After he was sworn in as president of Uganda on January 29, 1986, Museveni addressed the nation and the world. In the middle of his address, he made a historic remark: “There is in philosophy something called obscurantism, a phenomenon where ideas are deliberately obscured so that what is false appears to be true and vice versa. We in the NRM are not interested in the politics of obscurantism [hiding things]: we want to get to the heart of the matter and find out what the problem is. Being a leader is like being a medical doctor. A medical doctor must diagnose his patient’s disease before he can prescribe treatment” (Y. K. Museveni 1989). I couldn’t agree more. Sadly, Museveni hasn’t practiced what he preached on that day of January 29, 1986. He has hidden his true motive which is to take care of his Batutsi people in the Great Lakes region through creation of a Tutsi Empire where Batutsi will impoverish, dispossess, marginalize and dominate the rest. We have already experienced much of it in Uganda.
At the UDU meeting in Boston in October 2011, it was agreed that the major problem was lack of information about the nature of Uganda problems and was agreed that civic education should be given a high priority. At the Los Angeles conference in July 2011 where UDU was born, I stated that I would devote the balance of my life to contribute to solving the Great Lakes problem, fully aware of the risks associated with telling the truth along the way. Taking a risk is an integral part of progress so it can’t be avoided.
Because of guilt over the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the international community has become excessively sympathetic with all Batutsi and has excessively and unfairly condemned all Bahutu as bad guys who are considered to have no place in a civilized world. Batutsi under the leadership of Museveni and Kagame have taken advantage of this sympathy to solve their problems once and for all before the world woke up to reality. Any criticism of Batutsi commissions or omissions, however constructive, will be seen and interpreted by detractors as inciting genocide against Batutsi once again. To avoid this accusation, the international community has turned a blind eye to the atrocities Batutsi are committing in the Great Lakes region.
What problems are Batutsi trying to solve? They want to restore their pre-independence dominance by marginalizing other ethnic groups. That is why you see educated and experienced non-Batutsi out in the cold and Batutsi who earned diplomas at night classes at Makerere University occupying top posts in Uganda. That is why Museveni reappoints Batutsi ministers that have been censured by parliament. That is why Museveni retains Batutsi who have retired while experienced non-Batutsi retirees are not given a chance.
The problem goes back to the “Hamitic Myth” when Batutsi (Batutsi, Bahima, Bahororo and Banyamulenge) were dubbed “white” people, superior, intelligent, pretty and born to rule over others. In areas like Kigezi and Ankole of southwest Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Eastern DRC where Batutsi refused to integrate with others ethnic conflicts are endemic.
Batutsi are descendants of Nilotic Luo-speaking long horn cattle herders who entered the Great Lakes region from Bahr al Ghazal of South Sudan (not Ethiopia as originally reported). In areas where they fully integrated with Bantu and formed entirely new communities in northern Uganda, Bunyoro, Toro, Buganda and Northwest Tanzania, there was peace. Nilotic people that entered what came to be known as Ankole, Kigezi, Burundi, Rwanda and DRC refused to integrate (although they adopted local names and local languages) and chose instead to subdue indigenous Bantu people they found in these areas in collaboration with Arab and Swahili slave traders with modern weapons such as muskets and later with colonial administrators. Bantu who were dubbed Bairu and Bahutu (slaves or servants to this day) were systematically dispossessed of their assets such as cattle and land, impoverished through tribute, marginalized and rendered powerless and voiceless economically and politically. This exploitative and dehumanizing relationship between Nilotic Batutsi and Bantu continued during the colonial period until independence in early 1960s – 1960 for Congo and 1962 for Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.
The overall problem has been land ownership. Batutsi are basically pastoralists and Bantu crop cultivators having been deprived of their short-horn cattle by Batutsi who took over Bantu pastureland. Both ethnic groups need land to survive. The nomadic nature of Batutsi and love of large herds of cattle have always required more grazing land. As human and cattle populations grew, land became scarce triggering conflicts. In Rwanda, Bahutu were dispossessed of their land. In DRC Batutsi immigrants conflicted with indigenous Bantu over land ownership, a matter that got worse when Batutsi fought with Mobutu during the civil war in the 1960s and were rewarded with large chunks of land in the Eastern region at the expense of indigenous Congolese. In Ituri area conflicts between Hema (Batutsi) pastoralists and Lendu (Bantu) cultivators have centered on land ownership.
During preparations for Uganda independence Batutsi/Bahororo in Ankole demanded a separate district which their Bahima cousins denied them (some think that is why Museveni has denied them the kingdom to settle the score). In 1959, Batutsi were thrown out of Rwanda in a social revolution that brought Bahutu to power. Many Batutsi moved to Uganda and became refugees. Unhappy Batutsi/Bahororo of Ankole and unhappy Batutsi refugees in Uganda (believed to be Bahororo who returned to Rwanda when Mpororo kingdom disintegrated but tenaciously clung to their Bahororo identity and kept contacts with Bahororo in Uganda) joined forces to begin preparation for a fight with the overall objective of owning land and creating a Tutsi empire and dominating other ethnic groups within it.
