How Museveni came to power through deceit and intrigue

Below, we bring you the first part of a fascinating account of events in Uganda from the early 1970s involving Yoweri Museveni.

The still nameless author seems possessed of an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of government between 1962-71 and 1980-86 particularly from a military perspective.

The account has been slightly edited for better clarity. Comments, corrections and additions are welcome.

Yoweri Museveni's track record for cheating under such circumstance is quite elaborate.

Museveni infiltrated the Musasani Palace [official residence in Dar es Salaam of the Tanzanian president] and cheated President [Julius] Nyerere that he was a committed Marxist/Socialist and would die for the cause. He now peddles capitalist ideology of extreme capitalism called 'globalisation'.

He infiltrated President's Office in Parliament building in Kampala and cheated Obote [and the then Director of the General Service Unit] Akena Adoko that he was the most loyal UPC youth and use to crawl on his knees on the 4th flour to show respect for President Obote.

But now abuses and cannot give the slightest of respect expected of a younger person to an older person in our African culture. He again cheated Nyerere and claimed in 1972 that he had personal army of 6,000 men in the ready in Uganda.

It was on this basis that Nyerere allow for an invasion of Uganda. Museveni turned up at [the Uganda-Tanzania border at] Mutukula with only 13 men and 2 women.

The invasion attempt ended in a tragic fiasco in Masaka and Mbarara. 1,015 Ugandan invaders were killed. Museveni escaped driving himself into Tanzania in the only medical truck which was supposed to rescue the injured.

Come the [Moshi] Conference in 1979, Museveni again posed as the great revolutionary and an anti-Obote who would save President [Yusufu] Lule.

Lule appointed him as his minister of defence, giving him a free hand to recruit heavily from UN Rwandese Refugee Camps and train hand selected officers at Munduli in Tanzania.

President [Godfrey] Binaisa took him in confidence as well during which he continued to consolidate the position of his private army within the UNLA [Uganda National Liberation Army].

On the other hand he took active part in overthrowing both Lule and Binaisa, If fate gave him the fortune to become president, certainly Binaisa gave him the arms.

In 1980, when the general elections effectively threw him out of the Uganda political arena and limelight, he now fully fell back on to his originally conspired master plan to subvert any Uganda government by the force of arms.

He declared war on the elected [UPC] government in 1981 and organised his army in Luweero. In an amalgamation with Lule's [Uganda Freedom Fighters], Museveni cheated Lule and kept most of the power the newly formed NRM/NRA [National Resistance Movement/Army].

[Former Internal Affairs minister] Andrew Kayira, Lule's right hand man was pushed to the fringes.

Kayira attacked Lubiri Barracks [in Kampala] in 1982, and on withdrawing through Rubaga, Museveni laid an ambush and relieved Kayira of the arms he had looted from the barracks. (The arms were carried in a MAN diesel truck -- Ed)

Despite this rift, Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga managed to put Museveni and Kayira together to continue to work together in tandem.

The UNLA's specialist 51^st Brigade thoroughly defeated Museveni's NRA in Luwero near river Kaafu in December 1983. Fortunately for Museveni, a UNLA helicopter carrying the Chief of Staff Lt.Gen Oyite Ojok crashed killing him and all his staff on board instantly.

His death was to change the course of history of Uganda. During the lull for the mourning for Oyite, the defeated NRA escaped from the encirclement, crossed river Kaafu and entered the thick of Bundogo Forest.

The NRA defeat at Kaafu sent an unwelcome signal in certain circles in Uganda and capitals abroad. By this time Grace Ibingira had successfully sold Museveni to his friend [Vice President George H.W. Bush] as a budding African leader of the Jonas Savimbi class.

From visits to the USA and [British journalist] William Pike's videos and photographs, Museveni was analysed and had fitted the CIA bill very well (who says the CIA recruits people without personal ambition, without ingenuity, without craftiness and cunning, without audacity to openly lie and ruthless viciousness?).

(According to Ugandan journalist Andrew Mwenda, Museveni was on the CIA payroll from 1981 to at least 1991 -- Ed )

Already in Uganda, the White House was accusing the incumbent government in Kampala of human rights violations in Luwero and at the same time praising and glamourizing the NRA models of democracy and administration in the areas it occupied

There was a flurry of international actions to save the NRA from Budongo Forest. Help arrived in time. The UNLA roadblocks at Kiboga and Hoima were withdrawn except for a platoon roadblock miles outside Masindi Barracks.

