How UNLF-AD came to fight alongside Museveni in NRA Bush War

By the time Amin was overthrown, Kafuniza had become known in the circles of power and during the UNLF government he was elected general secretary of UNLF for the Ankole sub-region. PHOTOS BY HENRY LUBEGA.

What you need to know:

Joining the rebellion. Before Museveni and his Resistance Army went to the bush in 1980, another armed group called the Uganda National Liberation Front - Anti Dictatorship (UNLF-AD), an armed wing of the Gang of Four, prepared a military base in the Rwenzori Mountains. Emmanuel Kafuniza was one of the four members of the UNLF-AD high command who later linked up with Yoweri Museveni’s PRA to attack Kabamba. He talked to Henry Lubega

Born in 1953 to Yosan Kafuniza and E. Kobuhire, both deceased, Kafuniza started his education at Kazo Boarding Primary School before joining Kitante Hill School for Junior Level. Kafuniza later joined Makobore High School for O-Level where he met Gen Joram Mugume and Jim Muhwezi. On completing O-Level in 1971, he was given a scholarship to go to America, but could not take up the chance because he could not raise the transport fair.

“When I told my father of the scholarship, he gave me three heads of cattle to sale and raise the air ticket. I got Shs2,000, which was less than half of the Shs6,000 needed for the air ticket. I instead decided to invest that money,” he recalls.

Having failed to further his education, the 19-year-old Kafuniza cut his education journey short and decided to use the Shs2,000 as capital for a cattle business.

“I bought five cows and took them to Kyetume in Mukono. Numbers increased as I attracted the attention of big ranchers who trusted me by giving me their animals on credit. I reached a point of taking more than five lorries to Kyetume,” he says.

In 1975, four years into the business, Kafuniza managed to buy himself a Peugeot 504. But then he was not spared from the wrath of the deteriorating political and security situation during the Idi Amin era.

“One day, as I was driving back from Kampala, I was stopped at a road block in Biharwe on the Mbarara-Masaka highway. I was ordered to put off my shoes and they started beating me. The more I tried to plead and bribe them to let me go, the more they beat me to increase on the bribe. They later entered the car and took all the money. I was bitter and I vowed that these illiterates should not rule this country,” he recalls.

Becoming a revolutionist
The Biharwe incident changed Kafuniza’s path from a cattle dealer to a revolutionist and a freedom fighter.

“When I reached home, I found my friend Joseph Nasasira (RIP) who was in touch with Museveni; the late Kibazo in Kampala and the late Sam Kanyoro, Sam Magara, Augustine Kayonga and Prof Rugumayo who had fled the country,” Kafuniza says.

“We read pamphlets and other materials from Russia and Cuba. At the time, the communist movement was very strong. I was impressed with Communism, though I saw some weaknesses in the Communist system,” he says.

From the various study groups they had formed, they managed to recruit young followers, mostly from secondary schools.
“In 1975, we sent our first group to join Museveni’s Fronasa. They were Salim Saleh, the late Fred Rwigyema and late Chef Ali,” he says.
The group was picked from Mbarara High School by the late Nasasira who took them to Mutukula border and handed them over to Museveni. They continued to Nachinguea in Mozambique for military training.

By the time Amin was toppled, Kafuniza had been known in the circles of power and during the UNLF government, he was elected general secretary of UNLF for the Ankole sub-region.

Emmanuel Kafuniza, the father of seven, is retired at his home on Rugazi Hill doing commercial farming plus running a dairy farm.

“After 68 days of Lule’s rule, I was called to head the youth and diplomatic commission desk in the UNLF. I was accommodated at the International Hotel, now Sheraton Kampala Hotel, with the Members of Parliament which was the NCC.”

Museveni scouts Luweero
Kafuniza says Binaisa elevated Museveni to the post of Defence minister, and it was in this capacity that one Sunday morning, he came to Kafuniza and Nasasira’s room at International Hotel and asked them to escort him in his Land Rover 110 to Ngoma in Luweero where he was going to see his relatives.

