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.

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

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

What Uganda's biased mainstream media won't tell

By Pamela Ankunda 15-04-2011 In September 2007, representatives from Civil Society organizations, Religious Institutions, media, the Uganda Police Force Political parties, Parliamentarians, the Justice and Order Sector all gathered at a workshop in Entebbe to discuss among others, frameworks governing the freedom to assemble and to demonstrate and off course, on top of the agenda was the role of the Police in such. This meeting came as result of the statement issued by the Uganda Human Rights Commission on the previous demonstrations that had turned violent. At the time, the UHRC invited the British High Commission who in turn invited the London Metropolitan Police to organize the said training for Police officers and other actors. The meeting at the time agreed that Police had a role to play. Has this role been revoked now? In that same workshop, a task force was drawn-Civil Society inclusive to draft the guidelines on Public demonstrations that were later discussed to make up a final draft of the same. Today, these are guidelines on which demonstrators and the Police should act. Basing on International Human Rights standards and norms, the workshop resolutions provided the most acceptable norm of what a procession should be. Obviously, they agreed that there was a challenge but in spite of that, developed consensus especially, on the limitation of the right to assemble and demonstrate. The meeting agreed that while we can demonstrate, that right is not absolute, it should be in public interest, should be justifiable and acceptable, and even when Police permission is not required to hold demonstrations, it is required in gazetted and restricted venues. I don’t know then where we place a citizen who chooses to sit right in the middle of a Public road. In the same workshop, the role of the police was defined even further, that it must receive notices of impending public demonstrations, and hold a planning meeting with the chief Demonstrator at least 5 days or as soon as practicable before the demonstration, and assign an officer to work with the organizers by carrying out assessment risks and where there is a breach, police must stop that demonstration immediately. The organizers on the other hand are reminded to submit to the District Police Commander’s office a “completed statement of intent in triplicate 10 days prior to the intended demonstration, obtain permission from relevant offices”, ensure safety or person and property, ensure that everybody knows why they are part of that demonstration, take responsibility for all statements made to the media or the public during that demonstration, and among other roles of the participants is to avoid incitement of violence during the demonstration. Those guidelines were not issued to people living on mars; they were not discussed and agreed to by saints and angels. They were not discussed for a Ugandan city that is found in New York or Sweden. The Participants knew exactly well, that Uganda has her own set of challenges and problems, just like its citizens know too well, that a country must be governed on basics, on constitutionalism and on laws. Thankfully, members of Parliament were present in Entebbe! Unfortunately, we are engaged in semantics of “protest” and “demonstrations” and some of the media is playing right into falsities. If we want to go down to pettiness, we will argue that the opposition leaders who own petrol stations and supermarkets lower their prices; to show concern for the ordinary peasant, but we cant do that, because forces of the market economy prevail over them. Contrary to what many think though, the leaders of these protests had long before the Egypt, Tunisia and Libya events called people to action. The rising food and fuel prices that are not unique to Uganda come in handy, and off course the curse of the Arab world presents an equal opportunity. Yet Uganda is unique and no situation of “copy and paste” would apply here. But to interpret the condemnation of the Police, Mr. Kayihura ought to know better; rosaries and Bibles will do, not teargas and canisters.

An account of Besigye April 28 arrest

By Vision Reporter

ON Thursday, April 28, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president, Dr. Kizza Besigye was arrested. From video, photography and from talking to the Police officers on the scene, a New Vision team reconstructs the incident. Below are the events as they unfolded;

7:30am: The Police received information that Besigye was hitting the road from his house, in the walk-to-work demonstration. The demonstration is illegal and security had outlawed it. Besigye has previously been blocked from walking. The law specifies that if it is an assembly of more than three people, the Police must be notified.

8:00am: It is a drizzly morning. Besigye leaves his home in Kasangati after clashing with the Police led by James Ruhweza, who compel him to use his vehicle instead of walking to the city centre. After a verbal exchange with the Police, Besigye departs in his vehicle with a motorcade of seven other vehicles.

