NRM BUSH WAR MEMORIES: Otafiire; the bush mobiliser

One would be foolish not to anticipate such a situation. We had ups and downs with some people turning against us and others giving up, but it was anticipated and we knew how to deal with it.

At times when things got difficult getting food, I would also act as the quartermaster general. This was a difficult task particularly around 1983 when we hardly had any food.

During the first phase of the struggle, we had no problem with food because the area we were operating in was richly endowed. It was not until about 1983 when we retreated from he heavily populated areas of Bulemezi into Singo and Ngoma that we started depending on only meat.

For several soldiers, meat alone without starch was quite difficult to accommodate. Some of our people fell sick and died because of lack of carbohydrates. It was such a tough endeavour to get them cassava, potatoes and other carbohydrate foods.
This meant that sometimes, we had to make incursions into enemy territory. Otherwise, the rest of us were depending on meat. The situation lasted for about nine months. After that, things changed and then we started gaining the upper hand in the war.

Memorable battle

For the most part of 1984, we concentrated on training and consolidating our held positions. Then in April 1985, we decided to open up the western front. We divided the army into the mobile brigade under Salim Saleh and the western axis under Fred Rwigyema. At this time, I was still national political commissar and a senior member of the high command.

But before we opened the western front, we had a battle at a place called Kembogo in Singo, Luwero district in June 1985. About 78% of the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) participated in that battle. We defeated them and they dispersed. From what happened during that battle, I could easily discern that we had won the war. The UNLA army was badly dispersed and I knew there was nothing else they could do. During that battle, the commander actually surrendered. We had won many battles before, but after this particular one, I knew that was the end of the war.

In fact, I remember telling Generals Saleh and Rwigyema after that battle that the next thing we were going to hear would be a coup d’etat against Milton Obote. Indeed in July 1985, Obote was overthrown by his Generals Bazilio Olara Okello and Tito Okello Lutwa.

By the time Obote was overthrown, we had taken almost all the western region. After the Kembogo battle, there was a rebellion within the UNLA.

It is after that decisive battle that we decided to reinforce the Western front under Rwigyema. As they moved towards the Rwenzoris, I stayed behind in the mobile brigade commanded by Salim Saleh.

Thereafter, what followed were the failed peace talks in Nairobi. We could see the peace talks not withstanding the test of time because clearly, Tito Okello was not in charge. The rogue elements of the UNLA were still in charge of the army and Extra-judicial killings were still going on.

So, it did not make sense to us to participate in the regime of the day. We therefore decided to terminate the life of the government in January 1986. As we advanced to the western and central region, my job was to ensure the smooth administration of more than half the country’s territory under our control.

I also served as some kind of foreign affairs minister organising with the Kigali government to ensure that they gave our people safe passage because that was the only exit route out of the country.

This was quite difficult because there were no telephones. President Juvenile Habyarimana was not friendly to us either, but he had nothing to do because we had cut off his supply route when we blocked Katonga.

It was in his interest to work with us so that Katonga reopens sooner. He was also clever enough to realise that we were going to seize power and would be the next government.