The Uganda People's Congress has issued a press release on the recent floods in northern and eastern Uganda. What we find interesting is that the press release pins M7 on allegations which Radio Katwe has been telling Ugandans about.
Some people have been writing and asking who killed the Muslims in Bushenyi in 1979 before Amin's dictatorial regime fell. We can disclose to you that the Muslims who were killed in Bushenyi were killed by the late Eriya Mwine (better known as Brig. Chefe Ali).
Chefe Ali was the FRONASA field commander from 1976 to 1979 and the FRONASA commander in chief Yoweri Museveni gave Chefe Ali the order to kill the Muslims and then later claim that the Muslims were killed by Ugandans angry because they supported Amin.
Since his days of FRELIMO in Mozambique, it is Musevenis tactic to raise hatred and incite the local population by secretly committing atrocities
that can be blamed on the goverment. So during Amins murderous reign, Amin who was also a Muslim, tried to artificially raise the profile of Islam in Uganda.
Then Musevenis in his crooked ways wanted to exploit the situation that people didn't like the
Muslims who were seen as the "eating class", in the same way M7's tribalistic and sectarian regime now favors a few people from his home area.
After, Museveni changed the story to say that the Bushenyi Muslims were killed on orders of Paulo Muwanga. So the truth is there for you.
Drums of war and neglect of flood victims
Press release from Uganda People's Congress
12 September 2007
1. The heavy rains in the past three weeks have unleashed floods across Teso, Lango and Acholi regions and wrecked havoc on the properties and lives of thousands of people in those regions. People's homes have been flooded and sometimes washed away just like their food stores. Food crops in gardens have been inundated by the floods and are rotting away. Roads have been flooded and bridges washed away making movement of people, their livestock and properties impossible. The people are in desperate need of shelter, food, sanitation facilities, medical care, clothing and some means of transport and communication.
2. The Uganda Peoples Congress sends its condolences to the devastated and bereaved families who lost their loved ones and expresses deep sympathy to the people who are generally affected by this catastrophe. It is most unfortunate that the same people whose lives have been severely disrupted by over 20 years of the NRM imposed war and impoverishment now have to suffer another disaster! This is a double tragedy indeed.
3. Instead of rushing to the Northern and Eastern regions of Uganda devastated by these floods to coordinate governments relief efforts President Museveni has been in Luwero sounding war drums.
4. The response of the government to the new catastrophy in Northern and Eastern Uganda has been slow, meagre, uncoordinated and visibly wanting. The Prime Minister Professor Apollo Nsibambi had an emergency inter-ministerial meeting just yesterday as reported in today's new vision and that the Minister for Disaster Preparedness is in Eastern Uganda to assess the magnitude of the disaster after three weeks.
5. There is no serious effort being made to marshal resources and attend to the basic needs of shelter, clothing, food, sanitation, medical care and transport. The Ministry for Disaster Preparedness has openly stated that it has no resources to attend to these disasters. What is disaster preparedness for? The Ministry of works has no plan to attend let alone reopen the collapsed road network in the area. Even the road linking Uganda to Southern Sudan has been closed! Instead all resources have been illegally diverted to fund the elusive CHOGM project where billions are being wasted and stolen with the tacit approval of the highest leadership in the NRM.
6. On another matter, the Daily Monitor of Friday, September 7th, 2007 reported on its front page that, Yoweri Museveni addressing his conscripts at Dwaniro, Bukomero in Kiboga District stated that he would not have allowed the UPC who supported Dr. Semwogerere in the 1996 elections to be in state house. He would have gone to the bush to fight the elected government on the pretext that it was backed by UPC whom he dubbed killers.
7. President Museveni's utterance against the UPC and his threats of war are not new. They are part of his politics of violence. It is the same philosophy of violence that led him to the Luwero triangle to wage war against the elected government of UPC. It is the same philosophy that has guided his violent and ruthless hold on power and the pretext of having won elections in 1996, 2001 and 2006. All these "elections" were violent frauds. He is at it again, to consolidate his campaign for the 6th term having temporarily lost his bid to lead the East African Federation. We salute the foresighted people of Tanzania for scuttling Museveni's East African imperial ambitions.
8. To answer Museveni's repeated but baseless accusations of murder and human rights violations against the UPC and its leadership, and to get in place a rational and peaceful mechanism of reconciling the people of Uganda, UPC has challenged President Museveni over the last two years to set up an independent and impartial Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to investigate into the troubled history of Uganda from 9th October, 1962 up to the date the TRC is set up.
9. President Yoweri Museveni has avoided this challenge and demand because deep down in his heart he is aware that if the TRC is ever set up, UPC will give evidence to incriminate him and those close to him in various murders and other wanton cases of human rights violations. He is aware that UPC will give evidence on amongst others:-
- The murder of FRONASA leaders after the failed 1972 Mutukula invasion.
- The murder of a certain lady and gentleman in Tanzania
- The murder of FRONASA leaders in Mbale
- The murder of Moslems in Mbarara after the fall of Amin's government.
- The murder of various senior civil servants during the UNLF days (1979-1980)
- The abduction and sexual abuse of girls in the Luwero triangle (China Keiteisi's book is informative)
- The killing of UPC officials and civil servants in the Luwero triangle (this has been admitted by Brigadier Kasirye Gwanga and Sgt.Gitta Musoke)
- The killing of thousands of people in the Luwero triangle (Major Gen.Otafiire's revelations at the funeral of professor Adonia Tiberondwa is an eye opener)
- The massacre at Atiak, Corner kilak, Mukura, Barlonyo, Kanungu and the burial of people alive in Bucoro.
- The scorched earth policy that reduced Teso, Acholi and parts of Lango to ancient civilisation.
10. If President Museveni is innocent of these accusations, we still challenge him to set up the TRC where the people of Uganda will be free to give evidence to incriminate UPC. Otherwise if he cannot take this challenge, he should for ever stop the false accusations against UPC.
11. As for the catastrophe occasioned by the floods and neglect in Northern and Eastern Uganda, UPC calls upon the NRM government for once to treat the people in these regions as human beings and as Ugandans. The government should invoke article 11(1) (b) to declare state of emergency over the areas devastated by the floods. This will enable urgent and coordinated mobilisation of badly needed relief supplies to deal with the natural disasters.
12. The UPC calls upon the people of Uganda and its friends to continue to speak out against the militarism of President Museveni and his neglect of the suffering people of Uganda . Together we should intensify all our efforts to free this country from a leadership based on the philosophy of violence.
13. Museveni's militarism is not restricted to threats and violence against the UPC and the people of Uganda but has extra territorial facets. In the past, he has waged war against Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi , Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although he has been bruised in all these foreign adventures he has not learnt his lesson. Reliable information available to UPC indicates that the UPDF which has been amassing troops and armour over the last one month or so is already inside the Democratic Republic of Congo territory. The UPC calls upon the people of Uganda and the international community not to listen to the usual demands of the NRM government but to demand the immediate withdraw of the UPDF from DRC. If UPDF resumes the war, the consequences will be very catastrophic for this region.
FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY
Mama Miria Kalule Obote
President, Uganda Peoples Congress