Fidel Castro: One of the great leaders of our time

The world mourned the death of Fidel Castro, the former Cuban president who died last week, aged 90, and was buried yesterday.
Castro became famous because of leading the Cuba Republic under a communist system at the mouth of the United States. He also became famous after a successful guerrilla war, together with Che Guevara, against the Western-backed government of former president Fulgencio Batista in January 1959. That was the cause of the bad relationship between Cuba and the US.
He is also remembered for being a benevolent dictator to his people and philanthropic to many African countries.
He became president of Cuba in 1959 when Africa was still under colonialism and imperialism and he helped, in many ways, the African liberation movements at that time.
In 1973, Castro made a wonderful prophecy about America and Cuba, “The United States will come and talk to us when you have a Black president and the whole world has a Latin American Pope.” This prophecy became true during his life time.

Becoming a revolutionary, communist
It so happened that as a young man, Fidel Castro embraced Communism and went on to oppose the then government of the Western-backed Fulgencio Batista. When the situation became so hard for him, he fled to Mexico.
There, he was joined by another revolutionary, the bearded Che Guevara. They both organised a guerrilla army in the Mexican jungles and planned a military attack to oust Batista.
In December 1956 they moved their army in boat from Mexico through the Panama Canal and the Caribbean Sea. The journey took them a week to reach Cuban where they launched a guerilla war against Batista’s regime.
Fidel Castro’ guerilla army took over power in January 1959.
Castro declared himself president and set up a Communist government, and that was the beginning of full-blooded Communism and Socialism in Cuba. A few years later, Che Guevara went back to Bolivia to launch a similar revolution, but unfortunately for him, he was killed soon after arriving there.
The United States quickly cut off relations with the Island of Cuba and declared a full blockade and stopped their financial aid to Cuba.
Castro was lucky that in the Soviet Union, prime minister Nikita Khrushchev and in the People’s Republic of China, chairman Mao tse Tung and prime minister Chou en Lai were his allies.
When the United States cut off all aid to Cuba, Fidel Castro ran to the Soviet Union and China for financial and material support and he received it in full.
In 1962, at the height of the Cold War between America and Russia, a serious situation developed which almost turned the Cold War into a “hot war”.
Castro secretly allowed the Soviet Union to assemble their missiles in Cuba facing the United States in readiness to use them against America should need arise.
The American spy network CIA detected the missiles and quickly alerted the late president John F. Kennedy. The no nonsense Kennedy was furious. He gave both the Soviet Union and Fidel Castro a three-day ultimatum to dismantle all the missiles and that he was ready to order the United States Air Force to bomb them. The US Air Force and Navy in Miami were put on full alert.
Khrushchev quickly removed the missiles and later issued a humorous statement. He said he removed the missiles because his name started with letter “K” and the US president’s name also started with the same.
The underlying truth was that, at that time, the Soviet Union could not dare aggravate the matters which could result into a terrible disaster for them, the United States and Cuba.
After the success of his revolution, Fidel Castro decided to wear a Cuban military uniform all his life. American newspapers once referred to him as a fierce bearded revolutionary who never laughs.
Castro built a formidable army to protect his country. He is one of those who believed that “when in peace, prepare for war”.
Some years back in the 1990s, when some African countries got into political problems, Fidel Castro sent Cuban troops to quell those problems. Cuban doctors were also sent to some African countries when there was an outbreak of diseases.
Because there was a time some years back when the Cubans could be engaged to handle any difficult situation, there is now a kind of lazy talk among the people that “oba bikulemye, leeta abacuba bakuyambe” (you can bring the Cubans to handle that situation).
Others say “naleese abacuba nebakikolako” (I brought the Cubans and they finished the problem).
Fidel Castro concentrated on developing his country on the principles of Socialism and self-reliance. Cuba trained doctors, teachers, farmers, health workers, traders, agriculturalists and built infrastructure.
The major concentration was on producing quality sugar for export. Cuba’s biggest annual revenue is derived from the export of sugar.
When Fidel Castro turned Cuba into a Communist state, definitely there were Cubans who tried to resist. Castro became ruthless towards them and they fled into exile in the United States. The time came when those Cuban exiles launched a military attack to topple him but they were badly beaten and they have never tried again. Now that the situation has changed between the United States and Cuba, some of them may consider returning to their motherland.
Finally, it is the almighty God who prepares the lifeline of each human being. The time came, some few years ago, when old age crept in and Fidel Castro retired from active politics and the presidency.
He handed over the mantle of power to his younger brother, Raul Castro, who is now the president of Cuba. Raul came with a policy of reconciliation and peaceful co-existence.
Fidel Castro has died the happiest man in Cuba because his prophecy in 1973 of the United States talking to Cuba when they (the US) have a Black president and the world has a Latin American Pope came true.

The writer is as elder from Kyaggwe,
Mukono District
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