(Recent information suggests that Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi started air-dropping arms to the NRA in Luweero in 1982 -- Ed)

Immediately NRA occupied Hoima and Museveni was there in person addressing rallies at the Hoima football field etc. Then four trucks fully loaded with arms, ammunitions, food and medical supplies arrived at Masindi Barracks. It is alleged that the officer in charge of receiving supplies could not be found and permission for the trucks to enter the barracks at night could not be obtained. So, the four trucks were lined up outside the barrack walls, with some two guards. By the morning the NRA had helped itself to the 4 trucks and their contents (according to plan?).

By this time [Brigadier] Bazilio Olara Okello, the officer commanding the UNLA Northern Brigade under which was also Masindi Regiment and barracks, had been sucked deep into the conspiracy to subvert the Uganda government by the force of arms.

There was no way such large amounts of armament could be moved in his area of command, from Gulu to Masindi, without his knowledge. He was openly defying orders from his superiors in Kampala and openly campaigning against the government.

The Bazilio okello factor played the ultimate role in the NRA and Museveni survival. The NRA rearmed and, reorganized and split into two.

One section marched straight to establish new bases in Toro, Kasese and Bundibugyo. The other re-entered Luwero again and received massive recruits from priests who were now allowed to actively support NRA.

For the first time the Baganda out-numbered the Banyankole and Banyarwanda in NRA. At this time also Kayira's UNM and Capt. George Nkwanga's FEDEMU became very active.

And importantly, at this time Museveni had completely infiltrated the UNLA military intelligence and communication systems, and poor NASA. He got all the information he wanted, misinformed, disinformed at will.

The recently promoted Captain Okwera, commanding Fort Portal, was one of Bazilio Okello's very close confidants. He no longer took orders from his commanding officers in Mbarara Brigade Headquarters, but directly from Bazilio Okello in Gulu.

He was ordered to supply the NRA with UNLA food and other logistics. Sooner, he sent out army vehicles to ferry the NRA into the barracks. The officers of the loyal section of the UNLA were confused and escaped to Mbarara, abandoning the barracks to the NRA without a single fight.

Captain Okwera was killed instantly at Kamdini when he ran into Bazilio's own ambush as he was driving to Gulu to report to Bazilio his successful handover of Fort Portal to the NRA.

The UNLA Advance Tactical headquarters on Kasese-Fort Portal road also collapsed after its new commanding officer, Brigadier Obot was killed in an NRA ambush. The NRA went on to secure their first firm base of two municipalities and districts of Fort Portal and Kasese.

This easy success, facilitated by the Bazilio Okello factor, was vitally significant to the success story of the NRA. Mbarara barracks could now be easily attacked; food supply improved and most importantly, NRA could now fly its personnel and logistics out of and into Kasese Airfield without any hinderance.

Its pilot agent in Uganda Airlines, Captain Tinka, hijacked and flew a Fokker Friendship F-27 plane to Kasese.

All NRA actions that followed were now to be planned and directed from headquarters here.

Unbeknown to Bazilio Okello, there was an intrigue within intrigue. Bazilio Okello's forces were to do the "dirty job" of fighting the bulk of the loyal UNLA. For sometime Bazilio Okello was to engage the loyal UNLA in Acoli , Lango and Luwero areas, and thus destroy the UNLA.

This was expected to last for some time. NRA was poised to take on the easy task of sneaking behind the battlefront, joining up with Kayira/Nsubuga forces, and marching with fanfare and pomp of a conqueror and capture Kampala without resistance, and over throw the elected UPC government. The exhausted Bazilio Okello could then be kept out of Kampala. The intrigue failed by default. The sudden and dramatic collapse of the loyal UNLA Command allowed Bazilio Okello an easy one-day march on to Kampala to grab state power.

After Kampala fell to Bazilio Okello 's troops, Bazilio Okello, like any other person, heard on Radio Uganda his officers arguing on live microphone whether they could be heard in Gulu or Kitgum and after playing their favorite Congolese music, they informed their commander and asked what to do next.

Bazilio Okello was soon out of his Command Post at the Bishop's House at the Catholic Mission in Gulu where he had been hiding since he had began to defy orders from Kampala.