8:10am: As he drives through the Mpererwe areas, his motorcade reduces speed and Besigye emerges from his seat to the open roof and waves at bystanders and returns to his car seat.

8:15am: He arrives at Kalerwe. His motorcade slows down further. Besigye 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 from his open-roof SUV and flashes the FDC V-sign. He then briefly addresses journalists from his vehicle. He proceeds to the Kubbiri Roundabout.

8:17am: Besigye returns to his car seat with the windows drown up. Within a minute, a Police vehicle approaches him with the Commander of Kampala Metropolitan Police, Grace Turyagumanawe.

Crowds are attracted to the area by Besigye’s vehicle which remains in the middle of the road as the crowd continues to swell. Police halts Besigye’s advance to the city centre via the Makerere-Kavule route.

8:25am: The Police disperse crowds to avoid accompanying the motorcade. The crowds comprising of mainly youth begin to pelt the Police with stones as well as blocking the road with boulders and sticks while chanting FDC party slogans.

8:31am: Turyagumanawe approaches Besigye whom he talks to. He (Besigye) is advised to use Mulago Hill Road to Yusuf Lule Road, link to the Mukwano Road, to Queensway and to the FDC office in Najjanankumbi.

Besigye insists that he cannot go by the Police directive which he considers unlawful. Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that it is the duty of the Police to protect life and property of the people of Uganda. Besigye insists that he is going to his bank in Wandegeya.

Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that he cannot proceed to the bank with crowds, let alone to Wandegeya, because security cannot ascertain the intentions of the crowd in the Central Business District.

He also tells Besigye that the alternative route is cleared for him and that the Police was empowered to give him directions.

Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that the situation was going out of hand and that they had to move. Besigye yields. The Police direct the motorcade to the Mulago Hill Road, instead of the earlier planned route of Makerere-Kavule.

As the motorcade moves, Besigye waves to the people from his open-roof. The crowd swells further as he approaches the Mulago Roundabout.

8:43am: At the Mulago Roundabout, a traffic Police officer waves Besigye’s motorcade to a halt and directs the vehicles towards the Yusuf Lule Road instead of continuing to Wandegeya centre. An exchange ensues between Besigye and the Police, attracting more crowds. Besigye insists he cannot go by the Police directions and has to go to Wandegeya to the bank.

The verbal duel lasts close to two hours, drawing in more crowds who chant FDC slogans and hurl insults at the Police.

The Police restrains from using tear gas to disperse the crowd that threatens to be riotous. At this point, the flow of traffic is disrupted for some minutes since the car in which Besigye is travelling, is in the middle of the road.

The Police, however, manage to secure passage for vehicles coming from Mulago and Kamwokya directions, which use one of the lanes. The human traffic keeps on flowing to the scene to witness the exchange between Besigye and the Police.

10: 25am: The standoff continues but takes on a different tempo. Plain-clothes Police officers move in to arrest Besigye. But the move is forestalled by a group of FDC youth who mount onto the vehicle and kick at the Police.

The youth are overpowered by the Police and are arrested. At the end of the violent encounter, Besigye’s car window screens are cracked.

10:36am: From within his car, Besigye is seen holding a hammer and he begins screaming at a man in a blue jacket similar to that of the Police, accusing him of attempting to smash his car window using the hammer. Besigye talks to journalists while photographers and videos capture the exchange.

10:37am: In another scene, a policeman is pulled away by colleagues from the scene with covered eyes. It later emerges that he had been sprayed with pepper.

10:39am: A man in civilian clothes emerges with a pistol. He swiftly moves to the passenger right-hand side of Besigye’s SUV and smashes the window with the butt of a pistol. Besigye is sprayed with pepper.

10:40am: It happens so fast. Besigye emerges from the vehicle wearing goggles and a nose mask to ward off the stinging pepper sprayed at him. His aides who include Francis Mwijukye as well as the driver only identified as Kato, come out of the vehicle and are led to a waiting police van.

