The only official picture released by Mengo since the birth of Prince Semakokilo

The apology to the Kabaka by the Newvision boss, Robert Kabushenga, was a good step but they should not have followed it with publication of another picture of a woman who they claim to be the mother of prince Richard Semakokilo. It sends out a bad message to the one you are apologising to. Newvision was once again giving the ‘two fingers’ to the Mengo administration. They should have learned from that ‘Kutesa-Kabaka- land tittle’ story some years ago.

Yes, Newvision might have made millions out of this story, probably more than shs.500 Mrs Barbara Patience Kirabo is demanding from them, but they should not have rubbed salt in the wounds again by publishing another picture they aren’t sure of. Now, what if Mengo embarasses them and produces a different picture of the mother of prince Ssemakokilo? Will they apologise again or what?

Barbara Patience Kirabo, the lady whose photograph appeared in the state-owned Newspaper - The New Vision and its sister publication vernacular daily Bukedde on Wednesday as the mother of the Kabaka’s new son, Prince Richard Ssemakookiro

Newspaper columnists have the right to express whatever opinion they want, but they do not have the right to disseminate inaccuracies, distortions or fabrications and present them as facts. The way Newvision wrote their apology was like as if they have got some beef to settle with Kabaka, and i think this is what is hurting some Baganda.

I had avoided commenting on Prince Richard Semakokilo’s story ever since it was broken on the Ugandans At Heart(UAH) forum because of the mistakes that have so far been committed by both Mengo and the state. The story reminds of the day my daughter asked me if I was ‘uncle dad’ not ‘dad.

The world is laughing at us not because we have a king who cheated on his wife and never lied about it but it’s because we have made a great deal about it yet we have a lot of problems in our country. Please let’s cut the Kabaka some slack.

Yes!  Kabaka has fathered a kid out of the wedlock. So are many other rich, poor and famous Ugandans.  What I’m trying to figure out is don’t we have other issues to handle in Kampala other than Kabaka’s private life??  There are ‘snake-filled’ hospitals and corrupt government officers running rampant within the State House and all we are talking about is whether what Kabaka did was Christian or not. We should not really give a damn about where a traditional leader sticks his pecker because it’s so likely that the majority of kings in Uganda have boinked someone other than their wife while in office. This has only become media-worthy since the people in power figured out that it could take their bad headlines out of the media for a while. The Kabaka’s mistress story or whatever one wants to call it, is meant to bury the bad headlines for a while but I don’t think it’s gonna work.

Speaking of the bible and polygamy, I think, in the Old Testament, God had no problem with polygamy; the Bible does not prohibit it, and some of God’s favourite and most-beloved kings had wives by the dozens or even hundreds!  For instance, King Solomon is said to have had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3).  Also, King David is said to have had many wives and concubines (2 Samuel 5:13). In Exodus 21:10, a man can marry an infinite amount of women without any limits to how many he can marry.

Another picture produced by Newvision as the mother of the prince

With King Solomon, he loved many foreign women. For example, he married the daughter of Pharaoh, and Moabite, Ammonite, E’domite,  Sido’nian, and Hittite women. So, Kabaka Mutebi can marry in any tribe outside Buganda if he fancy doing it. It’s indeed not very pragmatic to weaken the Kabakaship over something so trivial.

Marriages in Western culture are based on monogamy and high-pair-bonding and this is something some Africans have come to appreciate. As a result, compatibility, age difference and long-term attractiveness is a matter of consideration before people get married. But I think this is not something Kabaka Mutebi had in mind when he went for the mother of Prince Richard Semakokilo.

In other words,  he went with the universal view that other things are more important than wealth, age and status, because he(Kabaka) has got all the means to marry a woman whom he does not need to hide away from the media especially after having a son with her. There are a lot of families with ‘status’ that would have been willing to offer their daughters( young or old) to the Kabaka for anything, but may be he is silently trying to redefine ‘statuses. Today’s warped view of “status” is entirely dependent on wealth but let’s face it, majority of the highest “status” men and women in Uganda are arguably criminals, and most of them are hypocrites. You bring them near you, they can destroy you. So, why would a leader who is arguably ‘enemies’ with the state wish to marry from such influential families in Uganda at the moment?

Historically, marriage was a business arrangement. The bride was a commodity, her dowry a deal sweetener.  And the groom was likely to be an unwitting pawn in an economic alliance between two families. For example, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) married his daughter to his cousin, Ali, to cement the friendship between families. Then two of his caliphs, Othman and Omar offered their daughters to him to also cement their friendship with the prophet. There was no paperwork, no possibility of divorce, and more often than not- no romance.  But there was work to be done:  procreation, the rearing of children and the enforcement of a contract that allowed for the orderly transfer of wealth and the cycle of arranged matrimony to continue.

Similarly, the birth of Prince Semakokilo should be looked at in that spectrum and we put this issue to bed. Marriage as some Ugandans know it today didn’t exist 90 years ago. I think the Kabaka is trying to balance the seesaw here (as we used to call it in my little physics at Kibuli.S.S). He could have ”married” another woman but he did not do so presumably because he did not wish to upset the church; he could have got another lady from an influential family but he decided to tap into the working class (‘commoners’) to balance things up. Buganda needed another prince and he found a way to offer it. End of story!

Now, he needs to man up and take that extra step as a social and cultural revolutionary, and tell the world the mother of his newlyborn son. He has not done anything wrong in the eyes of the law. The moment he introduced the prince to the media, more questions were definitely going to be asked, and the most important of all questions is:’’ who is the mother to the prince?’ Let Mengo come out with it and shut up the people that are making a great deal out of it. It does not matter whether the mother is of higher status or not as long as the Kabaka did whatever he did for the right reasons.The truth is that Mengo made some mistakes in the way they handled this issue, but I don’t intend to discuss their mistakes in a public forum out of respect and love for my Kabaka.

Nze bwendaba

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
COMMONER

The demand by Uganda women to have a clause in the Domestic Relations Bill that allows them to divorce men with bigger organs is something interesting because it confuses one on what exactly women want. This bill has got a lot of controversial stuff in it but let me concentrate on this issue for now to see if it makes sense to people out there.

I’m afraid I look at this issue in different ways but either way, I think when people decide to get married, these are some of the things they should be ready to put up with. It will be a travesty to marriage if people start divorcing each other because either of their sexual organs has ballooned for some reason. It can only make sense if the divorce is asked when the relationship is at its early stages because there it can be argued that the person did not know exactly what they were getting themselves into, but not when the relationship has been there for a long time. People should learn to appreciate certain things about each other outside the bedroom, and I believe it is what has kept our grandfathers in marriage for ages.

Penis size and economy

Some research shows how strongly the average sizes of male organ were associated with GDPs of various countries between 1960 and 1985 according to a paper presented by Tatu Westling of the University of Helsinki in 2011. It was argued here that the average size [the erect length, to be precise] of male organ in population has a strong predictive power of economic development during the period. The exact causality can only be speculated at this point but the correlations are robust. The `male organ hypothesis’ put forward here suggests that penises carry economic significance.

Male organ was found to experience an inverted U-shaped relationship with GDP in 1985. The GDP-maximizing length was identified at around 13.5 centimeters. One striking result is the collapse in GDP after male organ exceeds the length of 16 centimeters. At that time, it was noted that countries where men have penises below 12 centimeter were less developed and these were mainly the Asian countries. Let’s leave Africa out of this argument for reasons I will explain below.

The average growth rates from 1960 to 1985 were found to be negatively correlated with the sizes of male organs: unit centimeter increase in its physical dimension was found to reduce GDP growth by 5 to 7% between 1960 and 1985. Furthermore, quite remarkable was the finding that male organ alone could explain 20% of the between-country variation in GDP growth rates between 1960 and 1985.

The physical dimension of male organ varies considerably across countries, the average being 14.5 centimeters. For example, South Korea and Zaire [now Dem. Rep. of the Congo] have average sizes of 9.66 and 17.93 centimeters, respectively according to everyoneweb.com on the link http://www.everyoneweb.com/worldpenissize/. France’s average size is 16.1 centimeters while that of UK is 13.9 centimeters. To be honest, I don’t know how these guys got all these results but the figures here are interesting.

Now Africa is still poor compared to other continents yet it is well known that men of all long and big sizes come from there. The researchers put this down to other factors other than the size of the penis, i.e. poor political governance, diseases, malnutrition and regular conflicts on the continent. But then again, may be our current leaders have got smaller penises and that is why we are in this mess. I wish there is a way we can find out about this to test this theory. May be if we all chip in and bribe the first ladies on the continent, it will make this research a bit easier. But if this argument is true, then it looks like the Americans may get out of recession soon if they stick with Barack Obama in the White House for a second term running.

Bill Frist

May be this argument may have helped Obama become a president in the first place following a report compiled in 2006 by some newspaper about the penis sizes of Republicans. A reporter was allegedly able to obtain medical records of over 100 leading politicians and Cabinet members in Washington. Condoleezza Rice was asked what a good penis size was and how it might affect the female vote in the elections. Ms Rice stretched her fingers to indicate a good size and it was apparent that most of the men among the Republicans did not measure up. She thought as far as the female vote was concerned, it would hurt them. Bill Friest, Republican United States Senator representing Tennessee, spoke up and said “His wife said that size did not matter and he thought most women felt this way”. Ms Rice responded “What women say and what women want are two different things”. Friest apparently looked puzzled by her response. The rest is history because Republicans indeed lost the elections to democrats.

However, it has been found that there is no coleration between a man’s height and the length of his penis. Why many women still think “height” is more important than other physical features of males, I guess we will never know. Put height together with penis size, for example, and explain the aesthetics and beauty that some women use in mate selection. For instance, average heights did increase between 1750 and 1875 among European populations because of improvements in diets and increases in intakes of calories but this did not necessarily reflect an increase in their penis heights. Indeed the evidence that dimensions of body parts and penile lengths are correlated is mixed. Also there is no evidence to suggest that a man’s shoe size and penile length are related.

Homosexuality

A columnist in USA wrote in 2006 on website World Net Daily that use of soy products leads to reduced penis size and higher rates of male homosexuality. I guess scientists are still trying to find out why some people claim to be gay since their childhood after findings revealed in 1980s that higher testosterone levels among gay men are as often as among heterosexuals. In 1984 Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, a neurobiologist at Columbia University, analyzed the results of twenty-seven studies undertaken to test the hormone theory which used to be claimed by some people as explanation for being gay. He found that there is no difference between the testosterone or estrogen levels of homosexual and heterosexual men.

This columnist wrote that when you feed your baby soy formula, you’re giving him or her equivalent of five birth control pills a day. A baby’s endocrine system just can’t cope with that kind of massive assault, so some damage is inevitable. At the extreme, the damage can be fatal.

He also revealed that Soy is feminizing, and commonly leads to a decrease in the size of the penis, sexual confusion and homosexuality. That’s why most of the medical (not socio-spiritual) blame for today’s rise in homosexuality must fall upon the rise in soy formula and other soy products.

To carry that theory a little further, maybe penis size is the reason for gay men not having normal relationships with women; they are embarrassed by the size of their members. Therefore, those who systematically engage in anal sex have smaller than normal penises, affording their partners less damage. It is a fact that many men obsess over penis size, weaker minded males often engage in transference.

So guys, it looks like penis size does not really matter in anything depending where you are standing. I guess my Chinese friends would say: ‘Dude, the only one who has an issue about your penis size is you and the brainless ladies in Uganda. I have enough on my mind with trying to figure out how to become a superpower, calculating different responses I get from Americans by supporting dictators in Africa, and trying to fit in enough time for sleep and work, which I wish I had the luxury of time to think about what size penis you have. I really don’t have that time, so it looks like I’m out of luck.’’

Anyway, the bottom line is that this issue should be carefully looked at when writing the final piece of the Domestic Relations Bill. Think about it: a chap in Australia killed his wife after she teased him about his penis size and this is something that may cause problems for us in future if we put such issues on a paper. This is a genuine Australian case, but even as a hypothetical one, it’s interesting.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba
United Kingdom

The Observer front page headline on 02/01/2012

The story in the Observer about Besigye and Museveni planned talks is more like a replay of what happened between Zanu-PF and the MDC in Zimbabwe a few years ago. You remember those talks that were mediated by then South African president,Thabo Mbeki. The difference here is that Mwenda and Conrad Nkutu seem to be the big players in this whole thing which is a bit strange. I know Andrew Mwenda is a bit influential in the Museveni government but he is also someone who is not in good books with Besigye at the moment. So, anything where he is involved may raise suspicions.

It is also obvious that the story was intentionally leaked to the press to see the reaction from both camps: Besigye and Museveni’s, and the elites who read such stories published in English. So far, both sides have remained silent about it which confirms that something is in the pipeline. Even the big ‘mouthed’ Tamare Mirundi has not come out yet with his ‘bullets’ to shoot those ‘Nagendaising’ the situation, which shows that this is a big thing in the corridors of power in Uganda. The story has appeared both in the Newvision and Observer newspapers.

However, the whole exercise of these talks is a misdirected effort because the majority of Ugandans would be happy if president Museveni offers a quick time frame to step down from the presidency, but this is not something we expect from these talks. Museveni is not ready to give up power to anybody soon despite the recent Daily Monitor headline of ‘I will not stay in power forever’. The man has no intention at all to give up an inch of power, and I’m sure Besigye is aware of it, and we assume he (Besigye) is bothered by it .So what will be the basis of these talks, I wonder.

On the other hand, senior FDC officials are increasingly aware that there is a need to start planning for a political future after Dr.Besiggye, but do not quite know how to achieve that end. Besigye has already announced his intention to stand down from the FDC presidency despite his undoubted popularity among Ugandans. So, why involve himself in political deals he may not be there to supervise and see to it that they are fully implemented? Let’s say, for instance, Museveni agrees to a power sharing interim government, what will be Besigye’s and the new FDC president positions in the new government? Who will be the superior decision maker in the new government? This whole thing may ultimately weaken FDC if not handled properly.

Seriously, I don’t have a problem with the idea of talks between the opposition and Museveni government, and it is indeed encouraging to see that some people want it to happen, but there is a lot of water under the bridge at the moment- which makes it a bonehead idea at the moment.

A lot of people are in prison or exile because of the fights that have been going between these two guys, and I’m wondering if they have got any stake in these talks. Will there be an unconditional amnesty granted to all those perceived to be enemies of the state? Will all political prisoners be pardoned and let back on the street to do whatever they want before or after these talks? What about other stakeholders, such as the Mengo administration and Ssubi, which formed an alliance with Besigye in 2011 elections to see that Buganda achieves its demands from the central government? Will the Kabaka be involved in these talks? What about the religious leaders who are tired of corruption in government offices and would like the government to also get tough on homosexuality? What about those who just want to see the back of president Museveni for good as soon as possible and Besigye was seen as a representation of such feelings?

