Some voices and lessons from down the memory lane

“In the culture of the society where I was brought up, it is taboo to betray a man or woman who stood by and with you during your hour of need, as Obote did for the Batutsi before independence..”

February 29, 1960, Apollo Milton Obote, who was an elected member of the Uganda Legislative Council (Legco) for Lango District, tabled the following motion. “BE IT RESOLVED that this Council prays that the Aliens (Batutsi Immigrants) Rules 1959, contained in Legal Notice No. 311 of 1959, be revoked”.

The background to the motion was that on December 22, 1959, the British Governor of Uganda Protectorate issued an Order- in- Council which restricted the entry into Uganda of members of a tribe from the Belgian colony of Ruanda- Urundi. According to British colonial immigration regulations persons of the Batutsi tribe from Ruanda were classified as “aliens” and could not enter Uganda.

The substance of Obote’s argument in Legco was that the Batutsi are kinsmen of the Banyankole of Uganda and cannot, therefore, be aliens in Uganda. His presentation in the Legco went as follows:

“As the House knows, towards the end of 1959 there was a disturbed state of affairs in Ruanda. Now, during this time, arson, murder, acts of violence, killing of innocent persons, were committed in Ruanda and at one stage it was believed and later confirmed that certain areas in Ruanda had a reign of terror. The reign of terror was so bad that the people of Ruanda wanted to seek refuge somewhere. A number of them decided to seek safety in Ankole and Kigezi, two districts in Uganda”.

He continued: “They thought peace could be obtained in Uganda and that the people of Uganda would welcome them. Indeed, these people are kinsmen of the people of Ankole of Uganda, and the only thing that any one of them could do was go to a fellow brother to seek for safety”.

The British colonial regime had in collusion with the Belgians decided to send the refugees back to Ruanda and this irritated Obote who told the Legco that such action could be misconstrued by the asylum seekers who may “think that the people of Uganda did not welcome them; that the Ugandan people had no sympathy for them” which was not the case. He urged the colonial government to “treat these people as the Hungarians were treated by the rest of Europe (in 1956) when Russia (then USSR) invaded their country”.

The motion was seconded by W.W. Nadiope and supported by J.K. Babiiha; C.B. Katiti; A.G. Bazanyamaso and C.J. Obwangor. The Chief Secretary, Sir Charles Hartwell, speaking for the colonial government vehemently opposed Obote’s motion.

He had the audacity to state in Legco that “The government, therefore, regretfully came to the conclusion that it was in the interests of the Batutsi themselves and the people of Uganda, that these immigrants should be repatriated. Failure to do so might have encouraged numerous other Batutsi to enter Uganda with their cattle, without any prospect at all of their being able to settle permanently in the protectorate”.

He claimed he had “received a number of letters from Ankole supporting the line which the government had taken in this matter.” On March 1, 1960, Obote took the floor again, just before the Legco voted on his motion. He castigated the colonial government’s position and said: “Mr Speaker, it is most unfortunate for Uganda as a whole that the Chief Secretary decided long in advance of hearing any evidence that the government should vote against this motion. This is a question of great importance, not only to Uganda, but the whole of Africa.

Ruanda- Urundi is not a country belonging to a different sort of people from Uganda, but it is a country belonging to Africans, and here also is a country where a European power is presently in control”. Obote’s passionate plea fell on deaf ears and when the motion was put to the vote, it was rejected by 36 votes and 15 were in favour.

Those who supported the motion were; J.K. Babiiha, A.G. Bazanyamaso, C.B. Katiti, B.K. Kirya, G.B.K. Magezi, M.I. Mitha (Mrs), Y.B. Mungoma, W.W.K. Nadiope, M.M. Ngobi, A.M. Obote, C.J. Obwangor, Gaspero Oda, P.L. Oola, W.W. Rwetsiba and J.S. Visana.
Among the 36 who opposed the motion were; T.B. Bazarrabusa, J. Bikangaga, S. Kiingi, S.W. Kulubya, J. Lokolimoi, F.A. Lubega (Mrs) J.W. Lwamafa, M. Mugwanya, D.J.K. Nabeta, S. Ntiro (Mrs), P.C. Ofwono, G.W. Oguli, and A. Opwa.

J.M. Madhvani and C.K. Patel declined to vote. In the culture of the society where I was brought up, it is taboo to betray a man or woman who stood by and with you during your hour of need, as Obote did for the Batutsi before independence. After uhuru in October 1962, the first UPC government which practised pan- Africanism welcomed thousands of refugees, mainly Tutsis, from Rwanda and Burundi who sought asylum in Uganda. They were treated as if they were Ugandans; they had access to free and quality health care, quality education and good jobs in the civil service. Many studied at Makerere on government scholarships.

Fast forward to 1981; some, not all, of the beneficiaries of Obote’s generosity decided to join hands with some Uganda politicians who genuinely lost in the 1980 elections to undermine and eventually overthrow by force the duly elected government of Uganda. What can one say, but pray that the LORD will judge them in the fullness of time for biting the finger which fed them when they were hungry and homeless. May the LORD hear us!

Mr Acemah is a political scientist, consultant and a retired career ambassador. hacemah@gmail.com