28 June 2009
(Page 2 of 3)
1966 Crisis
Hardly a month passes without nasty references to the 1966 crisis. That should be a serious cause for concern to Ugandans. It should be a serious cause for concern because political opportunists seem determined to continue exploiting it in complete disregard of the common good of all Ugandans. Ugandans need peace and reconciliation. And lasting peace and reconciliation can only be achieved if we turned our backs against all forms of prejudices, malice and hatred. If we truly wanted to put our tragic history behind us, we must not fear telling Ugandans the truth about the public affairs of this country.
Uganda would have got its independence earlier than 1962 if Buganda did not insist on getting from Britain explicit answers on demands she had put forward. The demands were popularly known as "Buganda Weyimiridde" (Buganda's stand). Buganda threatened that unless its demands were met, the Kingdom had the right to demand separate independence from Britain. Those demands proved a big problem for Britain and our politicians. As the Musaazis, Kiwanukas and others scratched their heads to find answers to those demands, Obote was elected a member of the Legislative Council (Legco). And he immediately joined the search for a solution to "Buganda Weyimiridde" At the end of the day, Katikkiro Kintu and his team became convinced that the political Messiah Mengo was waiting for had come. As could be expected in those circumstances, there was talk about the miracle man called Obote in every corner of Buganda.
In fact, Baganda quickly changed the name Obote to Bwete.
Therefore, in the eyes of Baganda and in particular Mengo, Obote became the custodian of Buganda's dreams and provider of the answers Mengo demanded. I do not want to claim to know details of what Mengo and Obote agreed on but all I can say without any fear of contradiction is that Mengo placed unguarded confidence in Obote. Therefore, when the Buganda delegation left Kampala to attend the London Conference, they had all the confidence that their demands would be met. But as it is well known, the London Conference did not give positive answers to all the demands of Buganda.
Surprisingly, Kintu came out of the London Conference believing that he got all he wanted.
However, it did not take long for the truth to come out. On realising that Buganda did not get some of the things dearest to the Kingdom, Mengo turned against Obote. The rift between the two sides grew wider when Mengo failed to persuade Obote to disregard the Constitutional provision for a referendum to resolve the issue of the counties Bunyoro claimed had been lost to Buganda. The rift widened even further when Mengo pressured members of Parliament from Buganda to cross to the opposition so as to bring down Obote's government.
As the saying goes, whatever has a beginning must have an end. The climax of the struggle between the central governrnent and Mengo was the day when the Buganda told the central government to vacate _Buganda's soil.
To many analysts, that resolution by the Buganda Lukiiko was a declaration of intent for Buganda to secede from the rest of Uganda. In Proverbs 24: 10, the Bible says: "If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed".
In my view, the biggest component of what was the immediate cause of the 1966 crisis wasKatikkiro Mayanja Nkangi.
For Nkangi and his ministers, May 20, 1966 must have proved a black day.
There was a scheduled Lukiiko meeting called without their knowledge. They panicked because they did not know what was happening.
However, with time, they were able to learn of the intention of Mr Kaggwa, the Lukiiko member from Kooki county to move his famous or infamous motion expelling the central government from Buganda soil. They quickly approached the Speaker of the Lukiiko who agreed for a closed door meeting of the Lukiiko. In the closed doorneeting, Kaggwa read out his motion.
Nkangi and his ministers were aware of the presence of organised hooligans to deal with anyone who dared to oppose Kaggwa's motion.
For all practical purposes, Buganda was in a crisis. Unfortunately, Nkangi and his ministers failed to measure to the demands of the situation. They proved "weak indeed". Isaiah 30:10 tells us that during his time, the people of Israel used to shout down prophets thus: "Do not talk to us about what is right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions." In effect, that is what the vast majority of the Baganda were telling Nkangi. And poor Nkangi failed to act according to rules which govern crises.
WBS TV sometime back interviewed Nkangi about the life and contribution to this country of Ssekabaka Mutesa II. If one analysed what Mayanja Nkangi says in these programmes especially in connection with the 1966 crisis, one discovers that he shrewdly hints at the direction Ugandans should take in order to find the truth about those sad events.
He clearly created four major impressions. The first is that the crisis was a creation of the devilish intentions of Milton Obote against Buganda. The second is that he was opposed to Kaggwa's motion to expel Obote and his government from Buganda's soil. Thirdly, he creates the impression that at the time Kaggwa moved his motion, much of his powers as Katikkiro were being exercised by three county chiefs. And lastly, that some people in key positions in the Mengo establishment were double-dealers.
This letter is not the right forum to discuss what Nkangi said in the documentary, Mutesa and Uganda.
However, I wish to commend him for his kind words about the immensely respected late Prince Badru Kakungulu. It is a fact that up to the time the Lukiiko debated and passed Kaggwa's motion, Prince Kakungulu showed grave concern about its implications for Buganda. Credible reports revealed that after prayers at Kibuli Mosque on the Friday immediately before Kaggwa moved his motion, the Prince pleaded with late Sheikh Ali Kulumba, then deputy Speaker of the Buganda Lukiiko, to do everything in his power to stop the motion.
He was further reported to have emphatically cautioned Sheikh Kulumba that there would be endless tears for Buganda if Kaggwa's motion was passed by the Lukiiko. Despite his deep concern, Prince Kakungulu remained hopeful that common sense would keep the Lukiiko on the right path. I do not know who rang who but I know that soon after the Lukiiko passed Kaggwa's motion, Prince Kakungulu and Sheikh Kulumba talked on telephone. Kulumba then broke the news that the Lukiiko had passed Kaggwa's motion. In disgust, the Prince threw down the telephone receiver.
Inevitably, the moment of truth for the Lukiiko came. And it came at a time when it was an open secret that Nkangi was not in control. While the Lukiiko was busy attending to Kaggwa's motion, Obote was also busy analysing all aspects of the situation it was likely to create. In that regard, it can safely be assumed that he did not leave anything to chance.
Having said all I had to say about the 1966 crisis, let me express my concern that historians are not doing enough to ascertain that the history of Uganda is free from contamination of whatever description. Of course, they know better than I do that for history to be what it must be, its positive and negative sides must equally be presented. But in our situation of the last forty years, both sides could not be presented equally because the nucleus of the elite class in Uganda went astray.
They erroneously believed and behaved as if to tell Ugandans that there existed right and wrong sides of history in this country. It is no wonder, therefore, that in almost all contentious issues, the centres of political gravity in Uganda except one pulled in the same direction.
Currently there are whispers amongst the right side of history complaining that some characters in the documentary, Mutesa II ne Uganda are not talking wisely. That is to say they are saying things which may lead people to ask questions. Looking at it from that angle, therefore, Prince Simbwa made a grave mistake to say that he heard a soldier telling his colleagues not to shoot him (Simbwa) because they were under orders not to shoot. These same people also think that it was a mistake for people like Nelson Nkonge to discuss his missions to various places to look for guns. History should speak louder about such things because that is the surest way to durable peace and freedom.
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