Former NRA child soldiers speak out on Kabamba raid

Two former child soldiers have revealed how they helped the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels overrun Kabamba Barracks during the Bush War and take weapons.

The two are part of the 195km Galamba-Bireembo trek that is being led by President Museveni.
Andrew Kangahoo said: “I got chance to hit Kabamba [barracks] and if you go there, I am [enlisted as] number 41. I went to Kabamba when I was 14 years.

I was under the guidance of Mzee [President Museveni] who was then the minister of Defence. I used to closely relate with people and soldiers around him. That was shortly after Idi Amin had been overthrown.

The late Stevenson Kazahura was one of those that saw me through school. Each time I came back from school, he would help me handle homewor, in my Primary Seven.

At that time, I would listen to the kind of conversations they used to hold as soldiers and I eventually got interested. So time came when the group of Afande [Leopold] Kyanda who were always summoned by Mzee [Museveni] for briefing.

Then we went into the 1980 General Election. So the late Karura told me we were going to vote in Mbarara and that should go register as a voter.
Karura told me to put on [army] uniform and so we went off with Steven Kazahura and Kasasira and we headed to Kamwokya.

At that time, I was just 13 years and I later sold off my registration after noticing that the army would do anything. As a child, the late Fred Rugyema had asked me to keep watch over a cupboard in which guns and [army] uniforms were kept. So it is from there that I picked a gun and hid that nobody knew about.

So after some time, we shifted to Makindye where the [planning] meetings to go to the bush started and were convened. So during my vacation, the President asked me to follow him. So when we got into a room with soldiers, he instructed the late Rugyema to give me a gun and [army] uniform. So each time they broke off from their meetings, I would observe what they were doing."

Lt Col Paul Ssanga
“I joined the Bush War in August 1981. I used to serve clandestinely with my brother, Maj Toffa Agaba, and the late Damba, the brother to Afande Kutesa. We would ride bicycles to Kampala, ferry guns and bring them to the bush.

I was in 1982 arrested and detained at the Makindye Barracks. I was then taken to Murchison from where I escaped and I went back to the bush.

We went on to attack Hoima from where I was also injured in Butema. I was left there because my leg was injured. [Maj] Toffa abandoned me there [Butema] and promised to return but never returned. I managed to convince a man who had a bicycle to take me to Mr Museveni and I promised him a lot of money.

So after that, we went and attacked Kabamba. On returning from Kabamba, my brother was shot dead. So while we were headed to Bireembo, we were attacked and my hand suffered injuries and part of it fell off and that is why it is like this. So in the process of running away from the enemy, I carried my hand and when we reached the camp, the other parts were cut off.”

[email protected]