Rukikaire speaks out on Kabamba attack plan

Kampala- Before President Museveni and his colleagues attacked Kabamba Barracks in Mubende District on February 6, 1981, they had spent the three previous nights assembling and cleaning their guns at the home of Mr Mathew Rukikaire, a retired politician.

Mr Rukikaire, now 80, told Daily Monitor in an interview on Saturday that a few fighters among the 43 who had 27 guns knew the plan of the attack.

“These people, who were here as they gathered more and more numbers, did not know what was going to happen. I am sure that with only a few exceptions, the majority of them did not know where they were going to attack until they got into the truck. I believe on their way, they were told they were going to attack Kabamba,” he said.

In Mr Rukikaire’s house is a room named after Mr Museveni after spending there the night of February 5, the day before the attack.

The other fighters spent a night in the garage, which is now Mr Rukikaire’s reading room, where they also prepared meals in those three days.

Gen Elly Tumwine, the Security minister, and late Sam Magara, who were the two most senior fighters after their training in Tanzania, were given a room on the first floor of the house.

The late Magara was later killed by government soldiers when he sneaked from the bush to Kampala in early days of the rebellion.

“They cooked for themselves with the help of my driver because we made sure that nobody could come here and nobody could go out except those who were involved such as Museveni, Sam Magara. And I can tell you that even in my case, though I could go out and come back, for those three days, I could not go out lest some people smelt something and followed me,” Mr Rukikaire said.

A few days before the attack, he evacuated his children to Nairobi and the wife later followed them. After the attack, he also joined his family in Nairobi.

“I had to take cover. Museveni later sent me a message that I should go to Nairobi and help to organise external support, which I did not do immediately. I stuck around but I was not visible. I was not moving around openly until I quietly organised my departure,” he said.

Asked whether Mr Museveni still follows the ideas that took him to the bush, Mr Rukikaire said: “First of all, President Museveni is still my friend. There could be differences on policies. But we get on. I am an elder. I am older than him. He can listen to me on some cases more than some of his close colleagues in government because I have retired and I do not expect or want to be redeployed. So, you are lucky to have a man like Rukikaire.”

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