Rebel leader Museveni reacts to Oyite Ojok’s death

Powerful: The fearless fighter was UPC’s answer against any insurgencies and the rebels’ most dreaded opponent.

What you need to know:

  • Tragic. On December 4, 1983 the northern and eastern parts of Uganda experienced a solar eclipse. The eclipse resonated with the general feeling in the nation following Maj Gen David Oyite Ojok’s death in a helicopter crash. While the UPC felt crashed, Museveni and his rebels celebrated the demise of one their biggest nemeses.

On December 3, 1983, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) Chief of Staff and the commander of the UNLA Maj Gen David Oyite Ojok died in a tragic helicopter crash as he intensified war against National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels led by Yoweri Museveni.

In September the same year, Oyite had assured President Milton Obote that by the end of the year, he would have defeated and flushed out not only the NRA but the whole of what they called “Luweero bandits” which included Andrew Kayiira out of Uganda.

Between October and early December 1983 when he died in an attempt to beat the deadline, Oyite had commanded successful operations that depleted Kayira’s Federal Democratic Movement (Fedemu)strongholds and attacked the NRA bases forcing them to withdraw from most parts of Nakaseke to cattle keeping corridors of Ngoma.

According to Pecos Kutesa, a former NRA commander and now a General in the UPDF, in his book, Uganda’s Revolution: The Way I Saw It, “Oyite was a charismatic military commander respected by both troops and even some of “us” (NRA rebels). Given his prowess, the NRA was set to face a difficult time had he not died”.

Another NRA commander Godferry Kangave said, “We were facing one offensive after another from Oyite which forced us to withdraw from most parts of Nakaseke to cattle keeping parts of Ngoma”. Shortly after Amin’s overthrow in March 1979, owing to his military prowess the African prestigious magazine The New African” carried a front page photo of Maj. Gen. Oyite with the reverential inscription “The African Lion of War”.

It is widely believed that had he not died, it would not have been an easy feat for NRA to succeed in their war efforts against the UNLA and Obote’s government.
In an earlier account Yoweri Museveni said Oyite’s helicopter Bell 412 was short down by an NRA machine gunner. “The helicopter had spent the entire day crisscrossing our area and at the same occasion our machine gunner fired at them,” said Mr Museveni.

However, this statement was immediately refuted and dismissed by then president Milton Obote insisting Oyite’s death was a result of mechanical problem. Describing it as a disaster, Obote said in a statement (December 5, 1983): “Some people say the bandits shot the helicopter, others say it was a piloting error but I assure you, it was a result of mechanical fault. But whichever angle you look at it, it was a disaster.”

The news of Oyite Ojok’s death was received in three ways: To the general population, especially in northern Uganda, it was a mixture of fear and sadness. As the news spread the following day, it was accompanied by the presence of a solar eclipse (of December 4, 1983) which covered the whole of northern Uganda and the east. It was believed that this rare spectacle was brought about by his death.
To the government, it was a disaster and a huge loss and to the NRA rebels it was seen as a miraculous favour towards them as Oyite was considered a big stumbling block to their successes in capturing power. This “good news was undoubtedly received with jubilation.

Target. NRA rebels planning to take down Oyite Ojok.

Museveni makes statement
On December 6, 1983, the NRA leader Museveni issued a statement which indicates that Oyite’s helicopter was shot down by the NRA.

Below are the full details of the statement which was signed by Museveni, then chairman of the National Resistance Army:

“So many lies have been told by the UPC (Uganda People Congress) regime about the death of their principle murderer, Oyite Ojok, that it is really pointless to go on arguing with these gentlemen because they are shameless and incorrigible liars. After all, what does one expect of people who stole gold in 1966 or who usurped reins of government in both 1966 and 1980?

Whether Ojok was shot down by the NRA, was bobby-trapped by his own colleagues due to infighting, or quarrels over business deals, was bobby-trapped by ordinary soldiers who are being used by UPC as cannon-fodder while the UPC war chiefs are downing champagne in Nile Mansions, or the reckless overuse of machines (helicopters) brought about the disintegration of Ojok’s helicopter, or whether it was God’s punishment for his numerous crimes, it all amounts to the same thing; that a leading murderer of hundreds of thousands of civilians in Luweero, Mubende, Mpigi, West Nile, Madi, Mukono, and Kampala has finally perished by the sword he has been using to kill Ugandans.
The murderer of Katambwa, Busabala, Nateete, has got his more than deserved punishment, the murderer of his fellow officers; Lt Col Ndahendekire, Lt Col Ruhinda, Lt Col Obona, Lt Karenzi, to name only a few, has come to the same end to which he brought to so many innocent people in Uganda.

The lies of the UPC notwithstanding, it is our duty to tell the world what happened on the 2nd (not 3rd-editor) of December 1983 and the week preceding that date.
On that day, three helicopters were frantically and stupidly flying over the battlefield of Ngoma area. They would fly over the various river-crossings where our forces were either stationed or in the vicinity, such as Wankaka, Birima, Nyakashangazi, Bulyamishenyi (all in Luweero district) and then to Kyankwanzi (in Mubende district), in addition to calling on the enemy detachment at Kasozi, Wankaka, Katundu, Kijunjubwa (Masindi district) and Kyankwanzi.

