NRM BUSH WAR MEMORIES: Lt. Col. Mwesigye was a rebel twice over

Lt. Col. Fred Mwesigye is the managing director of the National Enterprise Corporation, a parastatal under the Ministry of Defence. In Part 2 of the Bush War Memories series to mark Heroes Day, Mwesigye, one of the armed 27 who stormed Kabamba on Feb. 6, 1981, recounts his story to Bernard Tabaire: -

I had finished secondary school at Makobore High School in 1972 and had worked for about one or two years in Kampala in the treasury department. Contacts were being made [by people we knew].

When we were in school, we used to have frequent visits by people like Ruhakana Rugunda, Amama Mbabazi, Yoweri Museveni himself, Tumusiime Mutebile. These people used to inspire us politically and we used to admire them.

[Then] Amin started killing en masse. There was discontent. I personally got disgusted with the system. At one time I was coming out of Sheraton and just at the entrance somebody boxed me. I didn’t know what I had done. This was in the ’70s. I think he was in State Research. A very tall man, black. The man just boxed me. I said for heavens’ sake, what have I committed?

In 1977, I sneaked to Kenya and stayed there with Sam Magara, Umoja Araali, and interacted with Dr Crispus Kiyonga. I got a teaching job with a secondary school. About ’78 we managed to go [to Tanzania] and started preparing – especially after Amin had attacked Kagera. We did a bit of training and joined the Western Axis – the Fronasa group – and fought alongside the Tanzanians.

When Kampala [fell] some of us had thought there was going to be peace. But there were killings. I thought we had fought to bring unity, love among Ugandans but it hadn’t worked. Some of us were not integrated into the [UNLA] army; we didn’t go for training in Munduli [in Tanzania].

But we also organised other [ways] of training. For example, for me and some other colleagues went to Cuba for training for one year in 1980. We were over 170. We trained in military skills, intelligence, counter-intelligence, VIP protection. But even our coming back was a difficulty. We were looked at as Binaisa’s people because at that time the Military Commission had taken over.

We had to make arrangements to talk to Museveni, Kategeya, Otema Allimadi to give assurances that we were going to be accepted in society and integrated into the army.

On arrival some of us were [again] not actually integrated into the army. But those who belonged to the UPC faction were immediately integrated. So some of us who were in Fronasa joined the security network of Museveni. We covered our leaders and we kept together.

We also started some meetings, and reccing some areas like Masindi, Kiboga, among other things we were doing. We said, look, there is no alternative but if elections are rigged we shall go to the bush and fight. We used to consult people like Bidandi Ssali. So we had that encouragement from our leaders.

Of course, elections were rigged. We organised, got [together] a few comrades who were in town. I was staying with about 10 people in my small house in Bugolobi – in the Silver Springs Flats. I was staying with people like Julius Aine, David Ndayondi, Shaban Kashanku, Ngoboka. They had been chased away from Kotido, from the army.

They didn’t know what to do. I said let’s stay together you never know. We continued meeting Museveni at his house in Kololo until the D-Day.

About February 4, 1981 we started meeting in Makindye in John Wycliffe Kazzora’s house. Then we went to Matthew Rukikaire’s house [also] in Makindye and slept there.

On the evening of February 5, about 6 O’clock, we boarded the famous Andrew Lutaya’s lorry – the first part of a trailer. We set off in that lorry closed [with a tarpaulin] as it was. We didn’t know actually which direction we were taking.

Some of us who had known that area realised around 3 a.m. we were in a place called Makoore, near Kabamba. We had to wait there for Museveni to come and join us. We waited very desperately because we didn’t know what had happened. He had had problems with his car, something we didn’t know [about]. We didn’t have any communication.