That’s why I think that the idea of talks between ‘Ajja Genda’ and ‘Mpekoni’ or ‘do u want another rap’ guy makes very little sense. Yes, looking for the “good”, or looking for the “truth” both proceed by talking and also by investigation and neither, in and of themselves, result in the creation of a sustainable political climate. However, looking for good as opposed to truth is precisely what has led Sub-Saharan Africa to its present downward spiral. Instead of recognizing truths which require little study and even less talk, western governments, media and academe have consistently tried to see good at the expense of recognizing such clear and obvious truths. The damage that this has done is just as evident and all in the service of a corrupt concept of natural equality.

If, therefore, we are to have meaningful talks between the government and opposition, president Museveni must publicly state that he is going to resign from the presidency at a specific date. Short of that, we may as well say that Besigye has betrayed the people who put too much trust in him. All the truth about everything evil this government has done must be put on the table as enough reason for the president to hang his boots as soon as possible. Truth is truth and looking the other way helps no one.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Semuwemba

So whether Obote Poisoned Muteesa or not, we shall never know. Like i one time said, people sent on the missions to eliminate certain people also end up being eliminated at some stage to get rid of the evidence. So, never accept such a mission if you want to live longer- because you also become a target.

Some poisons are untraceable or break down so quickly before the person dies as to be undetectable at the time of death. The most common one is ARSENIC. Ukraine’s nationalist leader Viktor Yuschenko, Chechen Independence fighter Khattab, and Litvinenko were all victims of untraceable poisons. Victor Yuschenko’s face looked like one of the monsters from a scary movie after he survived poisoning. I used to watch him on TV and i thought to myself:’now that is a real survivor and politician’.

Prolixin is traceable but I doubt if Mulago or any hospital in Uganda has got the equipment to test it. Another untraceable poison is called biotoxin ricin, which is made from the Castor bean plant. It is rumored that Pope John Paul I was killed by Italian mafias using this kind of untraceable poison.

The fact is that people all over the world, especially politicians, are eliminated using poison. If you don’t want to accept this, then you will the day they turn you into a cabbage. As my elder brother used to say: ‘man can disappoint man’. So, in most cases people are poisoned by those closest to them.

Poisoning is not only about being involved in politics or being at log heads with the government. If you want to become a ‘boiled egg’, it’s up to you but you must be alert all the time. I have got a friend of mine living in London but we were in Namagabi UMEA in Kayunga together. Her husband went to visit his relatives in Tororo a couple of years ago, I think. He was reportedly poisoned while he was with his relatives celebrating something. On their way back to Kampala, he started complaining of stomach pains. They rushed him to Mbale hospital but they told them to send him to Mulago. He died on the way to Mulago.

I really felt bad because they had two kids with his wife and last time I checked, the girl was struggling with life.

Then another friend of mine, again living in London, was also poisoned in some restaurant in Sseta( Mukono). She is not even in politics or anything like that. She is just a normal lady who had gone to buy herself a plot of land to start building her house. She was rushed to hospital and fortunately she survived.

Please should take this issue seriously, Poisoning whether intentional or not is part of Kampala restaurants and the society at large. People used to waste time with witchcraft ( eddogo) but not anymore. They are getting practical!

Last word on economy as we enter 2012

Anyway, Europe is ‘burning’ down. It is just a matter of time before the European Union is declared dead. Italy’s economy is also in a mess, a reason why former Prime Minister, Berlusconi, had to resign. What is happening in Italy is worse than Greece. Spain will also be crying next after Italy. I wonder how the small countries that had just joined EU are doing.

If Germany decides to leave the Euro zone, that will be it. Already the British are threatening to leave as they have got one leg outside Europe. People here in the UK are demanding for a referendum they were denied in the 1st place.

I think the architects of the revived East Africa Community (EAC) have got a lot of lessons to learn from this. EAC community mainly failed because of the imbalances in the economics of the member states, and these conditions are still in place, so they should go slow on the federation.

For the meantime, if I were Museveni, I would grant federalism to the regions that are asking for it. It will reduce the pressure that comes from the centre. Let’s face it: African economies are going to get worse in the next 2-5 years before things get any better. Museveni is presiding over a very angry/ hungry population such that I don’t know how he is going to keep things altogether in the 4 years. People are poor and they have had enough. If he decides to give federalism to some parts of the country, he will reduce this pressure on himself.

Happy new year everyone

Abbey Semuwemba

Most of the NRM mobilizers will be relieved when Besigye retires from FDC leadership because he still remains the best ‘chocolate’ in a box. Love or hate him, he is the most courageous, toughest and principled politician in Uganda history. The guy is undoubtedly the best opposition politician in Uganda’s history. He’s the best at what he does. When he talks on politics, he usually has been worth listening to more than any other FDC politician. Historians and political analysts will write endless books about him. The only thing missing in his political life is becoming the president of Uganda which he almost did in 2006 if Dr.Badru Kiggunud’s EC were not cowards. They reportedly allowed themselves to be intimidated but most political observers ‘believe’ that Besigye won those elections.

Museveni only outsmarted him in elections and I think this is the reason why he wants to retire, not forgetting the famous Gilbert Arinaitwe who liked playing with Besigye’s head using tear gas. What makes Museveni to stand out is that he thinks 10 moves ahead when it comes to rigging elections, and he planned for the presidency for a long time. The rest of the opposition leaders think two moves, and are proud of it. Museveni is probably the best politician of his generation in Uganda- at least of his NRM party; even Besigye would have to agree.

As for UPC, the way there are treating Dr. Otunu now has made me feel the slightest for them. He does not deserve to be treated this way just because he is not a Langi or related to late Obote. The smears his political enemies are now flinging mark them, not him, as beneath contempt.

Olara Otunu is the current UPC president

It’s good that Otunu has fired some of the UPC ‘rebels’ especially David Pulkol and Rurangaranga. The former chairman made it clear that that he will use whatever means necessary to incriminate the UPC president which was unacceptable. So he had to go. As for Pulkol, I have never trusted him even one little bit. He is one character that can give you a poisonous injection on the bum while feeding you a samosa at the same time. He was previously working for the Museveni intelligence system; then he moved to FDC temporarily before joining some funny political party I have forgotten. When Otunu came back, Pulkol went UPC mad with the famous bandwagon song of ‘we are coming back home’. Oh God, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read in the paper that Otunu had given him an executive position in UPC.

Anyway, it’s good that Otunu has started learning Uganda’s complicated politics on a table very slowly. In Uganda, all surviving party leaders have been sleeping with one eye open. Otherwise, Otunu should copy some of Museveni’s ugly tactics to survive the current situation. If he doesn’t’ he is a goner not a ‘gunner’ (like Arsenal supporters). If he wants to know some of these tactics, he should freely consult me privately and I help him out, but I will charge him some fee because I need to buy presents for my daughters before the New Year. But overall, he seems to be catching up with the game.

Of course there is a limit to what Otunu can do since he is not as ‘executive’ as president Museveni. The later allegedly uses the intelligence organs and URA to obtain innuendo and political ammo against his enemies, and the police and army to harass his enemies, but otunu can do a little bit of Museveni’s tricks that are less than that to survive his enemies. USA’s Richard Nixon too used IRS to target his political enemies. Bill Clinton also reportedly used to keep files of his political enemies.

Nevertheless, I think Otunu should have kept Robert Kanusu in his team. I don’t know Kanusus personally but he seems to be a people’s person and a grass root politician. He should have won that election in Jinja if NRM had not resorted to Museveni’s ways of survival. If it is true that Kanusu too had also been comprised, Otunu should have deployed him somewhere else but kept him in his team, while at the same time keeping an eye on him. Otunu should know that not everybody in Museveni’s cabinet are his friends. In fact, he does not trust most of them. But he has got his boys that keep an eye on all of Museveni’s ministers. They are people in Museveni’s government whose job is to monitor the likes of Edward Ssekandi (VP), Saida Bumba(Gender ministry), even Mbabazi( PM), and others. The man allegedly keeps a file in his office on all his political enemies in and outside NRM. He uses them when very necessary.

Actually, if people had ears, they would not come out to publicly portray themselves as Museveni’s friends because the man has often said that his only friends are his wife and kids, and he is right. In Uganda politics, you don’t trust anyone if you want to survive for a long time. So, Otunu should forget about New York or UN politics and sort out the mess in UPC. He should not fire all his enemies as he is doing because some of them are better to be kept in the party while keeping an eye on them.

I would say it has more with keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer. For example, The Nazis and the Soviets were on opposite sides during the Spanish civil war. But why did Stalin and Hitler sign the Non-Aggression Pact on August 19, 1939? Why did they agree to the division of Poland and invaded it together? Meanwhile in the period just before that pact, Stalin had been warning all the British, the Americans, and the French that the Germans were getting to be dangerous. In addition there were elements of the German intelligence service that had been trying to work with British MI to assassinate Hitler. These German agents were ignored. The capitalists at that time thought that Nazi Germany would be a good bulwark against the Soviet Union.

Otherwise, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy X-mas and new year. Besigye said recently while at Makerere University that 2012 is gonna be ‘bloody’. So, let’s keep our eyes on the ball.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Kampala Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi

How does someone doing cleaning or teaching as a job in Uganda feel about this. I don’t know how much exactly people make in these jobs but I equate them to someone flying burgers in Europe or USA. Let’s take a look at a McDonald’s burger flipper. Here they make between £6.50 to £7.50 an hour. That may be what a burger flipper makes next year and the year after, as well. That does not matter if the cost of living does not rise either. In fact, it is to be expected in a non-inflationary economy. The value of any given labor is going to remain the same relative to the overall economy, unless for some reason that particular labor becomes more important.

But why would Jeniifer Musisi get that kind of salary in a country that is clearly facing a financial crisis? Is this selfishness of the highest order or our leaders are just heartless? The simple fact is that the NRM party does not care about poor Ugandans and low-level working people in general. They either seem to be stronger believers of the theory of trickledown economics, by which if we let rich people make more money, jobs would be created, and it would then trickle down to the rest of the society, or they are purposely making people poor to keep them at the bottom of Maslow’s theory of needs. They want them to keep thinking about basic needs instead of changing governments.

Under Gordon Brown leadership here in the UK, when we were in recession, the government was borrowing money and increasing spending where it is necessary.

‘Where is necessary’ here involved pumping more money into the banking system or nationalising some banks but not buying expensive jets for the executives or presidents or increasing the salaries/bonuses of company executives ( as is the case with Jeniffer Musisi’s shs.36m per months[US.$ 14875.76]or other public workers. This is where Uganda has got it wrong. They should not allocate biger salaries to public officials in such a poor country. Even bigger salaries are questionable in developed nations.

All countries or local governments around the world are reducing on their budgets because of global recession. In USA, according to the centre on Budget and Policy Priorities, 44 states have reduced their budgets by more than $350 billion dollars since 2009.

In the UK, bodies such as the Association of British Insurers, the Investment Management Association and Pirc, a consultancy advising shareholders, believe the bonus culture should be reformed during this recession period. Both in Nigeria and Tanzania, there are finding ways of reducing on public spending.

It is also true that different countries deal with recession using different theories of economics which I prefer not to go through today. However, the theory people are familiar with is the Keynesian theory which was welcomed by former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, with open hands, before David Cameron switched to cutting down on public spending. This is where governments advocate for deficit spending.

With Keynesian theory, when you are heavily in debt, the only way to keep spending is to keep borrowing. I supported Gordon Brown but his Keynesian theory was more of a political survival decision rather than anything else. The whole thing was a gamble from the start. Yes, consumer spending is the main driver of the UK’s economic growth but an increase in people saving to pay off their debts normally results in companies’ profits falling. Companies in turn tend to lay off staff, leading to a vicious cycle of people losing their jobs and being unable to pay their debts and mortgages.

The only reason why Gordon Brown could not easily reduce on public spending was basically because he had been on TV telling people that reduucing public spending means worse public services, so he couldn’t turn around and start slashing it. So the only real option for the UK government then was to spend some of the money that was saved during the good times combined with less borrowing to beat the recession. After all, the UK economy had been booming for years. UK had not had a recession since 1992.

But the reality is that any government under financial crisis should be trying to cut debt by trimming public spending. But that is suicide to some political leaders especially if all they care about is keeping themselves in power.

The main downside to Keynesian style of economics is that government borrowing is exactly the same as consumer borrowing. At some point, you have to pay it back. And the way government pays off borrowing is through higher taxes.

One Ugandan wrote on the Ugandans At Heart(UAH) forum in 2009 when recession had hit big nations such as UK: ‘To say that Uganda has recession is like talking of a chicken with a toothache’. Basically, the statement would have been:’ to say that Uganda has got no recession, it is like a man sleeping with a woman with HIV for a long time without a condom, and then turn around and say that he has got no HIV before he even goes for a check up’.

Uganda has been sleeping with the donor countries who have got HIV (recession) for a long time. Uganda is basically married to the donors ( USA , UK , Canada , France, Japan , Dubai ,…) and there have got a lot of children (Ugandans abroad) together. Donors support over 30% of our budget at the moment.

Ugandans abroad gave Uganda about $1.4 billion in 07/08 alone and there are the major source of foreign exchange in the country. Each of these guys looks after a lot of families in the 75% non-monetary sector. So because the ‘’Nkuba Kyeyo’’(unpaid Ugandan ambassadors abroad) or donors are affected financially, less money is being sent back home at the moment, and as a result the following services have been affected one way or the other: Construction boom in Uganda has declined; Quality of life of families is affected especially those depending on Ugandans abroad; Businesses in Uganda cities like the hospitality industry are feeling it because of reduced spending; Uganda’s general export industry has been affected because of less spending in USA or UK . We don’t have enough market within Uganda to consume the goods we produce. Let’s hope that the donor countries don’t shut down their markets from us as was the case in 1930s.

NGOs are already reducing their activities in Kampala because donors have squeezed funds. Tourism industry is already in decline in Uganda and this is directly affecting the so called CHOGM hotels and travel agencies. Foreign investment is in a decline as few foreign investors wish to bring money into the country. Food prices have become high in Uganda such that I was told a sack of charcoal costs over shs.90,000 and I kg of sugar is at shs.4000.

This country needs to make some changes. It has to start with Campaign Finance Reforms, corruption and the excesses there. To get that passed, we need a new Executive leadership, and it certainly can’t be NRM to get this done.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

I would like to thank the president of Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), Beti Kamya, for her fight for federalism in Uganda but I still don’t trust her intentions for reasons I have already stated publicly. Nevertheless, my interest has been drawn to an article she wrote recently and was  posted on Ekitibwa Kya Buganda (EKB) blog under the headline: ’Kamya’s Appeal to Ugandans’. She wrote:’…………. UFA has formally declared that we shall evoke Article 74 of the constitution of Uganda to cause a referendum come 2015 for the purpose of changing Uganda’s political system to federalism..…’

While I agree with Kamya that federalism is the way forward, I never imagined that there’s still any sensible opposition leader out there who still believes that systems can be changed in Uganda through elections under the present leadership of president Museveni. Elections of national importance are useless in Uganda because president Museveni can use them to get whatever he wants.He only allows the opposition to win mainly byelections because they are somehow difficult to rig.

