that would improve the country’s security situation. The measures among which were improved registration of the arms in security agencies, electronic chips embedded in vehicle number plates, installation of cameras on roads and highways and the building of a modern forensic lab, are all medium to long term measures.

Apart from banning boda-boda riders from wearing hoodies, there were no short term measures to beef up security.

POOR POLICING TO BLAME FOR MULTIPLE UGANDA MURDERS

In the last three months or so 11 women have died gruesome deaths at the hands of, what seems to be, a criminal gang in the Kampala-Wakiso area.

The latest on Monday this week was Rosette Nakimuli, a salon operator who was waylaid in the dead of the night, raped and murdered, her body dumped in a banana plantation in Kitala zone, Katabi town council.

"The fact that the criminals are seemingly going about their business unmolested points to a failure of security, beyond the narrow confines of the police force’s mandate...

In terms of fighting crime the police serve three broad purposes – they act as a deterrent, their presence dissuading any criminal activity. Secondly they are meant to foil crimes as they are being committed, which would be a function of their intelligence gathering capabilities and finally once a crime is committed they should be able to catch the perpetrators, a function of their ability to investigate crime.

It would be safe to say that where there is a police presence they serve as enough of deterrent to criminal activity. Witness how very little thuggery happens in broad daylight. This could also be a function of the fact that the Ugandan public tends to mete out swift and brutal justice if criminals are caught in the act. I suspect it’s more because of the latter than the former.

Criminal activity increases during the night for the obvious reason that the cover of darkness is convenient for the perpetrators.

Beyond that is the fact that once a criminal gets away with the act it is more likely than not that they will not be apprehended.

We never cease to hear stories of how the police are undermanned, underfunded and under resourced and a sequencing of how to distribute the merger resources to bridge these deficits gives headache to its top brass. But evidently there needs to be greater investment in intelligence and investigation.

"As it is now when a major crime is committed and the police are in danger of being embarrassed they swoop on the affected area and detain dozens of people to help them with investigations. Talk about using a sledge hammer to kill a fly. This hit-or-miss style suggests a failure in intelligence and investigation with the police trying to eke, or beat out, out confessions than use available evidence to pin the crooks...

Such action arguably causes disgruntlement with the police and establishment, which would make police work more difficult in future.

But beyond the police, such frequent and clearly not random acts of violence points to a failure of community policing. The breakdown of the LC system could be blamed for this, as local authorities used to provide some leadership in keeping neighbourhoods safe.

Reports indicate that residents of the affected areas have reported the presence of some unknown men in the areas around the time of the perpetration of these crimes but their seems to be a slow response to the reports or, even worse, no follow through after the crimes have been committed. And this goes for other crimes as well.

In the absence of civilian organisation, the responsibility to mobilise local populations for popular vigilance would still fall to the police.

In some areas around the Kampala the use of social media among residents, led by the respective police posts in their areas, even with the slow response times of the police, has proved useful. It does not cost much to mobilise people for their own security what is clearly lacking is the leadership.

While we have individual responsibility for our own security, the building of the police’s capacity to stop crime from happening or apprehending the perpetrators when it has happened needs to be looked into urgently.

"As an aside a revisiting of the issue of payment of graduated tax too needs to be looked into. As it is now we have a lot of youth hanging around doing nothing except honing their Ludo skills in our trading centres...

One wonders how they make a living in the day?

THE TOP TEN SHILLINGS & CENTS POSTS OF 2016

Uganda never bores. For better or worse we are always making news. This blog tries to go beyond the news to explain, interpret and decipher the news.

2016 has been a good year for news and below are the top ten Shillings & Cents posts by page views. This is the second edition -- the first having been at the end of 2015, of what will be an annual event

#10: WILLIAM KAJOBA, IN THE EYE OF THE BAILOUT STORM

On an evening talk show early last week Kampala businessman William Kajoba came out strongly in favour of a bailout of local businessmen, who are struggling through the current economic hard times and are staggering under the weight of the growing debt load on their businesses. more

#9: RUGASIRA ON COFFEE, CHOCOLATE AND EXPORTING TO THE WEST

 I prefer to seat upstairs at the Good African Coffee shop. But Andrew Rugasira had other ideas. We sat downstairs with a display of Good African’s various offerings as a backdrop to our conversation.

Rugasira is launching a line of chocolates to complement his company’s line of coffees, which project started a decade ago and took him from the foot hills of the Rwenzori Mountains to Buckingham palace to the rarefied heights of high finance in the business capitals of the world. more

#8: THE UPDF SHOWING THE WAY ONCE AGAIN

Last week the UPDF’s Wazalendo Savings & Credit Coop had it annual meeting.

According to its financial report they made a profit of about sh12b, which was 30 percent higher than the previous year when profit after tax came in at sh9b. Savings almost doubled to sh60b while the loan book came in sh146b. The 69,000 member group had invested sh80b in their SACCO by subscribing to the SACCO’s shares. more

#7: POST ELECTIONS, FOCUS ON JOB CREATION

As the dust from the just concluded polls settles it’s time to move on, use the lessons of the campaigns as a stepping stone to a better future for all Ugandans.

As far as I am concerned everything – political or social has its root in how the economy is faring, how it’s being run.more

#T5: THE GHOSTS OF KARUMA PROCUREMENT RETURN TO HAUNT PROJECT

The troubles that dogged the Karuma Hydropower project’s procurement continue to stalk the project, threatening the multi-billion dollar dam’s future usefulness.