In a victory salute to announce his success, Bazilio rode an open Land Rover with Mr. Andrew Adimola, the Vice President General of the Democratic Party by his side, both men frantically waving to the bemused Gulu shopkeepers and market crowd in that sweltering heat of an eerie Saturday afternoon. They then hurriedly left Gulu for Kampala.

Bazilio's success was not predicted and was totally unexpected. It introduced an entirely new, different and awkward political and military situation. The victory was received with great anger and apprehension among the conspirators. NRA must now change plans to fight Bazilio's reconstituted UNLA/Military Council, directly.

And the paradox? The NRA/Museveni conspiracy to march to drive out co-conspirator Bazilio out of Kampala and outwit the power broker Cardinal Nsubuga was to start from Fort Portal that was handed to them 'free of charge' by the very man they must now over throw.

"Honourable Museveni, please come out of the bush. No more fighting. We are one, let us work together", Radio Uganda crackled for several days pleading with Museveni.

Naturally, the NRA rejected the plea and refused to join the Military Council to share power with the other groups, but nevertheless took advantage of the unsuspecting Bazilio's political ignorance and naivety and moved its troops within striking distance of the main barracks of Mbarara, Masaka and Bombo. NRA demanded large supplies of food and logistics, which they were given as appeasement. The tattered and overwhelming majority of the UNLA was redundant, confused, and leaderless and could not fight. Some of the soldiers dispersed to their homes and others simply waited to switch side to the winner.

On arrival in Kampala, on Acacia Avenue, Bazilio's convoy had to fight a fifteen-minute battle to break free. Bazilio quickly confirmed that there was an intrigue going on and learnt that he was on his own. His fellow conspirators had deserted him. The political leadership he expected to find in Kampala and hero's welcome were absent and the people were hostile to him.

He quickly determined that it was vital for his own survival to keep the remnants of the UNLA loyal and united.

He, therefore, sent a helicopter to Southern Sudan to hunt down and fetch Lt. General Tito Lutwa Okello and reinstated him as the Army Commander and also appointed him as the Chairman of the Military Council, President and Head of State of Uganda.

At the same time Bazilio contacted Tanzania and Lt.Gen David Msuguri, [the commander of the Tanzanian army in Uganda in the 1979 war] arrived the same day as Tito.

Tito's appointment was bad news and provocation to Museveni, Cardinal Nsubuga and Kayira. To make it worse, Tito, accompanied by his de factor Foreign Minister Olara Otunnu, flew straight to Dar es Salaam to seek advice from President Nyerere on how to run a government.

Nyerere chidingly advised Tito to find someone who was still in Uganda who knew what government was about and could run their government for them. They suggested and agreed on [former Vice President] Paulo Muwanga.

On return, Tito Okello straightway appointed Muwanga Executive Prime Minister and was to form a government, while he was still under 'house arrest' in Entebbe. On announcing Muwanga's appointment all hell was let loose. Kampala exploded with rumours and opinions were polarizing. Some people were suspiciously, and some expectantly asking 'Is UPC back to power again?' 'Is Obote coming back?'

Some took up to hostile, visible and grotesque protests. Muwanga's residence on Kololo hill was showered with bullets for a second time that night.

Museveni flew out of Kasese through Kigali to Nairobi and in a press release denounced the regime in Kampala as of murderers that he will have no dealings with.

Tito Okello's and Paulo Muwanga's appointments somewhat stopped the witch-hunt and stayed the execution of many known UPC members in parts of Buganda, at least for a while. Some of the stranded and hiding UPC ministers began to appear in the open.

Bazilio Okello was angry and desperate. Adimola could not answer his question, 'Where is the political support you said was waiting for us in Kampala?' He ordered his hitherto closest political advisors, Adimola, Dr. H B Obonyo (his nephew), Mr. Justin Okot (his personal Principal Secretary), Mr. Peter Abe, and many of the Acholi DP stalwarts, to be removed from Nile Mansions, and they are to see him only by appointment like everyone else.

He now dealt with a group of soldiers calling themselves 'young officers'. Sadly for him, among the so-called young officers were Museveni's men who were monitoring every activity and orders to the army, and reporting it to NRA.

The conspirators were well aware of Muwanga's method of work. His incisiveness in decisions making was well known and he can be bullish. There was now, therefore, fear of 'losing all' to Muwanga.