Without going into the presidential rigging that is often rightly cited by the opposition, Let me give you an example of the two referendums to either stay with the Movement or Multiparty that were conducted between 2000 and 2005, and the vice versa. The first one was held in June 2000 and the second was held in July 2005. Those who voted ‘‘Yes’’ to Movement system were 4,471,681 that represented a 90.7% according to the Electoral Commission. Those who ticked or voted ‘‘No’’ to Multiparty system were 442,843 which represented 09.3% of the total votes.

The second referendum was held after less than 4 years but the results again came out as President Museveni wanted them to be. Those who said ‘‘Yes’’ to Multiparty system were 3,736,367 which represented a good 92.4% of the total votes cast. Those who ticked ‘‘No’’ to Movement system were 297,865 representing 07.6% of the total votes.

So basically a referendum or elections in Uganda cannot change a system to anything which has not been endorsed by president Museveni. He gets whatever he wants, and if Kamya wants us to have a referendum on federalism, she better finds ways of convincing president Museveni, and leave Ugandans out of it for now.

That said, Ugandans should not allow anybody to scare them off federalism. There are people who use Late Oyito Ojok’s scare tactics of 1980s: telling the rest of Ugandans that any changes in status-quo means the return of slavery by Baganda. He used the same tactics during the 1980 elections scaring other Ugandans against voting for DP’s Paul Ssemogerere. Oyite Ojok while speaking in Luo urged the Acholi and Langi to unite and elect Obote who would cater for their interests.

But I would like Ugandans to look at federalism as a potential stabilizing force for the country if it is adopted by any incoming government. Stability in most federal states is measured on the basis of three yardsticks: the constitutions, fiscal arrangements and party systems. Switzerland, which is considered as highly federal on all the three counts, is stable (that is, free of secessionism and violence).

Uganda has got noises about secession from some Baganda but the government can easily put an end to this by granting full federalism to Buganda or the rest of the country. The reason why secessionist voices won’t go away is because there isn’t even a small bone to cling to at the moment, and as a result, the secessionists are more powerful than us.

The central government in most cases accords autonomy to the region in the first place if it is assured that secession is unlikely. If a right to secede is justified as remedy for oppressive and discriminatory practices towards a region, then the same objective can be achieved using other means such as: federalisms, checks and balances, entrenchments of civil rights and liberties, and judicial review.

I don’t support secessionism but Let me also remind anti-federalists that Buganda, just like Quebec, are asking to secede because they just want to run their own things. May be one of the reasons why some Baganda aren’t happy can be found in the fact that some people in the present government are doing everything possible to weaken Buganda’s culture and economic foundations such that some people see secession as the only way to protect them. By the way secession is a normal thing as it has happened in some other parts of the world. For instance, Norway and Sweden in 1905, UK and Ireland in 1922, Iceland and Denmark in 1918.However, I can’t see a Buganda and Uganda going separate ways because there is still a chance that everything will be sorted out in the post-Museveni era.

Canada, which is believed to have an ambiguous constitution, quasi-federal fiscal relations and a federal party system, is partially stable since it faces a peaceful secessionist movement in Quebec. The Quebec secession movements have gone quite because the Canada government gave Quebec federalism. Nevertheless, Canada is a federal society despite its constitution which is only quasi-federal.

Quasi federal means the federal government is the dominant partner. Canada was quasi federal between 1867 and 1896 under Macdonald’s leadership. Most of the decisions were made by Otawa not provinces. Then Canada became a classical federalism between 1896 and 1914 –meaning the power became equal between Otawa and provinces. Then it became an emergency federalism between 1914 and 1960-meaning the balance of power swung back towards the federal government. Then it became a cooperative federalism between 1960 to present –meaning the provinces now have much power to raise revenues and exercise power over their respective jurisdictions. It also means that the two levels must constantly bargain and coordinate their actions. So this cooperative federalism is run on a quasi federal constitution which makes it a bit tricky for analysts to call Canada a full federal like USA.

India is also believed to be quasi-federal in all three respects (the constitutions, fiscal arrangements and party systems) and is therefore facing violent secessionist movements and thus is unstable. Uganda is still lucky that the secession movements are not violent and it’s in government’s interests to grant Buganda and other parts that want it- federo to keep them that way. The longer they delay it, the more ‘’chilli’’ these guys will put in their sauce at some point.

All in all, Federalism is not bad at all. I even don’t know why some people call it ‘crap’ as if it is one of those MacDonald burgers and chips or Chelsea’s Torres on a bad day. But subjecting federalism to a referendum right now is crap.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

vladimir putin

The rebels in Syria are reportedly being armed by Qatar, Turkey and CIA. With more defections in the Syrian army, it will be just a matter of time before president Assad goes. Russia will lose out in the Middle East as it is the case in North Africa today. The Russians are still feeling their losses in Libya after the fall of Gaddafi. Putin has sought the presidency again to revive the Russian supremacy in international affairs and to be fair to him, he tried it in his first reign, but the world has changed so much since he left the presidency.

The major threat to the western powers now is the continued cooperation between Russia and China on international stage. In the UN Security Council, both countries have got veto powers and they tend to use them together against the others. They seem to have increased trade links and alliances recently. So, the western think tanks must be scratching their heads 24/7 over this.

I think we have officially gone back to the cold war days. The Americans want to squeeze China out of Africa and in this process; some African leaders are going to become victims of the whole process. Uganda’s Museveni has been a bit clever so far by inviting all sides to share the oil cake but at some point he is going to have to decide who to give the biggest piece of the cake to.

The British, French and Germans have also gone for the Indians like flies on a rubbish pit. Everybody wants a piece of India on their side. PM Cameron was there last year. Several British officials have been visiting India in the last 5-10 years, including Prince Charles. So, we are in for a game of international chase but my money is on Russia being the biggest loser.

Russia’s top ‘friend’ in the Middle East is Iran. They have been building nukes for them for years. Russia has been equipping Iran for war for a long time. So, what is happening in both Iran and Syria is about Russia & China Vs Europe & USA. China gets a lot of natural gas and oil from Iran. I can’t say I’m looking forward to any form of war in the Middle East because most of the people there are my Muslim brothers and Sisters. More so, I hate wars.

Actually the Russians reportedly sold some missiles to Syria in 2005. Russia is a great manufacturer of Surface-To-Air missiles. Of course, Surface-To-Aircraft missiles are still an elusive dream for Syrians. Syria has been buying Russian military stuff for years but Iran is well armed. So, Europe has got to handle it with care.

Putin’s downside is that Russia is now dominated by ex-KGB gangsters who control almost everything. He is ex-KGB himself. Putin is unable to shed his former role as a lieutenant-colonel in the KGB. He likes always being the first point of contact, and I think that is why he has gone back to contest for the presidency. This makes Russia look more of a dictatorship than anything else. Actually, Russia is worse than the dictatorships in Africa. The mafia-ship in Uganda is nothing compared to that in Russia, and I guess Gilbert Bukenya would now be dead if he was in Russia.

Obama in a meeting with the president of Russia in July 2009

The reason why I’m saying that Russia will still lose is because history shows that they have always been losers. So, I don’t think that power is going to shift soon to Russians and Chinese just because Europe and Americans are in a financial crisis. In any case, it is better for the Arabs and dictators to have Russian arms than American arms. Israel always handily defeated Russian arms in its previous wars, but the American arms in the hands of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Arab states constitute a real danger to Israel. Saudi has a lot of US weapons than any other country because they can afford anything money can buy.

Israel’s own tank, the Merkava, is more in use in Israel than the USA’s M-1 tank precisely because Israel found its own tank to be superior to the M-1s that are now being manufactured in Egypt under license. M-1s are the third generation battle tanks originally produced in the USA in the 1980s and they remain the principal main battle tank of the USA army.

If the US and Europe choose to attack Syria or Iran, those Russian arms will be about as effective as Russian arms have proven to be in the past. From the Korean war onwards the US and Israel have always found superior answers to Russian arms, and will do so in the future, especially since so many US and Israeli defense companies work together these days. If Europe and USA attack Iran first before Syria, Israel will support them. If they attack Syria before Iran, Israel may be reluctant to support them because the former(Syria) is a mine field of all sorts.

Russians used to have MIGs and they used to be effective in war fare. Actually, I’m now wondering what kind of planes the Russians sold to Museveni recently because Russian weapons have never been stronger than those of the Americans. I know the MIG aircrafts are still in use today and the Chinese have a lengthened and upgraded version of it. I think it’s called the F-9??? I’m not sure as I read about these ages ago, but if I was a serious buyer with serious money, I wouldn’t go for Russian weapons. What Russians can do in arms manufacturing, the Americans can do better, and that is where Museveni should have spent our oil money.

I still think the Russians will do everything possible to make sure the west don’t take over Iran even if it means secretly helping Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb. The Americans have always cheated the Russians in ‘gentleman’ agreements made between leaders. For instance, before the Iraq war, there was reportedly an agreement between Bush and Putin. The war was about controlling the price of oil, which was very important for Putin. The war was started in March, 2003 to help Presidential campaigns of Putin and Bush, who had been together since 1999. It was beneficial for Bush and Putin not to pump oil from Iraq or Iran, which was also beneficial for OPEC.I guess Tony Blair, was just a middleman who knew everything. MI5/6 and CIA tries to control global political economics that may surprise a lot of people, which is why Tony Blair met Vladimir Putin in 2000. Global political economical dynamics have not really changed.

However, after the war, the Americans cheated the Russians flat out basing on the fact that Putin did not come out openly to support the war. American companies ended up benefiting more from the war than any other country. Even the British lamented about this on our TVs, i remember. That’s why Europe has kind of wizened up after the Libyan war though their plans may be spoilt by the Islamists that are likely to eventually take over power in Libya.

Anyway, Now that the cat is out of the bag: we are back to cold war days, let us watch how leaders in Africa will deal with this situation. Obama has already stationed US forces in Uganda, Ethiopia and west Africa, but how far are the Americans willing to go? What about the Chinese? What is in their stock apart from giving aid to dictators, like Zimbabwe’s Mugabe, without any serious conditions attached?

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Charles Ingabire, editor of the Inyenyeri News

Dear friends,
It was very sad to learn of the murder of Rwanda journalist, Charles Ingabire(RIP), who was gunned down in Kampala on 30th November 2011. He was a known critic of Paul Kagame, and if it can be proved that the state of Rwanda is responsible for the death of this journalist, it is the responsibility of every African to make it a life mission to make sure that the culprits are brought to justice. I have always admired Kagame’s leadership compared to other African dictators but I think this is one of his weakest points, i.e. killing his political opponents abroad instead of calming things down. This is where Uganda’s Museveni is better than him, i.e. at least, he kills some and bribes some. Killing is allegedly a last resort for Museveni, at least. He uses mainly ‘amafalanga’[money] to cool down political opponents which is ethically wrong but it is effective and saves lives. Otherwise, people like UPCs Hajji Badru Wegulo and Henry Peter Mayiga, NRM’s Eriya Kategeya, former chairman of FDC who replaced late kiggundu, and others, would all be dead. But the president reportedly paid them off to stop opposing him and that was the end of the story.

I would not say that I would not be looking over my shoulders while in Kampala because Museveni is more of a ‘MAFALANGA’ guy compared to Kagame who targets the part between the eyes, but all I know is that Museveni and NRM do not kill their opponents in broad day light unless if you are protesting on streets as we saw with the ‘Walk to Work’ this year, and he only eliminates serious opponents but then again, I may be killed by some people to prove otherwise. Please don’t kill me. OK!

Secondly, I have a feeling that Kagame is a very emotional, no- nonsense, unreasonable guy compared to Museveni. The later, on the other hand, is reportedly a good listener, very patient, and knows how to control his anger and emotions. In other words, he can kill you when you least expect it, he can be easily become anybody’s friend or he can easily sense danger before other people. I don’t know whether this makes him more dangerous than Kagame because of the unpredictability around him, but I think he is the best political strategist Uganda has ever produced.

Kagame comes across as a sadist/ mafia: he can easily put a bullet in one’s mouth without thinking twice. I’m sorry to say this but I think most Rwandese/Banyarwanda (35 years and above) are like this. Their past especially the 1994 genocide has had a big effect on their value of human life. They find killing someone so easy compared to other nationalities in Uganda. I have watched documentaries about the genocide but the stories there are so horrible.

Let me tell you a story that happened when I was doing my O’ Levels. I used to help out with the management of my grandfather’s farm in Bugerere during the vacations. We employed a lot of Banyarwanda as our ‘Balalo’[herdsmen]. So, one day one of my uncles from Canada, Dr. Abdullah Kirumirah, visited us in the village. During those days, whenever someone’s son or daughter from abroad visited, the whole village got to know about it. So when Uncle Abbey (as we used to call him) arrived, I personally had to take him around the village to say hello to almost all the elders in the village.

Hajjati Mayimuna Nabagereka, my grandmother

To cut the whole story short, there was this group of men who used to rob people’s homes at night. One of the boys in that group called Katende Mabilizi, was very well known to our family because he used to work for us in our shambas. My grandfather had a policy of treating workers and the family members as the same: we could eat the same food; share milk; some slept on boys’ quarters, e.t.c. We even used to treat former employees as part of the family.

So, the third day uncle Abbey was at the village, this boy Mabilizi managed to sneak into the house, got himself under one the bed of one of my cousins, and later opened up for other robbers in his group to come inside our house. Like I said, Mabilizi was known to us but we did not know that he had joined this gang when he left our home. In any case, his father was a good friend of my grandfather, and I also used to treat him as a friend.

On that terrible night, his gang friends first broke into my grandparents’ room and started chopping their bodies in pieces demanding for Canadian dollars. Mabilizi had locked us up in our rooms while we were sleeping. So we could not come out to help at all yet we could hear the noise and screams from our grand’s bedroom. Actually, the thumb of my grandfather was chopped badly such that we had to fly him to USA to repair it later on. Mulago could not fix it. He sustained serious cuts on the head and arms too. I even don’t want to remember this because there was a lot of blood in the bedroom before our Banyarwanda/ Balalo came to my grandfather’s rescue. There was never any noise from grandma as she was the first to be silenced.

Fortunately, one of the ‘Balalos’ managed to break the window to my grandfather’s room from the outside. So the thieves run away but my grandmother was assumed dead because she lay on the floor breathlessly with a serious deep cut on her head. Uncle Abbey later came out and found some pulse on her but we had all thought that she was already dead. So, we rushed them to Nagalama hospital before they were transferred to Mulago.

The following day, the whole village (Kisega, to be precise) was hunting down the gang leaders including Mabalizi. The mother of the gang leader helped us to track down his son as we found him hiding in some hut somewhere in a forest. He had built a hut for himself in the bushes and it was only his mother who knew about it. He was dragged out and the decision was made by the villagers to take him to Kangulumira police station.

