ICT: Ugandan Leaders Need to Step Up and Lead

I love my country, Uganda, to bits. I get worked up when people get cynical about it and use other countries to bash mine. One darling of the cynical Ugandans is Rwanda. However, with regard to embracing modern information technology to interact with their citizens and the world at large, Uganda's leaders trail Rwanda's by universes. Uganda's leadership is almost non-existent on the Internet on a personal level. When they are there, it is usually as part of a news strory.

Modern communication has taken on a very vital aspect of the process of communicating - feedback and therefore interactivity - thanks to the internet. During the campaigns for this year's general elections, a new medium was employed in Uganda - mobile phone auto text and voice messaging. While these have the personal touch, very useful for deeper effect, there is hardly any way for the recipient to give feedback. The ability for feedback makes parties in the communication process feel a valued part of whatever is being communicated. The internet, through email and social networking media, has the advantage of people being able to give feedback on communication if and when they feel like it. Some feedback will be abrasive, but at least the communicator got the opportunity to vent.

Which brings me back to my disappointment that we don't have a strong presence of our leaders on, especially, internet social networking media. The government's own spokesperson, Minister of Information and National Guidance and veteran communicator, Mary Karooro Okurut, is 'personally' absent on the internet. The Uganda Media Centre, which is under her and should be advising her, has a Twitter account but last 'tweeted' anything on 20th April ... 2010! The ministers of ICT, education, health and agriculture, who should be moving us towards modernity are themselves absent on social networking media. The disappointment continues in the autonomous departments that should be cutting through the red tape of the public service machinery including National Information Technology Authority and Uganda Communications Commission. Our own parliament, which is supposed to promote open governance has a Twitter account that is 'protected'. What have they got to hide - bills?

Our leaders will be very vital in the promotion of modern technology in the country only if they understand it well. They don't have to be proficient, which I think is what the older ones are afraid of. The more the populace know that they can interact with their leaders, the better their quality and the easier it is to mobilise them. The need to use the internet to communicate with their leaders will also greatly improve literacy and, therefore, the quality of our human resource. This will attract more investment.

[This this was post written, the Prime Minister of Uganda has opened a Twitter account - @am_mba]

Eat your hearts out, Bashers

Surprise, surprise. HH the Agha Khan's newspaper, the Daily Monitor, is can doubt that people can take part in a position sympathetic for the Movement government on their own free will but they sure that the 'walk-to-work' is an innocent selfless venture.

A group claiming to represent genuine concerns of Ugandans in the ongoing protests against high cost of living has started gathering views from the public.

Mwoyo gwa Gwanga (Spirit of Nationalism), as the group calls itself, claims to be interested in defusing the confusion that has ensued following the launch of the walk-to-work protests.

The group’s vice chairperson Usher Owere, said they are interested in gathering people’s concerns, compile them and hand it over to Parliament, opposition leaders and the President before the end of the August House, which will be dissolved Wednesday.

The group started its first public gathering on Friday at Bat Valley Primary school in Kampala with people ferried from all parts of Kampala, Entebbe and Mukono to attend.

Mr Owere denied theirs is a hired crowd to hoodwink the public, saying they have the cries of the people at heart.

This paper could not ascertain who paid taxi fares for their members who came from as far as Luweero since those interviewed declined to be quoted.

How low can they sink, these Bashers?

In addition to being childish and confrontational, the NRM's opposition are too petty. Imagine the furore in the Basher Media Legion if President Museveni or Gilbert Bukenya asked a Buganda clan head to expell an opposition member from their clan?

According to the NRM’s local Luganda mouthpiece, Bukedde, the MP for Kampala Central, wants Tamale Mirundi to be expelled from the Nkima (monkey) Baganda clan. MP Erias Lukwago appealed to the head of the Nkima clan, whose title is Mugema, to disown Mirundi because of his anti-Buganda activities. Tamale Mirundi is one of president Museveni’s closest confidants, believed to be more important than vice president Bukenya is. Lukwago, like Tamale, is a member of the Nkima clan. If Mugema were to grant Lukwago’s request and expel Mirundi from the clan, it would mean that the presidential adviser would no longer be a Muganda.

But Tamale Mirundi is not an easy man:

The NRM’s Bukedde also reported that Tamale Mirundi dismissed Lukwago’s suggestion. He allegedly said that to him Baganda clans are like any other organization or association which brings people together. He compared clans to the Uganda Journalist Association (UJA) and similar organizations.

Keeping track of Besigye's lies

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

Will media pay attention to Besigye's lies?

Kiiza Besigye, the president of FDC, which is the flagship brand of IPC, has been quoted on the BBC as saying, from Nairobi, that the 'walk-to-work' protests are not led by political leaders but rather by ordinary Ugandans. The 'walk-to-work' campaign is spearheaded by Activists for Change (A4C). This contradicts Besigye's assertion mentioned above:

FORMER Mengo youth minister and Masaka Municipality MP elect Mathias Mpuuga is the chairperson of Activists For Change (A4C), a group of politicians spearheading the walk-to-work and walk-to-pray campaign aimed at calling for the Government’s intervention regarding the high cost of living.

 It get's better; Mpuuga responds to a question in an interview:

Ssuubi remains an integral part of the IPC, whose arrangement has never been disbanded. We still believe the only way we can have change is by having a joint front for the opposition parties. There is no single party that has the capacity to defeat the NRM. There is need for the opposition forces to come together and we shall continue pursuing that path so that even the other parties which had boycotted join the IPC. We only need to build more confidence and respect for each other.

