It is a common scene to see lame and elderly people or children on the streets of Ugandan city, Kampala seated on strategic positions near banks, busy streets, supermarkets and taxi stages holding boxes, plates or cups begging people for anything ranging from money to food. For some its a career, while others, unbearable circumstances force them to beg.
Most people in Uganda beg as a result of their physical disability, poverty and displacements. Displacements are in most cases caused by war and famine.
Street kids, women and the elderly from the famine and drought affected Karamoja region, war hit Northern Uganda and South Sudan are the most common beggars on Kampala streets.
Many people in Uganda have also made a career out of begging, a friend of Solomon called Paul from Eastern Uganda recently told him of a rich beggar - without any physical disabilities - in Mbale town of Eastern Uganda, who has made a fortune out of begging. 'At his level, he has a lot of money because he always helps people with change.'
Although begging can bring happiness to some, after a good days harvest. To others, it can be quite annoying especially, when young beggars especially, street children aggressively follow people and sometimes dirtening their dresses in the process of asking for money.
Its no surprise, that there are beggars too in the rich western countries. A Slovenian friend Gregor Strehovec recently said, there are poor people everywhere in the world, meaning there are beggars everywhere in the World. Slovenia is a country in Western Europe.
However, begging styles are different from country to country basing on the legal framework, technological development and societal norms. Countries like USA where begging is banned or highly restricted in some of its cities like Chicago, San Francisco and Santa Cruz, people have adopted other ways of begging like online begging.
In India, the Hindu religion encourages spiritual people known as Sadhus beg for food to enable them do their spiritual work uninterrupted. They also view begging as a noble practice which promotes humility and gratitude.
In Uganda, grown up street children are adopting new ways of begging because people go on losing sympathy for them as they grow old. Now, they use young children who are always lined up on busy Kampala streets to collect money on their behalf.
In some western cities, people from poor countries are sometimes forced by organized gangs to beg on their behalf.
Srehovec says begging in Europe inst so much different from Uganda, ' like Uganda, European beggars are always strategically positioned in busy city streets wearing dirty clothing, the only difference, European beggars are mostly old people without physical disabilities. A few physically handicapped beggars in Slovenia are mostly, from the war affected parts of Europe like Bosnia.'
Unlike Ugandan beggars, Strehovec says European beggars also earn a lot of money and have organizations to cater for their basic necessities of life, 'in Slovenia beggars can earn up-to over 50 Euros a day, which is a good amount for their survival. There is also an organization called Kings of the street, which provides them with food and clothing.'
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
This is how President Museveni manages the country
I have never worked in state house, never been a presidential assistant, don’t have a friend or a relative working in statehouse and I have never even stepped in any of the two state houses but, who tells you that I should be a priest, bishop, pastor or a religious scholar to write about Jesus.
Managing this country is not as hard as many people might assume, any Ugandan with a sober mind and possessing the required qualifications can manage this country, maybe even better.
As usual, people try to complicate things to threaten the interests of others who want to compete with them just like when we were still journalism interns, senior journalists would surely show you how hard it is to write a feature story. They would never tell you that writing a feature story is as simple as outlining the reasons for the fall of Idi Amin, of course adding some flavor and flow.
Managing this country is as simple as managing your own family, some families might even be harder to manage with so many issues ranging from deadly infighting to witchcraft.
Imagine winning the battle to be the heir of the family and you know that every fight has winners and losers. Losers are always disgruntled people who can react in a dangerous way if not handled carefully. That is how Democratic Party (DP) stalwarts, Kawanga Ssemogerere, John Ssebana Kizito and William Nyakatura and UPC’s Omara Atubo managed to make it to Museveni cabinet after the NRA bush war struggle in a government of national unity.
Some children in the family have bad manners - disrespectful, big headed; so many times you will be forced to punish them to make them upright, the likes of Miria Matembe, Eriya Kategaya, Bidandi Ssali, etc when they opposed the third term for the family head (President Museveni).
Some, after a long and sustained punishment like Eriya Kategaya and Gen. David Tinyefunza reformed and were called back to the family and some who remained with their big headedness were completely chased from the family, the likes of Kasepiki’s Dad - Bidandi Ssali.
Some children are punished heavily to deter others from following suit, the likes of Kiiza Besigye who faced tramped up rape charges and recent whipping by the unpopular Kiboko squad.
