NRM BUSH WAR MEMORIES: Risking all to avenge a brother's death - Col. Ggwanga

Going to Kayira [in Nairobi] I saw nonsense. When I got to him, we went to a supermarket. He wanted to buy some things. He gave me the trolley. I was pushing. Him he is just picking, me I am pushing. I looked at the guy. I said, ‘Ah my God, I’m in trouble.’ When we were parting company with that man he gave KShs 10.

So I told these boys, forget about Kayira. You joined the struggle, you became rebels, you’ve got to fight it out. But now I’m going to train you. I formed a school called Haganah School of Combat. I really trained. And then started going on operations.

In 1984, George Nkwanga, who had run with Kayira, came back because they had heard we had organised ourselves. They didn’t have guns. We had the guns. So they told me they had changed the organisation’s name – it’s now called Fedemu.

I said you people I didn’t come here for names. I want to get the hell out of the forest. Let’s fight a war and we get out. They started calling it Fedemu. Me I was carrying out my operations but always with a mind on Museveni knowing that we’ve got to merge to kick these guys. By the time Nkwanga came back in 1984 we were about 930. I was commanding them.

Arrests and rearrests

When the coup [that overthrew the Obote II government in July 1985] took place, I was far away in Kubulasoke on a hunting mission for weapons. I rushed to the Fedemu headquarters, which was in Butambala. By then Nkwanga was the commander. I had no argument about ranks and all that. I never care about ranks.

When I came back to the camp I smelt fumes. In the bush it’s easy to smell fumes. We sneaked into a certain place where we used to buy booze. They said Nkwanga the commander has gone to Kampala. What! With who?

That there was UC Benz, which came for him. I said, Oh s***. Paulo Muwanga had invited him for talks. They came back during the night and told us stories about how we are going to join the new government. He said these are good guys.

I said what are you going to tell these people who have been giving you food. That you are going to join that army? Are you sick? But they had political connections. I was just a military person. So we came. By then people were flooding in from Nairobi.

[But first] I contacted Saleh saying we had a problem: these guys are talking to these [junta] guys. Me I can’t. What do I do? He said go in there and try to look around. So we came [and] they got us a hotel called Lunar somewhere in Muyenga.

[At some point] we went into a meeting with Wilson Toko, Loum, Bazilio Okello, Eric Odwar. They were telling us to hand over guns. I said why should we hand over our guns when we have been looking after them all these years. You want to disarm us? That is not feasible.

They smelt something about me. After the meeting I told the Nkwangas that there was no way the [Lutwa] government was going to survive. ‘You be sure Museveni is going to take them. You are making a mistake. Me I feel uncomfortable.’
I was right.

The next day I was arrested in Nakasero – around the market. The UNLA arrested me late July 1985. They took me to Nile Mansions and I found Eric Odwar who asked why they had brought me in. He had noticed me during the meeting.

I told him point blank that if you kill me now, you are just going to cause yourself problems. I got nothing against you guys but I don’t like your ideas. They released me. I was against Fedemu joining them. So they thought I was a spoiler.

With Museveni