By Ronald Siima
If the dream of the seven revolutionary young Ugandan men during the 70s, who are claimed to run this nation had come to the young men of today, they would be mocked and accused of abusing some highly intoxicating substance.
Like we all agree that for any invention or start of anything in any society there is always that one person that bares the dream or idea then the others find it sensible and put it into practice.
Now, whoever it was among the group, He’s such a genius, thinker, revolutionary or gifted dare devil. No wonder the late Obote once called them “A handful of young Robbin Hoods with guns”. Before we can marvel at their daringness, Let’s understand the nature of Ugandans ethnicity.
Uganda is one of the smallest countries but with such a diverse ethnic heterogeneity that boasts of fifty three tribes with sixty dialects, Of which are spread out in regions. After independence the country was dissected into five main regions of which are North, South, East, West and Central.
And in those regions, ethnic groups lay respectively, from which the tribes emerge.
Now as fate had it, The central region of Uganda is where colonial rule started, Making the habitants of the region who are from the Buganda Kingdom, a Bantu ethnic group be the aristocratic, elite and learnt. But as the Lion and Hyena are both carnivals living side by side but demarcated by a mask called despise and familiarity.
There were the people from the North who are from the Nilotic ethnic group, and these are; the Acholi, Langi and Alur. Always known for their zeal, bravery and determination, not forgetting loyalty. Like we all know the Lion despises the Hyena, and the Hyena has grown to accept it and live with it because of the benefit it comes with… Scavenging and sometimes even stealing the cactus which them is a big deal.
So the underdogs ended up rubbing shoulders with the aristocrats because now they were groomed in the same beauty Pallor.
They worked side by side but still the aristocratic Baganda people doing the administrative work of the country while the Northerners the Acholi and Langi doing the executive work of running the nation too until Independence. Like one of my favorite African musician called Eric Wainaina sung, “Ku’jeongoza ni kufa” Meaning “Independence is death” Right after Independence the whole country was euphoric about the nasty colonial Elephant having left the room but shortly after that, was the apocalypse of politics between the aristocrats and the underdogs.
This was the time the two factions faced each other and reminded each other of their social level of classes. The Acholi and Langi saying “They won’t be pushed around because they also are Ugandans and the Baganda aristocrats saying “Twalyanga nawe” Meaning if it wasn’t education they never used to dine together. And so the clash was so big that it affected the whole Buganda kingdom that their King, His Majesty Kabaka Edward Frederick Muteesa Luwangula Walugembe was forced into exile by the Obote Government which was led by the Prime Minister Dr. Apollo Milton Obote who was in power for fifteen years. But as it is natural, Whenever two Giants fight in the room the weaklings will seek cover but that doesn’t mean they are going to stay desperate.
At that moment the weaklings were young, enthusiastic and energetic school boys from the none essential tribes in the Western part of the country who are from the Bantu and Hamite ethnicity, who’s main occupation was farming, particularly livestock.
After the 1950s genocide in Rwanda, some Rwandese crossed over to neighboring Uganda to places like Fort Potal, Kigezi, and Ankole. These people became native to these places, Attended school all the way to university level and under the rag they emerged into Uganda’s politics which was a muck of power intoxicated vagabonds running the nation like their back yard abattoir and exposing their incompetence. And every time you expose your incompetence you empower even the frail.
Noble and many other unpopular individuals fell victims. Some survive and others go like our recently buried Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanya.
The boys of power have always shown immense power that they have also gone ahead and gunned down in Broad day light some of those they think will bring unnecessary distress to their political dealings… Like the Deputy IGP, Hon. ABIRIGA and a District Police Commander Kirumira among others…. So, here is the gist of this article…. The world is a big business place where there is investment and return on investment.
These men have switched off their human side and have become soulless phantoms. They make old men cry like babies for their children, emphasizing what Nelson Mandela said once when he lost his first child. “It’s against the rules of nature for a parent to burry their child. Our children should Bury us” Making mothers remember the birth pangs they had in vain when they loose their sons, Making women go through the agony anxiety and scarcity because they have become single parents and widows.