Some will be given land very far away from the family headquarters to avoid infecting others with their bad manners and giving headache to their parents. Winnie Byanyima was endorsed by Uganda government to work in United Nations in USA.
Those who are well behaved and dance according to the tunes of the family head are of course rewarded, the likes of the Guinness World Books of Records candidate as alleged by a Ugandan tabloid - James Kakooza who got a state ministerial position for spearheading the 4th term presidential bid.
Actually, the president’s work might even be easier to do than a ministerial post because the president reports to peasants who lack the real intellect to question his work – when he makes them a road, our dear peasants as the president always calls them will always say it’s a favor. For a ministerial work, you will have to report to people who know their rights and how to demand for them, who are educated (parliament, the president and local politicians) who are always challenging to convince (of course, other factors remaining constant like the moral standing of the supervisors – president, parliament and local politicians).
However, the sickness with our African presidents is failure to set up systems due to greed for power. They want to be the custodians of land and national jobs, etc so that whoever dances according to their tunes can get an opportunity to share on the national cake. All this makes the work of the president hard to do, limiting it only to those who are “visionary”.
If everything goes according to plan, I envision a situation where the president has a bunch of people who think and implement things on his behalf, as a president, you wake up in the morning at state house and there is someone whose work is to know that the president is thirsty and needs water, there is someone whose work is to know that the president must visit this town and should say this, there is someone to read the presidents emails and letters and know how to respond to which letter, the Hon. Prime minister is busy managing the cabinet and the president receives reports and takes appropriate measures not this confusion of which cadre should be appointed the ambassador of which country even leaving behind people in the foreign service who can actually do the work better.
In fact, even a young man of below 35 years can rule this country; these old people should not scare you (the youth). I think the people who put the age limit at 35 years for someone to contest for the Uganda presidency; at the back of their mind knew that it was just a fence to stop people who are not experienced, exposed, etc from entering and messing up the country. Because, at the end of the day, it is not actually the age. Joseph Kabila who became president at 29 years of age has managed the country better than his old father – Laurent Kabila (the young man has managed to hold one of DR Congo’s successful elections and reconciled many of the worrying factions), Alexander the Great was in his 20’s when he won battles and conquered
the whole world. Did I hear that Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is the oldest president in the world? How is he managing his country?
The president only needs to intervene where things have failed to work and give direction to the country.
Managing this country is not as hard as many people might assume, any Ugandan with a sober mind and possessing the required qualifications can manage this country, maybe even better.
As usual, people try to complicate things to threaten the interests of others who want to compete with them just like when we were still journalism interns, senior journalists would surely show you how hard it is to write a feature story. They would never tell you that writing a feature story is as simple as outlining the reasons for the fall of Idi Amin, of course adding some flavor and flow.
Managing this country is as simple as managing your own family, some families might even be harder to manage with so many issues ranging from deadly infighting to witchcraft.
Imagine winning the battle to be the heir of the family and you know that every fight has winners and losers. Losers are always disgruntled people who can react in a dangerous way if not handled carefully. That is how Democratic Party (DP) stalwarts, Kawanga Ssemogerere, John Ssebana Kizito and William Nyakatura and UPC’s Omara Atubo managed to make it to Museveni cabinet after the NRA bush war struggle in a government of national unity.
Some children in the family have bad manners - disrespectful, big headed; so many times you will be forced to punish them to make them upright, the likes of Miria Matembe, Eriya Kategaya, Bidandi Ssali, etc when they opposed the third term for the family head (President Museveni).
Some, after a long and sustained punishment like Eriya Kategaya and Gen. David Tinyefunza reformed and were called back to the family and some who remained with their big headedness were completely chased from the family, the likes of Kasepiki’s Dad - Bidandi Ssali.
Some children are punished heavily to deter others from following suit, the likes of Kiiza Besigye who faced tramped up rape charges and recent whipping by the unpopular Kiboko squad.
Some will be given land very far away from the family headquarters to avoid infecting others with their bad manners and giving headache to their parents. Winnie Byanyima was endorsed by Uganda government to work in United Nations in USA.
Those who are well behaved and dance according to the tunes of the family head are of course rewarded, the likes of the Guinness World Books of Records candidate as alleged by a Ugandan tabloid - James Kakooza who got a state ministerial position for spearheading the 4th term presidential bid.
