Binaisa champions economic boycott, UPC-KY alliance

In the previous part of the serialised research into the life of fallen former president Godfrey Binaisa, we talked about his days as a lawyer. In this last part, Fred Guweddeko narrates how Binaisa spearheaded the economic boycott until he was deported to Karamoja:-

When Augustine Kamya, the UNM chairman, was arrested over the boycott, his lawyer Binaisa, negotiated with the prosecutor, Mr K S Fuad, to reduce the political temperature by preferring a mild criminal charge. With the mild criminal charge, Binaisa showed that Kamya could not be denied bail. The government was relying on Binaisa to mitigate the boycott.

Upon release, Kamya did not reduce the political temperature of the boycott as negotiated by Binaisa. He instead raised it by declaring at a mass rally on March 9, 1959: “From now, 10 minutes to six, all trade in Uganda is transferred into the hands of Africans. From this hour, no African should enter into non-African shop.”
The UNM was proscribed and its overall leaders remanded to Luzira Prison.
Binaisa withdrew from the defence of Kamya and organised a British lawyer replacement called Roland Brown. Then, without explanation, Binaisa advised boycott de-listing of some items, but the uncontrolled anti-colonial mobs ignored.

Downing colonial rule?
Popular violence of the boycott was so high that it began raising expectations of downing colonial rule in Uganda. Binaisa advised the committee leaders to rename the UNM calling it UFM. An educated E.M.K. Mulira was placed in the leadership. Binaisa promised the government and companies greater control of the boycott.

The boycott violence however increased. The UFM was also proscribed and its leaders detained under the Deportation Order Law. Binaisa engaged a British Lawyer, Christopher Showcross for the legal defence of the detained boycott leaders while he [Binaisa] continued holding political and commercial negotiations.
The Governor and security officials were threatening Binaisa to make sensible negotiations. The Uganda treasury was collapsing without tax revenue.

The British import and export firms in Uganda, Indian commercial houses and traders and at this stage the commercial banks were begging Binaisa to control the boycott.
Binaisa was soliciting cash from the commercial interests to stop the boycott. Binaisa was also paying cash to meet the costs of the full-time boycott violence teams.
Binaisa and the remaining boycott committee leaders and the public were more than convinced that the colonial government was weakening under the economic violence pressure.

After the second boycott organisation, UFM was banned; Binaisa floated the UFC under another educated leader Mr Kitayimbwa with more promises to depoliticise and control the violence.

The boycott increased with Binaisa no longer controlling the official items list. The violence also increased and the boycott extended to stopping village farmers from selling food for the city.

Curfew was declared in five sub-counties in Buganda. Military patrols were deployed. A British captain commanding peace keeping troops in Masaka was attacked and seriously injured by the boycott mobs.

Over 10,000 natives had lost jobs with Indians and British firms. Governor Crawford banned the boycott umbrella organisation (UFC). Binaisa, who was leading the boycott items committee, floated another organisation titled UFU under Haji Kayongo.

As the boycott was recording nine months, the Binaisa-led three-member negotiating team reached agreement with the Governor. It was to transform the militant violent action into civil demands. Binaisa was to present the civil demands of the violent boycott mobs. The new leader of the boycott, Haji Kayongo, rejected Binaisa saying the people wanted to oust British rule through economic boycott violent action.
Binaisa replaced the illiterate Haji Kayongo with the polished Father Spartus Mukasa as leader of the boycott UFU organisation. Binaisa organised through Father Mukasa to translate boycott violence into civil demands. The man of God declined involvement in crooked activities and stepped down.

Binaisa then appointed Salongo J Kyeyune as leader of the boycott UFU organisation. Police asked Kyeyune to stop the boycott violence but he demanded independence as a condition.

Changing titles
With time, options and credibility running out for him over this crisis, Binaisa assumed leadership of the boycott Movement, under a new title of ‘Uganda League’. He issued demands for ending boycott violence; Self Government by January 1960 (three-months time), Independence by January 1961, Ending curfew, arrests and prosecution of boycott suspects and release of convicted boycott prisoners.
In the subsequent negotiations with the colonial authorities, Binaisa said that his demands were on ending the boycott violence, but not the boycott. The eight months patience of wheel-dealing with Binaisa ran out.

The colonial police had compiled evidence on everything Binaisa had done as a boycott committee member. Evidence linked Binaisa with the Uganda Underground Movement (UUM), which had been throwing petrol bombs at the business premises of violators of the boycott.

Binaisa was arrested on October 7, 1959. His Uganda League was proscribed. Attorney General Dreschfield informed High Court: “Binaisa was directly and indirectly responsible for the reign of terror that had swept Buganda Province since early 1959, for the burning of houses, slashing of crops, assault, intimidation, etc, …. so as to gain his own selfish ends.”