In the current spurt the Energy ministry and the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) are in a heated battle over the supervision of the Karuma and Isimba dams, with accusations and counter accusations being traded, a situation that has been brought to President Yoweri Museveni’s attention. more

#T5: INTERVIEW -- WAPAKHABULO IS REARING TO GO AT UGANDA OIL COMPANY

Josephine Wapakhabulo was last month appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). Dr Wapakabulo sat down with Business Vision’s Paul Busharizi to discuss her company’s role, her plans and the prospects for oil in Uganda, below are the excerpts of the interview. more

#4: BREXIT AND WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO PEOPLE IN LARGE NUMBERS

Last week the headlines were all about the shock UK vote to leave the European Union (EU).

By a four percentage point margin the British were scared into believing that immigrants from eastern Europe, the middle East and Africa would overwhelm their shores, and a vote to keep them out would be better than staying wed to the largest economy in the world. more

#3: SOUTH SUDAN'S IMPLOSION IS OUR WAKE UP CALL

The flare up in fighting in South Sudan is disheartening for the disruption and loss of lives that it entails but also for the economic loss to Uganda that it signals.

Clearly the recent peace deal between the South Sudan government of Salvar Kiir and the rebels led by former vice president Riak Machar has failed to hold. more

#2: WILL THE MUSANA CART BRING THE ROLEX TO THE WORLD?

Almost two decades ago two young men asked themselves what it would take to create a “Rolex” chain of restaurants.

The ideas would be take the rolex, which at the time was championed by one Sula in Wandegeya, create a menu, standardise the ingredients, upgrade the sanitation issues, license the Sula name and employ him for good measure. more

#1: WITH THE CABINET ARE WE BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE?

This week a double take was necessary on news that NRM members of parliament were sulking over not being appointed to the cabinet and went further to task President Yoweri Museveni to explain  his selection criteria.

Museveni ever the consummate politician, it is reported, listening to their griping, said he would take their concerns under advisement and would get back to them. more

LESSONS FROM KASESE

Last weekend a crisis that was on a slow boil in south western Uganda burst into full eruption when police and army units attacked the palace of the Omusinga of Rwenzururu, Charles Mumbere.

A series of attacks on security personnel and civilians in the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo, Notorko and Kabarole in recent months has caused unease in the region. The taking refuge in the palace by some of the perpetrators of these attacks served as an excuse for security agents to storm the palace.

In the process between 60 an d100 people were killed, including 16 policemen and Mumbere was arrested and charged with murder in a Jinja court.

Since then numerous commentators are have highlighted certain issues critical to understanding the issue.

One, that the resistance of the Rwenzurru comes from a fight against marginalisation by Kampala and the Toro Kingdom under which they were. Secondly, that among the Bakonjo there is a difference of opinion about engagement with the central government and finally , that the genesis of the situation also lies in a certain amount of lethargy with which our own government goes about enforcing the law.

Last week I had the benefit of reading second prime minister Kirunda-Kivenjinja’s Uganda: The crisis of Confidence. In the section of the build up to the 1979 invasion of Uganda by Tanzanian forces and a combination of anti-Amin forces several things appeared obvious to me.

One, that the Uganda army at the time, after eight years of decay was incapable of any meaningful stand against the invaders. And secondly were it not for the Tanzanian army’s involvement it’s doubtful that Uganda exiles would have been capable of such a swift ejection of the Field Marshal on account of their disorganisation.

"For every romantic tales of success of rebel movements in Cuba, Mozambique or even Uganda there are dozens even hundreds of “rebel” movements that have been unsuccessful, the hopes of their buccaneering leaders dashed against the formidable defence of a coherent state or floundered for lack of strategy beyond wishful thinking...

The time for forcing government’s hand by force are long gone in Uganda.

People in disagreement with Kampala are going to have to use a little more brain and a lot less brawn to have their way. It is easier to resort to violence than intelligence in resolving disagreement. The hope being that if you can catch your opponent by surprise or overwhelm them with force or both, you can impose your will.

But what happens when you don’t surprise them or overpower them?  It can only end badly for you.

Given that the government, like any other around the world, has literal monopoly on large scale violence and that this government is more coherent than others before it, to hope to force into concession is not unlike bashing your head against a wall.

Now one needs to organise, mobilise and harass the government by civil means, if only because in the last three decades or so the NRM has built a countrywide organisation, that while not always working as one, is easily mobilised in the face of external aggression.

So why haven’t divergent views managed to organise to the point that the government would be forced into concession?

"Because it is too hard. It is too hard to formulate a durable message. It is too hard to sell it to a largely apathetic population. It is too hard to organise around it. And it is too hard to stay the course in the face of stiff resistance from government...

One understands the romantic notion of a smash-and-grab attack, the reality is that it is unlikely to happen today in Uganda.

This is by no means to diminish the unnecessary loss of life and the tense situation being experienced in south western Uganda.

But unpalatable as it sounds, if one wants to win concessions from government, any seating government, one needs to be a bit more organised, a bit more systematic and a lot more tenacious.

ICC NEVER REALLY HAD A CHANCE WITH AFRICA

South Africa has started the process of exiting the International Criminal Court (ICC). Its leaders argue that being part of the ICC compromises their role as a regional peace broker.

The Burundian parliament has voted to leave and Gambia became the latest country on the continent to declare its intent in the same direction. Gambia’s decision could prove an embarrassment to the ICC’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a native of the small West African nation.

