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| UPDF doing community work. It is people focused, and did well ensuring peace during the elections |
OPINION | Apollo Otawi
in Tororo | At the time of the 1985
coup that saw Dr. A.M Obote (RIP) thrown out of the presidency by his
own colleagues, there was a mass uprising against non-Baganda in areas of Kayunga,
Mukono, Luwero and parts of the then Mpigi district.
People's properties and lives were lost. No one was allowed
to carry anything from their homes. Some people from Tororo trekked all the
way back home. The message was clear. Buganda was not a place for non-Baganda.
At about the same time, the National Resistance Army (NRA) was consolidating their pending military victory over the government's forces, and one of their strengths was working with the people, irrespective of tribes and religion. The Luwero triangle, in the heart of Buganda, was the home from which they launched the final takeover of Tito Okello Lutwa's government in January 1986.
The arrival of the NRA was a game changer in the political life of the country. At the fall of Kampala and the subsequent run over of the rest of the country, they preached against sectarianism and segregation.
They wooed the other tribes, who had resisted the new revolutionary forces as the went thru Busoga, Teso up to the far north . It was time for reconciliation and there was a sense that co-existence was possible.
Fighters from rebel groups like FEDEMO, UFM of Kayira, Moses
Ali's WNRF, Peter Otai's outfit, our own FOBA from the east, were all amalgamated into the NRA. It would gradually become a National
Army courtesy of these integration actions.
Disciplined army
With the popular politicization retreats in Nabiisojjo and Kiburara,
these fighters were taught how to work with the civilians.
The result was an Army that realised its main role was to protect the lives of all Ugandans and their properties. This naturally gave birth to one of the most disciplined armies in Africa.
The UPDF have since worked with the world's elite armies
from countries like the US and Britain in peace keeping roles across the
continent, but mainly in Somalia where they form the core of the African
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Today's UPDF , a direct product of the NRA, has now become
a role model of what armies should be like in Africa. In pursuit of their missions, they
execute without fear or favour.
It is therefore not surprising that the government requested
them to compliment the Uganda Police in providing for a peaceful election
process that is yet to conclude. The calm on voting day is testimony of the effectiveness of the people's army.
Cost of muli-partyism
On the political wing, the NRM, had in the 80s and early 90s
tried to explain to Ugandans the likely mishaps political parties create in democracy
in Africa. The NRM preached for the individual merit basis as systems of governance.
The pressure from the Western World, and sections of
Ugandans, led to a referendum in 2005, which voted to opt for a multi-
party democracy.
The NRM reluctantly agreed to the new type of democracy,
forming the NRMO as a political party. The revolutionists decided to play the
party politics, but still maintain the revolutionary methods of work.
Enter NUP
After FDC, DP and UPC failing to have an impact over the
years of multiparty politics, in came the recently formed National Unity Platform
(NUP) party.
It started off as a people's movement, but was in my
observation, soon taken up by cliques who had sectarian tendencies and through
propaganda preached a divide in politics on tribal basis.
It gave them an opportunity to seek change in the
leadership, not based on nationalism, but for the benefit of individual
partisans, who clearly wanted a particular group of peoples to take over the
country.
Fortunately, the Ugandans, had become wiser, having tested
the real pro-people governance and broad-based politics of the NRM.
They knew what entrusting an organization like NUP would
cause in in our young democracy.
It's on this basis, that at the time of the just concluded
elections, they chose to maintain the status quo and let the NRM continue to
lead.
It was a testimony, that the Ugandans wanted an organization
that was ready to accommodate Ugandans from all walks of life.
Now that the Ugandans have decided, it's time to get back to
our tools and work for the betterment of our nation.
I therefore congratulate the Ugandans for realizing their
needs and voting correctly to defeat sectarianism and all tendencies of
segregation.
I also want to acknowledge the security organizations, for
standing strong against elements of division, that had become a threat to our
otherwise young democracy.
We need a country that is nationalistic in character, to
provide for all Ugandans without segregation.
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Apollo Otawi is a proud Ugandan and social media critic