Actually, the president’s work might even be easier to do than a ministerial post because the president reports to peasants who lack the real intellect to question his work – when he makes them a road, our dear peasants as the president always calls them will always say it’s a favor. For a ministerial work, you will have to report to people who know their rights and how to demand for them, who are educated (parliament, the president and local politicians) who are always challenging to convince (of course, other factors remaining constant like the moral standing of the supervisors – president, parliament and local politicians).
However, the sickness with our African presidents is failure to set up systems due to greed for power. They want to be the custodians of land and national jobs, etc so that whoever dances according to their tunes can get an opportunity to share on the national cake. All this makes the work of the president hard to do, limiting it only to those who are “visionary”.
If everything goes according to plan, I envision a situation where the president has a bunch of people who think and implement things on his behalf, as a president, you wake up in the morning at state house and there is someone whose work is to know that the president is thirsty and needs water, there is someone whose work is to know that the president must visit this town and should say this, there is someone to read the presidents emails and letters and know how to respond to which letter, the Hon. Prime minister is busy managing the cabinet and the president receives reports and takes appropriate measures not this confusion of which cadre should be appointed the ambassador of which country even leaving behind people in the foreign service who can actually do the work better.
In fact, even a young man of below 35 years can rule this country; these old people should not scare you (the youth). I think the people who put the age limit at 35 years for someone to contest for the Uganda presidency; at the back of their mind knew that it was just a fence to stop people who are not experienced, exposed, etc from entering and messing up the country. Because, at the end of the day, it is not actually the age. Joseph Kabila who became president at 29 years of age has managed the country better than his old father – Laurent Kabila (the young man has managed to hold one of DR Congo’s successful elections and reconciled many of the worrying factions), Alexander the Great was in his 20’s when he won battles and conquered
the whole world. Did I hear that Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe is the oldest president in the world? How is he managing his country?
The president only needs to intervene where things have failed to work and give direction to the country.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
What millions of African women think of African men?
“You can’t limit the number of wives your husband gets because that is how God created men,” says a lady seated next to me while traveling in a bus on a journey from Uganda’s capital City of Kampala to Western Uganda town of Fort Portal recently.
I once jokingly told my girl friend that we should have a rotational presidency of the family. She said, “No! No! I think a man is supposed to be the head of the family.”
In my village, old women will always advise new wed ladies to take extra care of their husbands like preparing them warm water in the morning for bathing, cleaning their clothes, preparing them food, kneeling when serving them food. Actually, all the above and so many others are taken as divine responsibilities of women. But who tells you that a man can’t prepare food, prepare bathing water for himself, and wash clothes among other family chores!
In the Central Uganda Kingdom of Buganda, there is a common saying that a lady can force laughter when angry, stressed, not in moods of laughing, etc for the sole purpose of making her husband happy.
Funny! Such thinking is still claiming territories in the developed world which always press for women rights in developing countries like Uganda with highly conservative societies. United States of America for instance has never elected a woman president partly, because of a conservative thinking that women can never be strong leaders to defend their country. Madam Hillary Clinton recently faced the wrath of that conservative thinking when he tried to put herself in ‘men’s shoes’
It maybe true, that most women are emotional, soft, etc because society demands them to be like that. If you acted like Semenya (South African athlete), talked with authority like Uganda’s Miria Matembe, played football, approached your dream man and said, “I love you,” ooooh! Many African men will be scared, to them, that behavior is unusual, strange, unwanted – not even sexy.
But, are there many differences between the two sexes – male and a female? Girls have been on top of boys on so many occasions in so many things for instance in school performance in Uganda. If you doubt this, Namagunga, Gayaza and Nabisunsa girl’s secondary schools will silence you.
You have seen women heads of states performing better than men, can you compare the current president of Liberia, Ellen Johnstone Sirleaf with a brutal and corrupt dictator - Charles Taylor. What about Mwammar Gaddafi’s (Libya president) women escorts – their boss doesn’t seem to complain of loopholes in his personal security. Who in the security circles in Uganda didn’t shake, shiver, etc when the Queen of England – Elizabeth II - landed in Uganda for the Kampala Common Wealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in 2007? If you want to prove it, pleaseee…. Kindly, ask generals Kaguta, Nyakairima, Tinyefunza and Kayihura.