Museveni and Rwigyema went to Tanzania to begin military training and formed FRONASA dominated by Batutsi. Kagame joined them later. They fought in the 1979 war against Amin. They didn’t fare well politically during the 1979-80 transition period. Museveni tried to lead DP into the 1980 elections but wasn’t successful. Desperate, Museveni formed a political party (UPM) late in the game and didn’t do well in the elections (one UPM candidate was elected to parliament and Museveni lost to Sam Kutesa in Mbarara district). So the door closed on Museveni and Batutsi in Uganda. Notwithstanding that the Commonwealth Observer Mission cleared the elections as legitimate and DP was ready to accept them and form official opposition in parliament, desperate but proud Museveni decided to go against the prevailing mood in the country and declare the elections rigged and to wage a guerrilla war and overthrow the UPC government. Because it was a rushed decision, he launched the war with 26 other disgruntled Batutsi that included Rwigyema and Kagame. Baganda led by Lule (who probably was eased out of the presidency by UPC members in parliament (NCC) and DP supporters who are overwhelmingly Catholic joined Museveni later reluctantly and initially in small numbers. Museveni benefitted greatly from external support of countries and corporations that didn’t trust Obote to be a good capitalist or supporter of a particular brand of geopolitics.
With Batutsi mercenaries that increased to 33 percent of the guerrilla force following massive recruitment in Luwero, Mubende and Mpigi (Luwero Triangle) (Dixon Kamukama 1997) and with help of the Okellos (they apparently mounted a coup at the request of influential Catholic or DP leaders to topple a Protestant Obote II government in July 18985), Museveni captured power in January 1986. As reward, Museveni tried to get Uganda citizenship for Batutsi mercenaries who fought with him but wasn’t successful. Batutsi refugees had no choice but to prepare for a military overthrow of Bahutu government in Rwanda with Museveni support which they did in 1994.
Upon capturing power in Rwanda, RPF government started demanding a second Berlin Conference to change colonial borders so that Rwanda regains the land it lost to its neighbors. When that didn’t come quickly they are alleged to have armed Banyamulenge and other Batutsi in Eastern DRC and waged a war against Mobutu seen as friendly with Bahutu using Kabila as a shield to expand Rwanda boundaries. Instead of being welcomed as liberators of DRC, Batutsi realized that they were very unpopular and Kabila had to get rid of them. Then they waged another invasion against DRC starting a war that brought in Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Chad and Central African Republic. They feared formation of a Tutsi Empire and its expansion in central and southern Africa. Joseph Kabila who succeeded his father after he was assassinated isn’t trusted by many Congolese because his mother is Tutsi (C. R. Clark-Kazak 2011) and fear Kabila may handover DRC or a large chunk of it to Batutsi.
To hide ethnicity as the driver of conflict in the region while Museveni and Kagame are using it to advance Batutsi interests Uganda and Rwanda introduced laws banning reference to ethnicity or face long term prison sentences. In Rwanda any reference to ethnicity is called divisionism and in Uganda sectarianism. But anyone who has cared to analyze Uganda and Rwanda political economy impartially can’t fail to see how Batutsi in both countries are dominating the political, economic, public service and above all security forces. But you can’t point out this sectarian development for fear of being accused of sectarianism or divisionism and go to jail.
Because westerners don’t hear reference to ethnicity in official or private conversation, they have concluded that ethnicity is a thing of the past. I attended a meeting at one of the universities in New York City on Rwanda and was amazed by one of the speakers who recorded as a major achievement of Kagame regime that ethnicity has been resolved in Rwanda (he should have said there is a law or decree that does not allow reference to ethnicity). Ethnicity in the Great Lakes region is alive and well and is the driver of all problems used by opportunists to exploit others or get what they want through ethnic manipulation. For example, the wars between Hema and Lendu in the Ituri region were started by those who wanted to get into DRC and help themselves to timber and minerals etc.
Since Museveni came to power in 1986, he has focused on creating conditions to benefit Batutsi in Uganda. He influenced the 1995 constitution by including freedom to settle anywhere in Uganda and speak own language before learning local languages if one wishes. Parents can give their children any name of their choice. In Uganda family names can easily locate you geographically. Some Batutsi and a few others have dropped their religious or first names to disguise their religion. Many have adopted the habit of refusing to disclose their resume/CVs so you end up working with people you have no clue about. This environment has enabled Museveni to pick Batutsi from anywhere in the country and give them lucrative and strategic jobs. But officially because of adopted names or names given at birth they are officially known as Baganda, Banyankole, Basoga, Bacholi, Balango etc. They don’t use Batutsi names and some are changing them. The districts are also demarcated with the idea of boosting Batutsi numbers in parliament and district councils. Through this disguised method, Museveni has taken over the country or soon will which is dominated by Batutsi as he wanted from the beginning of his struggle. Batutsi are packed in Uganda National Assembly, East African Legislative Assembly, Cabinet, ambassadors and permanent secretaries. They are dominating the economy and increasingly key positions in churches and of course the security forces. Now Kagame and Museveni want the border between Rwanda and Uganda eliminated. If you mention these unjust developments you will end up in jail or worse unless you are hiding in exile (but even there you are not entirely secure). Because of anti-sectarian law, Ugandans keep quiet when they lose their jobs and their children dropout of school etc but are burning inside with rage. Fortunately, they are beginning to overcome fear and demand changes from NRM.
