The Basher Media Legion, many of whose politcal preferrences were clearly known during the presidential campaigns, have taken the moral high ground in the recent stepping up of efforts to remove Yoweri Museveni from Uganda's presidency. They are calling him Idi Amin and a liar. They systematically bashed him openly and clandestinely personally, in print, on air and online before, during and, now, after the elections. They are continuing to systematiclally prop up his main opponent, Kizza Besigye, to the effect that the lies he has been telling the nation of Uganda and the world are being covered up. The reason and aim are unmistakeably meant to cause a coup in Kampala.
IN an interview with the Sunday Vision of May 10, Dr. Kizza Besigye said that Museveni didn’t fire a single shot during the NRM bush war. Below, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni responds.
AGAIN it is my duty to enlighten the readers about the lies Dr. Besigye gave in the interview he had with the Sunday Vision of May 10. Dr. Besigye says: “Everyone who did something for the struggle, contributed to its success.” That is correct. Where did I say that only firing guns was the only contribution to the struggle?
Nevertheless, when political arguments cannot be resolved peacefully and enter the armed phase, then the military struggle becomes the main form of struggle. If you do not execute it correctly, the revolution will fail. The cooks, the doctors, and the supporters would have laboured in vain.
I am pleased to inform the readers, especially the young ones, that the National Resistance Army (NRA) executed their mission brilliantly. It is one of two or three revolutionary armies in the world that executed a protracted armed struggle and won victory without significant external support or a rear base in the crucial phases of the struggle. I can only think of the Cuban Revolution and the Red Army.
If it is true that a struggle is a “collective” effort, then where did Dr. Besigye get the arrogance to say that he, as an individual, put the NRM or myself into power? Why would it be difficult for him to simply say that he was one of those who contributed to the struggle? That revolutionary struggle has and still has its structures: the High Command, National Executive Committee and others. These are the bodies to speak for that struggle.
After the multiparty politics was introduced, a separation took place between the army, the UPDF, on the one hand and the NRM party on the other hand. Nevertheless, the UPDF has got its authorities and the NRM has got its authorities. Dr. Besigye detached himself from both and created his party, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). How, then, does he become the spokesman of UPDF, NRM or the historical NRA?
Dr. Besigye and a few other people thought they could hijack the NRM — they miscalculated. NRM represents the best that has ever manifested itself in Uganda — patriotism, sacrifice, determination and heroism. It could not be hijacked. Eventually, they formed FDC. Let them speak for FDC, then, but not for NRM — historical or current.
Dr. Besigye, again, confirmed that he was a late-comer in the struggle, who did not bother to learn about the organisation he joined when he had the audacity, nay the ridiculousness, of saying that Museveni “never fired a single shot in the war”. It is not my job to say what Museveni did for the struggle for the people of Uganda. Even Dr. Besigye said in the same interview that Museveni contributed “tremendously”.
Coming to the specific issue of whether Museveni fired his personal gun in combat, let the reader be informed that that gentleman (Museveni) had plenty of the unpleasant opportunity to do that, such as in 1972 in Mbarara, in 1973 in Mbale, in Bunya.
That was when our resistance was young. The head of the resistance fought as a platoon commander, or a squad leader. At this time everybody is likely to fire his personal weapon — the rifle — in a section, a platoon or a company attack. This was because we were few. Although I was the leader, doing the combat planning, the diplomacy, the fundraising, I also had to fight as a leader of a platoon (30-40 people) and a squad (three people).
By 1979, our force had grown to 9,000. At this stage, although I was always leading combat, I would not have to fire my personal weapon unlike before. I was now firing through orders.
After the UPC betrayed us in 1980 and we had to resume the resistance in 1981, we, again, started small. In fact, when we attacked Kabamba, we were only 27 armed people. Again I was a platoon commander. When we attacked Kakiri on April 6, 1981, I was a platoon commander. Section commanders were Magara, Tumwine, Mucunguzi and Mugabi.
On that occasion we were only 43 armed people. We overran a much bigger force and captured equipment. We were surrounded by the Tanzanians with armoured personnel carriers for the whole day in the forest. We broke through their attempted encirclement at dusk and successfully took back to the base all the 20 captured rifles, a heavy machine gun and other weaponry.
This was the first assault mission after Kabamba and I led it myself to show the young commanders how to do it and to ensure that no mistakes were made. It was a total success. We did not even have a casualty on our side.
It was so tiresome, having to carry the captured weapons and fight at the same time. That is when we took the important decision of always attaching unarmed companies to the armed ones — so that the former carry the captured materials while the latter concentrate on the fighting. The unarmed fighters were called, jokingly, “commandos” — meaning they were so tough that they went into battle unarmed. It is because we did not have the weapons to give them.
Having shown the young commanders how to reconnoitre an enemy target, plan how to attack it, approach the target stealthily, attack it, overwhelm it and, then, withdraw safely back to base, I now left it to them to do many of the subsequent missions. Thereafter, as far as the offensive operations were concerned, I concentrated on co-ordinating the reconnaissance and the planning. However, in order to maximise the force, I would, sometimes go with the whole force like when we attacked Kabamba the second time in January 1985.