Gender stereotypes are deeply embedded in African cultural and religious thinking but a change in that thinking is very possible. Who doesn’t want to see his mother, sister, daughter enjoying real equal rights with men?
I once jokingly told my girl friend that we should have a rotational presidency of the family. She said, “No! No! I think a man is supposed to be the head of the family.”
In my village, old women will always advise new wed ladies to take extra care of their husbands like preparing them warm water in the morning for bathing, cleaning their clothes, preparing them food, kneeling when serving them food. Actually, all the above and so many others are taken as divine responsibilities of women. But who tells you that a man can’t prepare food, prepare bathing water for himself, and wash clothes among other family chores!
In the Central Uganda Kingdom of Buganda, there is a common saying that a lady can force laughter when angry, stressed, not in moods of laughing, etc for the sole purpose of making her husband happy.
Funny! Such thinking is still claiming territories in the developed world which always press for women rights in developing countries like Uganda with highly conservative societies. United States of America for instance has never elected a woman president partly, because of a conservative thinking that women can never be strong leaders to defend their country. Madam Hillary Clinton recently faced the wrath of that conservative thinking when he tried to put herself in ‘men’s shoes’
It maybe true, that most women are emotional, soft, etc because society demands them to be like that. If you acted like Semenya (South African athlete), talked with authority like Uganda’s Miria Matembe, played football, approached your dream man and said, “I love you,” ooooh! Many African men will be scared, to them, that behavior is unusual, strange, unwanted – not even sexy.
But, are there many differences between the two sexes – male and a female? Girls have been on top of boys on so many occasions in so many things for instance in school performance in Uganda. If you doubt this, Namagunga, Gayaza and Nabisunsa girl’s secondary schools will silence you.
You have seen women heads of states performing better than men, can you compare the current president of Liberia, Ellen Johnstone Sirleaf with a brutal and corrupt dictator - Charles Taylor. What about Mwammar Gaddafi’s (Libya president) women escorts – their boss doesn’t seem to complain of loopholes in his personal security. Who in the security circles in Uganda didn’t shake, shiver, etc when the Queen of England – Elizabeth II - landed in Uganda for the Kampala Common Wealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in 2007? If you want to prove it, pleaseee…. Kindly, ask generals Kaguta, Nyakairima, Tinyefunza and Kayihura.
Gender stereotypes are deeply embedded in African cultural and religious thinking but a change in that thinking is very possible. Who doesn’t want to see his mother, sister, daughter enjoying real equal rights with men?
Sunday, August 8, 2010
An ignorant environmental artist
She seems even busy for an interview with Solomon, in her craft factory inside her room in Nankulabye – one of Kampala’s sprawling suburbs. She looks to be in love with the whole craft making activity. She makes her crafts from waste material like banana fibers, waste plastics and waste paper materials just because they are cheap and easy to get. Using waste material is good for the environment but for Namatovu Beatrice, that’s not why she uses them.
“I make necklaces from papers and plastics, table mats, door mats and balls from banana fibers,” says Namatovu a student of business at Makerere Business institute. She says, her business course will help equip her with the required marketing skills for her crafts.
She gets some of the material like Banana fibers from as far as Mpigi district where her mother comes from. Namatovu gets the waste papers especially expired calendars for making necklaces from friends who work in offices and only buys threads for making table mats.
Namatovu who has helped train many young people to do crafts was inspired by her friend called Nora who even taught her to make crafts and Namatovu has never looked behind. She adds that her background in fine art during her secondary school days gave her an added advantage to learn faster and do better crafts. Besides, getting some income from the craft business, she enjoys what she does.
Although having quite a busy schedule, Namatovu has never failed to get time to do her crafts work, “I have my lecturers from morning to 1pm, I get time for my crafts work in the evening.”
Her efforts for making good quality crafts seems to be paying off because she never fails to get market, “many people buy my crafts like friends, well wishers, tourists and organizations and on a good days sale, I can earn roughly Uganda shillings 50,000 (which is good enough for any Ugandan student’s side activity).”
Namatovu has a number of places to sell her crafts including her home, her friend’s homes or work places and a crafts shop of Joy for Children Uganda – a non governmental organization based in Kampala, which also helps promote the talents of young people. The organization has a display board and visitors especially whites many times get attracted and buy them, says Namatovu.