“In Ngoma, we didn’t see any relative of his. I think he wanted us to look at the terrain. I even suspect he could have visited it earlier. On the way back to Kampala, he told us how good the terrain was for an armed struggle,” Kafuniza says.

“The day after their visit to Ngoma, Museveni was transferred from Defence to Regional Corporation. He came to our room and said, ‘did you hear the morning news? Binaisa has removed me from the ministry of Defence and made me a minister for Regional Corporation.’ I said he wants to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Lule.”

The trio – Museveni, Kafuniza and Nasasira – immediately sought support from members of the NCC to reverse Binaisa’s decision.
“We went to Nile Mansions where most ministers were staying, going room to room. We started with Kabwegyere, Kamuntu, Kanyomozi, and others. Later, we went to Republic House to see the army commander, Tito Okello, who assured us that he will support Museveni in reversing Binaisa’s decision. Unfortunately, we lost by seven votes.”
Kafuniza says Binaisa was not acting alone; he was being pushed by some UPC agents.

“We swallowed the bitter pill for our leader at the time, having to leave the strategic position of Defence ministry. However, when we went to Republic House to solicit for Tito Okello’s support, we found buses which had ferried people from the north to be recruited into the army when they had denied access to some members of the Fronasa because of their Rwandan origin,” he says.

Kafuniza says after the transfer of Museveni, it became easier for the architects of his transfer to remove Binaisa.
“With Binaisa gone, the Military Commission took charge. Through Prof [Edward] Rugumayo, we tried to reach Museveni who was in Arusha for him not to join the Military Commission. But we could not,” he recalls.

Soon after the takeover, the Military Commission announced the general election and those who found they didn’t fit in the old parties – UPC, DP and CP – decided otherwise.

“The youth who could not belong to the parties decided to form a new political force, hence the UPM,” Kafuniza says. Its leadership was contested at KCC Hall (KCCA) between Museveni and Akena P’Ojok, but Museveni took it.
Kafuniza explains that people like Yonah Kanyomozi, Ephraim Kamuntu and others were ready to join the new party had Akena P’Ojok been made leader.

When the campaigns started, Kafuniza met with the Gang of Four leaders: Prof Rugumayo as chairman, Dan Nabudere, Yash Tandon and Omwonyo Ojok with Lt Kanyoro and Lt Joseph Nasasira, to forge a way forward.

“We covertly started preparing for an armed struggle. When we met Museveni with our plans, he said ‘while you are doing what you are doing, I don’t support it because the international community will portray us as warmongers. Why don’t we first give democracy a chance?”
But Kafuniza and his group did not wait for the elections, they took up arms.

“I and friends like Brg Chef Ali (RIP), Nasasira and his elder brother Augustine Kayonga, Tadeo Barisanga, and a few others went to Fort Portal and identified Rwenzori Mountains as a safe haven. People like the late William Nyakatura, [David] Rusa now a director in ISO, Balisaliza then headmaster of St Louis Kyegobe, gave us contacts to make a base in Rwenzori Mountain,” Kafuniza says.

“After the elections, Museveni called me to his residence in Makindye. I went with Joseph Nasasira. Museveni was with now Gen Tumwine, [Elly] Kihanda, Sam Magara, Prince Rubereza, Kentoma, Col Napoleon, Col Charles Kitarago and Ahmed Seguya. The nine of us planned the Kabamba attack to be carried out on February 5 [1981].”

“Sam Magara, Ahmed Seguya Kentoma, Col Napoleon, Col Charles Kitarago, Prince Rubereza and now Gen [Elly] Tumwine had just finished training from Munduli.”

After the meeting, Kafuniza says, “Museveni told me ‘It is time to make a way forward. I have briefed my commanders’. He told me to come with Magara and show him our bases in Rwenzori.”

After the meeting, Kafuniza and Nasasira jumped into a Datsun single cabin pick-up, with Magara driving. The late Kentoma, Col Napoleon and Col Kitarago were behind. Magara stayed in Bwizibwera and the rest proceeded to Rugazi Hill, Kafuniza’s home. The next day, they proceeded to their sub-base in Burunga.

