Tag Archives: and

Batutsi expansionism takes hold in Eastern DRC

When I wrote about Tutsi Empire project, detractors quickly dubbed me a genocide promoter and a tribal hater. But I stood my ground. Batutsi want to set the cloak back to pre-colonial days of lords and serfs. From their small nucleus in Mbarara town in southwest Uganda in the early 1960s, Nilotic Batutsi debated and agreed to use military means to recapture the dominance over Bantu people that they lost through the ballot box because of their numerical inferiority.

The guerrilla war in Uganda gave them the opportunity to capture Uganda and use it as a base to invade and overthrow Bahutu-led government in Rwanda, then overthrew Bahutu-led government in Burundi and Bantu-led government in Zaire.

The declaration of Tutsi Empire was cut short when the people of Congo resented Batutsi dominance in Desire Kabila government. Kabila expelled Tutsis from DRC. Kagama and Museveni responded with another attack which was defeated by a combined force of Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe because they resented a Tutsi Empire in Middle Africa of Nilotic Batutsi dominating Bantu people in the Great Lakes region.

BBC has vindicated me. According to BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse, “The M23 is largely made up of ethnic Tutsi, the same group which dominates the government in Rwanda”.

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NRM is definitely headed in the wrong direction

Medical doctors always tell us that when a disease is identified very early, there are good chances the patient will be successfully treated. Why can’t this method be applied in politics so that a government loses support by all stakeholders and is removed from power before too much damage is done? In politics there is a tendency to wait until too much suffering has occurred even when there is clear evidence the government is headed in the wrong direction and won’t change course.

NRM under the leadership of President Museveni came to power in 1986 in part because a large section of Ugandans strategically placed didn’t like UPC under Obote after the 1980 elections. Second some western governments suspected Obote still harbored socialist elements and his return to power was unwelcome. Third, UPC government fell out with the IMF and World Bank on macro-economic and human rights concerns.

Museveni came in as one of the new breed of African (military) leaders determined to transform Uganda’s economics, politics and governance. He was opposed to African dictators who stayed in power too long, governed unjustly without free and fair elections and term limits, violated human rights and fundamental freedoms and abused their offices through corruption, sectarianism, cronyism and mismanagement of public funds.

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Muzzling the messenger isn’t a solution to Uganda problems

When I chose to write about Uganda and the Great Lakes region, I was fully aware of the challenges and risks ahead. I may not even live long enough to see the ultimate fruits of this effort. Some friends concerned about my life are suggesting that I go slowly or drop activism altogether. Some are advising that I am losing the popularity I have built up because I am telling too much truth and embarrassing some people or relatives and friends in the process, preferring instead a private approach. But doctoring the truth and writing or saying what people want to hear wouldn’t be me! Those who agree with what I stand for join with me and UDU which has great potential because it is anchored on facts, a clear inclusive mission and action-oriented recommendations for rapid economic growth, equity, good governance and sustainable development.

History is changed not by large numbers per se but by dedicated few. And what we want above all else is to change Uganda for the better and for all Ugandans – repeat – all Ugandans which I mean from the bottom of my heart. People who know me even in a short time have witnessed how generous I am for example in helping people solve their problems where others had refused to extend a helping hand.

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Impoverishing and conquering Uganda is NRM deliberate policy

Telling the truth is by and large a very difficult and potentially fatal task and requires tremendous courage and sacrifice. I pray every day for God’s guidance and protection because I feel very strongly that the truth about what is going wrong in Uganda must be told.

Many Ugandans at home and abroad know what is happening in Uganda but are afraid to stand up and resist. They are prepared to save their lives at the expense of their children who will have no home and no future in Uganda in the years ahead.

Many Ugandans have become greedy and short sighted at a great cost to their children. Becoming parliamentarian or minister or ambassador has become more important than protecting the interest of children and kith and kin. There are stories that some Ugandans are divorcing their wives and marrying Batutsi women to get access to state house and bachelors are chasing Batutsi women for marriage for the sole purpose of catching Museveni eye when he is making important appointments.

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“Why have you turned against Batutsi?”

While in London to attend the federal conference in late October 2012 where I presented two papers and prepared a summary report of the conference, I bumped into a compatriot on Oxford Street. We discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to the sad situation in Uganda. He thanked me for writing a book on “Uganda’s Development Agenda in the 21st Century” including a chapter in which I praised Batutsi for the help they extended to me. He paused as if he was trying to say something that didn’t fit into the trend of the discussion thus far. He looked around and finally said “Why then have you turned against Batutsi?”

I told him I was not against Batutsi as human beings. I was against the destructive policies of the current generation of Batutsi in power in Uganda. And I am doing so to help them refocus the trajectory onto the right development path.

For easy reference (and against my principle of refraining from mentioning names), I am listing some Batutsi people in Rujumbura County of Rukungiri district who helped me (a Mwiru) while I was growing up. Some or their relatives are still alive and you can ask them to confirm or deny my story.