While on the way to police station, one of our Banyarwanda ‘Balalo’ got his pang out and cut his throat in broad day light, as if he was cutting a goat’s head. I still remember his first name as ‘George’ but he actually looked like Kagame in the face. He used to be the head of the ‘Balalo’ but he was as tall as Kagame, and he used to keep a smile on his face. I will never forget his face. The gang leader died immediately and his body was left in the middle of the road by the villagers for almost a couple of days.

My grandfather made it 100 years old in 2011

It was the saddest moment of my life ,i.e. watching both my grandparents/guardians in pain in Mulago hospital for over a month. We could not transfer them abroad straightaway till they had gained some energy and life in them. My grandfather had lost his memory as soon as he was discharged from Mulago. He had developed some form of mini-dementia but the experts in USA did everything possible to help him get back his memory. With God, everything is possible. He celebrated his 100th birthday this year. My grandmother came off worse as there was a large concentration of blood around her brain and she could not talk. So, she was taken to Canada with my uncle as soon as she left Mulago.

I believe there are lots of families out there that are facing such ordeals everyday because there is no security and hospitals in their regions. Instead of the government investing in police departments, they have instead allowed people like the president’s brother, Salim Saleh and Prime minister’s daughter, Nina Mbabazi, to start up security firms that fill in this void in urban centers, but people in the rural areas have been left with no teeth to bite anything. As a result, so many Ugandans lose their lives carelessly because the nearest hospitals are miles away and have no means to reach there. It is really sad.

Since that day, I give myself an arm’s length whenever I see a Munyarwanda who has got a pang or knife or those long sticks of theirs. Their faces are beautiful but their minds need serious counseling. They can easily kill anyone. May be Kagame finds it easy to order for the murder of anybody because of his past? Just think about it! Will African leaders ever find a different way of treating their political enemies other than killing or poisoning them while in prison? Why do some people cheaply look at human life? Why do they find it easy to kill someone?

May be I’ve generalized a little bit about the Banyarwanda/ Rwandese but frankly it is the feeling I have got for the present generation of Banyarwanda/Rwandese because they have all been affected by the genocide. I, however, have hope in their kids. They will hopefully value life more if we don’t get another genocide in Rwanda.

Anyway, let me end this by sending my condolences to the family of Charles Ingabire. Nobody deserves to be killed like that. The decision to have a life was taken out of his hands by some people with ugly hearts and minds. Till when we find a long lasting solution to such people, the society will continue to lose young people, such as Charles [RIP].

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

saif-al-islam-gaddafi

I’m, however, a bit worried that Saif Al-Islam may not get a fair trial in Libya because there are a lot of emotions running deep in the country as far as the Gaddafi family are concerned. The ICC still has an upper hand over this if they sense that Saif may not get a fair trial in Libya but the international laws allow the host country to try their guy first if they assure the ICC that he or she will be given a fair trial.

Let us also remember that ICC lost some kind of credibility as far as project ‘Saif-Al-Islam’ is concerned. The court was viciously ridiculed by critics after it “confirmed” Saif’s capture by rebels in August, saying it was in the process of bringing him to The Hague for trial. He embarrassed them when he appeared in a Tripoli hotel — supposedly under rebel control —later that day to lead a crowd of cheering supporters and foreign journalists on a tour of the city.

I don’t know which kind of evidence the ICC or the Libyans have got against Saif but by the look of things so far, it looks like the evidence is not as strong as the one Ugandans have reportedly got against our first son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Gaddafi tried to keep him away from military affairs as he was mainly responsible for the financial management of the country’s affairs rather than military or intelligence. It was the other brothers that were reportedly more involved in military and intelligence affairs.

That’s why I still think that president Museveni made a mistake to involve Muhoozi in the military because it is very easy for anyone to build a case against you if you are involved in matters of life and death. Already people are saying he is responsible for the death of people at Kasubi tombs and somewhere in Karamoja, and it’s kind of difficult for any judge to rule against that if your father is no longer in power. Judges are human beings like anybody else, you know.

So, I think Saif should be handed over to ICC but that is a real dream because there are people who want to see his neck on a platter. Even the two tribes: Gadhafi and Waffala tribes, that highly protected him, cannot protect him anymore while in Libya.

There is an argument that people like: Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi and their sons will never have a fair trial anywhere in the world. The end result is always the same: death. So, instead of wasting people’s time and money, they are usually eliminated on the spot. They are usually assassinated as soon as troops find them hiding in some cave, drainage or house somewhere. For instance, Saddam’s sons were shot down on the spot but their father got a ‘fair trial’ that ended with his death. The Saddam supporters could not argue that he did not get a fair trial; after all, he continually received 100 percent of the votes during Iraqi elections. They loved him there! On the other hand, Gaddafi and two of his sons were killed on the spot but Saif Al-Islam may also end up with another ‘fair trial’ with the same predicament as Saddam’s if he is tried in Libya.

What do you think would be the reaction in the U.S. if Osama bin Laden got a smart lawyer like USA’s Johnnie Cochran (RIP) or Uganda’s David Mpanga, and got himself acquitted like O.J Simpson. It is possible for anybody ‘guilty’ to walk out of the court ‘not guilty’ with a good lawyer. There is something in legal terms called “exclusionary rule” where even perfectly good evidence can be thrown out on the basis that it was illegally obtained. I don’t know whether we have got this too in Uganda but it is common in developed nations. A murderer who confesses his crime can still be acquitted simply because the cop forgot to read him his rights first.

Nonetheless, I personally still think people deserve a fair trial whatever the circumstances and I can’t see Saif Al-Islam getting one in Libya. Let us examine one historical trial in USA where Alger Hiss, an American lawyer who was one of the founders of the UN, was accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950. There was massive government misconduct against Hiss, including: 1. An FBI agent who knowingly lied on the witness stand, 2. the withholding of evidence by the FBI which would have acquitted Hiss, and 3. the infiltration of the Hiss defence team by the FBI. The Hiss defence team contained an FBI informant.

If any of these three major areas of government misconduct had come to light at the time, the Judge would have declared a mistrial and he probably would have prohibited any further prosecution of Hiss by the government. The single witness against Hiss, Whittaker Chambers, had changed his story many times, including his grand jury testimony, in effect making him guilty of perjury, had the government prosecuted him.

Hiss spent the rest of his life trying to clear his name, and struck pay dirt with the Freedom of Information Act, when, in the mid-1970s, the knowledge of government misconduct at his trial became public. Courts reversed his disbarment and he was allowed to practice law again.

Unfortunately for Hiss, when his case finally reached the Supreme Court, it was loaded with Nixon appointees. Rather than confirm Nixon’s deceit in convicting an innocent man, the Supreme Court let the Hiss conviction stand. Hiss died shortly thereafter (in 1996).

So, we all need a fair trial whatever our backgrounds. Hopefully, Ugandans treat the Museveni family fairly in case the Libyan experiment becomes a reality in Uganda some day.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Judith Nabakooba on a motorcycle downtown in Kampala

It is well known that insecure men make fun of powerful women to hide their own feelings of insecurity. So I was not surprised at the pictures in the Redpepper newspaper showing police spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba, being ridden on a bodaboda, that raised a two-day debate on Ugandans At Heart (UAH) Forum. While I personally thought most of the male debaters were ‘crazy’ for not seeing the attraction in the smile always on her face, I saw nothing wrong in them finding her seemingly ‘big’ thighs the real point of discussion.

The fact is that a woman’s body has historically been a subject of regulation, discipline, debate and management. The woman’s body represents the place to project the memories and fantasies of racial,religious and cultural authenticity. Most African men tend to be attracted to the ‘big’ thighs and bums in women, and it is the main reason body image dissatisfaction, dieting, and disordered eating are more common in white than Black females. Racial differences exist in attitudes towards physical appearance and the stigma placed on weight gain and obesity. A black woman can be overweight but black men will still find her attractive which may not be the case with white men.

As a matter of fact, female beauty has always been so pervasive, so profoundly ambiguous such that we all interpret it differently. In her book The Character of Beauty in the Victorian Novel (1987), Lori Lefkovitz provocatively argues that ‘we have actually been trained to ignore descriptions of beauty’ (1984: 1), claims as applicable to the debates men tend to have everyday about women, such as Nabakooba legging it on a motorcycle in tight jeans. But I would argue that beauty has always been something we feel individually. Let me give you an example, I was told by some mates of mine about some beautiful girl in a place where my wife works, but I did not recognise her beauty the first time we met till when I came to appreciate her character( after some regular interactions between us). This girl may have been beautiful by default (because mum and dad are beautiful) but I only recognised her beauty after knowing her properly as a person.

This particular girl has long hair which even the Bible bases on to define beauty: ‘’If a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering’’—1 Corinthians 11:15, but I never appreciated her hair till when I started appreciating the inside of her, but then again, how do we explain the fact that some guys noticed her beauty before knowing her? Does this mean that we are different as human beings in this context?

Among the blacks, during the black Movement of 1960s and 70s, blackness was redefined such that afro centric or “naturally” Black hairstyles became associated with the authentic. As such, the only authentic Black hairstyles would be dreadlocks, afro, cane-row and plaits. However, this has changed tremendously in this century as most black women would love to look like other races. Eurocentric beauty standard of straight, long and flowing hair is now almost the dream of any black woman who visits a hair salon. They just hate the authenticity that defined them in 1960s and 70s. Even Nabakooba’s hair as she relaxingly looked on a ‘bodaboda’ (motor cycle) is not an authentic hair style. These changes have also been reflected in the way black women dress, talk, and smile or sometimes treat themselves in public. There is a semi erosion of Black/ African culture in all aspects of life.

One possible explanation about this change can be explained by Leon Festinger’s Social Comparison theory(SCT) that suggests that people compare themselves to others when they are not certain about themselves. Before slave trade, black hair styles were a reflection of cultural and spiritual meanings, and some of these historical styles are still in existence today, for example: twists, braids, Zulu knots, Nubian knots, and dreadlocks. When slave traders were transferred to other countries, they found it difficult to keep African hair styles, so they resorted to wearing head scarves or handkerchiefs atop their heads, something we still see in Afro- American ladies especially in some black American films.

SCT was also shown among black men in the 18th century where some resorted to wearing wigs just because it was fashionable for white men of the upper class to wear wigs at the time. I guess this explains why Michael Jackson (RIP) and his brothers used to wear wigs when their music band had just started up. It is something that started when blacks (slaves) got jobs in influential white homes or plantations. They adopted all sorts of white cultures in order to fit in.

Already some black women have started seeing beauty in the same way white folks do due to assimilation into mainstream culture and acceptance of mainstream culture ideals of attractiveness as thin. As a student of public health promotion, I should probably go with my brain on this one rather than emotions, by accepting that fat is causing a lot of health problems to people. May be this black evolution in definition of beauty may be a blessing in disguise as it will encourage healthy eating and also control the ageing process of our black women which wasn’t the case in the past.

I know its fashion to some people and probably most men like it, but I still think that women with big hips should not wear clothes that accentuate their girth. If you are a Muslim lady, try to ‘fashion-out’ with a ‘hijab’ as it may give you the same confidence as Nabakooba in tight jeans.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Walter Duranty

With due respect, Andrew prides himself for digging up news not published anywhere else: shocking security secrets, but I suspect that what he digs up is the sort of humdrum stuff a journalist with ‘’influential’’ friends in the state should have, and this does not make this information more important to Ugandans than what they read in the Daily Monitor or Observer. I don’t know whether it’s me but I never read any of these ‘secret intelligence’ files published in the Independent magazine. May be, it’s just me but I never waste my time with them.

Anyone with connections to the people in power (in which case Andrew looks every bit of it now) can assemble stuff like that and make anyone look foolish, but is it something worth anybody’s time. For instance, if you juxtapose Martin Luther king’s public image with his personal shenanigans, you can make him look very foolish. Also true for John Kennedy with his womanizing. So what’s the point: that king and Kennedy were attracted to power to gain access to high class women?

As a long time admirer of Andrew Mwenda, I feel so disappointed in what he has become today. What has really happened to him? I had him down as one of the Uganda journalists that he will one day win the Annual Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The prize was established and run by the International Policy Network (IPN – a UK based NGO) to “encourage and reward writers whose published works promote the institutions of a free society” according to how its patron saint, 19th century French-born Frederic Bastiat, saw things. He had a deep distrust of government in any form and thought regulation and control were inefficient, economically destructive and morally wrong, or as IPN puts it: It supports “limited government, rule of law brokered by an independent judiciary, protection of private property, free markets, free speech, and sound science.”

Like I said, Andrew is right that good journalism is about news based on real sources and objective data but his reaction on Capital fm on ‘’Alan Kasujja’’ show as soon as Honourable Karuhanga published the documents, points to the fact that he is no longer doing journalism but spin. There was no need to publicly defend the ministers implicated in the said documents as there are people, like Tamare Mirundi(President’s office) and Pamela Anakunda(Media centre), already employed to do that kind of work.

At the moment, I guess most elites in Kampala are now looking at him in the same way Americans looked at Walter Duranty who worked for New York Times in 1930s. Walter visited Russia when Stalin was the leader and reported that nothing was happening there, yet people in Ukraine were dying of famine for up to 10 years. But because of his connections with influential people in both the Russian and USA government, he ended up with a Pulitzer Prize which still stands up to now. Surprisingly, Walter was British and born in Liverpool. I had never put down ‘Liverpoolians’ as dodgy till that moment.No wonder, Liverpool F.C have broken my heart in the Champions League more than any other team, especially that ghost goal from Luis Javier García some years ago. Chelsea’s Gallas cleared the line but the linesman saw it differently. I will never forget that painful moment.

Abbey

It will be so sad if Gaddafi’s body remains on display for another day. He should be buried immediately. I can’t see Ugandans treating Museveni’s dead body like this because our culture does not allow us to do so. Yes, black Africans are capable of executing their leaders in the same way Doe or Gaddafi was killed but I cannot envisage a situation where Ugandans put a dead Museveni on display in Gulu town for days to become a temporary tourist attraction. If it ever happens, I will stop to publicly call myself a Ugandan.

Killing or executing a dictator does not stop other dictators from propping up unless a system is put in place that stops them from abusing the trust of the people they lead. Do people really want to tell us that Liberia has been the fountain of democracy in Africa ever since General Doe was executed by Prince Johnson in 1990? The way Gaddafi was killed is nothing compared to the way Doe was killed.

The Doe video became the best-selling in West Africa. He was stripped down to his underpants; his face was bruised and bloody. Doe asked to say something and asked for his hands to be untied but they instead cut off one of his ears. Then Johnson later chewed the ear in front of Samuel Doe. The following day, Doe’s mutilated body was paraded through the streets in a wheelbarrow.

You can watch this on YouTube if you wish at:

This guy was executed in 1990 when Museveni, Mubarak, Gaddafi, Ben Ali, Mugabe and other dictators were already presidents of their respective countries. Did this stop Museveni from becoming a dictator in Uganda? Actually, it is argued that Museveni started showing signs of dictatorship in 1990s. So, do proponents of such executions want to tell us that Museveni has never watched Doe’s execution? This is the same period Museveni abandoned his communist economic ideas and went for Obote’s economic policies because the former was not working.