South Africa’s decision, which became official with their writing to the UN came as a surprise and the worry is that it may galvanise other African country’s to act out their own desires.

"One can say the momentum to leave the ICC on the continent begun with the refusal by the court to drop a case against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, for his alleged role in his country’s post-election violence a decade ago. The ICC’s adamant stance turned off previous supporters on the continent and has since been easily spun as a racist attempt to subjugate Africans...

This perception has not been allayed by the fact that nine out of the ten cases for crimes against humanity are against Africans. The appointment of Bensouda to replace the tenacious Moreno Ocampo has not helped matters much.

There is a lot wrong with Africa, not least of all how human and civil rights are trampled upon by the high and mighty without any fear of repercussions.

It helps that a better educated population, with a growing middle class is increasingly appreciating democracy or at least that people have certain rights and is forcing leaders around the continent to tamper their heavy handedness.

However the institutions that Africans would ideally turn to for justice are underfunded, understaffed and fit like a square peg in a round hole in a cultural context where the big man still reigns supreme.

The ICC’s case is not helped by the fact that it is essentially an institution, designed, funded and backed by the west, despite its veneer of international respectability. African leaders probably fell over themselves to sign onto the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, to keep in favour with a donor community that was tearing out its hair at the medieval bloodletting going on the continent while feeling powerless to stop it.

Not necessarily because they have any sympathy for us poor Africans, but more because insecurity was getting in the way of accessing valuable natural resources in the jungles of the Congo or the savannah of South Sudan or the river banks of Liberia.

"It is easy to make the case that foreign self-interest is pushing some of these otherwise noble initiatives, especially when the nine out of ten cases are African and while places like Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya lie in ruins with not a squeak out of the Hague...

Whether South Africa’s decision will trigger a mad rush for the exit by Africa, only time will tell but clearly its not difficult to mobilise against the court, as Kenya showed recently.

That being said we cannot sweep under the rag the wanton human rights abuses happening all around the continent.

The more sustainable solution is that our courts should be empowered to handle these cases themselves, a solution which would evoke sceptical tongue clicking around the continent.

Let it not be forgotten that we are not reinventing the wheel or that Africans have a particular penchant for brutality and savagery. European history is drenched in accounts of genocide and gratuitous violence that have only been tempered in recent years – at least in Europe,  by economic interconnectedness and military balance.

The good news is that Africa will get there one day, as our borders fall away and we begin to focus on mutual benefit as opposed to parochial interests. The bad news is that external interference may stall this natural progression.

Until that is sorted out the ICC may have to wait.

OUR ACTIONS, NOT CONSTITUTION UPHOLD THE RULE OF LAW

In recent weeks the police and the judiciary have found themselves in a near death clench as each tries to assert its authority.

In one incident it is alleged the police is shielding one of their own, former Central Police Station commander Aaron Baguma from prosecution for his alleged role in the torture and eventual murder of businesswoman Dona Katushabe last year.

The police this week said Baguma would appear in court but this is only after Buganda Road Chief Magistrate issued criminal summons for him to appear before his court.

As if that is not enough, the Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura is involved in a case where he along with several other police officers are being prosecuted by private lawyers for their role in the beating of members of the public, during the return home of opposition leader Kizza Besigye last month.

Besigye had been detained in prison on various charges since May and was released on bail in July.

On the day, last week, that Kayihura was supposed to appear before the Makindye courts, mobs in support of him disrupted proceedings.

The High Court ruled on Wednesday that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) should take over the case from the private lawyers.

"The happenings have larger implications for the nation and speak directly to the two principles, that no one is above the law and the separation of powers of government...

From a lay man’s perspective, for this country or any country to work there has to be an impartial adherence to laws on which the citizens have agreed and are willing to subject themselves to. The only way this will happen is if there is universal observance of the law.

A steep slippery slope is begun if discretion is seen to be shown to one group or another in regard to who follows the rules or not.

The police who operate under the cloak of the law, to enforce the very law should appreciate this more than anyone else. Without a law their legitimacy is called into question.

To the general public a perceived favouritism or breakdown in enforcement of the law can lead to mobs taking the law into their own hands leading to anarchy.

The recent events in the US serve as a good illustration of what happens when the police lose their legitimacy in the eyes of the public they serve.

This year 676 people have been killed by the police in the US according to a tally kept by The Guardian website. The backlash has been that more than 60 police officers have been killed during the same duration.

This is a situation that is not only unsustainable but is in danger of spiralling badly out of control.

That a country with more robust institutions as the US can be on the perceived brink of disaster should be a pointer for us here in Uganda.

Our constitution, which forms the basis of all our laws is barely 20 years old and has already suffered some stern tests. Which is as it should be, because its potential will not be fulfilled unless it’s tested.

"That being said it is not the constitution that is the guarantor of peace, but more our inherent good will. There are not enough law enforcement agents to peer around every corner of our lives to ensure we are towing the line. We are a peaceful society because we choose to observe the law. That however is not a permanent situation, especially when the new normal slides towards lawlessness...

In school they told us that the school rules are made for the “bad” kids, as the “good” kids don’t need to refer to them since they can tell good from bad behaviour.

The overwhelming consensus should be in that direction.

Good behaviour, with the law as a pointer, should be observed by everybody, especially those we look to for example.