She also exploits a number of opportunities such as exhibitions like a recent one at the Baptist Church in Kampala, which unfortunately never reaped good fruits because few products were sold. She blamed the poor sales to an abrupt and poor organization of the event and therefore, people were not prepared to buy.
The young and promising craft artist says the only problem with the crafts business is lack of a stable local market because Ugandans aren’t good consumers of craft items and most times, she depends on people from the western world, who rarely come making the craft business very unpredictable.
As hardworking as always, Namatovu isn’t sleeping and has big plans for the future in line with her craft business, “I expect to buy a plot of land, build a house and start my own big craft shop and recruit more people to make crafts.”
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Lutaaya – his boldness saved millions
People saw his hair fall out, his body shrink and finally, die in december 1989 as a result of HIV/AIDS – a disease which has claimed millions of people in Uganda.
Musician Philly Bongole Lutaaya did the unthinkable in September 1989, at a press conference in Kampala, he openly exposed his HIV status at a time when the disease was highly stigmatised.
Lutaaya didnt stop at that, he went ahead to carry out Music and Educational tours across the country thus, promoting understanding, compassion and respect for people living with HIV.
His memorable farewell album Alone and Frightened released on September 1989 further, boosted the campaign.
People started to see the disease as a reality, unlike the previous years, when the disease was mainly associated with witchcraft.
Condom use, testing and treatment became acceptable. The government also stepped up its efforts to combant the disease. Such efforts, included; rolling up public health messages and the establishment of the Uganda AIDS Commission among others.
As a result of the efforts to cambant the epidermic since Lutaaya's years, prevalence rates have reduced from 30 percent in 1992 – the highest in the world by then - to the current 6.4 percent according to The Independent magazine.
Lutaaya's music remains popular up-to-now. Recently, in a project to celebrate his life, several Ugandan artists including Bobi Wine and Chameleon re-recorded and perfomed his music.
His christmass album recorded in sweden in 1986, remains the most memorable especially during christmass season in Ugandan christian families.
Lutaaya's other popular hits are Ugira Tulinda, Baasi Namakwekwe, Bw'oba Osiimye, Philly Empisa Zo Zikyuseko and Flora Atwooki among others.
His AIDS campaign efforts have made him a role model and a hero to many ugandans.
Recently, the Ugandan North American Association created a Philly Bongole Lutaaya award recorgnising his leadership role in increasing HIV/AIDS awareness in Uganda.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Joseph Kony – A career killer
Who is joseph Kony
Joseph Kony, is the rebel leader of the Lords resistance Army (LRA), his rebel group is well known for killing, abducting, mutilating thousands and displacing millions in South Sudan, Uganda, DR Congo and Central African Republic since 1986.
His heinous acts have attracted alot of international condemnation from even the unusual figures like the popular US TV show queen, Oprah Winfrey. During her show in 2006, Oprah described the LRA's inhuman activities in Northern Uganda as an 'African Holocust'.
The US government placed Kony in 2008 on it's list of specially designated global terrorist with dire consquencies of financial freeze and travel bans. But, does Kony care? A man with no known assets except guns and a satelite phone which he keeps a distance apart to avoid being tracked and killed the Savimbi way – a former Angola rebel leader.
The LRA's chief life rotates around the bush, where he has lived for the last 24 years. His only known friends are his brutal militants he presides over.
Born to a lay Catholic Church Apostle father and an Anglican mother in the Northern Uganda district of Gulu in 1961, Kony himself an altar boy in his teenage years and a village witchdoctor in his early 20's, claims to follow the Christian Bible Ten Commandments.
But, does the LRA chief follow the ten commandments in his military persuit for Uganda's top leadership. The sixth commandment says, 'you shall not murder,’ Kony has murdered thousands of people in his over 20 year rebellion against the government.
Kony first joined the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena, his cousin, whose soldiers smeared their bodies with blessed oil to stop bullets and launched a successful guerrilla movement against the government forces until their defeat in the late 1980’s.
One wonders whether, the defeat of Lakwena was a result of loss of spiritual powers because; many of her soldiers lost their lives in battles with government forces from bullets they claimed to stop.
Later, Kony reorganized the defeated Holy Spirit Movement fighters to form the LRA. The LRA chief initially used the same Lakwena’s tactic of smearing his soldiers with blessed oil to stop bullets but, later abandoned it after failing to work for him.