Like I said, dictators usually feel the death of a fellow dictator for a few days but later things go back to normal. They don’t see themselves as in like it can easily happen to them. Current Dictators are going to mourn Brother Gaddafi for a while but this is not going to stop the dictatorship on the continent. If Africans don’t put in place systems that can create checks and balances, dictatorship will always be part of Africa.

Abbey

The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, the Californian government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology.

Director/Writer: Chris Paine. Broadcast 2006.

From Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan, Michael Moore will once again take film goers into uncharted territory. With both humor and outrage, Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story explores a taboo question: What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism?

Years ago, that love seemed so innocent. Today, however, the American dream is looking more like a nightmare as families pay the price with their jobs, their homes and their savings. Moore takes us into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and he goes looking for explanations in Washington, DC and elsewhere.

What he finds are the all-too-familiar symptoms of a love affair gone astray: lies, abuse, betrayal…and 14,000 jobs being lost every day. Capitalism: A Love Story is both a culmination of Moore’s previous works and a look into what a more hopeful future could look like.

It is Michael Moore’s ultimate quest to answer the question he’s posed throughout his illustrious filmmaking career: Who are we and why do we behave the way that we do?

Panorama has been filming inside Syria, and can now tell the full story of those struggling against President Assad and the truth about his brutal crackdown against his own people.

Released 26 Sep 2011. 30 min. TV documentary.

Sending US troops to Uganda to reportedly hunt down Kony Joseph and LRA has not generated big headlines around the world. It has been done very quietly and I’m very suspicious about it. My only worry is that there seems to be no visible political reforms in Uganda, a situation that can lead to anything. Things are no longer looking good in Uganda and this is worrying me so much. When a situation is as bad as it is right now, the government becomes paranoid and starts killing and imprisoning its own citizens openly especially those that criticise it regularly.

Americans always side with the side that will make them look good back home, and in most cases, it is the people in case of a revolution. But if there is no revolution, they will always side with the people in power or government( and in this case, it could be argued that they are in Uganda to help President Museveni but not the people of Uganda).

Like in Libya, if a government disappears, new governments pop up virtually or automatically because that is simply in the nature of social life given current conditions. Obviously, when someone has been a president for such a long time, they tend to think they are different from other human beings, but the fact is that one day Museveni will not be president of Uganda, Mbabazi will not be PM or anywhere near government, and possibly another set of tribes will be dominating the economic and political sector other than Banyankole and Baganda, simply because society always evolves automatically.

This is the reason why I don’t believe in revengeful acts, murdering someone because i don’t like them and the death penalty because, apart from the fact that it is immoral, I know societies will always change whether leaders like it or not. For instance, If it was true that killing a dictator or a murderer gives more positive results, then states with a death penalty would have lower murder rates than states without a death penalty. That is not the case.

In Libya’s case, Brother Gaddafi(RIP) was a dictator but his execution isn’t going to deter other dictators from doing what they have been doing.  Dictators normally don’t change their behavior because another dictator has been killed. They will feel his death for a while and probably shade some tears in their bedrooms but they will go back to feeling like ‘Napoleon’. President Museveni will remain a ‘barking dog’ despite what has happened to Gaddafi. He is probably gonna issue a statement in a few days time calling westerners all sorts of names and scaring Ugandans, like Gadaffi(RIP) did at the start of this campaign, and he wont change an iota, trust me on this. I challenge anyone to list the dictators who have changed their behavior after another dictator has been deposed and executed?

I don’t know whether some people are familiar with Bandura’s social learning theory( SLT)  but it explains a lot about people’s behavior and how they learn to behave that way. Bandura argues that an individual learns by observation, imitation, and modeling. For instance, I watched a video of Bukenya [former VP of Uganda] recently after being released from prison and I was astonished to see him still rolling eyes, like Museveni, while giving a speech in Kakiri trading centre- despite the fact that the media has been pointing out that he is imitating President Museveni and he should stop it.

Similary, dictators just learn to become dictators or monsters. Nobody is born a monster, I believe, though my lovely wife disagrees. My wife believes that some people’s bad behavior is inherited. She quoted some theories which I can’t remember now but she is convinced that some people don’t deserve to live in this world because they are monsters. I , however, disagree.

I believe every behavior is learned from somewhere. Museveni surely must have a good side of him which if we had not allowed him to accumulate too much power in 1990s, we would have benefited from that good side. Children also learn aggressive behavior by observing others, but if there is negative consequences, there may not be any imitation.That’s why parents control what they watch on TV or see elsewhere.

NTC and NATO should not have killed Gadaffi.I think they intentionally eliminated him. They did not want a Mubarak circus in Libya but that worries us a lot about the kind of government NTC are gonna run.  They should have given him a chance to stand trial, but then again, Brother Gaddy brought all this on himself. We wrote articles and posted them in the media and on our Uganda Muslim Brothers & Sisters( UMBS) forum where we have got members that were in direct contact with him- including Uganda’s ambasador to Libya, but I guess he never listened. Why couldn’t he give up power? Why did he choose to fight a war he clearly wasn’t going to win? Mubaraka is still eating sausages yet he is not different from Gadaffi(RIP).

I’m still sad about Gadafi’s death and i hope Allah forgives his sins but he never helped himself. He chose to walk through a landmine, and that was not wise.Inalilahi wahina ilayihi rajihuna.

 Byebyo ebyange.

Abbey

Andrew Mwenda

What a week! What a month! What a year! Four powerful dictators in Africa have lost their power this year, the ‘Mahogany’(former Vice president) of Uganda selectively tested jail this month, and three powerful cabinet ministers have temporarily resigned their offices to allow the investigation of their hands in National tills over CHOGM and oil scandals. The surprise in all this has been journalist Andrew Mwenda’s public defense of the cabinet ministers involved in the oil corruption scams as he insists that the documents presented in parliament by Gerald Karuhanga, the Youth MP for Western Uganda, were forged. Mwenda and president Museveni hold the same view and have confessed that they have been investigating the matter for a while before the MP broke the camel’s bark.

Given how famous Andrew Mwenda is these days – or infamous, perhaps –it always amazes me how he leaves himself so open to revealing the kind of people he regularly conducts his investigative journalism with. In most of his radio talk shows, the statements such as ‘ when i met Museveni’ or ‘when i met Kagame’…. have become like a paracetamol on a headache. Mwenda expects Ugandans to just believe his words that the documents were forged just because he involved president Museveni and Uganda police in the investigation process. Phew! The documents were revealing information implicating Museveni’s ministers in oil corruption scandals, and the first place Mwenda went to for investigation was Museveni himself. In other words, Mwenda was kind enough to give Museveni a chance to investigate himself before he reports anything to Ugandans. Oh, what a kind man!

It is the job of any good journalist to challenge, question, investigate, and report their findings, but Menda had not reported his findings to us before Honorable Karuhanga blew his whistle in parliament, but he is on record attacking the later for presenting forged documents. Oh, I almost forgot that Mwenda did not want us to know about the ‘forged’ documents.

In this case, the leak has so far caused no harm to the legal or judicial system of Uganda, but imprisonment of any of the three cabinet ministers (Nassasira, Kuteesa, and Mbabazi) could have a chilling effect on journalism’s ability to expose corruption in the country. Honestly, how much information are journalists hiding from us in the name of ‘forgery’ or because they want to protect someone.

The trouble with journalism in Uganda is that it’s too damn polite. It looks like Journalists there fear deadly retributions if they ever dare to report the truth. In all honesty, why would Mwenda sit on such information as a journalist for a long time when he got it, and even dare present it to the head of the ‘executive’ organ of the state that is supposed to be investigated? The whole events symptomise a visualization of the greed and corruption that have taken old of both the executive branch of the government and journalism itself. How we get out of this situation now, i really dont know.

Up to now, we don’t have any journalist in Uganda that has dedicated his life to at least exposing crime and corruption in the country. In Ireland, for instance, they had a lady called Veronica Guerin who was a crime reporter and ended up being murdered by drug lords in 1996. The film ‘Veronica Guerin’ told the story of her brave soul. It broke my heart when I watched it especially in the end when the two bikers working for the ‘mafias’ put 6 bullets in her body when she stopped at a red traffic light. It’s always hurting when you watch a kind and beautiful person die because of what they believe in.

Veronica Guerin, who was shot dead shot dead by the pillion passenger on a motorbike as she stopped at traffic lights in Naas, just outside Dublin, in June 1996 -

In Mexico, they also had columnist Francisco Arratia Saldierna, a prominent and well-known journalist who wrote a column called Portavoz (or “Spokesman”). The column featured topics such as corruption, organized crime, and drug trafficking. Arratia’s murder was also as brutal as Veronica’s but both murders resulted into change in policy in those areas.

I’m also tempted to mention two lady giants in journalism that were impressive winners of the Courage in Journalism Awards in 2005: there are Shahla Sherkat, who runs a women’s magazine in Iran and Sumi Khan, a Bangladesh journalist who covers crime. When Mwenda started up the ”Independent”, I really thought that his magazine was going to be like Shahla’s. She has been fined for articles she has published, and has been threatened with imprisonment in Iran’s harsh jails, but she never runs to state to investigate itself before she publishes anything as Mwenda has admittedly done.

Sumi is another crime and corruption reporter based in Bangladesh (Chittagong city). In 2004, she was attacked by three men — beaten and stabbed. It was three months before she returned to work, but she never gave in to the system.

To be fair, Mwenda went into that kind of episode initially and he became a hero to many Ugandans, but it now looks like he gave up on people long time ago and decided to do his own ‘’refined’’ investigative form of journalism. He was among the guys that inspired me to start blogging because of the way he analyzed issues yet I don’t have any qualification in journalism. Up to now, i don’t miss any of his radio talk-shows but he has really disappointed me on this one.

Mwenda should never have defended the ministers publicly whatever reservations he had with the documents because the way Ugandans feel about corruption in Museveni’s government is like in the same way Americans felt during Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. After Vietnam and Watergate, almost every student in USA went to Journalism School convinced that the U.S. Government was corrupt and that s/he would earn a Pulitzer Prize by exposing it. That cynicism about America has never really ended.

Yes, Mwenda is partly right that eagerly publishing forged documents is not “investigative journalism” if the memos content is not verified by second and third sources. But I also believe that verification of the documents becomes difficult if you allow the people being investigated to investigate themselves. Mwenda’s methods are like that of Stalin and Mao who believed that “CRIMES MUST BE HIDDEN,” or else labeled as “heroic deeds.”

Let’s also not forget that “journalism’’ itself is opinion. Most of what Mwenda says or writes in his column is mere speculation clothed in the majesty of journalism, but rife with his personal opinions. Yes, Mbabazi and Kutesa may be innocent but how do we explain the fact that nearly every time a case comes to light involving large-scale fraud or vice or corruption, the duo are playing the lead roles. They seem to be attracted irresistibly to our vices so that they can exploit them and at the same time exacerbate them. They are not worth defending publicly by anybody worth his name.

Because mwenda came out to say that he was the first to land on these documents, some people are unfairly dragging Paul Kagame into this. In any case, Mwenda only revealed the location where he got the documents but he never revealed his source. The location was Nairobi not Kigali. The Oil corruption scandal has put the Museveni government in the spot light. Oil companies are capable of bringing down any government in Africa. Therefore, the government should handle this issue very carefully. It looks like both the cabinet ministers and the oil companies are now blackmailing each other with endless revealations, but oil companies will always be the winners in the end if this situation continues.

Byebyo ebyange banange

–
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

I don’t think Mr. Gilbert Bukenya had prepared himself psychologically for prison life or loss of his parliamentary seat. He looked an emotional guy the day he was taken to prison, and that is good for women in his life but bad for his image as an African politician. A politician in Africa is supposed to appear tough (made of steel of some sort) in public as we have been seeing with Dr. Kiza Besigye despite losing his brother in the most hurtful way possible. But crying in public was also not as bad for Bukenya as it gave out the human side of him. It can sometimes help if it is played out in a normal way. For instance, Kabaka Ronald Mutebi shed tears in public over the burning of the Kasubi tombs and it is not something anybody in our generation can easily forget.

Nevertheless, both the ‘Gilbert Bukenya’ and ‘late Sulaiman Kiggundu’ experiments are very good for all of us. There is a great deal of lessons to learn from them for those who want to learn. They both provide a gradual learning experience to Ugandans who are a threat to people in power. Bukenya has never stolen tax payers’ money to do anything private, at least as far as I know. He became a rich man by selling mostly his rice nationally and internationally, I believe, but CHOGM has been used to bring him down. Nobody can pinpoint fingers at him that he stole a specific amount of money to do this and that. At least, his hands are officially clean as far as tax payers’ money is concerned.

Similarly, Dr. Kiggundu was first made Governor Bank of Uganda by president Museveni before he was sacked. He then started up his Greenland Bank which became so successful in such a short period that some people in power approached him to buy shares in it. The bank later collapsed, Kiggundu ended up in prison, and the rest as they say ‘is history now’.

The Bukenya case before courts of law is a bit complicated but I think president Museveni should have intervened at the earliest to save the former VP’s face from all this( if he wished to do so). The scripts of this case were posted on the Ugandans At heart(UAH) forum as shown on the link below:

http://semuwemba.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/indictment-of-gilbert-bukenya-1.pdf

Bukenya’s major blunder was trying to appease his former boss by celebrating the closure of CBSfm and thus under minding his Kabaka in the process. It is the sole reason why some Baganda are still bitter with him. He should have kept quiet over it. I was also understandably so pissed off with him then but he still does not deserve what he is going through. Nonetheless, I’m no longer upset with him because I now understand why he did or said what he did then.

But he also made a mistake of opening up his mouth on certain controversial issues as some people have pointed out. He should have done a ‘’Ssebagala’’,i.e. to keep quiet after being dumped from the cabinet. He should never have declared his intentions to stand for presidency in 2016. Actually, he should have avoided the media as soon as he was unfairly defeated in the NRM primaries for the post of Secretary General. It was a miscalculation on his part to start a media campaign for himself then. But hey, now that he is in prison, this is not time to keep quite anymore. Let the ‘war of the words’ begin such that we let public opinion decide his fate.

But let’s see how things pan out for him in the near future but he should never have been sent to Luzira over this case. I don’t think it was fair compared to the corrupt cases that have been paraded in courts of law before. I really feel for him. For all his weaknesses, Bukenya does not deserve to be sent to be prison. More so, I don’t think he made any penny out of CHOGM deals compared to some people that have been reported by the media over the same issue.

What is so special about Mbabazi?