While Cardinal Nsubuga embarked on an open and vicious public diatribe and vilifications, Adimola moved in to live in Muwanga's house on Kololo, maybe to try and salvage something little at least.

A DP delegation led by Mr. Paul Ssemogerere, the DP President General and Abe Mukasa, stormed into Muwanga's house and demanded fifteen ministerial seats (but not less than eleven), including that of the ministries of defence, finance and foreign affairs, in the cabinet that Muwanga was going to form, that is if Muwanga wanted their support.

That was the price tag for DP support. Nsubuga sent in a letter, demanding that Muwanga should first 'cleanse' himself by denouncing his former government and the UPC for killings and human rights violations in Luwero in particular, and publicly apologize to the Baganda, or else he must resign in the name of peace in Buganda. Muwanga ignored Nsubuga's letter.

Meanwhile, the Military Council rejected Muwanga's first cabinet. Muwanga tried a second time to form a cabinet. This was again rejected. It coincided with Nsubuga's second letter which demanded that Muwanga should now resign his appointment.

Then a third letter, which was this time written in Luganda, and is believed Nsubuga brought it himself to the gates of Muwanga's house, arrived. On reading the letter, Muwanga raved, as if in pain.

That same evening, Muwanga wrote a short letter to the Chairman of the Military Council to tender his immediate resignation, giving no reason or options. No amount of persuasion could later change his mind. Another obstacle to Museveni's ascendance to power had been removed.

If anyone celebrated Muwanga's downfall heartly, it must have been the two, Nsubuga and Museveni, whose relations must have grown more cordial and closer since the days in the Cardinal's Kisozi Farm in Luwero when they met often to plan to subvert an elected government. Kayiira with his UFM, obviously was busy eliminating the 'undesirables' and blaming it on the Military Council. What followed was afore gone conclusion.

Museveni began to call the tunes, even for Bazilio Okello. The NRA laid their roadblocks along Kampala-Gulu road, around Masaka and along Mbarara-Fort Portal road. They even arrested and detained Bazilio Okello's officers, and he could do nothing about it.

Nsubuga and Museveni put the Nairobi peace talks together in 1985 in order to buy time for the NRA and UFM to complete training the large number of recruits, which they have by now recruited between them and deploy them strategically.

For the first time Nsubuga came out openly, and publicly announced his interest in politics on UTV and Radio Uganda. He even evoked the powers of the Pope who had allowed him to participate in politics, as long as he did not hold office. He invited himself to Nairobi and gave himself the status of 'observer'. Many Ugandans watched this phenomenon with awe and concern.

The Talks were probably the saddest tragedy in the annals of Uganda political history. The two monkeys riding a leopard were the two most politically naive, namely Brigadier Gad Wilson Toko, the Vice Chairman of the Military Commission and the Foreign Minister Olara Otunnu.

It was as clear as day that members of the Kisozi Farm Group sat on both sides of the Conference table and also on the observers' desks. By night, as Otunnu and Toko went to sleep, the Kisozi Farm Group sat together and compared notes and planned how to prolong the talks.

They cheered Otunnu on as he wasted time repeatedly tried to outshine a whole Cardinal on matters of 'spirit' and 'faith', while the Cardinal was visibly dreaming of the day and hour when his guns will blaze into Kampala and rid it of these buffoons.

Museveni sat there a few minutes at a time utterly amused as he saw the drama unfold. Otherwise he was out of the meeting issuing press statements to denounce the Military Commission and calling the individuals murderers.

Mr. Tiny Rowland of LONRHO paid for all NRA costs, underwrote the procurement of arms, and also laid his executive jet for Museveni's use. Museveni flew to Dar es Salaam, Kigali and to base in Kasese several times.

LONRHO was a conglomerate of companies based in London but made its ill-gotten wealth in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. It was known for introducing bribery and corruption in the corridors of African governments. Rowland made several trips in 1984/5 to see President Obote. He demanded exclusive rights to buy all Uganda coffee, to build an oil pipeline from Nairobi to Kampala, and an absolute franchise to explore and exploit all Uganda's mineral potential.

Needless to say, anybody who knew Obote well for his nationalism and patriotism, the answer was to be 'No'. It is said Obote was angry at Tiny Rowland's arrogance and insistence, and added 'I, Obote as an individual, have no right to mortgage my country in perpetuity.' Tiny flew straight back to Nairobi and looked up Museveni.

