Completing the list of supporters in Rujumbura as I grew up

While proving that I am not against Tutsi people, I mentioned as illustrations names of Tutsi who helped me as I grew up in Rujumbura County of Rukungiri district in southwest Uganda. Someone who is familiar with the people who helped me felt that I had left out another group that equally provided strong support and urged that I correct the record before the end of this year.

When I was growing up, community cohesion was very strong. A child belonged to the entire village. When you made a mistake you were warned by a neighbor not to repeat it, or else the matter would be reported to the parents. When you were hungry, a neighbor gave you food and vice versa. Children that were going to school and walked long distances received assistance along the way. From grade five to grade eight I walked a distance of some 20 miles to and from school, bare foot except those few days when I stayed with relatives nearer the school or father allowed me to use his bicycle.

NRM has become a liability for its sponsors and supporters

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) came to power with domestic and external sponsors (those who fund and champion its cause) and gained supporters (those who are won over). The original sponsors and supporters of NRM inside Uganda had suffered political losses under Obote’s government – Catholics had lost elections twice to UPC and Buganda had lost the kingdom and ‘Lost counties’ referendum. Those who sponsored and supported NRM outside Uganda did not trust Obote despite his pledge to introduce capitalism under structural adjustment. They believed he was still a socialist and could not be trusted. The common characteristic is that those against Obote and UPC were in a hurry and could not wait for the next elections in 1985 or 1986 to defeat UPC that won the 1980 elections. They chose a military option for quicker results. Various guerrilla groups were formed, some of them merged into the NRM. NRM captured power in 1986 exactly five years when elections were due. So the results were not quicker but were clearly very destructive of lives, property and infrastructure and many deficits still remain unresolved.