ANATOMY OF A TERROR ATTACK --- THE DAY TERROR WAS VISITED ON KAMPALA

On July 11, 2010, near simultaneous explosions – heard as dull thuds around Kampala, went off at Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kabalagala and at Kyadondo Rugby Club grounds in Lugogo, in Uganda’s worst terror attack.

Revelers had gathered at the two venues for the televised showing of the football World Cup between Spain and Netherlands.

The shock waves and shrapnel from the bombs accounted for seventy-six people. Many others were maimed, scarred for life; physically and mentally.

The next day, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), was discovered at a bar, Makindye House, in Makindye a city suburb. Rigged to explode when the detonator, a phone rang but it malfunctioned.

Subsequently, Uganda Police sought assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and a probe commenced. Various people were then apprehended in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania and tried over four years in a Kampala court.

On Thursday 26^th May – 2146 days after the bombs went off, Justice Owiny Dollo passed judgement on the 13 suspects, bringing to a close a tale of international intrigue, terrorist conspiracy and misguided youth.

How plot was weaved

When was the attack on Kampala conceived?

It is hard to say but it is almost certain that the plot was hatched in Somalia, that occupies the horn of Africa with Kenya and Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east.
A largely barRen land about two and half times the size of Uganda, it has been racked by civil conflict since the overthrow of Siad Barre in 1991, by a coalition of clans backed by Ethiopia and Libya.

Out of that intractable civil war has emerged the Al Shabaab, a Islamic youth movement that started as an offshoot of Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which for a time was in control of the country before the Ethiopian army and Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) routed them in 2006.

Since 2007 Al Shabaab has been waging war against the Africa Somalia Mission (AMISOM) – a UN sanction peace enforcement force manned by Ugandan and Burundi troops, and the Somali government.

With their back against the wall Al Shabaab put out an international distress call and set up training camps in its areas of operations to train fighters from all around the world.

It against this background of larger forces swirling around the globe, moved by events in as far flung places as Afghanistan and Washington DC and beyond their control or comprehension that Mahmoud Mugisha and Isa Ahmed Luyima, a former librarian at Kampala International University, met for the first time in an Al Shabaab training camp in the hot sands  of Somalia 2009.

Isa was known by the code name Basayevu, and was a member of the militant outfit.

Isa and Nsubuga were trained in hand to hand combat, fire arms and explosives in bases in Baidoa, Barawe and Kismayu, and engaged in several attacks on African Mission to Somalia( AMISOM) positions during the duration of their stay in Somalia.

The two would eventually become the Ugandan arm of a four man team tasked with leading the terror attack on Kampala.

On return to Uganda in February 2010, Isa, who was born in Kawempe, a northern Kampala suburb, was tasked with finding suitable Al Shabaab targets in Kampala.

Isa instructed Mugisha to rent a house in Kampala, to serve as the base point for the teams that would be involved in the mission.

Going by court testimony it is clear that Issa had seniority over Mugisha, who he carefully cultivated into Al Shabaab, convincing him that he had a religious obligation to wage Jihad, holy war against the tormentors of Somali Jihadists fighting to wrest their country from the clutches of the infidels.

With Mugisha and seven others, training continued for the Kampala attack in a rented house in Namasuba, a southern surburb on Kampala, on the only road leading to the country’s international airport form the capital.

Previously Issa had rejected a house rented by Mugisha in Nakulabye.

In April Mugisha and Habib Suleiman Njoroge travelled to Nairobi to collect the explosives, from a house in South B.

The house in South B was registered in the name’s of Mohammad Ali Mohammad, who was part of the four man team leading the attack

The items; four green plastic bags, were loaded into the boot of the Land Cruiser, under the watchful eye of Nyamandondo, who then proceeded to Uganda.

Before returning to Kampala for the final mission Mugisha  made a quick detour to Somalia  and fought in several fierce battles for Al Shabaab in which they they attacked several AMISOM bases, and also contended with retaliatory attacks.

On May 9, 2010, Seleimani Hijar Nyamandondo, a henchman of the Mohammed Ali Mohammad of the Kenyan wing of the operation, and Mugisha brought explosive material and the suicide vests into the country.

Issa in a statement to the police said he had received the suicide vests from Nyamandondo following an advance called from one Hanif from Nairobi who alerted him that they were on the way.

Nyamandondo was driving a green Toyota Land Cruiser, with Tanzanian registered license plate number T595 ADH, which car would lead to his eventual arrest months down the road.

They met at National Theater, drove to Java’s Café Bombo road where they had tea, before they went to Namasuba.

 The explosives were kept in the house of Edris Nsubuga, Issa’s friend.

The two had met in 2004, when they both served in the Kampala International University library. They struck up a relationship which came in handy when Issa was helped Edris through a rough patch with his wife, who had known Issa before they were married.

Nsubuga, claimed he did not know that explosives had been deposited at his house until a month later.

“The day he came to pick his “things” packed in a plastic bag that I had kept all along, thinking they were his domestic items brought by his friend form Kenya in May, I got terrified,” Nsubuga wrote in a rambling confession to President Yoweri Museveni in which he blamed Issa for roping him into the murderous plot.

“He called me to the room where they had been kept and I found him seated on the floor, with the items laid on the floor. He seemed to be checking, sorting and confirming what was in the bag. He told me “Eno y’esonga (this is the issue)”



THE GENESIS

On July 11, 2010, near simultaneous explosions at Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kabalagala and at Kyadondo Rugby Club grounds in Lugogo.Revellers had gathered at the two venues for the climax of the televised football World Cup match between Spain and Netherlands.