Binaisa indictment constituted a very long list of boycott offences.
It was difficult to press most of the charges on Binaisa. This is because all along the commission of the boycott crimes had all along been working with the Police, Governor and commercial corporations.
In the trial, Binaisa was described by the Attorney General, Mr Dreschfield, as a double-dealer who had pretended to prevent but was instead fanning the boycott. The overall aim of Binaisa in the boycott was to cause the collapse of the colonial government in Uganda. He had not wielded full control of the boycott as he had all along been claiming in his negotiations with the colonial government and the affected parties. Binaisa financially benefitted from companies [illegally] seeking to be delisted from the [illegal] boycott.

Since he was the sole and a generous funder of the boycott activities, personal use of the solicited funds could not be dismissed. The greatest survival of Binaisa from conviction on higher charges lay in the failure of the Colonial Police to identify and link him with the leader of the organised violence gangs.

Clever Museveni
This was an illiterate but clever and violent man called Museveni. He was a Nte [clan] Muganda turned Rwanda migrant. He was funded by Binaisa. Museveni was later to lead the violence in the KY Movement against his former master in the KY vs UPC 1962-64 clashes. Museveni had been funded by the Binaisa chaired boycott committee to execute the more violent mission of the UNM boycott of burning the premises of traders, homes of Ugandans who violated the boycott orders.

Museveni was later to engage in making and executing petrol bomb missions under the Uganda underground movement also funded by the boycott committee. Incidentally, this Museveni was later to lead the violence in the KY movement against his former master Binaisa during the KY Vs UPC 1963-4 clashes.

The secret of keeping Museveni out of the reach of the Police Commissioner was that the struggle was to continue with demands to release the political detainee on top of economic and political independence.

The unexplained source of the huge sums of boycott money and the war technology is linked to one John Kale a Rwandan –Uganda, who was at the time in the UNC office in Cairo. Kale had on July 4, 1958 announced the plan for exactly the same rebel activities as were conducted in 1957 under Binaisa.

Immediately after Binaisa was arrested, proactive and punitive incidents of boycott violence increased. To avoid the violence a long criminal trial would cause, Binaisa was tried under the Deportation Act and sent to a remote Moroto village in Karamoja District.
While Binaisa was confined to a Karamoja village without access to radio, newspapers and books, the Buganda Lukiiko from August 1960 mounted pressure for independence from Britain and secession from Uganda.

The colonial government used the services of a clever Ugandan called Daudi Ocheng for a low-key resolution of the problem. Ocheng in turn advised the use of a clever person called Binaisa.

Governor Sir Crawford at the end of September 1960 signed an Executive Order revoking the Deportation of Binaisa from a remote village in Karamoja to a free person.
Binaisa had been briefed of his mission before signing his release and he had accepted the ‘Terms’. Binaisa was under deportation (imprisonment) for fighting for independence. Less than two weeks after his deportation was lifted, Binaisa had negotiated cooptation on the Buganda Independence Committee.

This was the official Buganda Lukiiko organ responsible for drawing the plan to steer Buganda to independence from Britain. Under the Deportation Law, a released person remained restricted from participating in the activities for which he was deported until granted special lease. But this was overlooked apparently because he was serving government interests.

During the work of the Buganda Independence Committee, Binaisa liaised with Ocheng, then appointed deputy minister of finance in the colonial government, to show that an Independent Buganda State was not financially viable. Binaisa was part of the Buganda delegation led by A. K. Sempa that toured several countries to study methods of achieving independence. Buganda submitted a request for independence in December 1960, which Britain immediately rejected.

Against the advice of Binaisa, the Buganda Independence Committee proceeded to present a plan for unilateral independence of Buganda from Britain on January 1, 1961. Binaisa resigned from the Buganda Independence Committee, declared the independence plan invalid and publicised his reasons. The official reply was that Binaisa was not a substantive member of the Buganda Independence Committee but had privately begged to be co-opted to contribute to a cause he claimed to strongly support. His motives were declared suspect.

Binaisa mounted a public campaign opposing the Buganda declaration of independence and secession. He had failed to prevent Buganda independence plans from within and was now fighting it from outside.

Mengo’s failure
Mengo failed to actualise independence due to the heavy presence of the army. Binaisa embarrassed Mengo by urging Augustine Kamya, his former boycott colleague, to demand that ministers implement Buganda independence or resign.

As Buganda was struggling with secession, the alternative of a ‘federal constitution’ was floated. The colonial government backed formation of a new political party to promote the ‘federal’ alternative to secession. Binaisa was on the founding Executive of the ‘Federal Party’ May 4, 1961.

Other founding members included Mayanja Nkangi and Eriabu Lwebuga. Under the Federal Party, Binaisa campaigned for a federal constitution which the colonial government was then proposing for Buganda through the Lord Munster Commission.

In July 1961, Binaisa disagreed with the interim leader of the Federal Party, E. M. K. Mulira, over the distribution of posts. He resigned from the Federal Party after being a member for exactly 60 days and joined UPC. Thus from supporting federalism for Buganda in the Federal Party, Binaisa joined the UPC which was opposed to Buganda and the federalism solution to the problem of Buganda.