Now, the question is: will our Basher Media Legion call out Besigye's lie? Don't hold your breath. 

A tale of two newspaper stories

The New Vision's Barbara Kaija in a column in her newspaper decries the less-than-impressive standards of professionalism on Uganda's journalim scene.

Uganda today has 10 or so mass media educational institutions and yet most of our media houses are littered with evidence of lack of skill and professionalism.

Often I read a story about a function I have attended or an incident I have witnessed and I am ashamed by the levels of inaccuracy. Sometimes I watch colleagues at work and I wonder what happened to the old-cherished notebook.

I think if there is an enemy we need to address as the journalist fraternity or any area we need support on, from the stakeholders, it is our professionalism. 

It's common for two different people to relate different accounts of the same occurance. But for professional journalists, the aim should be to inform and not to sway opinions unless it is by way of commentary. HH the Agha Khan's newspaper, The Daily Monitor, is so intent on spinning the Besigye arrest story in favour of the opposition that it privately seeks their opinion in this big game of spin. See the two hammer stories first from The New Vision and then The Daily Monitor.

(New Vision) In the footage presented by the Government, Besigye starts his journey from Kasangati with some foreign journalists following him.

As he drives through Mpererwe, areas his motorcade reduces speed and Besigye emerges from his seat to the open roof, waves at the bystanders and returns to his seat.

When he arrives at Kalerwe, his motorcade slows down further. Besigye again emerges and waves. His vehicle drives towards the roundabout at Kubbiri. Boda Boda riders join in and start hooting as they mob his vehicle.

He stands through the open roof again and flashes the FDC V-sign. At Kubbiri roundabout, the Police, led by the commander of the Kampala Metropolitan Police, Grace Turyagumanawe, halts his advance to the city via Wandegeya. It showed crowds pelting Police officers with stones

Turyagumanawe talks to Besigye and later advises him to use Mulago Hill road to use the Yusuf Lule Road and link to Mukwano Road, to Queenway and then to FDC offices in Najjanakumbi.

At Mulago roundabout, a traffic police officer directs Besigye’s car towards Yusuf Lule road. It also showed Besigye arguing with Turyagumanawe through a roof top of his car.

Besigye insists that he wants to go to his Bank in Wandegeya and not his office. The crowds then increase in number and Besigye is seen trying to drive away. The police followed him and blocked his car.

The video also showed him holding a hammer. “I will hammer you, don’t disturb,” Besigye is heard saying in the footage.

An unidentified man quickly gets it from him while another man dressed in a civilian clothes pulls out a pistol but quickly puts it back.

The rest of the footage shows the crowd trying to block the road with stones.

(Monitor)  One of the clips had been presented by government through the junior Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Matia Kasaija, while the second was presented by FDC secretary general Alice Alaso to counter the first show.
In the clip from government, apparently patched together from footage of different events, Dr Besigye was shown holding a hammer and threatening to hit the police.

And then:

(New Vision) After the Government presentation, the opposition also screened their footage. Their footage starts with plain clothes officers arresting and beating up one of Besigye’s men.

It also shows another plain-clothed security official Gilbert Arinaitwe, Besigye’s car window screens with a pistol.

The officers then spray tear gas inside the car and Besigye, shields his face.

The clip also shows Arinaitwe and other plain clothes and Police officers shoving Besigye under a seat on the back of the Police patrol car.

In her statement, MP Alice Alasot insisted that the Government wanted to assassinate Besigye.

She also said Besigye accepted Police orders and drove through Mulago but was blocked at Mulago roundabout.

“It’s not true that he blocked traffic. It is the Police who blocked the road both behind and in front of him. This was done as Turyagumanawe communicated on phone, getting instructions on what to do with him,” Alaso said.

Alaso added that the hammer, which Besigye had fell into the car after an unidentified hooded man smashed the screen.

She tabled pictures of the man holding the hammer.
“When the hammer fell inside the car, the man ran away and Arinaitwe took over, smashing his car screen and spraying him with pepper,” Alaso said.

Turyagumanawe allegedly called his men and ordered them to spray the pepper inside Besigye’s car.

(Monitor)  While that from the opposition showed a hooded police operative running away from Dr Besigye’s car and the opposition politician telling journalists that the hammer the man was wielding had just fallen in the car.

Opposition MPs said the clip brought by the minister of internal affairs was doctored to portray the FDC leader as having used pepper spray and a hammer to hit the police. This angered the opposition who called for honesty rather than posturing.

“This is mere acting. Everyone knows what happened but they brought the cut-and-paste videos. We can’t accept this,” Mr Abdu Katuntu (FDC, Bugweri) said.

The hammer the Bashers are desperate to pin on Movement

The coup-plotters claim that the hammer used by Uganda security agents fell into Dr Kiiza Besigye's SUV while they broke its windows of before violently arresting him. The picture above shows Besigye holding the hammer that is the subject of spin and counter-spin in the media. Below are other pics of the same incident:

To me, the time Besigye holds the hammer, it is before the windows are smashed. How easy would it have been to roll them down if they had been smashed? Note that both windows in the picture furthest above are open. Would it have made sense with danger outside for Besigye and his gang to open their windows when the smashing started. Remember also that the spraying of pepper was done through rolled windows with holes smashed into them.

More spin: compare the picture below with the one further above. Someone photoshopped Besigye's face.

Hammer pics