“The next morning, we went to our RV [rendezvous] area to wait for Museveni, Rubereza, Magara and group coming from Kampala. They sent a one Kenjura from Rwakitura to deliver an RPG which Museveni had said he had at his home. Museveni had asked us how many guns we had and we told him four guns, six grenades three tortoise and three stick grenades. We were to use it during the attack on Kabamba,” Kafuniza says.

On the February 2, 1981, Kenjura came to deliver the RPG, but unfortunately, it was just an empty propeller.

“We went, seven people to the RV called Kyapakyarumengyere after Rwemiyaga on the evening of [February] 4. The following day, nothing happened. At night we became suspicious, so we changed to another spot to watch what was happening at our RV point,” Kafuniza says. They learnt later that the lorry bringing Museveni and the group had broken down in Masaka.

“When they didn’t show up, I advised my group to return to our sub-base in Burunga where we could better defend ourselves in case of an attack. On our way back to the base on the morning of [February] 6th, we heard anti-tanks. We knew the attack had taken place.”
Having missed out on the action, Kafuniza thought the attackers would follow the agreed plan and head to the Rwenzori Mountains.

“We waited for two months in the areas of Burunga and Ngara until we went to the mountain. They never came. During that time, we hit Lyantonde Police Station and got a G3 which was faulty and 20 rounds of ammunition,” he says.

“We went and hit Ibanda Police Station where I was identified. Two police officers who came with us to our base on my farm in Kiruhura District where others like the late Brig Nkachiroho, late Col Kagezi and the late China, later found us.”
Though Kafuniza and his group recruited more people, they had only six guns, two pistols and six grenades.

“In April 1981, we trekked through Dura Forest to the Rwenzori Mountains. While there, we kept hearing on radio about the raids Museveni’s group was making but with no direct contact. We heard of their raids in Kapeka, Wakiso and other places but they never contacted us, despite knowing where we were.”

In the mountain, UNLF-AD did not stay idle. It carried out raids on targets of interest and recruited fighters. “We hit Bundibugyo and Butuku police stations and amassed up to about 32 guns. We started training and doing political and military training,” he says.
Unfortunately for UNLF-AD, when it went into the bush it was abandoned by their political leaders.

“By July 1982, we could not get any help from our political leadership and our young recruits were disillusioned and hopeless. Some of them thought we had differences with Museveni who was by then making progress in the Luweero triangle. I and other three colleagues on the high command – the late Joseph Nasasira, Augustine Kayonga and Tadeo Barisanga – resolved to provide security for a number of them to go to Luweero.”

Linking up with Museveni
Armed with three guns, more that 300 UNLF-AD fighters under the command of Jet Mwebaze left the Rwenzori Mountains to join the Museveni group in Luweero. “With that group gone, we disbanded the camp in the mountains and moved to my farm at Engarishya, where we buried the rest of our guns. We kept three guns and grenades for our protection,” he reveals.

According to Kafuniza, his group was a production line for the NRA in Luweero. After the Jet Mwebaze group, another one of about 200 lead by Chef Ali was also dispatched.

“The few who remained were deployed to work on farms of our supporters,” he says. Those who remained under Kafuniza’s command are the ones who helped in the Fort Portal attack.

“When the NRA moved to the west, Chef Ali came and picked them from my farm at Ngari and they went to Rwenzori where our first base had been. That’s why you hear of the Rwenzori II,” he says.

After the fall of Lutwa, Kafuniza was appointed deputy chief national commissar which he says was a verbal appointment.
“I never saw any formal appointment so I turned it down. I came back home and became an LC official. Since then, I have been on boards of different institutions. I have also been appointed RDC special duties in several districts, but I never went there,” Kafuniza says.
The father of seven is retired at his home on Rugazi Hill doing commercial farming plus running a dairy farm.
According to him, he believes currently besides Museveni, there are only two people who can lead the country better; him and FDC president Gen Mugisha Muntu.