Binaisa created problems for himself when he switched to UPC which opposed special treatment for Buganda. The colonial government Minister of Security Powell Cotton ordered the arrest of Binaisa for violating the conditions of his 1959 boycott conviction. The offence was that Binaisa was barred by conviction under the Deportation and Boycott laws from participating in Uganda politics.

The charges indicated that a convict like Binaisa could penetrate a legitimate organisation and use it for subversive purposes. It described Binaisa as one of the dangerous people convicted and deported for the reign of terror he masterminded under the atrocious 1959 boycott.

House arrest
Binaisa was sentenced to six months restriction to his home. The sentence barred him from moving more than 100 yards from his house. Binaisa stayed home but turned his house into a coordination centre for UPC Buganda activists. Working from home Binaisa organised a number of UPC cells in Buganda.
Between July and September 1961, Uganda was under ‘Internal Self Government’ led by Ben Kiwanuka of the Democratic Party. As the DP and UPC were bickering over Buganda, with UPC cell members spying on DP rallies, Binaisa was accused of plotting to assassinate Chief Minister Kiwanuka. Police Commissioner Langley found the case valid and sent the file to the prosecutor.
Towards the end of 1961, the UPC where Binaisa was a member, became favoured by the colonial government for supporting federalism for Buganda. Binaisa came into the good books of Mengo. This meant that between November 1960 and November 1961, Binaisa switched positions on Mengo a total of five times. He had supported Buganda Independence, opposed Buganda Independence, supported Buganda Federal, and opposed Buganda federal and again supported Buganda federal.
The criminal charges of Binaisa sending his UPC cell members to assassinate Chief Minister Kiwanuka never progressed. His party, UPC which by 1961 was bitterly opposed to Buganda had become its top ally by October in the same year. Binaisa, Obote and Paulo Muwanga in the company of Buganda government ministers started addressing public rallies in Buganda accusing Kiwanuka and the Democratic Party of being the enemies of Buganda.

KY comes of age
Binaisa was among the four lawyers involved in transforming the KY from a rallying slogan into a formal political organisation of the ‘Movement’ model. Incidentally, two of its founding lawyers in 1961, Binaisa and Luyimbazi Zake, were later in December 1965 to propose the law banning the KY Movement. In spite of being the son of a Christian Church minister, Binaisa sponsored adoption of a hymn calling on the old Lubaale gods, Muwanga and Mukasa, to preserve Buganda.

Though he was a UPC, Binaisa worked on the side of the KY Movement to advocate the UPC-KY Alliance. Binaisa proposed merger between UPC and the KY Movement. He applied great political talent to convince the UPC in Buganda, veterans of the highly politicised 1956-9 UNC, to stand aside for the KY Movement in the April 1962 general elections. Binaisa organized the allocation of Buganda Lukiiko and National Assembly candidature, between Political Parties and the KY Movement Buganda traditionalists.
He compromised a record nine political parties and 13 Buganda traditionalist political associations into one UPC-KY ‘Umbrella’.

Binaisa re-launched his 1959 boycott violence machinery before the 1962 direct elections to the Buganda Lukiiko. The boycott type reign of terror unleashed on the DP in Buganda, made it very risky to campaign for the challenger to the official KY candidates. The KY as conceived by Masembe Kabali was not violent.

Binaisa introduced violence as he was the link between the Uganda National Movement and Uganda Underground Movement of 1959, and the 1962 KY Movement. The detailed UPC-KY agreement covering the Ministries and specific commitments was drawn between Binaisa and Ibingira for UPC, and A K Sempa with Abu Kakyama Mayanja for the KY Movement.

However, Binaisa faced problems when he could not get a post in the new UPC-KY line-up. Paulo Muwanga and other members of the UPC Buganda Region tier refused to nominate Binaisa for a post in the UPC-KY Government.

Binaisa had favoured Mengo politicians over UPC members in sharing the spoils of the 1962 general election in Buganda. It was a difficult situation for Binaisa but he eventually received the post of Attorney General.

Greatest lawbreaker
Binaisa needed the assistance of Ibingira and a lot of pleading to overlook his recent law breaking record to be nominated for Attorney General. Key technical posts like Chief Justice, Public Service Commission, Attorney-General, Police Commissioner were to be retained by the British until the new Uganda stabilised. Binaisa had no job in the new Government as all posts were political and he had not contested.

Binaisa was somehow endorsed by the Governor General of Uganda, Sir Walter Coutts, to become the new Attorney General. Under this behind-the-curtain agreement, Britain also withdrew from providing the Chief Justice for ‘baby’ Uganda. Clearly, all this was at a very high cost for the immediate future of independent Uganda where law and justice required British guardianship.

The cost Uganda was to pay for getting Binaisa a post-independence job laid in the role of these offices in the eventual 1964-67 crises.
As the new Attorney General, Binaisa exercised the powers which only seven months prior were being wielded against him. He actually took over the office where files of cases and convictions against him were still open.

Binaisa, who in November 1959 had been declared the greatest law breaker in Uganda became, 30 months later in May 1962, the chief custodian of the same law he had been the champion of violating. During the formation of the UPC-KY Government in 1962, Binaisa worked tirelessly.