UGANDA'S FLAWED ELECTIONS: Ssemogerere grumbling over ‘robbed’ victory 25 years later

How would they know that UPC would have captured half the seats? [Raises his voice for the first time during the interview] On what basis? Prior to the 1980 elections there had been three elections and DP had captured majority seats in West Nile twice. How can one say that UPC would have had half the seats in West Nile in 1980? There were many people in West Nile who had fled into exile and they had said they would not come back if Obote won. But they came back to vote. How could they have supported UPC? There was no love lost between West Nile and UPC.

The opinion of the Commonwealth Report was not based on evidence. It was only meant to rationalise the results of a seriously flawed election. In fact, during the Ben Kiwanuka Memorial Lecture in 1996 or 1997, Jeremy Pope, who was the deputy administrator of the Commonwealth Observer Group said in an apology to Uganda that they were in error. He said they (observers) just looked at the future of Uganda. They now realise that the Military Commission forced the UPC victory. The (observers) thought that for peace in Uganda, it was better to just go along with what the government had announced, although their findings had been different.

On whether he still believes he was denied victory in 1980.

Yes, I do. A source told me the story of the reversal of the results (I can’t disclose his identify because of the confidence we share). But even without that, the circumstantial evidence to me is compelling. The conduct of the military officers, the Military Commission, and then of course the evidence from various constituencies is sufficient for me to draw that conclusion that one, those elections were not free and fair, and two the results were in many places tampered with to deny DP victory.

That is my considered opinion. The whole behavior subsequent to the election suggests the results were tampered with. There is no other explanation for the conduct of the Military Commission and even the UNLA other than to prevent a DP victory or to contain and legitimise the reversal of the results.

On claims by the Commonwealth Observers that both during the poll and at the counting, DP was publicly claiming to have won seats which it had almost certainly lost and that at no point had they “lent credence to the claims made by DP that hey had won a clear majority.”

The results were reversed. There is circumstantial evidence to show that. [E.] Rukyalekere (Hoima West) was executed when he tried to contest the results. Paul Sebuliba was filing a petition through the DP chairman of Mubende disputing the claim that he had lost. In the process of filing the petition, he was forced to flee for his life.

On the view that DP was misled by the results from Buganda and Busoga which were nearest Kampala and voted overwhelmingly for the party, although the rest of the country appeared to have voted for UPC….
It is true that DP’s following was much bigger in Buganda and Busoga. We did not need as many seats from Gulu and other parts of the country given what we had already secured.

On which aspects of the election had the biggest flaws (the nomination, polling or announcement?)

The whole process failed the conditions of a free and fair election. We have several people who were shot at, and some who were killed during the campaigns. The military in the north unleashed terror. Why would there have been such violence if UPC was sure of victory? That is why I refer to circumstantial evidence [that suggests DP was denied victory].

Some of our people felt so aggrieved that they decided to disagree with me. You know that some of our people took to the bush. This was not a DP policy. But some members who were aggrieved decided to go and pick up arms. There was disagreement over whether they should go as individuals or in the name of the party. I said they could not go in the name of DP, which remained a peaceful party. For somebody to go to the bush, he must be generally aggrieved. Even if you may not agree with that approach, you can say, “I understand.”

On why he decided to lead the opposition in Parliament, thus giving legitimacy to the UPC government (DP National Chairman Boniface Byanyima claims the party executive had resolved not to go to Parliament).
You have got to take his word against mine.

The final decision on this matter was taken by the National Council meeting which was well attended by DP leaders from all over the country. Both views (staying away and going to Parliament) were presented and the final decision was taken in favour of participating. That is a statement of fact.

Secondly, it cannot be said that I alone dictated that members who had been elected should go to Parliament and that they went there against their consciences or the decision of the party. All of them went to Parliament. It is not possible that they could have gone on orders of somebody called Paul Ssemogerere.

But I spoke for going to Parliament. The final decision of the party was that it was in the interest of the party and country that we go to and take up our seats and become an active opposition and bridge the past and the future of Uganda and oversee what the government was doing. I feel that was a moment of triumph for DP to pass through that stage. Since 1962, there had been no elections.