But most disturbing of all, Ugandans are seeing land changing hands from peasants to the rich at a breakneck speed. Recently the prime minister announced that land ownership will change from peasants to large scale farmers mostly Batutsi who have the money and power to acquire it. Thus, land has become the single most contentious issue that could lead to war if Museveni and Mbabazi don’t recast the decision. They want to dispossess Ugandans like Batutsi did when they arrived in Rwanda and claimed all land belonged to the king who dished it out to Batutsi. Bahutu worked it to feed Batutsi in exchange for protection. This is a very serious development. We must move fast to prevent an explosion. The world has been put on notice so the Rwanda 1994 tragedy is not repeated.
Don’t listen to Museveni when he says he is in full control. That is what the king of France and the Czar of Russia said on the eve of the 1789 and 1917 French and Russian Revolutions respectively. The revolutions in both countries were started by urban mobs demanding food and jobs and developed into full blown revolutions. These conditions exist in Uganda right now. The soldiers they depended on abandoned their kings. It could happen to Museveni too!
To sum up, the problem in the Great Lakes region is an ethnic one between Nilotic Batutsi and the rest. More specifically, in Rwanda Bahutu majority have been silenced by Batutsi minority but will explode like in 1959 when an opportunity arises – make no mistake about that. In eastern DRC, the only area in DRC where war has continued, the conflict is between minority Batutsi and the rest. In Uganda the conflicts between minority Batutsi and majority Bairu were historically centered in southwest Uganda. Since Museveni came to power in 1986, the conflict has spread to the entire nation through open sectarianism in favor of Batutsi at the expense of the rest of Ugandans and more recently through land grabbing.
Baganda have been demanding return of their land and a federal system without success. Creation of Greater Kampala is designed to give Batutsi land in a no man’s land at the expense of Mengo. Masaka is virtually in foreign hands. Bunyoro and Toro have been invaded by Batutsi immigrants that are displacing indigenous populations. Any organization involving Batutsi is mostly about land grabbing. The extension of municipal boundaries is designed primarily to make land available for Batutsi since land ownership is transferred to municipal authority that has power to dispossess a land owner for development purposes with ‘peanuts’ called compensation.
Amama Mbabazi a confidant of Museveni was made prime minister with the authority to transfer land from peasants to large scale farmers. Unfortunately Mbabazi has given a wrong reason for that transfer. Large scale farmers are not more productive and more efficient than small holder farmers. The reverse is true. All you need to do is facilitate small holder farmers with irrigation, better farm implements etc. Additionally, small holder farmers are environmentally and socially more friendly than large farmers. With all these advantages why does Mbabazi want to transfer land and where will he put the landless peasants that number 70 per cent of Uganda population of 34 million? Amama Mbabazi probably has a hidden motive.
The group of eight industrialized nations (G8) and the United Nations including the World Bank supports small holder farmers and have allocated billions of dollars to support peasant farming including those in Uganda. It is therefore very surprising that the World Bank is reported to have allocated money to Uganda to be used by Batutsi and other foreigners to buy land from Uganda peasants. Uganda demands an explanation from the World Bank with a new president who came in apparently to pay more attention to the powerless and voiceless people.
To conclude the problem in the Great Lakes region has been and remains ethnic between minority Batutsi and the rest. The solution is that Batutsi must accept to integrate with others economically and socially and drop the idea that they are superior and born to dominate others. If they don’t the Great Lakes area will continue to bleed for centuries to come. In order to extend a useful hand in solving Great Lakes problems peacefully, western powers and the United Nations needs to modify the overwhelming support to Batutsi through Museveni and Kagame whose achievements have been exaggerated by western reporters and spokespersons.
Museveni and Kagame have taken advantage of this overwhelming western support to benefit their Batutsi ethnic group and disadvantage the rest that is now reacting in a manner that could trigger trouble. We are therefore warning repeat warning the world of what could happen if we don’t act in time. The internal divisions have weakened NRM and the president and could spread to the army. UDU has articulated an alternative approach to development and is ready to implement it in a transitional government. Kagame government is being accused of involvement in DRC wars thereby weakening its stand in the international community. Given its record Rwanda should not be given a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
UDU has committed itself to finding a solution by peaceful means so that all Ugandans can live together in peace and security; prosperity and happiness. But to do so as Museveni eloquently said on January 29, 1986, “we want to get to the heart of the matter and find out what the problem is”. That is what I have attempted to do in this contribution to the debate. Constructive comments are welcome.