Seventy-six people perished, several others were maimed, some for life; physically and mentally.

The next day, an Improvised Explosive Device, was discovered at a bar complex, Makindye House, located in the city suburb of Makindye.It was rigged to explode when the phone rang but it malfunctioned. Police bomb squad recovered it the next day.

Somalia’s militant outfit Al shabaab, with strong links to global patron All Qaeda, claimed responsibility. It was the outfit’s maiden attack beyond Somalia’s borders.

The attack was a show of intent and a push for a credit rating to showcase ability to implement its threat to strike internationally and receive approval and recognition from Al Qaeda.

Al Shabaab has sought the affections of Al Qaeda’s central leadership since early 2008  The group champions the same philosophy, and Al Qaeda, has constantly issued many public statements and pledging allegiance to the global  outfit.

In June 2008, Al Shabaab supremo, Mukhtar Abu Zubair, outed a propaganda video, exalting Al Qaeda principals Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, and Abu Yahya al Libi.

In September 2009, Al shabaab released an attention seeking  propaganda video titled, ‘At Your Service, Oh Osama’ with incessant voices in the video speaking glowingly of the now slain supremo.

In February 2010, the outfit justified its threats and attack strategy, saying in a statement: “Jihad in the Horn of Africa must be combined with the international jihad led by the al Qaeda network’.

The Afghan trained Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali, set up the first militant training camps in Somalia, and was behind the radical and aggressive communications strategy, calling for massive recruitment.

The propaganda videos, carefully crafted with professional precision, with promises of better life and abundant rewards.

To attract international appeal, it has strategically broadcast English language videos and audios, imploring youth on essence of Jihad. A franchise designation is an invaluable tool, giving credibility and a known brand name to groups seeking to attract aspiring Islamist militants.  Additionally, it buffers their financial muscle, as they benefit from the logistical and financial generosity of Al Qaeda’s deep pockets.

The main weapons and tactics synonymous with Al shabaab include suicide bombs, roadside improvised explosive devices, and mortar attacks.

But AMISOM troops have responded, securing a big portion of the land, and minimised the threats.

Nsubuga said on seeing what Issa identified as explosives, he was badly shaken, though he denied this when Issa asked him.  Nsubuga couldn’t help noticing though that Issa was cool, calm and collected that day, before he left with the explosives.

According to his confession Nsubuga was instrumental in scoping the terror targets. A regular man about town, despite his Muslim faith, Nsubuga knew what to look for when Issa was looking for suitable sites for his nefarious plans.

Among the places they looked over were several bars and restaurants in Kabalagala before the settled on the Ethiopian Village, Kyadondo Rugby ground and Makindye House for their lax security.

Nyamandondo spent the night at Naigara Hotel, off Entebbe road, a few meters away from the Najjanankumbi mosque, and departed the next day. Isa booked into the same hotel, a single floor affair, with a brick wall lined with old palm trees, under the pseudo name ‘Moses’.

Investigators were later able to ascertain that Issa had been at the hotel when a handwriting expert analysed a specimen of his handwriting with that of the queried guest registration book that had the name ‘Moses’, and found that they were a match.

Shortly after the explosives arrived in the country three Kenyans – Kaka, Kakasule and one other whose name he could not remember came into the country, who Issa were informed were part of the plot.

Kaka and Kakasule lived with Issa for a week before Kaka and the unnamed Kenya returned to Mogadishu via Nairobi. They were restless and had got tired of waiting.

A Somali boy, maybe in his mid to late teens, Morsul, came in from Nairobi to replace Kaka.

Another operative Hanif made his way to Kampala around the same time and it turned out he was the man who made the final connections before the bombs were dispatched to the target sites.

Issa singled out the Ethiopian village for attack because the Ethiopian had dislodged the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) had continued to fight the Al Shabaab.

He had expressed some reluctance to attack sites where Ugandans patronised but was accused of nationalism and of being insensitive to the havoc the UPDF had wrecked in Mogadishu.

However on the eve of the bombing Issa discovered that he was understaffed. The Somali and Kenyan bombers did not know their way around so he had to conscript locals to deliver them to the bob sites.

Out of desperation he called upon his brother Hassan and Nsubuga. The two were introduced to each other days before the operation, when they were carrying out surveillance on Makindye house.

On the eve of the attack Issa at a meeting at Majestic Plaza, on Williams street, he gave both Hassan and Nsubuga the keys to the Namasuba house, which they were to use to access the house and clean it out after the attack.

Issa’s instructions to the duo were short and succinct: Haruna’s job was to transport one of the suicide bombers, Kakasule, to Ethiopian Village Restaurant, and also drop off the explosive bag at Makindye House.

While Nsubuga was supposed to take the Somali teen, Morsul to Kyadondo rugby club.

He also instructed Nsubuga, but not his brother, to blow himself up in the event that security agents were about to arrest him.

Before they proceeded to Namasuba, they made a stopover at Mutaasa Kafero Plaza, and purchased two mobile phone handsets; a Nokia 3510 and an MTN Kabiriti, which were to be used as detonating devices in the mission.

On the eve of the blasts, Haruna took Nsubuga to the Namasuba Safe House and introduced him to the suicide bombers as a brother in the struggle.

Issa left for Mombasa on the eve of the terror attacks.

On the fateful day at 4pm, Haruna, who had purchased snacks for the suicide bombers, met Nsubuga at Kenjoy Supermarket along Entebbe Road. Nsubuga was told to report to the Namasuba house at 6pm.

