John B. Thawite
13 November 2009
Kampala — LT Col Mawa Dula Muhindo, who has been by Kazini's side for 20 years, calls him his mentor and guardian. He spoke to John B. Thawite about his life under Kazini and the famous battle he will never forget.
"I met Kazini in 1991 when he was transferring from Lubiri to Makindye to head a Military Police Unit there. I had just finished my cadet training and he saw some potential in me.
He appointed me his administrative officer and since then to the time of his death, some 20 years, Afande has been my mentor. I hold him in him esteem because militarily he brought me up. All my experience has been under his close supervision. My military successes in the field were basically because of him. My entire family has always looked at him as a God father. So in that vein I have lost a parent," Muhindo says.
Muhindo worked under close supervision of Maj. General James Kazini. "He mentored me most especially through the thick and thin in the mountains of Rwenzori, on several occasions surviving death together till we finally brought the Allied Democratic Front (ADF) war down."
Mawa says there are very many things for which he will forever remember the fallen commander.
Asked to name one memorable military action in which he ever saw Kazini at his best, Mawa's mind races back to 1999. The ADF made a surprise attack on the UPDF's tactical base in Bundibugyo. "Using his experience, he quickly organised us, we recovered and we managed to repulse the enemy. In that attack, the enemy was actually more organised and had the advantage of a surprise attack. But with Kazini taking charge instantly, we managed to get out of that fiasco. It must have been because of his military expertise."
In another battle Mawa will never forget, Kazini had deployed him to block the enemy who was fleeing back to the DR Congo jungles. "Although we were in the same operation area, Kazini was in Bundibugyo. But he sent me to Lhume in DR Congo to intercept a certain ADF rebel group that was escaping from the fire in Bundibugyo. In the process, I was shot and injured in the neck. He quickly came, checked on me and consoled me."
Gen Kazini was a down-to-earth commander in terms of understanding that a soldier is the most important element in battle, Mawa said. He had a very keen interest in logistics because these one have a direct impact on the welfare of a fighting soldier. He was particular about stores - food, medicine, the ammunition, the mobility meaning vehicles and so on. He knew they directly affect the morale of a soldier in the battlefield. He would behave like a parent and ensure that all officers under him do so. He was, in short, a lubricant in many of his military operations, Mawa concluded.
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