There is a myth that the main person fighting Bukenya is the current prime minister, Mbabazi, and most elites believe that he is the man behind Bukenya’s imprisonment. Nonetheless, I have stopped making predictions about Mr. Amama Mbabazi because I still don’t know why Museveni has allowed him to retain the post of NRM secretary General up to now. There are only two explanations I can think of: either this post is irrelevant to the determination of the successor to president Museveni or keeping Mbabazi as NRM Secretary General is meant to help his eventual downfall.

May be, Museveni has realized that Mbabazi seriously harbors ambitions to become the president of Uganda, so he has kept him as NRM secretary General to make sure that he is hated more by party members. Because in all honesty, why would the president keep such a very unpopular man as the party’s secretary General and discard a popular man in Gilbert Bukenya? Bukenya calls himself a ‘community man’ in his interview with Andrew Mwenda’s the Independent , and I think I know where he picked this from: he is a student and teacher of Public Health, and the terms ‘community’ and ‘empowerment’ are so much used in a lot of case studies.

Another possible explanation may be found in the myth that Mbabazi is blackmailing the president. A spider on the wall reliably told me that Mbabazi’s office has always been busier than any of the other cabinet ministers. This spider told me it was surprised to find the so called ‘big people’ in government all lining up to find an appointment with Mr. Mbabazi when he was just security minister. Actually, his office arguably runs a lot of activities more than any other person in government, and he is a very organized, ambitious and serious man. He is one of the few guys in government who can allegedly ‘shout’ at president Museveni when he is not happy with something. I think he might have picked this kind of independence from UAH forums because we have got many like him.

You will never find a ‘Tamare Mirundi’ attacking Mbabazi in public because they know will be shown the exit door the next day the moment they do so.  Tamare cannot attack Mbabazi in the same way he has been belittling Bukenya, Nagenda, Kabaka and others in the press. The day you see the ‘Tamares’ start doing this, then you will know that things are not fine between the ”man with the hat” and Mbabazi. Mr.Tamare Mirundi never opens up his mouth unless if he has been told to do so, I believe. That’s how it works. He works under instructions from his bosses.

To be honest, I don’t know what is so special about Mbabazi up to now and why president Museveni continues to hold him in high regard than anybody else. I find him so arrogant in his public utterances. I don’t think he is an easy person to be liked by anybody. He could make a good unelected public official but then again, he was surprisingly elected as MP for Kanungu. So how do we explain that fact if we put vote rigging and intimidation of voters aside? There is something about Mbabazi I cannot put my fingers on. May be, he will be the last man left standing after the fall of Museveni and NRM.

Ebya Mbabazi bizibu nyo!

Abbey

Julius Nyerere

Some of Muamah Gaddafi’s messages to the media ever since he had that unbelievable exist from Tripoli have been very touching but I think they have come too late. He made his bed and now he must lay in it. He should have resigned before the situation escalated into something he could not control. I really feel sorry for him. He is probably the most generous dictator Africa has ever had.

Uganda’s Museveni will never make that mistake of staying on to fight as Gaddafi did despite his recent rhetoric I read in the Weekly Observer- because he is a very realistic man. He knows which wars he can win and those he cannot. If they put you against Mike Tyson in the ring, you should know when to call it off, because if you don’t, your nose gets blown away. Brother Gaddafi should have realized when the game was up, but on a good note: he was indeed a strong hearted, patriotic leader who saw himself only ” ending with the world’’ (as most dictators do).

Muslims and Africans will miss him. He did a lot for Libyans, Muslims and Africans in general but he denied political freedom to his people. Hope the NTC does not disappoint us. Libyans deserve to feel free in their own country. We all deserve to feel free in our own countries.

Freedom is not about putting food on somebody’s table. Otherwise, women married to rich husbands would have made the best wives ever. Because freedom is not about money, better housing, better health care,……. a poor man can easily bang your wife if you are treating her like a slave( like your own her). Hello! Human beings are not properties. They need a breather, and they always get bored easily if someone has been on their nerves for a long time.

I know it may be very difficult for some people to believe that Gaddafi fell without shooting any of the NATO planes but that‘s how the mission was planned, I believe. It was planned to neutralize his air space from the beginning. More so, I suspect that Brother Gaddafi initially thought that the situation will pass and NATO will eventually negotiate with him. So he did not want to make things worse for himself at the beginning by shooting their ‘birds’. I guess by the time he realized that NATO was about regime change not anything else, it was too late. He could not even move any of his weapons because there were within NATO target.

Look, most dictators fall in the least way expected. It is not unique to Gaddafi. Iddil Amin, for instance, also fell when people least expected it. Just like in Libya’s case, the OAU (AU) was against the foreign invaders (in this case the Tanzanians) though their arm was twisted over Amin’s own invasion of the Kagera triangle in northwestern Tanzania in October 1978.

Amin, like Gadafi, they never respected fellow leaders. Before the dust had settled over the Kagera incident, he annoyed Nyerere by suggesting that they should have a boxing match as a possible means of resolving the fate of the Kagera triangle. Amin was a professional boxer, remember. This was the point when Nyerere called up Obote to help organize the Uganda opposition in exile such that he could kick Amin’s ass.

But few people in Uganda saw all these developments as serious. Masaka and Mbarara fell into insurgent hands in early March but still Amin was making as much noise as Gaddafi was making till the last minute. Lukaya was taken and the road to Kampala seemed visible to the insurgents but Amin was still chest thumping. It’s good he did not promise a ‘Vietnam’ for Nyerere as some people are doing now.

Iddil Amin Dada

On March 28th 1979, both Libya and Kenya asked Tanzania to get their forces out but Nyerere stuck to his guns: ‘’SONGA MBELE’’ style. On April 6th, Entebbe Airport was then in the hands of the Tanzanian forces. A week later, Lule was pronounced as the new president of Uganda. Amin’s quick fall surprised a lot of people including him. Yes, Amin regime had internal weaknesses but without the help from Tanzanians, it would have survived for a long time.

The point here is that ‘chest thumping’ and rhetoric by leaders does not necessarily save them when their moment of ‘falling down’ comes. Gaddafi had bought a lot of military equipment from the Russians even before the war started. Actually, he had bought a lot before the sanctions were put on Libya in 1980s. He serviced the old equipment and also bought more after the sanctions were lifted. His old military weapons and planes were even better than what we have got in Uganda. But it is very difficult to use all these equipment when there are under surveillance. The first thing NATO did was to effectively destroy most of this stuff at the start of the air campaign.

Let’s us also not forget that MI6 and CIA had a close relationship with Gaddafi before all these so called people’s revolutions in North Africa started, as revealed by recent media revelations. They at least had their agents on the ground that had done enough home work on Libya and its military capabilities. So every bomb thrown by NATO was meant to hit the target. They neutralized the guy. They basically disabled him to stop him from walking. May be it was for the best because a well equipped Gaddafi would have died with a lot of people. He is a wounded lion now but without power and enough military equipment. Imagine if he had both!

Going back to Museveni, I think a coup is now almost impossible in Uganda because president Museveni has fragmented the army and air force there into as many separate segments as possible. During the ‘walk to work’ protests, for instance, we used to watch people in plain clothes ordering Besigye around such that in one of the videos, I remember Besigye asking one of them: ‘who are you?’ It seems even Besigye was surprised to see people in plain clothes ordering those in uniforms.

So, at the moment, it is difficult to tell the actual number of officers in UPDF or police or intelligence units. This situation has certainly made a military seizure of power much less likely in Uganda at the moment, which is ok for me because i hate millitary governments, but i feel sorry for those who may invest their hopes in a coup. Security matters,it seems, are certainly and directly in the hands of Museveni and the people totally committed to him.
Abbey

Tamare Mirundi, Presidential Press Secretary

I may be wrong here but I really doubt if Mirundi gave the interview in the Newvision under the sub-headline:’Mirundi on Mukula, Bukenya’s troubles’. The Mirundi I know never untactically punches above his weight but the following paragraph makes him sound less intelligent. You don’t say things like that even if you are the president of the country with 24/7 security:

‘’ There are people in Mengo who think we were born to work for them, which I don’t agree with. Lastly, I would like to tell you that I don’t fear anyone. If you slap me, I will draw a gun at you, shoot and kill you.’’

I’m pretty sure that president Museveni himself wouldn’t say something like that in public. Maybe Mirundi meant to say something different, and the media misunderstood him. It happens to so many Africans because English is not our first language. For instance, I remember the Chelsea Striker, Didier Drogba, also making funny comments on one of his press conferences when he had just joined Chelsea. We had just won a game and my eyes were glued at Sky sports news channel. The journalist asked him if he’s a diver as he was being accused by other teams and Drogba answered:

“Sometimes I dive, sometimes I stand.”

In reality, Drogba did not mean to say that exactly but the media made a meal out of it. It created our sport’s back pages for a while. I still laugh my head off whenever i remember those comments. Drogba tried to retract the statement but the damage had already been done.

Similarly, there are a lot of mistakes in this interview and it is hard to believe that Tamare Mirundi really said what was published. If the interview was conducted in English then maybe he was misquoted. Tamare is very good at expressing himself in Luganda. I actually think he should conduct his press conferences in Luganda with an interpreter and some sort of a script to follow, if possible. Speaking English fluently does not measure anybody’s intelligence or capabilities.

It is very important that Mr. Tamare comes out and tells Ugandans that he was misquoted in this interview. There is no need to attack Mengo anymore than necessary. He should borrow a leaf from the respected former PM, Appolo Nsibambi, who remains a member of UAH up to now. He never attempted to attack the Kabaka or Mengo throughout the time he was in government. I know we all sometimes get excited with the fortunes of this world, and this may be Tamare’s case, but we should keep it under the wraps. Life is just a very complicated thing.

I sometimes wonder about Mirundi and Nambooze Beti especially on who made the right decision after their ‘trials’ on several media programs. Both used to be regulars on Buganda’s CBS fm; both are still friends; both are Baganda and both are very articulate in Luganda. As Nambooze remained Mengo leaning, Mirundi opted for a career in central government. Namboozi is now a member of parliament for Mukono North, and the sky is the limit for her, as far as opportunities are concerned. Mirundi, on the other hand, reportedly hopes to open up a political school in future but I wonder how he will recruit students when some people are openly for vying for his blood.

Nonetheless; I’m really so disappointed in some of the stuff in this interview. People should learn to value human life. How do you vow to kill somebody who has only slapped you? It doesn’t make sense to me and I can’t believe Tamare Mirundi said that. Something is not right here and it needs to be investigated. May be Tamare is not mentally well at the moment. Something is definitely not right. I have copied this message to him because all this does not make sense to me at all.

The police should investigate these comments made by Mirundi immediately. If it is true that he said this, then he should not be allowed to carry a gun anymore. He is not fit to carry a gun in public. He is not in the right state of mind to carry a gun. How do you kill somebody who has only slapped you? Good Lord! He should go for anger management lessons before he is given a gun again.

In the meantime, if you see anyone slap Mr.Mirundi, just run for the hills before he draws his gun out because bullets tend not to discrimate when they are being fired.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey

Notes:

Mirundi on Mukula, Bukenya�s troubles

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/286/765914

Yes, Bidandi urges Muhoozi to prove to himself, to his family, and to the world, that he makes his own decisions, and that his being the son of president Museveni has got nothing to do with anything, but I cannot see Muhoozi doing so because he has become what he is because of his father. Bidandi is inviting him to walk through a land mine here because Muhoozi cannot afford to start rebelling against his father. Such advice is ok for sons of leaders in developed nations but not Africa. A label like ‘being son or daughter of a big man in government’ can help one gate crash anything. If, for instance, Muhoozi opens up a facebook account right now, several Ugandans would rush to become his friends because he is simply the son of Museveni. People create ‘ghost’ friends and enemies when they are in that kind of position.

To be honest, I just hate all of Bidandi’s letters because they seem to do a PR for Muhoozi and Museveni than anything else. He wrote one during the previous presidential campaigns which I again thought was more of a PR for Museveni than anything else, especially where he sneaked in the issue of Museveni visiting his son in the hospital. The leader of a supposedly a national party (PPP) writing to the president of a nation about national issues and then concludes the message with a personal note….. I thought this was either an intended political miscalculation from Mr.Bidandi or he was just overwhelmed with parental emotions when writing this letter. In all fairness, President Museveni visited Bebe Cool to tap votes of the musician’s supporters.

The way Bidandi sounded in the letter to Muhoozi one would think that he was talking to a son of Martin Luther King, sr. You see Martin Luther King, Jr. was a son of a preacher but despite his unprivileged Negro background, everybody could see that he was a man on a mission to save a certain group of people. So who is Muhoozi really going to save? He is basically looking at the presidency as the highest he can get after being put on a speed boat in army promotions.

Like I said, there is nothing in Uganda at the moment that can stop Muhoozi from becoming the next president of Uganda. Letter writing, wiki-leaks cables, restoration of term limits, media interviews by NRM old guards,……. are all not going to stop the Muhoozi project. It is only the UPDF and foreign nations that can stop it if they decide to do so.

In any case, what Museveni is doing with Muhoozi is not that much different from what George Bush, Sr. did to help his son to become president. Actually, somebody wrote a damaging and well researched book: ‘Fortunate Son’ by J.H. Hatfield, to open the eyes of the Americans on what they were electing into the White House, but it did not stop Bush, Jr. from becoming the president. The book showed Bush’s weak academic performances, his three known arrests, his alcoholism, the failure of all of his oil companies, you name it, but he still made it to the presidency.

This same Bush did not even give a damn on how the public perceived him before he became the president. At one time during a conversation with Hartford Courant associate editor David Fink, he was asked at the 1988 Republican Convention: “When you’re not talking politics,” Fink asked the vice president’s son, “what do you and [your father] talk about?” “Pussy,” George W. replied. I’m sure he made a lot of people to long for one then.

So, those who think that because Muhoozi was allegedly involved in some shoot outs at Kasubi tombs where two people lost their lives, the ‘’massacres’’ in Karamojja or whatever, then it is capable of twisting the minds of Ugandans in rural areas when he is presented as NRM presidential candidate, they should plan for something else. Such propaganda does not stop sons of former presidents from winning the presidency. In any case, Muhoozi has already done a PR of his own by writing a book, whose title I even don’t know up to now, because I know why he wrote it. He will also be helped by the fact that NRM and the government now control the radio space in the country which can reach out to the biggest masses. If probably Ugandans At Heart was a radio station that covers at least 60% of Uganda, he should have been worried.

Byebyo ebyange
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Muhoozi in the middle of president Museveni and Cabinet minister to Karamoja

If I’m being honest with you, there was a time I believed that Muhoozi will automatically be Uganda’s next president, but from what I have observed in the last 9 months, I think this project will prove to be disastrous for president Museveni if he goes ahead with it. I’m not saying that it is not going to happen but it will bury him if he is not careful. The world has changed so much and everyone is looking for an excuse to attack someone, and there will be no better excuse for the ‘big boys’ to kick Museveni’s butt in future if he goes ahead and promotes his son to the presidency.

Having said that, I have come to believe that one does not become a president in Uganda because of mere elections. May be, it will change in the next 10-20 years but not now. So if anyone thinks that elections will stop Muhoozi from becoming our next president, please think again.