10:41am: The plain-clothes security officer holds Besigye by the shirt-sleeve and leads him onto a waiting Police pick-up truck. He is then pushed under the seats and whisked away together with his aides Francis Mwijukye inclusive.

How can we even consider this!

The opposition that wants to overthrow a legitimately elected government in Uganda time after time rejected opnion  polls in the run-up to elections earlier this year. They claimed that one of the pollsters, a reputable firm, was bought off. Their polls turned out to be accurate, leaving them disgusted. If these arrongant people failed to heed scientific evidence of their eminent political misfortunes, how can we trust them with more complex issues of running a country? How can we even trust that the course of action they have chosen (walk-to-work) is the result of sober planning? It is the Basher Media Legion, Basher Twitter Legion and Basher Facebook Legion who are urging them on with moral and overt support who have lost it, not Sevo.

Sevo Bashers still scrambling for illegal regime change

HH The Agha Khan's Kampala newspaper, The Daily Monitor, is still desperately continuing its covert support for illegal regime change. It has ran a piece by Benji Ndolo, a heckler who was thrown out by Kenyan security (some of the Basher Media Legion had said it was by Ugandan police for effect) at a discussion forum for yelling at Sevo about the events of Dr Kiiza Besigye's illegal regime change campaign. Sevo had responded to the arrogant heckler something to the effect that the forum was for discussion and not name-calling.

The president was relaxed and begun his speech on Economic Rights and Social transformation with an analogy about insects and their metamorphosis from egg to pupa, lavae to adult. The president was affable. But it is important to define Museveni.

After decades of terror and rampage occasioned on Ugandans by Idi Amin Dada and Milton Obote, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni a young soldier fought a guerilla war to power restoring Ugandans’ collective dignity and returning the country to normalcy and decency. But that was 25 years ago.

Slowly but surely President Museveni has begun his slide back down the path of intolerance and dictatorship. For the past one month, Ugandan forces have systematically and consistently brutalized unarmed citizen’s men and women walking to work to protest against the very high cost of living because of sky high food and fuel prices. Of course there is a political component to these protests given that they are even led by his opponent Dr Kize Besigye but does that justify beatings, shootings and spraying human skin and eyes with copious amounts of acidic pepper?

As I sat listening to Museveni crack jokes and the audience roaring in laughter, I realized that the whole event was too casual and that for a fact a victim of Museveni’s brutality was admitted at Nairobi Hospital 7 minutes drive from where we were sitting, going blind. Our attendance of Museveni’s forum was dignifying him and giving him aid and comfort. Initially, I felt I should walk out. But to just stand up and walk out alone as a head of State speaks, constitutes a security breach and does not say much. Or they would think perhaps because I wasn’t feeling well, or was pressed for a short bathroom call. I stayed calm. But as the president spoke, and paused, I interjected. “Mr President, it’s very difficult for us to sit here and listen to you as Kenyans when daily you are brutalizing innocent, unarmed Ugandans. Why are you allowing this Sir…” I was swiftly apprehended by four officers and bundled into a GK land rover outside.

Mr Ndolo is entitled to his opinions of Sevo and, for sure, he has provided the desperate, regime-change seeking Bashers another worthless hero (another being Besigye). What made him think that of all the people in the conference room, he alone was aware of the facts he writes about? This meeting had been arranged long before. What did he expect Sevo would talk about? Next time Benji, do not attend if there might be a chance that you will sufffer a coronary complication or be brought to the point of lunacy. Did the media report that Benji was booed by the audience? Nope, and neither have the Basher Media Legion - they need their PR victory badly. And have the Basher Media Legion reported Sevo's speech? Nope. They are slowly but surely showing themselves and their bias is getting hard to hide. Benji says his president Kibaki is democratic but if he believes that the leaders in the region are unhappy with Sevo, he is deluded. If the regime-change tool, Walk-to-work campaign, succeeds in Uganda, no regional leader will feel safe. Should Uganda be the guinea pig for interventions in other countries? Hello no! Benji should use his new-found fame to convince the opposition in Uganda to unconditionally accept to talk to Sevo's government for the sake of the common Ugandan.