An indicted criminal of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Kony remained a mystery until 2006, when he appeared to the cameras with the South Sudan Vice President Riek Marchar in the jungles of South Sudan. This was an attempt to open up for peace negotiations with the government of Uganda.
Prior to the Marchar meeting, his only known image for years was of a dreadlocked murderer, forest witch and a polygamist.
Kony's brutal and elusive rebel tactics has continues to put the lives of millions of people in the four countries of South Sudan, Uganda, DR Congo and Central African Republic in danger. Continued attempts to sign the United Nations sponsored Juba peace agreement has failed to reap any fruits. His demands for signing the Juba Peace Agreement looks impossible for anybody to fulfill for a rebel leader who rarely follows his words. During the start of peace negotiations in South Sudan, Kony would attack villages killing, abducting, stealing and destroying people's properties in South Sudan and DR Congo villages days after signing the ceasefire agreements.
To his supporters, including, a PhD holder in psychology, Dr David Nyekorach Matsanga, Kony is a freedom fighter. Matsanga who, recently declared his intentions to run for the president of Uganda in 2011, was until last year (2009) the head of the LRA Juba Peace negotiating team.
The LRA no longer operates in Uganda, but their continued presence thousands of miles away in the Jungles of DR Congo and Central African Republic remains a threat to the people of Northern Uganda, who are slowly returning to their homes after spending years in camps depending on government and donors for handouts of food, medicine and other basic necessities.
His weaknesses
He has killed, mutilated and abducted even his own people (Acholi's), although he sometimes calls himself a liberator of the Acholi people. He lacks support even among his own people to enable the success of his military struggle. He sentenced to death, the popular Acholi opposition politician and the current president of the Democratic Party Norbert Mao for criticising his atrocious acts (the death sentence has never been carried out).
The LRA chief is over ambitious planning to rule the country on the christian bible ten commandments, in a country with many religious beliefs. Such a system of governance, is unaceptable and likely to cause more conflicts emanating from other religious groups like the moslems. Although, Uganda is predominatly a christian country, his belief in witchcraft and heinous crimes committed over the years haven't won him any admiration from christians.
Kony extends his murderous acts to even his own fighters, resulting into loss of morale and confidence in him. This explains big numbers of defections in the rebel ranks. He has killed all his deputies since the beggining of his rebellion. LRA's deputies Otti Lagony, James Opoka and Vincent Otti, were brutally murdered for disrespecting or disagreeing with their boss and who knows what will happen to Okot Odhiambo the current LRA deputy. On the other hand, brutal killings of his senior fighters help instill fear, and makes him (Kony) a magical being who knows and hears what everyone around him thinks and says to stop any internal revolts and escape.
His stregnths
He is elusive, mysterious and even mythical, making it hard for the Ugandan army to capture him. The latest attempt to capture him was in 2008, during the Operation Lightening thunder by the Ugandan Army in the Congo forest of Garamba, only his guitar and a few of his household belongings were found. He claims to use witchcraft to foretell danger and escape in advance. During the failed peace talks of 1994, the entrance to his base was guarded by men wearing robes sprinkling holy water.
Kony is a skilled guerrilla military fighter, his handful military men and women currently, numbering below 500 using improvised weapons have destabilized countries with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and sophiscated military weaponry. He has trained his militants to be fierce, walk long distances and survive on less food in food scarce forested areas.
He has a network of supporters in the Diaspora, who help give some form of legitimacy to the rebellion and maybe funding. All the nine people on his Juba Peace Negotiating Team are Ugandans living in the Diaspora. The head of the LRA peace negotiating team until 2009, Dr David Nyekorach Matsanga stays in the United Kingdom. If the Uganda government allegations against the government of Sudan for funding the LRA are true, then Kony has a lot of weapons at his disposal to cause any form of mayhem.
Whether, Kony will get out of the bush or not remains a risky bet, the great lakes region where the LRA operates has unoccupied forests and savannah land where the rebels can freely roam. Other countries like DR Congo and South Sudan are not stable enough to stop the rebels from establishing bases there. Maybe, an assassination or capture if the rebel chief completely fails to sign the peace agreement will put a smile on the faces of millions.