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The idea is to make life better for all Ugandans, not to make history

My humble contribution in Uganda politics and writing about the Great Lakes region (I have written ten books and created a blog www.kashambuzi.com) has been interpreted by some Ugandans as an expression of ambition and the desire to make history. They are wrong.

In making choices about what to do as a student and worker, I have been guided by my parents’ advice, Christian and community values. I was born and raised in a Christian family. My father, now retired, served in the Church of Uganda and rose to the rank of Archdeacon. He served in many places in Rukungiri and Kanungu districts where we interacted with people from many walks of life. Our house was open to all and they opened their houses to us.

I was also born and raised in a large extended family that includes Protestants and Catholics. And coincidentally some of the managers of my businesses are Muslims. I also grew up in an atmosphere where community cohesion and sharing on a reciprocal basis was very strong and children belonged to the entire community.

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Why Uganda should avoid a revolution

There has been talk of using force to get rid of NRM government which has disappointed Ugandans and neighbors that had counted on Museveni to champion peace, security, stability, prosperity and good neighborly relations. It was hoped that through multiparty democracy, NRM would be unseated through free and fair elections but that hasn’t happened because of electoral fraud and suppression of opposition parties.

New developments regarding formation of Tutsi empire using Uganda as a base and the recent decision by Uganda and Rwanda delegates to terminate colonial borders has raised eyebrows and fear that Uganda could disappear as we have known it. In addition the prime minister’s statement that peasants should be replaced by large scale farmers without indicating where he would put them has created tremendous anxiety.

Regarding elimination of national borders, it is possible that Uganda and Rwanda parliaments which are basically rubber stamp institutions could be instructed by Presidents Museveni and Kagame to pass legislation for merging Uganda and Rwanda into a single state and erase national borders through legislation. These developments should be taken seriously and prevent them from happening because once they have happened it is very difficult if not impossible to reverse them peacefully.

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Discrimination has stunted Uganda’s development efforts

Uganda has begun the next fifty years of independence on a sad political, diplomatic and socio-economic note marked by political instability within the NRM and between it and opposition groups, corruption scandals, diplomatic deficit to handle the UN report on alleged Uganda involvement in DRC and deepening and spreading poverty.

Ugandans therefore need to take stock and understand why with all the abundant natural and human resources and generous foreign aid Uganda has continued to perform far below expectation. One of the reasons is discrimination at individual and group levels. The history of communities that were later compressed into Uganda at the start of the 20th century is full of illustrations about how discrimination has stunted individual and group performance and ultimately adversely impacted Uganda’s development.

Bantu speaking people entered what later became Uganda with a wide range of skills including livestock herding of short horn cattle, goats, sheep and poultry keeping, knowledge of manufacturing a wide range of products especially iron and crop cultivation. Later they specialized according to their comparative advantage (manufacturing, herding, crop cultivation, fishing, hunting and gathering wild fruits and vegetables which they traded in local markets). This diversification and exchange enabled households to consume adequate and balanced diets that enabled them to develop immunity against diseases.

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Uganda should refute allegations of involvement in DRC

Press release

United Democratic Ugandans (UDU) is concerned about allegations that Uganda and Rwanda were supplying weapons to the M23 Congo rebels whose insurrection has resulted in loss of lives and displacement of some 500,000 people from their homes. Uganda shares a common border with DRC. For peace, security, stability and development Uganda should make an effort to maintain good neighborly relations with DRC.

During a mission to DRC including to Kinshasa, North and South Kivu provinces about three years ago there were stories from formal and informal meetings from a wide range of people – Congolese and others – that Uganda and Rwanda had been destabilizing DRC through among other things creating and arming militias and plundering its resources including minerals and timber. There were also stories of a possible loss of Congolese territory in the eastern region that would either declare independence or join Rwanda which has been calling for redrawing African borders demarcated under colonial rule.

It is UDU’s humble view that if Uganda hasn’t been involved in any way with M23, it should refute those allegations for all to see. Threatening to withdraw Uganda troops from Somalia and Central African Republic unless “these malicious allegations are withdrawn” and the international community at the United Nations assures Ugandans that it appreciates the sacrifices being made may give the impression that there is something Uganda is hiding which could damage Uganda’s reputation.

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Why people demand change and rebel when they fail

People demand change of different degrees when existing frameworks don’t work well. Students demand better food because what they are eating isn’t good or is monotonous. Workers demand better working conditions because the existing ones aren’t good. This is a normal thing in all societies. And when leaders refuse to respond or convince the public they face difficulties, sooner or later, some of them revolutionary. Leaders that adjust as enlightened despots in Europe did during the 18th century lasted longer. Those that didn’t like Charles I of England, Louis XVI of France, Nicholas II of Russia and Haile Selassie of Ethiopia were booted out of power and their dynasties destroyed.

Similarly, the people of Uganda after fifty years of independence are demanding change of leadership and a new governance system. NRM leadership and its unitary and tier system of government are not only controversial but also unacceptable. They have made a few families filthy rich and the majority real paupers. All Ugandans are born equal and must be presented with equal opportunity to develop their talents. If they fail to get what they want peacefully, they are likely to resort to other means. This is natural.

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