A demonstration on the assembly of the explosives, was arranged for an already afraid Nsubuga but Haruna comforted him, with reassurance that all that was required was to make a phone call to the wired mobile device, that would be triggered to explode.

Haruna ordered Nsubuga to blow himself up in the event of detection by security personnel. Thereafter, Nsubuga proceeded to Kyadondo Rugby Club, with the other suicide bomber, Mursal.

Nsubuga and the suicide bomber Mursal had contrasting feelings about the mission. While Nsubuga was a nervous wreck, and wanted to abort the operation, Mursal was ecstatic that it was the perfect opportunity to strike because of the multitude of merry making revellers.

Nsubuga had no choice but to place two bags on the table nearby with the laptop bag containing the explosives.

Mursal became impatient and signaled to Nsubuga that it was perfect timing to detonate But a quick-thinking Nsubuga cautioned him that Police officers had upped their patrol.

Mursal heeded, and the first half ended with singer Bebe Cool coming onto the stage.

They later concurred that the detonation be executed at 11:15pm.

Mursal then gave Nsubuga a thumbs-up to signal that all was set. Nsubuga responded with the same sign in acknowledgement, and headed towards the main entrance, to avoid becoming a victim, since he had rejected suggestions that he become a suicide bomber.

Time check 11:15pm, and the nerves got the better of Nsubuga, who instead called another friend to chat about the match. Shortly thereafter, a loud bang reverberated from the side where the giant screen was stationed. Some boda boda riders, stationed at the main entrance, speculated that a transformer could have blown.

Nsubuga knew that there was no turning back. He immediately made the much dreaded call to the phone that was connected to the carefully-wired device, which then ignited the second explosion.

He got on a boda boda, which headed to the taxi park, from where he boarded a taxi to his Najjanankumbi residence.

Nsubuga heard breaking news on the blasts from one of the radio stations relaying the live match commentary.

******************


The 2010 World Cup was a particularly special one for Africa as it was being hosted by the continent – in South Africa, for the first time.

And the final was interesting too. In finalists Spain and the Netherlands we were assured of a first time winner. The last time such a final happened was in 1978 when again Netherlands was pipped to the top honours by Argentina, the host nation.

The sense of history that surrounded the event was probably lost on three young adults, who with their friends went to Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Village to witness the televised finale.
Yusuf Kiganda testified that on the day he and five other friends – Brian Kivumbi, Brian Kawooy, Nicholas Kyambadde, Brenda Nabachwa nd Trevor Mawejje boarded a taxi, outside the Bank of Uganda on Kampala club at around 5 pm.

At the club Kiganda remembers that they were among the first to arrive and had were spoilt for choice in where they could seat. They sat a few seats from the front not far from where Morsul would blow himself up.

The match described by BBC’s Paul Fletcher reporting from Johannesburg, was tense and bad tempered – 14 yellows were shown and a Dutch man sent off. Though Spain dominated possession, the match had few moments of real quality and went deep into extra time. The winning goal was scored by Iniesta in the 116^th minute.

But Kigadanda and his friends did not get to see the goal as around the 75^th minute all hell broke lose when the first bomb went off at Kyadondo grounds.

“Suddenly, there was a big bang, and I could not tell what had happened.I found myself lying on the ground. My friends were also down. I did not realise they were dead, and I never knew what had happened to me,” Kiganda recalled.

Apparently he had been flung out of his chair by the bombs shockwaves, his body lacerated by the shrapnel and he had lost all sense of hearing.

David Muwemba a few meters away may have been saved by his drink.

“As I reached for my beer under the chair, I raised my head, saw smoke, and thought there was a power interruption.I felt drops on my shoulder, and thought it was rain but realised it was blood,” he testified before Justice Owiny Dollo.

He had the presence of mind to grab his friend Bonita Nakato’s hand head … stumbling and tripping over fallen revellers towards the main entrance of the club.

His other friends, Frank Mukwaya, Peter Oye and Peter Byekwaso were felled where they sat.








HOW MAKINDYE BOMBING BACKFIRED

At about 9:30pm, waiter at the Icelink bar Joseph Buzoya, served drinks to his boss was, madam Charlotte and her husband. Shortly thereafter, he heard a phone ringing and I saw a black bag on the tiled floor.

He did not touch the bag because people were many, as he feared to be mistaken for a thief. Buzoya worked as a cashier for the day, since the cashier was away.’

The following day, at about 3pm, out of curiosity, he unzipped the bag after co-workers who had kept the bag, pressured him into doing so to ascertain ownership and demand money from the owner.

The workmates Fiona and Joseph Tembo, convinced him to ascertain the contents, since many patrons usually forgot property at the bar.

Buzoya speculated that it could be a bomb because of the devastating twin attacks of the previous night. But Fiona and Tembo dismissed it as a joke. They were determined to ascertain the owner of the bag, as they hoped to be given a reward.

When the black laptop bag was unzipped, it contained a cable, the size of a laptop charger, a torn cloth, a wooden object that had started decaying, and white masking tape. Buzoya hurriedly zipped the bag and looked for the manager, after realising that his workmates were anxious and querying why he was rummaging through someone’s property, while other patrons watched, and wanted to be attended to.

But since the manager was not around, Buzoya sought advice from a obne Moses, worker at the nearby Hakuna Matata pork  joint, who  said the prudent thing was to call the Police. Thereafter, one of the customers,only introduced as Kabuye, called the Police.