Today's self-absorbed tweet

Celebrating World Press Freedom Day. All Ugandans should rise up and praise their incredible media professionals! #worldpressfreedomday

That is what a self-absorbed journalist, @oletan, has posted on Twitter. It just shows the bad manners our media players have developed thanks to the Movement's  tolerant governance. Hey, media people, if you're happy with yourselves, that's fine. Your arms are long enough for each of you to pat yourself on the back. Go and make yourself happy. Meanwhile, when you get back from that, be sure to remind us of the Besigye lies you deliberately hid over the years so that you can prop up his and Mao's PR, which include:

• Sevo and the Movement colluded with the Karamojong to steal Acholi cows
• Sevo and the Movement started the LRA war (when he was junior internal affairs minister and national political commissar - they are strangely mute on his role)
• Sevo has sold Lakes Victoria and Kyoga
• That he had 47% of the vote in this year's election (the Basher Media Legion have not bothered to dig further into this because it might not favour Besigye's PR)
• Sevo and Movement intend to steal land from Baganda, Acholi and Langi
• Besigye's stealing a foreign party's manifesto to use as his own (seriously!! This is the man who has ideas for Uganda and Sevo is spent? You prefer the fake to the original? Yeah, we've not forgotten the manifesto plagiarism, sorry to disappoint the Basher Media Legion)
• Sevo has sold and pocketted money from Bunyoro oil
• And who can forget Besigye's statement that, as a professional medical doctor, he regrets having saved the life of President Museveni during the time he was his doctor. The Basher Media Legion have never asked him to explain that statement exposing their love affair with him.

So, our dear Ugandan journalists, when you stop over-estimating your importance and start actually being objective, only then will you get the praise of ALL Ugandans - not just your Basher friends.

The Love-to-hate Press Freedom Day Report

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, an internation media activist organisation, has released its annual report on the state of media tolerance around the world. In what will disappoint the Bashers in Uganda, President Museveni and the NRM are not named among the 'media predators' of Africa. Instead, it is Rwanda's Paul Kagame, who is used every time the Bashers want to stick one at Sevo, who is named among the eight predators in Africa. This ironic blue-eyed boy of the local Ugandan media shares his spot with the likes of Al Shabab.

Political tension is rising in Rwanda ahead of elections due in August and investigative journalist Robert Mukomboz was thrown out of the country for criticising President Paul Kagame.

"The president's office would try to dictate what I'm supposed to write, would even want to dictate the headlines, and would go to the extent of trying to draft the story for me and include my by-line," he told the BBC's World Today programme.

Our Bashers, who are all over Sevo on social network media, would have loved to have him on that list because it would have been more arsenal in their armoury for the public relations war. One Basher, His Highness the Agha Khan's newspaper, The Daily Monitor must have printed the story below with heavy hearts because they have continually launched a vicious assault on the man who helped get the owner's properties in Uganda back. (But true to their form, they couldn't resist taking a kick at Uganda while the report dragged them out of the ring).

The report comes after human rights observers and analysts expressed fear that Uganda is increasingly degenerating to the class of Rwanda even after making some gains in legislating media friendly laws such as the Access to Information Act and the Whistle Blowers Act.

These gains, the group says, are, however, being eroded by other proposed media unfriendly laws like the ones on the Press and Journalists Act (1995) into what the civil society, international body of journalists, human right activists and industry experts describe as draconian law. The report indicates that in Rwanda, Mr Kagame does not tolerate embarrassing questions at news conferences, often denigrates journalists and brands outspoken media as "Radio Mille Collines."

"Every year several Rwandan journalists decide to go into exile because they find the atmosphere unbearable in their home country. This does not worry President Kagame, who refers to journalists as "mercenaries" and "bums"," reads part of the report. However, the Rwanda government says the media needs to be controlled to ensure it does not incite or promote genocide as it did in 1994.