Museveni knows that he will meet resistance within NRM, the UPDF, and parliament if he imposes Muhoozi on Ugandans but this will not stop him if he is determined to pursue this project. Of all the institutions that may resist this ‘’Muhoozi project’’, it is only the army he is afraid of. Muhoozi will not be fielded as NRM candidate if president Museveni senses that the military, and in this case UPDF, may cause huge problems. Forget about the rest and their problems. It is only the military that may internally stop it but not elections of any kind.

Elections are useless in Uganda because president Museveni can use them to get whatever he wants. Without going into the presidential rigging that is often rightly cited by the opposition, Let me give you an example of the two referendums to either stay with the Movement or Multiparties, and the vice versa.

The first one was held in June 2000 and the second was held in July 2005. Those who voted ‘‘Yes’’ to Movement system were 4,471,681 that represented a 90.7% according to the Electoral Commission. Those who ticked or voted ‘‘No’’ to Multiparty system were 442,843 which represented 09.3% of the total votes.

The second referendum was held after less than 4 years but the results again came out as President Museveni wanted them to be. Those who said ‘‘Yes’’ to Multiparty system were 3,736,367 which represented a good 92.4% of the total votes cast. Those who ticked ‘‘No’’ to Movement system were 297,865 representing 07.6% of the total votes.

So basically elections in Uganda cannot stop Museveni from being the president of Uganda even if 90% of Ugandans vote for the opposition. Similarly, they cannot stop his son or anybody he wishes, from becoming the next president.

Apart from the UPDF, international pressure or intervention would also be able to stop the Muhoozi project, because there is nothing on the ground that is capable of stopping Muhoozi from becoming the president of Uganda if Museveni wants him to. The opposition is weak, parliament can easily be twisted, the media is under his control, the old NRM historicals have accumulated a lot of wealth and have got no appetite to wage more wars, and the man with the ”hat” on his head almost controls everything in the country.

Let’s face it: Muhoozi is President Museveni’s project with a lot of money behind it, and Captain Mike Mukula was so right in his remarks to the Americans though I read somewhere that he had started backtracking for fear of the ‘big eyes’ from the big fella in state house angrily rolling all over him. Having Muhoozi in state house is like having Museveni in another form. We don’t need that anymore. We need to find a break from all this NRM, musevenism, Janet Musevenism, Muhoozi Musevenism, e.t.c

If you ask me, I would tell you that I respect poor people who join the military so much but it is not something I would recommend to anybody. It is too much sacrifice taken by the young men and women out there who join this service to serve their country. The military men are paid so poorly worldwide apart from obviously the top bosses yet they sacrifice so much.

However, the military training tends to give people some kind of discipline and routine in their life. So I think it is good for the sons of the rich, monarchies, the privileged, e.t.c. That’s why sons of royals in the UK all enlist in the military at some point but I would not recommend it to anybody from a poor background. It is not easy to become successful in the military when you are under privileged though some few people have made it and eventually became great leaders.

But obviously I cannot say the same thing for Muhoozi who joined the UPDF as soon as he graduated at university. Since then, he has been on a variety of courses abroad including in the prestigious Sandhurst in the UK. I think he is the most paper qualified UPDF soldier at the moment.

Abbey

This picture of Barack Hussein Obama in Muslim garb was released during the 2008 campaign.

Yes, Under Kabaka Muteesa 1, Islam was spread in Buganda such that he used to execute some people who did not embrace it. So basically, some ‘pagans’ also became martyrs because they refused to convert to Islam, the religion Muteesa1 favoured for some time.

It is difficult to know whether king Muteesa 1 had genuinely converted to Islam or he believed in foreign religions at all but all indications are that he was just an a survivor and an opportunist. He was a man open to new ideas, like I have already said, but he would drop those new ideas the moment he realised that there are a threat to his hold on to power. Therefore, the kabaka’s interest in Islam, clocks, and the written word can all be understood as an interest in modernity rather than genuine belief in Islam or any of the modern religions.

Kabaka Muteesa 1

At some point, Muteesa 1 attempted to return to traditional forms of worship, but he found it difficult because other religions had already taken hold in Buganda- according to S.R.Karugire in his book: ‘’A Political History of Uganda’’.

As for Obama, he came out during the presidential campaigns and publicly said that he was not a Muslim despite keeping the name ‘Hussein’ but Allah knows better why he put him in the most powerful office of the land.Obama is one hell of a clever man and this is displayed in the way he announced his presidential candidature on February 10, 2007, where he never acknowledged the historic nature of his candidacy as an African American or someone with an Islamic background. He knew how controversial such subjects can drag any candidate such that one ends up having no time to explain any policy in their manifesto. It is like if, for instance, I stand for presidency now and one of the Muslim brothers or Sisters comes up to me to publicly appeal for the Muslim votes, I just drop that person like a pack of cards on the table, because Uganda is a country dominated by non-Muslims and a Muslim cannot become a president without their support. This does not mean that I don’t love Muslims but it means that I know how to separate sugar and salt when preparing a meal.

At the moment, it may prove to be difficult for any Muslim to win an election in Uganda because Uganda is so deeply divided along religious lines. In USA, since the publication of the book: ’Beyond Black and White in 1995’’, public opinion has changed somewhat, showing that whites today are more open-minded than in the past about the race of a candidate, and this somehow helped Obama’s candidature.

May be Muslims in Uganda also need to write a lot of books, open up radio stations, news magazines, and inter-faith projects that may help those non-Muslims who perceive them as a threatening force to their beliefs or ventures. Obama’s presented himself as non- threatening to anybody’s race or religion and it worked. He says in his book:’’ Dreams from My Father’’ as he describes the tactic he learned to use as a teenager: ‘‘People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied; they were relieved— such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn’t seem angry all the time.’’The man knew what he wanted from the beginning and Islam was not part of the equation.

Because Obama spent several years of his childhood in Indonesia, the home of his mother’s second husband and home to Muslim majority, we could say that this helped him to learn a lot about Islam. But Islam was not such a major factor in his candidature as the issue of his outspoken pastor, Jeremiah Wright, whose church people viewed as radical. Obama first started attending this church while he was working as a community organiser. He got married in this church and the good pastor also baptised his two children. So why would anyone continue to call Obama a Muslim?

Obama publicly rejected and denounced the support he had earlier got from Louis Farrakhan, the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam. He did this on live TV in his debates with Hilary Clinton. There is no doubt in my mind that Obama knows a lot about Islam but this does not make him a Muslim.In any case, he would not have become US president if he was known to be a Muslim. Polls showed that most Americans would not vote for a Muslim president.

If Obama is still confused about his religion, we shall get to know more about it after his presidency in case he comes out and say that he is a Muslim. In his memoir,’’ Dreams from My Father’’, Obama describes his struggle with identity, growing up biracial while raised by a single white mother.

Like I said, only Allah knows why he chose Obama to become the first Black-American president, just like he chose him to become first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review when he joined Harvard Law School in the late 1980s. May be he is on a mission bestowed on him by God. Who knows! May be one day, Ugandans will also vote for the first Muslim president.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

Whatever happens in Libya and Egypt after several years of dictatorship, Gaddafi and Mubaraka aren’t coming back to power. That is out! Some of the problems these two countries are experiencing now were expected.

NATO is not the best of friends to be trusted because western powers always look at wars as ‘investments’ and always demand a return on their investments starting with awarding themselves contracts for reconstructing what has been destroyed. So anybody can understand why some revolutionaries are trying to distance themselves from them now that the war is almost over.However, If NATO, with the help of Isreal, disorganizes Libya after Gaddafi by sponsoring some rebellions, it will be their loss.

As for Egypt and Mubaraka’s trial, this is a real kindergarten circus. Mubaraka was removed but the system he built is still there. He is somehow still controlling events in Egypt. The judge has been postponing his trial without giving good reasons. It is a real circus but Mubaraka is not coming back to power. The sooner the Egyptians hold elections, the better. Libyans are still a long way to holding elections but they will be fine in the long run. We should not sympathize with African dictators.

An African Union delegation met Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli to negotiate a truce between the Libyan leader and rebel forces

Hell or no hell, the African leaders created this situation in the first place. Why would anybody think that being a life time president is their natural right? If it is going to take hell for Africa to sort itself out, then it will naturally happen despite the fact that I hate the thought of violence on the continent itself. I just don’t feel anything for any leader that kills, tortures and imprisons his own people just to prolong his stay in power. It is so wrong at so many levels.

Some people are already openly and privately telling me not to step any foot in Kampala in future because they think I may become a ‘target’ of some sort, because of some of the stuff I write on UAH and other forums. But I will go to Kampala as I have been doing because I hate the thought of anybody denying me freedom to do anything I want to do. I don’t have a private army of any sort. All I do is writing when I’m not happy with the government. So why should anybody harm me? I’m not hurting anyone apart from pouring out what I exactly think of the events unfolding in Uganda. In any case, i heard Andrew Mwenda saying that president Museveni of 2011 nolonger imprisons, kills or tortures those opposing him as was the case in 1980s.

Anyway, I just don’t hold too much respect for African dictators anymore. Brother Gaddafi and others claim that NATO is here to steal African resources which is true, but they are also thieves – stealing from their own people. They steal with the help of foreigners, fellow dictators or through their local business agents. They are all the same. Oil, for instance, in Africa is owned by foreigners. In Angola, for example, USA owns most of their oil there with the blessing of the government there. US companies, especially Chevron, dominate the market in Angola. Beligium’s Petrofina, France’s Elf, Italy’s AGIP, Sweden’s Svenska pertoleeum, Brazil’s Petrobars, Japan’s Mitsubish and Britain’s BP – are the other owners. It is the same story in Nigeria, Uganda, Chad, Cameron, Congo, Egypy and Libya and Algeria.

In Uganda, politicians are proposing giving away large pieces of land in Buganda, North Uganda, and Bunyoro to Asians to grow sugarcane, as if the environmental problems are a smaller problem than sugar. These very African leaders pretend to care about the environment through their meetings at the African Union but they make different decisions in their own countries.

AU was partly formed in 2001 to help at managing conflicts involving natural resources but have they even issued a statement against Museveni’s threat to give away part of mabira forest to Asians? No. AU met in Feb 2004 in Sirte and came up with Sirte Declaration on the challenge of implementing sustainable development and Agriculture and water in Africa, but what have they practically done so far? Nothing, if you ask me.

AU met before that in 2000 and drafted a protocol against the illegal exploitation of natural resources. They also adopted a common Defense and Security Council to promote peace and security in Africa, but how much have they done to help Africans feel that they are any different from the old OAU. If you ask me again, I will say they are a bunch of people wasting our time.

They created NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) which was a good step but little progress has been made. NEPAD started up the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), set up by heads of states and government of NEPAD for those countries willing to be evaluated on what they are doing on good governance. I think Uganda is part of NEPAD but even this project is just on paper but nothing really has been achieved.

So, you can really understand why most Africans don’t look at AU or our leaders as serious people anymore. They need to change if they want to be taken seriously. Their long stay in power is responsible for what is happening in Egypt and Libya or elsewhere. It will be the same story in Uganda in the post Museveni era, if you ask me. But Museveni has got the power to change this right now by going back to the Museveni of 1980s who gave everyone a breather instead of being obsessed with keeping power.

Black people will get better if they get Africa better. A more stable and resourceful Africa will make any black man all over the world to feel proud. At the moment, our leaders are doing everything possible to destroy Africa, a reason  why most of the middle class that was created after independence are out of the continent. This is very visible, in for instance, Zimbabwe where there is almost no middle class in the country, and Robert Mugabe has taken advantage of this. Most of the Middle class in Zimbabwe migrated to other countries. But Mugabe is one of the icons of the African Union, an organisation that is supposed to make Africa better. Phew!!!!!!!!!!

Abbey Semuwemba

Dr. John Nagenda

I’m not so excited by Nagenda’s interview because I believe he is now a ”nobody” in Museveni’s political ambitions.In any case, there is nothing he said that is not already known to Ugandans. Some people in the media and opposition will try to hype it a little bit but I’m sure Nagenda has already received a phone call telling him to ‘calm down’. If the interview had been made by one of the big guys in the army, Museveni would have lost his sleep but not a presidential advisor. The army is the main thing that terrifies Museveni now but nothing else.

However, Nagenda’s interview in the Sunday Monitor is full of foundation rattling comments that would seem to deserve a reaction from State House. The smart money suggests that this is only the beginning of the fall out of Museveni with the old guards or so called NRM historicals – that similar comments will be made by others in the next few years. It is only natural if somebody has been in power for such a long time.

Nonetheless, the interview has raised Nagenda’s stakes but that is as far as it goes. He may either be promised something better than presidential advising or he is going to be pulled down by the very system he helped to build. I think as presidential advisor he’s scaled new heights of slime and outrageousness.

Nagenda’s interview is a bit confusing, though, because he is very skilled at dancing around the periphery of issues. Any answers he delivered to the Sunday Monitor can survive a thousand interpretations. He is a very intelligent man who is very good at framing, positioning and spinning ideas. He can, therefore, easily turn the whole interview around depending on how the president reacts to it. He obviously made this interview to get the president’s attention and Tamare Mirundi was very right on this.

But he runs the risk of being punished by the president because I don’t think presidential advisors are supposed to advise the president through the media, and I think they have got certain binding agreements in their contracts that don’t allow them to behave the way Nagenda did. This doesn’t require elaboration. If Nagenda broke certain stuff in his job contract knowingly, it’s a misdemeanor, and it may be punishable in the courts of law or may lead to his dismissal as presidential advisor.

However, any Presidential advisor must have the freedom to be allowed to give the President honest and straight forward advice without the danger of being cited by the president during a witch hunt for political reasons. Nagenda may reason, as he stated, it is no longer easy to meet the president. More so, the president never listens to anyone anymore apart from his wife who is a cabinet minister.

TAMARE MIRUNDI

I was not surprised that Tamare Mirundi butted in as soon as Nagenda gave a negative interview to Sunday Monitor. He’s doing his job. Wouldn’t you agree that Nagenda’s role in this government is relatively insignificant compared to the role of presidential spokesperson who is participating in the presidential affairs on an on-going basis? Yes, it may true that a presidential advisor outranks any presidential spokesperson but in Uganda’s case, presidential advisors are more or less useless. That’s why Tamare referred to them as people with ‘financial difficulties’.

Nevertheless, Tamare’s comments may not go down well with other presidential advisors but he was telling the truth. I wonder what Chris Rwakasisis is thinking right now. He should have found a better way of addressing this issue.

Anyway, Tamare himself is just a guy trying to make a living by pandering to the propaganda needs of the very rich and powerful. Being spokesperson is not the best paying and most secure job in the world but it’s usually a pretty good living, actually. I don’t how much Tamare is paid annually but I’m sure his life has financially changed ever since he got this job.That is why he looks and sounds so excited.