Shortly, security personnel from Katwe Police station, cordoned off the area, and demanded for the bag. After about 20 minutes, Counter Terrorism Police arrived and combed the entire area with three sniffer dogs.

The bar was evacuated, and  an 100-metre no go-zone was instituted at the crime scene. But curious people gathered and were hesitant to leave. Police chased them away.

After 30 minutes, Police issued a statement that they had discovered a second bomb. The told us that they found it hidden in the hedge.

The workers were sent home, and summoned to Katwe Police station the next day where they recorded statements.

 NSUBUGA CONFESSION TO MUSEVENI 

The following is an abridged version of the confession statement of Mohamed Ali Mohamed. Although court rejected it on the premise that it was recorded irregularly, prosecution relied on its contents to incriminate the accused.

Nsubuga writes to Museveni, begs for pardon

Self-confessed Kyaddondo Rugby Grounds bomb detonator Nsubuga, pleaded guilty after a soul-searching talk with slain prosecutor Joan Kagezi at Luzira prison.

He volunteered information and asked President Yoweri Museveni for forgiveness.

Contents of Nsubuga’s letter, dated October 27, 2010, were highlighted during mitigation, after he was  sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Nsubuga Edris,
Luzira Upper Prison,
Remand Section,
27 October 2010

HE Yoweri K Museveni,
The President, Republic of
Uganda
President’s Office, Nakasero
Kampala,
Uganda.

Dear Sir,
Re: Request for Forgiveness and Pardon
It is only through the power of God that I have this opportunity to write to you, taking into account the many tasks that are keeping you busy. However, I feel very humbled at this opportunity.

Your Excellency, it is very absurd that I was involved in the acts that tragically shook the nation that you lead, on July 11, 2010. I have always felt obliged to apologize and ask for forgiveness from you, the President of this country.

I am a man of sound mind, who honestly just happened to be caught in a web of delusions, deceit, manipulation, hatred and spite towards everything that was going on in my life as well as threats from a trusted friend who happens to be a member of Al Shabaab.

At the time, I had domestic problems with my wife and I took him in as a confidant because he happened to know her before I did. He often helped me out by talking to her and fortunately, sometime we would get along.
I believe he realised my weakness at that time and he took advantage of the moment to delude me and sow that evil seed in me. He intensely swarmed me, always telling me to change and better my ways, and rarely did he miss talking about issues concerning Somalia.

He often called me early in the morning to tune in to Al Jazeera [television news network] and watch the new developments in Somalia, if there were any. When I look back, I believe he was just inducing hatred and bias into me at the time because he had never mentioned his mission.

I was totally ignorant and less concerned about the Somalia issues as I had my problems to solve. Once, I informed him about my intended trip to Rwanda, to try to find a job, and he stopped me from going, the reason being that he wanted to meet me urgently before I left.

I did meet him and that is when he revealed his mission to me, though concealing the details for his own [benefit]. He started by quoting some verses from the Qur’an, emphasising how I had to answer this call from God; employing a lot of silver tongued, confusing and bewildering promises.

It is through his tireless efforts, [and]repeated exhortations that I succumbed to this conviction, not knowing how grave it was and the consequences that lay ahead – all because of ignorance.

Your Excellency, I acknowledge that I made a very irrational decision of accepting to help him. However, I believe anyone under my situation would have been susceptible to such confusion and conviction, unconsciously.

He asked me to move with him around any hangouts that I knew that were frequented by whites – since I am an outgoing person. He said that was my simple role in answering this call from God.

His aim was to punish the Americans for their support against his colleagues and to intimidate the Ugandan government out of Somalia as well.

This was around June 19 because on June 21, he informed me that he had received visitors from Kenya to help him with his mission, so we had to visit the places as soon as possible since his superiors had grown impatient.

His interest was places without tight security and indeed, he was pleased with Kyadondo Rugby Club, which we did visit around June 26. All this time, he was still concealing the details of his mission and spoke little to me.

Once again, I informed him about my intended trip to Rwanda, but he told me that I could not go because there was no way he was going to explain that to his bosses, who, to my understanding, were always coming in from Kenya. He emphasized that they could not take that excuse and he reminded and reassured me about how my role was so simple.

The day he came to pick his “things” packed in a plastic bag that I had kept all along, thinking they were his domestic items brought by his friend from Kenya in May, I got more terrified.

He called me to the room where they had been kept and I found him seated on the floor, with the items laid on the floor as well. He seemed to be checking, sorting and confirming what was in the bag.

He told me in Luganda “eno y’ensonga”, meaning, “this is the whole issue”.
He told me they were explosives to be used in his mission. I complained that all along, I thought that I had been keeping household items.

He responded by asking me whether I was scared. I told him I was not, although I was trembling and very scared. He seemed so strong willed, determined and firm, and again assured me that I shouldn’t be scared. He left with his explosives, and the following days were full of uncertainty.

I became hesitant to answer his phone calls until we met in town and he gave me a dire warning that his bosses were not at all pleased with my behaviour.

I told him I had made my final arrangements to leave for Kigali and my wife was at home as well, so I could not help him anymore. He responded by speaking to me seriously, in a soft tone, that I could not leave, lest I am treated as a traitor.

He said a traitor is punished by beheading. I realised the true gravity of the whole matter. Without tasking your patience, briefly that is how it started and was carried out, as per what I stated.

However, I want to affirm that I value life, peace and harmony, even though I cannot explain much about this one fateful moment when I took this emotional decision of accepting.