Also see a video of Joseph Kony by Invisible Children Organisation
Photos: womenontherun.se, vanityfair.com, thesituationist.wordpress.com, www.pinknews.co.uk
Joseph Kony, is the rebel leader of the Lords resistance Army (LRA), his rebel group is well known for killing, abducting, mutilating thousands and displacing millions in South Sudan, Uganda, DR Congo and Central African Republic since 1986.
His heinous acts have attracted alot of international condemnation from even the unusual figures like the popular US TV show queen, Oprah Winfrey. During her show in 2006, Oprah described the LRA's inhuman activities in Northern Uganda as an 'African Holocust'.
 |
| Deadlocked Joseph Kony |
The LRA's chief life rotates around the bush, where he has lived for the last 24 years. His only known friends are his brutal militants he presides over.
Born to a lay Catholic Church Apostle father and an Anglican mother in the Northern Uganda district of Gulu in 1961, Kony himself an altar boy in his teenage years and a village witchdoctor in his early 20's, claims to follow the Christian Bible Ten Commandments.
But, does the LRA chief follow the ten commandments in his military persuit for Uganda's top leadership. The sixth commandment says, 'you shall not murder,’ Kony has murdered thousands of people in his over 20 year rebellion against the government.
Kony first joined the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena, his cousin, whose soldiers smeared their bodies with blessed oil to stop bullets and launched a successful guerrilla movement against the government forces until their defeat in the late 1980’s.
One wonders whether, the defeat of Lakwena was a result of loss of spiritual powers because; many of her soldiers lost their lives in battles with government forces from bullets they claimed to stop.
Later, Kony reorganized the defeated Holy Spirit Movement fighters to form the LRA. The LRA chief initially used the same Lakwena’s tactic of smearing his soldiers with blessed oil to stop bullets but, later abandoned it after failing to work for him.
An indicted criminal of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Kony remained a mystery until 2006, when he appeared to the cameras with the South Sudan Vice President Riek Marchar in the jungles of South Sudan. This was an attempt to open up for peace negotiations with the government of Uganda.
Prior to the Marchar meeting, his only known image for years was of a dreadlocked murderer, forest witch and a polygamist.
Kony's brutal and elusive rebel tactics has continues to put the lives of millions of people in the four countries of South Sudan, Uganda, DR Congo and Central African Republic in danger. Continued attempts to sign the United Nations sponsored Juba peace agreement has failed to reap any fruits. His demands for signing the Juba Peace Agreement looks impossible for anybody to fulfill for a rebel leader who rarely follows his words. During the start of peace negotiations in South Sudan, Kony would attack villages killing, abducting, stealing and destroying people's properties in South Sudan and DR Congo villages days after signing the ceasefire agreements.
To his supporters, including, a PhD holder in psychology, Dr David Nyekorach Matsanga, Kony is a freedom fighter. Matsanga who, recently declared his intentions to run for the president of Uganda in 2011, was until last year (2009) the head of the LRA Juba Peace negotiating team.
The LRA no longer operates in Uganda, but their continued presence thousands of miles away in the Jungles of DR Congo and Central African Republic remains a threat to the people of Northern Uganda, who are slowly returning to their homes after spending years in camps depending on government and donors for handouts of food, medicine and other basic necessities.
His weaknesses
He has killed, mutilated and abducted even his own people (Acholi's), although he sometimes calls himself a liberator of the Acholi people. He lacks support even among his own people to enable the success of his military struggle. He sentenced to death, the popular Acholi opposition politician and the current president of the Democratic Party Norbert Mao for criticising his atrocious acts (the death sentence has never been carried out).
 |
| Kony with his children |
The LRA chief is over ambitious planning to rule the country on the christian bible ten commandments, in a country with many religious beliefs. Such a system of governance, is unaceptable and likely to cause more conflicts emanating from other religious groups like the moslems. Although, Uganda is predominatly a christian country, his belief in witchcraft and heinous crimes committed over the years haven't won him any admiration from christians.
Kony extends his murderous acts to even his own fighters, resulting into loss of morale and confidence in him. This explains big numbers of defections in the rebel ranks. He has killed all his deputies since the beggining of his rebellion. LRA's deputies Otti Lagony, James Opoka and Vincent Otti, were brutally murdered for disrespecting or disagreeing with their boss and who knows what will happen to Okot Odhiambo the current LRA deputy. On the other hand, brutal killings of his senior fighters help instill fear, and makes him (Kony) a magical being who knows and hears what everyone around him thinks and says to stop any internal revolts and escape.
