UGANDA: When Museveni's NRA reached Acholi land (PHOTOS)

WHEN MUSEVENI'S NRA REACHED ACHOLILAND

This year's 33rd NRM anniversary is being celebrated in Kitgum.  As locals join the celebration, it is vital to make a recollection of the events when Museveni's NRA first set foot in Acholiland in 1986.

A few years ago, Ambassador Olara Otunnu spoke out on atrocities by Museveni's insurgency in the Luwero Triangle and his army's counter-insurgency operations in northern Uganda and called for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Gen. Yoweri Museveni and his Generals. This ruffled feathers within the Museveni regime particularly the power centre of the regime, the army high command.

Long time Museveni confidante and then coordinator of Uganda’s intelligence services, Gen. David Tinyefuza was quick to warn he would “crush” Otunnu if he continued to question the National Resistance Army’s (NRA) past and roles in atrocities in Luwero and northern Uganda.

In an address to the mourners at the burial of NRA/UPDF commander Brig Chefe Ali, at Burunga, Kazo, in Mbarara district, President Museveni’s younger brother and one time Army Chief, Presidential Advisor on Defense and then commander of the Reserve Force (RF), Gen. Saleh, eloquently told mourners that “If it was not for Brigadier Chefe Ali, no UPC or Acholi would be alive” (see “Chefe saved UPCs, Acholi – Saleh” Mornitor 14 July 1999).

On Sunday September 29, 2013, The Daily Monitor ran a story titled;
UPDF LOOTING SPARKED WAR IN NORTHERN UGANDA - COL. MANDE
By Tabu Butagira
STOCKHOLM

Col. Mande contended that the long-running insurgency in northern Uganda was provoked by plunder of the region and revenge killings by the victorious National Resistance Army troops upon taking over power in Kampala in 1986, a former senior NRA commander has said.

Here below, find excerpts of the interview;
................the second incident was when I led the capture of Gulu in 1986 and got in contact with the late Lord Andrew Benedicto Adimola and Father John of Alokolum Seminary. Remnants of Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) had approached them seeking to negotiate their surrender to us and I gave them assurances that we would not kill them. The first officer who came to negotiate was now Brig. Charles Otema Awany, the UPDF Chief of Logistics and Engineering, Charles Kareba and the late Lt. Col. Okoth. I gave them food and assured them the NRA policy was never to kill a prisoner of war or a person who had surrendered willfully. They went and told their friends who surrendered in large numbers. I called the President and showed him all the weapons they had brought back willfully; and he said that was a good move. These guys were ready to join the government; so, I put them in Pece stadium in Gulu town. As I was doing this, Gen. David Ssejusa a.k.a Tinyefuza was posted as Brigade commander and I was the commanding officer, and he got instructions, I don’t know from where, but he gave instruction that I should stop handling the Acholi people with kid’s gloves. That meant to molest them, but how could I molest people that had come out willfully?

Q: Which brigade was this?

A: By then NRA formations were not properly constituted. It was named a brigade but was just a group of battalions under one brigade called 157th brigade. I was in the 15th battalion but the 19th battalion, 13th battalion and elements of the 1st battalion had fused to capture Gulu. When I refused to accept what my conscious told me were wrong orders, Tinyefuza said I had led a mutiny and I wanted to use UNLA soldiers who had surrendered to overthrow government. An Intelligence briefing was prepared that I was linking up with DP elements in Gulu to undermine the NRA authority. Gen. Salim Saleh and Brig. Matayo Kyaligonza were sent to quell the purported mutiny. I told them there was no mutiny, but that I questioned instructions which broke the code of conduct of the NRA. To be specific, vehicles and soldiers of my battalion had been deployed by the Brigade commander (Tinyefuza) to take property which was rather acquired wrongfully from the population to south of Uganda and to take some of the soldiers they rounded up to Kibulala prison farm in Ibanda district. Those soldiers that were taken south have not been traced.

Q: How many were these soldiers?

A: They were ferried in five lorries; they could have numbered 200.

Q: And you say they were never seen again?

A: No, they were not seen. Those who survived being taken to Kibulala vanished from the place they had willfully assembled at in Gulu, they went back to hide and the Brigade commander gave orders to round them up. In the process, I saw suspected UNLA soldiers tied Kandoya (hand to back), people lost lives and others had to defend themselves. That is how the war in northern Uganda was provoked. I sent the President a message [about the developments] and he said I should stop being an alarmist.

Q: What did your message say?

A: The message was very clear that we were committing crimes, we had provoked the war, things were being moved to southern part of Uganda and he needed to intervene immediately to stop this. I had so many causalities already of my troops and facilities that could help them were just busy ferrying looted properties.

Q: What properties?

A: Anything that they would land on, they would claim the UNLA had stolen it from Luwero and Kampala; it could be a fridge, a sofa set, any machine; a car, anything. Even Lacor hospital lost a generator. They were on rampage. I was warning the president that we were going to start a war that we may never finish and that is when he called me an alarmist and he gave me a transfer to Karamoja, and later to Jinja. I expected he would have transferred Tinyefuza.

ACHOLI IN SELF DEFENCE
In July 1986, remnants of the UNLA started forming spontaneous resistance groups and units in Acholi to fight back the NRA over its counterinsurgency operations.

According to Col. Mande, the northerners with guns began individual defiance but one Capt Ojuk volunteered to organise the group for formal resistance. The late Alice Ouma Lakwena of the Holy Spirit Movement later assumed command of the group before it morphed into the Joseph Kony-led Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM