All Ugandan veterans, and not just some, deserve recognition – Part II

In

, we appreciated the importance of the new publication, Veteran Affairs. We now continue with the same theme.
Tony Geoffrey Owana’s thoughts about our right as an independent nation to make mistakes is a fair comment even though we strive not to make too many or serious ones. The discussions of the Uganda education system, the growth of the hotel industry after the 1986, the role played by the Uganda Freedom Movement are all well done. Dr Ezra Suruma’s article about the factors that affected Uganda’s economy after independence is welcome.

READ:

Sadly, however, they all miss other liberation groups, military, political and humanitarian. For instance, the Uganda group for human rights in London which operated during Idi Amin, Obote II and Lutwa’s governments acted as a propagandist and revolutionary mouthpiece for the NRM and the country. Its role is conspicuously omitted.

The publication correctly pays tribute to regional and international liberators such as Samora Moises Machel, Paul Kagame, John Garanga and Fidel Castro. However, it does not mention home grown liberators such as Dr Samson Kisekka, Dr Paul Ssemogerere, Dr Arnold Bisase, Abubaker Mayanja, Joseph Bitwari, Aggrey Suit, Canon John Bikangaga, Sam and Gertrude NJuba, Barack Kirya, Anthony Butele, Matthew Rukikaire, Shem Bageine, Sir John Bageire, ambassador Miriam Blaak, Daudi Ochieng or Grace Ibingira, among others.

A glance at successive Cabinets since the advent of the NRM reveals the people and groups who have been the roaring engines behind Uganda’s success stories or failures.
Finally, we cannot discuss veteran affairs of Uganda without knowing how the country is structured, governed and sustained both constitutionally, politically and legally. The cultural leaders since independence, political parties, religious leaders and civil society organisations have all played their part.

In the context of veteran soldiers, it would have been nice to list all the 26 comrades of President Museveni with whom he triggered the war of liberation and to know the fate of each of them after displaying their respectful photographs in the magazine.
However, we admit that not all this information could easily be detailed in the first issue of Veteran Affairs, but it could have been summarised.
Ugandans should know how the NRM decided and dropped its protection, as a landlocked country, of Uganda Airlines. It would be interesting to find out whether external forces were responsible; especially those who wished Uganda to remain dependant on them.

All said, the publication should be wished success and durability as a necessary tool for teaching present and future generations about the evolution of modern Uganda.
In laying down the origins of Veteran Affairs, it is risky to be selective. It is better to generalise and select a few or more individuals who did exceptionally well. However, there is a danger that if only a few are mentioned, others or their relatives will complain about the omission.

As a human right activist, I used to counsel my colleagues that we must endeavour to be very accurate in the information we put out. If an NGO publishes news that the government has imprisoned all the members of the Opposition when the number is only 99 per cent of them, then the government produces the one per cent and displays their faces in the media and accuses the NGO of spreading false information, readers of your story would believe the government and condemn the NGO and brand it a liar.
In retrospect, the NGO should have ascertained the actual number of those imprisoned or simply used the word most of them.