Sir, however much I was under strict orders, I got some courage under all that fire to defy some orders. I was able to convince and stop the suicide bomber from entering the crowd with the bag of explosives and I tried my best to leave it somewhere far from the crowd, without informing him.

Even then, I had not imagined how lethal these explosives were because I had been lied to that they were simply for intimidation. I was also seriously cautioned to blow up myself in case any security official closed in on me in order not to fall into their hands, which would hinder future plans and plots.

I did detonate the explosives in the bag just to save myself; I did not want these wretches to hold me accountable for not doing as told, but I tried my best to place the bag far away from the crowd.

After the incident, I was full of anxiety, anguish and uncertainty. However, when I got arrested, I voluntarily revealed how everything had happened. Honestly, I was not tortured to do so by the men whom I had been seriously cautioned not to let myself fall into their hands.

I did so because I did not and do not believe in that cause. I revealed the whereabouts of my contact and also information about his friend and would-be partner, Mugisha Mahmoud, who was supposed to blow himself up originally, but was at large.

I also revealed information about the movement of funds and the style of communication to one another. I have learnt a lot through stories during the time I have been in custody, about how the organization of Al-Shabaab conducts its work.
I know how they recruit, who they recruit, how they communicate, and their disguise in public, and how they successfully propagate their evil doctrines.

I am totally averse to their aggressive acts and this is why I am begging and requesting, with all due respect, to be given chance to redeem myself by giving back to the nation and people that I harmed, wronged, transgressed and put in such indescribable grief when I involved myself in these acts.

Your Excellency, we are yearning for a solution, but the big question is, ‘is there one?’ Of course yes; if you would let me now substantiate what I assert.

Through my study and analysis, the strategy I have devised to achieve this great purpose requires the [least] of means, yet there will be astounding results. My strategy is similar to the one you employed when combating the AIDS scourge when you assumed the leadership of this country. This strategy is AWARENESS and indeed, you succeeded significantly.

The task calls for tremendous fortitude, but I get the inspiration from yourSowing the Mustard Seed, where the idea to liberate this country was just in one man’s mind, but it later became a significant reality.

First of all, the problem arises from feigning tolerance towards these few, determined individuals who pause as Sheiks in our midst and are busy propagating these evil ideologies just because there is freedom of speech and worship that you allowed, Sir.

These individuals have ventured in translating the Qur’an with their interpretations greatly influenced by their own prejudices and bias. They have a sickness that has let their egos overshadow their sense of logic and understanding.

They are fully inflated with pride and lack genuine humility, only being hungry for violence just to whet their appetites. They have also resorted to foul means to subvert the religion and have cultivated a predilection for promises that inevitably strike, bewilder, confuse and convince the poor, ignorant listeners.

They are merely winking on flimsy pretences based on prejudiced and misinterpreted verses of the Qur’an, thus succeeding in propagating their philosophies and keeping their audience under the much needed subjugation.

From their eloquent speeches and deportment, they are able to draw attention anywhere and win the hearts of ignorant youth. They have imputed that the Sheiks preaching against their evil ways are traitors.

They do mock democracy, yet the smugly wink with gratification at their unnatural ways of violence. These aggressors will never be satisfied with their relentless assaults, attacks and attempts on people’s lives.

Your Excellency, we have a more sombre responsibility of extricating our ignorant young Muslim and non Muslim youth from the spiritual quagmire into which they are wallowing.

By employing the help of young Muslim and non-Muslim scholars who are without fear or favour and are ready to suffer obloquy for their convictions, we can be able to debunk the lies of these wretched men and prevent the youth from pandering these many prejudices.

There are genuine Sheiks who have tried to preach right, but their timidity cannot permit them to do so anymore, citing loss of their lives, as the topic of jihad has become too provocative.

We should not make half-hearted and skimpy efforts in this cause; we should endure greatly, and I believe that in tackling this issue publicly through organized seminars, TV and radio talk shows, and so on, the youth easily get an insight and they will not refuse to acknowledge the truth and facts.

The hearts that are hard will be melted and the tender, doubtful and ignorant ones that require support will be diverted from falling into the snares of evil.

More regeneration and religious reform will be achieved and all the doctrines of these evil men will ultimately crumble to dust. Prejudices die hard and none of these wretches would like to lose their adherents, but with endurance, we will win the would-be adherents from such conviction.

As a victim of manipulation, I’m ready to set forth and grasp fully the enormity of this task in order to limit the scope of propagation of evil and terrorism and prevent our country from living in fear and trepidation inflicted on its people at the behest of these aggressors.

Your Excellency, you have led this nation from ruins to its much enjoyed peace and happiness. The people of Uganda owe you gratitude and a debt they cannot repay.
It is the same treasure I am humbly requesting to preserve, and I am strongly convinced that this era of panic, terror, hatred and spite caused by these men will end.

Your Excellency, once more, I affirm that I am totally and honestly averse to these acts and I condemn them. It is that I only feared for my life and was left with no choice but only a small opportunity of avoiding to harm more people.

I hope you are heeding to my plea to fulfill my endeavour. I also pray and hope that in you, I will find the [abounding] grace and mercy you have always possessed as a generous patron, parent and leader, even during times of anger, to personally forgive and pardon me as a delinquent who acknowledges and regrets my mistake.
May God bless and guide you in the forthcoming general presidential elections.

Yours faithfully,

Edris Nsubuga