His stregnths
He is elusive, mysterious and even mythical, making it hard for the Ugandan army to capture him. The latest attempt to capture him was in 2008, during the Operation Lightening thunder by the Ugandan Army in the Congo forest of Garamba, only his guitar and a few of his household belongings were found. He claims to use witchcraft to foretell danger and escape in advance. During the failed peace talks of 1994, the entrance to his base was guarded by men wearing robes sprinkling holy water.
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| Uganda President Museveni |
Kony is a skilled guerrilla military fighter, his handful military men and women currently, numbering below 500 using improvised weapons have destabilized countries with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and sophiscated military weaponry. He has trained his militants to be fierce, walk long distances and survive on less food in food scarce forested areas.
He has a network of supporters in the Diaspora, who help give some form of legitimacy to the rebellion and maybe funding. All the nine people on his Juba Peace Negotiating Team are Ugandans living in the Diaspora. The head of the LRA peace negotiating team until 2009, Dr David Nyekorach Matsanga stays in the United Kingdom. If the Uganda government allegations against the government of Sudan for funding the LRA are true, then Kony has a lot of weapons at his disposal to cause any form of mayhem.
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| Joseph Kony during the start of peace negotiations |
Whether, Kony will get out of the bush or not remains a risky bet, the great lakes region where the LRA operates has unoccupied forests and savannah land where the rebels can freely roam. Other countries like DR Congo and South Sudan are not stable enough to stop the rebels from establishing bases there. Maybe, an assassination or capture if the rebel chief completely fails to sign the peace agreement will put a smile on the faces of millions.
Also see a video of Joseph Kony by Invisible Children Organisation
Photos: womenontherun.se, vanityfair.com, thesituationist.wordpress.com, www.pinknews.co.uk
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Controversy surrounds Batooro – Baganda relations
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| Kabaka Mwanga |
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| Omukama Kasagama (alleged father of Kabaka Daudi Chwa) with Capt. Lugard |
The current Buganda King Kabaka Ronald Mwenda Mutebi has been a guardian of the Tooro King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru until recently, when he made 18 years and took over full responsibilities over his Kingdom.
This is not the beginning of good relations between the two kingdoms, their excillent relations started during the days of Kabaka Kamanya.
Kamanya and Omukama Kyebambe of Bunyoro married twin sisters from from the same family – Kyebambe was the father of the first King of Tooro (Omukama Kaboyo). The two twin sisters (Nyakato and Nyangoma) hailed from the present day Kyenjojo district.
Kabaka Kamanya fathered Kabaka Suuna who then fathered Kabaka Muteesa I from a prostitute (some people say, the name Muteesa was a result of the above relationship).
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| Kabaka Daudi Chwa - Father of Muteesa II |
Muteesa I was the father of Kabaka Mwanga who took care the King of Tooro (Omukama Kasagama Daudi) when he was attacked by Omukama Kabalega forces who wanted to again annex the lost territory of Bunyoro – Tooro Kingdom - but was later defeated by Capt. Lugard who restored the King of Tooro.
It is alleged that during his stay in Buganda Kingdom Omukama Kasagama had relations with one of the wives of Mwanga and gave birth to Omukama Daudi Chwa. Some people say, the name Daudi was from the Kabaka’s alleged father Omukama Daudi Kasagama. It is alleged that Kabaka Mwanga was a homosexual and therefore, could not have conjugal rights with his wife.
If we go by the above allegations Omukama Rukiidi and Kabaka Daudi Chwa (the father of Muteesa II) are blood brothers with the same father - Omukama Daudi Kasagama.
A look at the photos shows, Kabaka Daudi Chwa and Muteesa II resembling but Kabaka Daudi Chwa never resembled his father Kabaka Mwanga.
When Kabaka Muteesa II was marrying, Omukama Rukiidi of Tooro was his best man and some people believe it was not a mistake – some blood relations were at play.
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| Kabaka Muteesa II of Buganda |
In one of her books Princess Elizabeth Bagaya of Tooro says Omukama Daudi Chwa and Rukiidi were not mere cousins but good friends.
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| King Oyo of Tooro (Great Grandson of King Kasagama) |
photos: ugandansatlarge.blogspot.com, royalark.net and ugpulse.com, monitor.co.ug
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