The NRA has got many units in the areas of Ngoma, Wankyato and Singo over which three helicopters were flying. All these forces have got orders to shoot down any helicopter if it comes in on a low altitude.
These helicopters were dropping leaflets for the guerrillas to surrender and were directing and coordinating the latest enemy offensive against us. They were not “visiting” troops as we were told by Radio Uganda. We have got irrefutable proof of this.
On that day, Ojok brought some Katyusha and 122mm Howitzer, in the area of Kyankwanzi and Kyakamunywero, etc. The orders to the UPC troops were to advance on December 3, from all fronts in one more useless offensive.

One week previously, the same Katyusha, 122mm Howitzer and 14.5mm AA guns had supported Obote’s soldiers who crossed from Kasozi to Ngoma side and dug in. Later on they tried to advance further and they were given a nasty blow, which forced them to go back to their defence near the river bank.
There they stayed without moving. It seems Ojok, knowing their reluctance to go on with the war, had come to urge them on. That is why these three helicopters spent the whole of the December 2, 1983 flying desperately around the battlefield.

In criss-crossing the battlefield, one of the helicopters attracted fire from our forces in Biduku area. It however, flew on toward Kasozi. Then around 8pm, our soldiers who were on Ngoma side of Kasozi heard the helicopter take off in darkness; then after a short while, saw a spark of fire on the flying helicopter which was followed by the fire engulfing the whole helicopter and the whole helicopter came down burning until it thudded to the ground-just three kilometres from where our soldiers were. We think that the fire of our soldiers in Biduku must have caused some damage which eventually resulted in the crash of Ojok’s helicopter.

This is not the first time we have shot down Obote’s helicopters in the same way: In September, our forces in Nshaka area shot down another helicopter which went and crash-landed behind enemy lines. We have got irrefutable evidence of all these facts.

It is high time the international community knew the Obote clique for what they are; liars. In July, we destroyed an enemy battalion at Luweero; afterwards one of UPC officials said that Luweero had been destroyed by a “storm”! What else can one expect from the UPC regime?
The people of Uganda, however, know the truth about the UPC regime. As for us, we shall go on delivering blows on the UPC regime until they either grant the democratic and human rights of the people or they are put on the dung-heap of history.

Killing Ugandans not a picnic
Moreover, we are no longer going to show lenience to the crimes of UPC leaders, especially genocides against some of the people of Uganda (especially to the authors of these crimes). Our lenience to the UPC leaders has given too much to these thugs to murder our people, from the security of Nile Mansions.

This Ojok died after, indeed, supervising the murder of 28 Ugandans at Nyekashangazi, eight at Wankaka, and eight at Kyabalango; all innocent civilians who are trying to flee the war to Buruli, justice caught up with him as he was taking off to Kampala and the pleasures of the Nile Mansions and the weekend.

He thought that it was a picnic to murder Ugandans and comeback to his own family and a happy weekend. As to Ojok’s contribution to the anti-Amin cause, the record should also be set right: Firstly, it was Obote and Ojok who groomed Amin in the first place until they quarrelled over the loots of office.

Secondly, Amin is no worse than Obote and Ojok. In fact Amin confined his killings to middle-class only; he never murdered peasants, a job at which Obote and Ojok have more than excelled.

Thirdly, in anti-Amin’s struggle itself the Obote-Ojok clique spent more time creating problems for the resistance than assisting it. For instance in the 1972 debacle, the Obote-Ojok mistakes caused the death of 500 anti-Amin fighters between 17th and 18th of September 1972.

After the fall of Amin, Obote-Ojok clique nullified the gains of democratic forces by their plot to usurp power and turned the UNLA into a corrupt, murderous and thieving group that unroofs people’s houses, rapes women and murders numerous civilians.

Again we have got incontrovertible evidence of this. Therefore, we condemn the role of Oyite Ojok in the 1966 crisis, in ensuring tribalisation of Uganda Army before the Amin takeover, and in the confusion created by Ojok and Obote in the anti-Amin’s forces in Tanzania between 1971-79.

We also condemn his criminal activities ever since the 1979 illegal recruitment into the UNLA, murders in various parts of Uganda already enumerated above and transformation of UNLA from an army of liberation into a repressive and corrupt force.

The bankruptcy of Ojok’s military clique is shown by the stupidity with which they were criss-crossing the battlefield as if they do not know that a helicopter can be shot down with even a semi-automatic rifle, or a G-3 or even a hunting 375, not to mention LMGs and MMGs all of which are used by the NRA.

Furthermore, the bankruptcy of the UPC is shown by the worship of Ojok by the UPC. Ojok a mere “Chief of Staff” which simply means a principal staff officer at headquarters, would take a precedence over ministers, not to mention the chief of defence, Tito Okello Lutwa.
This was all because there is no body in the UPC who had got an idea as to how to run an estate, or how an army should be organised.

Ojok was, of course, taking advantage of this for his own ambition which had been partially responsible for the conflict between Obote and Amin that cost Ugandans so much and for the disintegration of the old Uganda Army, and whatever little professionalism it was beginning to acquire.”
However, this statement was immediately dismissed by the government calling it empty and void.