It should, therefore, be clear to the readers and young people that Dr. Besigye’s problem is that being a late-comer, he does not know the real beginnings of NRA/NRM.
He came into the struggle when the NRA was already a big force of several battalions: Mondlane, Lutta, Kabalega, Nkrumah, Ngoma Unit, the Mobile Brigade and Abdul Nasser (Black Bomber). This was in August 1982. We had, by that time, thousands of fighters although we did not have enough weapons for them yet.
By 1984, February, we had addressed these shortcomings by attacking places like Kiboga, Luwero and Masindi, from which operations we had raised almost 1,000 rifles which created a situation of strategic equilibrium between us and the opposite side.
With this level of organisation, it is no longer necessary, desirable or efficient for the commander to use his personal weapon in combat. This is because, both in defensive and offensive operations, he is in the middle of the fighting force, with forces to the front and rear.
By the time the commander of the whole force fires his personal weapon, it would mean that the enemy has overpowered the forces to the front or rear and he is now attacking the headquarter element where the commander is. I was always ready to do that but, unfortunately, I never got a chance to do so because we were always either winning or disengaging in good order. The former example was Garamba; the latter Birembo, Kirema and Kyajinja.
When I am commanding a force that overruns the enemy’s defence or repulses the enemy while we are in defence, whom do I fire at? Do I fire at my own troops, my body guards? That phase of my service had long passed before Besigye joined the struggle. Again, these are the ridiculous statements that Besigye regularly makes.
I do not talk about how Rwanda is run in respect of general development vis-a-vis public service wages. It is not correct or necessary. FDC, Besigye’s party, has got MPs in Parliament. They know the priorities of the budget and that is what they should talk about.
The Presidential jet is a security asset and not a luxury asset. Given the historical struggles that have been going on in this part of Africa, it is only somebody with questionable motives that would fail to see this point or pretend that he does not see it. It is a one-time expenditure and the plane will be here for years.
Regarding State House, we are very proud that instead of the dilapidated colonial building the NRM found at Entebbe, the people of Uganda now have a national headquarter that is strong and modern. State visitors use it now. We do not have to hire hotel rooms for functions.
It is not just a State House we built. We have also built 762 health centre IIIs and 165 Health Centre IVs; 35,603 classrooms for UPE, with a target of an additional 793 classrooms for this financial year; 61 seed secondary schools; 1,000 km of new tarmac roads with 308km under construction. In addition1,159km of tarmac roads have been rehabilitated and constructed, while 575 tarmac roads are still under rehabilitation and reconstruction. NRM is a builder of buildings, institutions and people.
Dr. Besigye misinformed the readers by saying that there is no health unit in Dokolo District. I checked with the people in the area. There is a very good Health Centre IV. Remember Dokolo is a new district. We have not had time to build a hospital. It is only 20km from Lira where there is a hospital. There are also private and mission hospitals in the area, such as Amai Hospital in Amolatar District, Pope Johns Hospital Atapara in Aber Sub-county, Oyam District and Lwala Hospital in Kaberamaido.
However, Dr. Besigye, especially being a doctor, should remind himself that the greatest form of health care is prevention: immunisation, hygiene, nutrition and HIV/AIDS awareness. These account for over 80% of the sicknesses in Uganda. How does Dr. Besigye assess NRM performance in this vital area? Why is he ever silent on this; and yet he is always commenting on health and on education topics.
The infant mortality rate is now 76 out of 1,000 live births compared to 122 out of 1,000 in 1986. Average life expectancy has now climbed to 51 from a very low level of 39.6 years in 1997 according to the UNDP Human Development Report 1999.
Yes, we still have problems with the maternal mortality rate and the curative side, on account of the pilferage of drugs by health workers which we are determined to control by arresting the thieves.
Even in the area of pilferage prevention, Besigye has no credibility because his party, FDC, as well as the opposition managed, through rigging, lies and intimidation, in partnership with Kony, to win in some districts. They, therefore, control some district governments. How is their performance in fighting corruption or stealing of drugs?
The record of the districts controlled by some of the opposition groups is most deplorable. A number of them are in court over the embezzlement of the massive money we sent to them without fail. In fact the opposition-controlled areas are the worst in corruption.
There are a number of yardsticks I use to say this. One of them was the misuse of NAADS and NUSAF money. The NRM chairmen of a number of districts, such as Kiruhuura and Mbarara, alerted me first about this wastage of money.
Besides, when I move around, I notice that some of the NRM district chairmen, not all of them by any means, seem to be using the unconditional grants well. I have seen this with Kyeyune in Wakiso, Byaruhanga in Isingiro, the Kamugira-Yaguma group in Mbarara, Kyenjojo and Ntungamo although there were cases of corruption there recently. What impressed me was how these chairmen have used the unconditional grants to build district headquarters. Some of them are quite impressive.
It is quite ridiculous to utilise so much space and paper dealing with these lies. However, the Banyankole say: “Rufu kweba etagizire nshoni, omuziiki tabwerabweera” – literally: “If death is not ashamed to kill a person, the undertakers should have no reason to fear to bury the dead man.” If Besigye is not ashamed to tell lies, I will not be shy to shoot those lies down.
The writer is the President of the Republic of Uganda
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