Yes, he still mangles the English language but most of us- Ugandans in central, are like that. It would be better if he is usually given a script tree to follow which will allow him to respond to most topics of concern. I think they do it with spokespersons of developed nations. If a spokesperson lies, then the person he speaks for lies as well, unless the spokesperson is immediately corrected or removed from the organization. When Tamare Mirundi speaks Luganda, he is actually a pleasure to listen to though he is very arrogant and disrespectful. I also hate it when he belittles our Kabaka and other elders in the society. However, he seems like a smart guy when he talks in Luganda but his body language gives him away as a man who is angry, revengeful and always looking for recognition. The way he straightens his neck when talking to the media- points to a man with less confidence.

–
Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba

http://ugandansatheart.org/

http://twitter.com/#!/semuwemba

http://jjanguonkwekule.blogspot.com/

http://semuwemba.wordpress.com/

Guerilla war

Historically, all Uganda’s long serving president have been pushed out with the help of foreigners. Obote’s was ousted by Amin in 1971 with the help of the Israelites and British. Even Iddil Amin would have died a president if the Tanzanians had not come to our rescue in 1979. Museveni received help from Libyans and British to fight Obote 2 and later Tito Okellos in late 1980s.

In Angola, UNITA’S Savimbi fought the government for over a decade if I’m not mistaken but how much did the rebels achieve? In the meantime, how many lives and property were lost during that time? By the way, Even Savimbi made some progress during that conflict because of foreign backing. Everyone needs some form of foreign backing to make it. Fighting a guerilla war is not easy, from what I have observed, such that even Museveni would not have made it if the Acholis and Langis were not so divided then. Actually, Museveni is a lucky man indeed, because I cannot see anybody doing what he did in 1980s and become president in the present Africa. It is just so difficult.

Military coup

The only internal revolt president Museveni is scared of is a coup by the military guys but not ‘walk- to -work’ or a people’s revolution of any kind. Did you see how the ‘walk- to- work’ died suddenly as soon as Besigye was ‘arinaitwed’ in the eyes and ears. The protests can only dislodge Museveni if they are backed by again foreign nations as it happened in Gaddafi’s Libya recently. Protestors on their own cannot dislodge him.

Let us also remember that Museveni is USA’s main man in the sub sahara Africa, a reason we saw some Kenyan politicians with ICC problems campaigning for him during the elections yet they hate him. According to Wikileaks, Museveni asked the Americans to protect his plane after falling out with Gadaffi. So attacking Museveni is more like attacking USA interests in the region. Whoever plans to attack Museveni will need some kind of endorsement from Washington. Museveni may write as many documents as he wants against NATO bombing in Libya but he is not going to fool some of us. What he is doing is more like a man that abuses an ugly woman in public yet he is sleeping with her.

The day the Americans stop trusting Museveni is the day things will start falling apart in Kampala. Museveni has built a weid relationship with Russia, Chinese and some Arab states though Europe seems not to like him anymore. But Europe can do nothing if it is not endorsed by Washington.

Yes, Ugandans have now got a lot of options to get rid of any president but all need some kind of foreign endorsement, if you ask me. Look, Uganda is now in a bad shape; everything is so bad; people are so poor, the economy is wanting; but Museveni has not been shaken by it. He can even afford to bring in ‘’Mabira-give away’’ without being worried of the repercussions. Everybody is feeling the economic pinch in the country but there is not even some smoke coming out of the hut, what does that tell you about the people of Uganda and the opposition in general?

Syrian Revolution

Guys, let’s accept it that Ugandans aren’t Tunisians or Syrians. Assad has killed over 4000 Syrians but they are still going, but Ugandans aren’t like that. They could not even sustain ‘walk to work ‘ protests without Besigye. We are a different kind as we never walk the talk.

I believe Washington disappointed Besigye when he made that trip to America after the protests, and I guess that is why he tactically pulled out of the whole protests. If Washington had endorsed Besigye’s ideas, Museveni would be history by now but it seems they don’t trust him. No wonder Besigye made an announcement not to stand for party president again as soon as he came back from that trip.

Egyptian Revolution

The Egyptian revolution would not have been successful if Washington had not endorsed it. It seems to me that the Americans owned the Egyptian army indirectly but Mubarak was not aware of it. The Egyptian army used to receive $1b annually and may be that constituted something we don’t know. The army never helped Mubaraka at the time he needed them. Some of them joined the protestors, but I don’t see that happening in Uganda.

Anyway, what do I know? May be UPDF is also waiting for someone to sustain the protests for a long time and they join, but I highly doubt that. UPDF is a micro-managed institution unlike the Egyptian’s army.

By the way, I believe that Mubaraka, is very bitter with President Obama as he ( Mubaraka) used to do everything the Americans wanted( just like Museveni) but they abandoned him for reasons I’m yet to know up to now.

Abbey

In Uganda, we have got oil but I cannot see the international community taking on president Museveni at the moment because he is doing everything they want. He has given them ownership of Uganda’s oil and UPDF is doing their ‘’dirty’’ work in Somalia. More so, Washington has not identified their next man in Uganda. Yes, London wanted Besigye to take over from Museveni but they failed to convince Washington, and that is why Museveni is still president. The rest of the guys in the opposition are just wasting our time, I can tell you that!

Anyway, as long as state institutions in Africa continue to be fragile backed with weaker economies, the scramble for African resources will never stop. We brought this on ourselves by electing selfish leaders after independence. How we correct it, I don’t know yet!

So Russia’s decision to recognize the rebels in Libya should not surprise anybody. They were given some assurances by the Libya’s NTC that their interests in Libya will be protected. China will also recognize the rebels as soon as they are given assurances too. That is how international politics works.

Personally, I know that big nations don’t care much about Africans but I also know that most African leaders are actually worse than the so called ‘international businessmen’ (donors). All African leaders care about is power and monopolizing the wealth in their respective countries. They could kill anybody as long as they retain power and keep wealth.  For instance, the July 1999 Lome peace agreement on Sierra-leon civil war, where the management of the country’s diamonds was put under the control of the rebel leader, late Foday Sankoh. Another example is that of Liberia’s former president, Charles Taylor, who almost owned every natural resource in the country.

Similarly, I would not be surprised if president Museveni and his friends are more interested in their share of Uganda’s oil rather than looking at the bigger picture. Every man is looking after his stomach, as Kampalans used to say. The current opposition leaders in Kampala right now, probably apart from the ‘hardworking’ Besigye, they are all opportunists who don’t deserve a shot at the State House.

Yes, democracy in Africa is something great nations would like to take place in the long term but it is not their priority in the short term. Their short term interest is business, nothing else. They have been busy selling arms to Africa since the end of the cold war. They have been buying and selling Africa’s natural resources since independence, and this has resulted into a lot of conflicts on the continent.

With Africa oil, it is dominated by foreign companies in almost all Africa’s leading oil producers. Apart from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are among the leading oil producers in Africa. Libya is the second largest oil producer and its proximity to Europe makes it an attractive option to greater nations. The total proven oil reserve of Libya is about 30 billion barrels.

During the sanctions, Gaddafi ensured that the state owned National Oil Company (NOC) controlled the entire oil industry- working with 33 subsidiaries.

In 1979, Gaddafi allowed NOC to open up to foreign companies as a way of conning the international community to remove the sanctions against him. This was at a time he was also drifting towards African-blacks instead of Arabs, again for the same purpose of getting the sanctions off his rail.

When sanctions were removed in 1999, more than 50 foreign oil companies moved into Libya. Italy’s AGIP dominated the market though I was surprised when the Italians supported NATO’s bombing. Let us also note that Africa produces more than 15% of US oil needs.

Egypt has also got vast amounts of oil. Oil there was discovered in 1868 by a company called Suplhur Mines while they were searching for Sulphur. Britain’s oil company, BP, own most of the oil discovered in the Saqqara field. As of 2003, Egypt was producing about 620 barrels per day. Foreign companies there have been operating under joint ventures with Egypt main oil companies under former president, Mubaraka. I don’t whether this has changed now that Mubarak is gone.

So I can fairly say that both the conflicts in Libya and Egypt are somehow linked to the international oil politics that surround oil pricing and marketing. I understand Gaddafi was selling his oil at a higher price despite being a member of OPEC. He was among those that never allowed OPEC to control them. No wonder he got less support from OPEC countries when NATO started bombing him, not that he was innocent of human rights violations in his country. OPEC accounts for the production of more than 70 % of world oil reserves.

Nonetheless, with or without oil, I have got no sympathy for dictators in Africa. They kill, imprison and torture their own citizens without any remorse. If NATO can help us get rid of all of them, that is ok with me. We shall sort out the ‘theft’ of multinational corporations- stealing Africa’s resources, later on.

Because Africans are poor and their economies are in a bad shape, multinational corporations take advantage of them. In 2000, 31 out of 42 poorest countries in the world were in Africa, and in 1989, only 10 out of the 53 countries in Africa had a per capita income not exceeding 1000 US dollars.

Again because we are poor, it is the reason why oil in Uganda has also been ”hijacked” by foreign companies. Museveni had to accept the foreign companies to take the biggest shares of Uganda’s oil partly because it requires extensive capital and technological skills for prospecting and processing oil. Uganda also being a land locked country; it has made the drilling for oil extremely expensive. Uganda somehow needs some kind of cooperation with especially Kenya and Tanzania to export their oil via the coast. But we don’t know how these negotiations went because people in the government don’t want us to know the details.

Museveni, himself, has not been transparent throughout the oil process. Up to now, we don’t know which is which as far as Uganda’s oil is concerned. Yes, there is now an oil ministry, which oversees the oil industry though Banyoro aren’t happy with the minister given this docket, but who supervises the operations of the oil companies? Is this still the responsibility of the minister of Petroleum? Have we got a national company that deals directly with the foreign companies or it is the president’s office directly dealing with them? How many shares has the Uganda government got in the oil deals?

Abbey Semuwemba

NTC leader,Mustafa Abdel Jalil

Fortunately, I can tell you right now that most Africans no longer give a rat’s ass what our “good” dictators say to the outside world. On this note, I would like to thank the 20 African countries that have decided to formally recognize NTC as the new government in Libya. At least, they have shown maturity and we should applaud them.

These despots have got to accept that Gaddafi is gone and the world is changing. The revolutions sweeping the Arab world will one day sweep the Sub Sahara Africa. It may not happen today or tomorrow or next year but it will happen. I can bet on this! All the African leaders who have been grooming their sons and brothers or wives to take over after them- should dump these plans and start planning for their exit in an honourable way.

Gaddafi or Libya was the most active member of the African Union. Yes, our despots will miss Gaddafi’s money but it is time to move on. As the Baganda say:’ NALIMA AWAGONDA NAYE ATELA NANYUKA’’. It is horrendous for anybody to think that they could be president for more than 10 years. It is principally and morally wrong. There are loads of people out there who also want to become presidents, and they should be given a chance. African leaders should stop running their countries like family properties. It is so disgusting!

It will be a shame if the African Union pushes the new government in Libya back to Arab league. African needs Libya and the vice versa is true. All Arab states, including the Palestinian Authority, belong to the League of Arab States, which acts as a regional body similar to the Organization of AU or the Organization of American States, which work together on issues of common concern. Gadafi had pulled Libya out of the Arab league and he had invested over 40 billion dollars in Africa states. We should not lose this cooperation.

By the way, it is also a shame to hear that some African states opposed to NTC are planning to nationalize the Libyan investments in their own countries. This literally makes them thieves. Hope Uganda is not among those countries that intend to steal Libya’s wealth- OKULILA MUKAVUYO. This money belongs to Libyans not anybody else. Let Libya develop itself and many Africans will get jobs there instead of migrating to only Europe or USA. Libya is a rich country with a lot of oil and we will all benefit one way or the other. The western countries will benefit more because they invested in this war and would like returns on their investments, but Africans will also benefit in one way or the other.

So from today onwards, regardless of whether the Uganda government recognises the NTC or not, I personally recognise them as the legitimate new ‘boys’ on the block. They are welcome to deal with me any time they want evenif i’m a nobody. They should not worry about Gaddafi’s friends in AU anymore.

Byebyo ebyange

Abbey

Gen Fred Rwigyema

Friends,

I highly doubt whether NRA killed Fred Rwigyema as has been speculated by some people on several forums. Fred Rwigyema was so close to Museveni for him to kill him like that. Why? He was among the first 27 who attacked the Kabamba Military School to get hold of weapons to fight Obote’s government in 1980s. He had been a member of FRONASA before this attack. FRONASA was created in exile in Tanzania in 1973. Fred was in Tanzania with Museveni throughout the struggle against Iddil Amin in 1970s. He was never sent to Mozambique to do military training as the Augustine Ruzaindanas.

Paul Kagame and Rwigyema stood by Museveni during the UNLA/UNLF days even when he was terribly defeated in the 1980 elections. They were both among the original members of UPM in the 1980s. Fred Rwigyema was reportedly a people’s person in the NRA. Actually one Ugandan based in Australia, Dr.Kipenji Owor, wrote on Ugandans At Heart( UAH) forum to say that Rwigyema was Museveni’s personal driver during the 1980 campaigns.

Fred Rwigyema headed the RPF assault on Rwanda. He was deputized at the time by Lt.Colonel Adam Waswa, and five other majors: Peter Banyingana, Christopher Bunyenyezi, Samuel Kanyemera, Paul Kagame and Stephen Nduguta.

RPF have never officially told anybody who exactly killed Fred Rwigyema. When Fred Rwigyema was killed, his death was kept a secret for a while. He was killed on the second day of the RPF attack on Habyarimana’s forces. He was the only casualty on that day. Can you imagine the commander of an army being the only casualty in such a war on their 2nd day of attack? I think these are the questions that make some people to think that Museveni and Kagame had something to do with it but I highly doubt Museveni’s involvement in this. Museveni was very close to Fred Rwigyema. I also don’t think Kagame was directly involved because he was on study leave in USA. But you never know with these situations though I guess both Museveni and Kagame know who the real killers are.

One theory on how Fred Rwigyema was killed is that he was shot by his 2nd in command, Major Banyingana, after a quarrel over military tactics. Banyigana and his friend, Bunyenyezi were later tried and shot by an RPF military court on orders of Paul Kagame who had then taken command of the organization.  This version was supported by even the French government at the time going by the interview given by the French diplomat at their embassy in Kampala on 28th January 1991.

The second theory is that his killers are still alive and free in Rwanda. And this is based on an interview Teddy Ssezi-Cheeye of the Weekly Topic/Uganda confidential, who is now in Luzira prison over corruption charges, reportedly had with Major Peter Banyingana inside Rwanda on 5th October 1990. If Banyingana was not killed as we were made to believe then who exactly killed Fred Rwigyema? Teddy claims to have seen him with his own eyes.

So, basically, we don’t know who killed Fred Rwigyema but there are a lot of theories flying around among the Rwandese. Like most political murders, those who are sent to do it get eliminated straightway, and those sent to eliminate them are never told why they are doing so.

Abbey.K.S