When the anti-Bazilio Okello forces were ready to make the final assault on Kampala, two things happened. Museveni agreed to sign the agreement. Secondly, to ensure the easy capture of Kampala, Bazilio Okello was to be removed.

The American embassy in Kampala hurriedly organized for Bazilio Okello to visit Washington, allegedly to put his case directly to the President of the USA and also to check on his health.

Bazilio Okello stupidly agreed to go, and was driven to Nairobi to get a quick connection. Rumours spread that he had run away. His friends of the FUNA and UNRF withdrew from the front line back to West Nile. His other officers of the UNLA began to desert one by one leaving the Bazilio army in complete disarray.

Bazilio Okello rushed back and landed at Entebbe on a Wednesday. He could not drive in to Kampala. The NRA had already occupied the Entebbe-Kampala road.

The Air Force, nonetheless, flew him on a helicopter to the Nile Mansions. He was lucky to find Kampala was still in the hands of his loyal troops. Not because his troops had put up a fight, but because of a delay caused by another intrigue within intrigue.

It was not clear whether Nsubuga had wanted to get rid of Museveni at this stage. But Kayira's UFM and Captain George Nkwanga's FEDEMU were now the real authority within and in the surrounds of Kampala.

They stopped Museveni's NRA from advancing on to Kampala until 'matters were sorted out.' They clashed with NRA at Rubaga, Entebbe road, Makindye, Gaba, Luzira.

Bazilio Okello planned roadblocks and ambushes that night around Kampala. The first major person to fall into the ambush at Nakawa was Nkwanga. He confessed during an interrogation in Nile Mansion that he was heading his troops to take over Radio Uganda and UTV so as to announce the overthrow of the Military Council.

Later in the day of that fateful Thursday, Cardinal Nsubuga was to be sworn in as Uganda's Interim President, who would then appoint Dr. Andrew Kayira as the Prime Minister to form a government.

Nkwanga never lived to see another day. Kayira, at his stronghold base in Gaba, confirmed that Nsubuga was due to be sworn in but Museveni stayed away, therefore, the ceremony had to be postponed.

Cardinal Nsubuga disappeared that night, and was later seen in Nairobi. He allegedly was looking for Museveni. Museveni meanwhile seemed to have sniffed the intrigue and had flown to Nairobi and out of Nairobi via Arusha to Kasese; behind his troops.

Tito Okello, quite characteristically, flew out of Nile Mansions and was once more reported to be inspecting troops between Jinja and Moroto. Bazilio conceded defeat and also flew out of Nile Mansions on Friday night, leaving many of his lieutenants and vulnerable Ministers behind.

Ocaya Lakidi hid in the boiler room and in the morning was seen crawling along and squeezing his voluminous size through broken fences together with looters, to get away.

The fact that they left haphazardly and in a hurry is vividly remembered by the fate of Paul Okonyomoi Otunnu who was abandoned and got to a command radio that had been left switched on. He was bellowing out a distress call intermittently every other minute, 'I am Paul Lukonyomoi, the pastor, I am the brother of Olara Otunnu, I am still here in Nile Mansion. Can you come and collect me? Do you hear me? Do you hear me?'

The radio crackled, and a voice answered, 'I hear you well, stay put, we will find you, Roger Over and out.'

It was the NRA radio communication answering. Nobody came for Lukonyomoi and he was able to walk out in the morning among cooks and other servants who were also stranded the previous night.

Meanwhile, an intelligence officer was still reporting from the car park; "I can see many 'keya' here fallen in parade, I think they are 'adui', please send rece (reconnaissance)." A voice came on, "you are wrong, they are our troops, they are going to the frontline. Do not radio again, out." The NRA was assembling at the Bus Park to make the final assault on the Republic House, in which Tito's bodyguard and a son were killed.

On the forth day after Kampala had virtually fallen in the hands of the NRA, the Radio announced to the waiting and speculating people of Uganda that it was Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, leader and commander of the NRA, after all, who was to be sworn in as president.

It was rather a subdued ceremony, but Cardinal Nsubuga was there, and everybody who mattered and had contributed to the undermining and eventual subversion of Uganda's second elected government and thus the thwarting of the processes of democracy in Uganda, were there, except, of course, Bazilio Okello and Tito Okello.

Part 2: Museveni consolidates power and unleashes genocide in northern Uganda and Teso coming shortly.