NRM BUSH WAR MEMORIES: Njuba recruited Kigongo, Nadduli

In 1979, Uganda Law Society boss SAM KALEGA NJUBA called a press conference. Among other things he condemned the abuse of prisoners’ human rights; lawyers were being denied access to detained clients. Now, 25 years later, as Njuba recounts his role in the NRM External wing to Richard M. Kavuma, he is defending a client, to whom he has been denied access.

Before I got involved in this mess, I was happily practising law and I saw the liberators come. But then things changed drastically. Buildings were being blown up… They were stopping lawyers from seeing their clients and even stopped us from going to Luzira.

In July, I called a press conference to speak out on behalf of my society. I commented generally that: “if we are not careful, we are going to be worse (off) than (under) Amin.”

Two months later I was arrested, released, arrested again and released – just before they started campaigns for the 1980 elections. My wife had been very active in the founding of UPM, but she was more involved in getting me released than in forming the party. I went to see Yoweri Museveni and told him that I wanted to stay out of politics altogether. He told me something I still remember:

“If you leave active politics, people will not believe you. People will think you have gone underground. It’s better for you to stay in politics so that people know your thinking openly, rather than suspecting you all the time.”

So I made up my mind, not only to stay in politics but also to join UPM, which had already been founded. During the campaigns we said openly that we would fight if the elections were rigged – without knowing really what it entailed.

But before the elections, Museveni had proposed to train us. He said to me: “You recruit 10 Baganda”. I recruited eight; including Kigongo, Nadduli Kibaale, and many have now died. Elly Tumwine was the one training us in Kigongo’s home in Bbunga.

After the elections, we found that we had no choice but to go ahead with what we had planned. The day they hit Kabamba, they blew up the house next to mine in Bbunga. I came back to Gayaza and people came to me for guidance. Initially I did not recruit them directly. I did not want to get involved personally. It was too risky.

I did not know where I was going. Soon I had to go into hiding, living with different people in Nalusugga, Matugga, Bombo – and moving clandestinely. Sometimes I would move on a bicycle; some of these guys had a car so they could pick you up.

I continued to get messages from Museveni for a meeting or to do a mission. One time, Gertrude and I organised some money and we took it to him when he was still living in Makindye, but he said: “No, I think we have enough money”. But some weeks later he sent a message and I took him some money. And I would also look for contacts. One time we agreed to meet somewhere but he came late. At around 3 a.m. a car came to where I was staying and Museveni telephoned Joseph Nyerere, the elder brother of President Nyerere. He told him to tell Nyerere not to get involved in the Ugandan conflict.

Diving in exile

Later on, we met with Museveni and he said I should go to Kenya and join the others. I went by road through Jinja, avoiding all the roadblocks to Busia, assisted by a friend of mine called Kintu, who was a manager of Breweries.

Once in exile, I didn’t know where to start. I had only KShs 1,000.
Eventually I met Joseph Katende, a friend, who housed me for a few days. I knew there were our people in Nairobi; one of them was my former student at Makerere, Amama Mbabazi. As soon as he saw me, he led me to others – Matthew Rukikaire, Shem Bageine, Israel Mayengo and the late Christopher Mboijana, etc. We started discussing strategies and how to approach various organisations.

We were also trying to bring together all the anti-Obote groups in Nairobi. Yusuf Lule had started an organisation called Uganda Freedom Fighters, and we had started the Popular Resistance Army. There was UFM led by Balaki Kirya, Uganda Army…

Eventually Museveni and Lule met in Nairobi and formed the National Resistance Army. They also set up an external committee, led by Matthew Rukikaire and I was secretary.