War veterans slam govt over NRM Day fete 

Security officers march during the commemoration of the National Resistance Movement Liberation Day at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala on January 26, 2022.

What you need to know:

  • Sambwe Village was among the tactical operational areas for the guerrilla fighters led by President Museveni in the early 1980s.
  • Mr Yoweri Kigongo, the chairperson Sambwe Village tasked the government to evaluate the service delivery system for many areas that greatly supported the liberation war struggle.

A section of families of members of the National Resistance Army (NRA) war veterans in Sambwe Village, Nyimbwa Sub-county, Luweero District, have questioned the relevance of marking the national Liberation Day when there are still unfulfilled pledges and poor service delivery in the country.

The veterans, who  gathered at one of the war monuments where hundreds of human skulls are interred on land they claimed to have donated to government in their village on Tuesday, claimed that the annual  Liberation Day celebrations have lost meaning and only benefit a handful of individuals who  enjoy services at the expense of many suffering Ugandans.

“Sambwe Village was among the tactical operational areas for the guerrilla fighters led by President Museveni in the early 1980s. We gave up on war compensation after finding out that particular people were benefiting from the programme at the expense of the real beneficiaries. But our concern is about the service delivery system that has failed in our respective areas,” Mr Salim Bay Kigonya, one of the former NRA civilian veterans, said.

“The few people who were listed for compensation lost the money to impersonators who demanded a bigger share of the compensation money at the respective banks. Some of us were supposed to get Shs2m, but we had to share half of the money with individuals who claimed they facilitated the payments. Our concern is not about the lost money and the non-compensation, but the declining service delivery system. The health centres have no drugs, while the roads are in bad shape,” Mr Samuel Ssebugenyi, another veteran, said.

Mr Yoweri Kigongo, the chairperson Sambwe Village tasked the government to evaluate the service delivery system for many areas that greatly supported the liberation war struggle.
The residents told Luweero District Woman MP Brenda Nabukenya, who was in company of the local leaders, that they should instead focus on helping them to access clean water and medical supplies at the health units.

“I feel sorry for the war veteran families who keep complaining about the non-compensation yet the government has indicated that many of them have now been cleared. It is the responsibility of the government to verify the true recipients of the compensation packages and ensure the safe delivery to the rightful beneficiary families,” Ms Nabukenya said.
Ms Nabukenya promised to document all the concerns and task the concerned officials.

Luweero Resident District Commissioner, Ms Juliet Najjuma Ssenkole, said she will visit the area and find out more about the concerns of the residents.
Luweero was the epicentre of the five-year guerrilla war that ushered Mr Museveni’ government to power in 1986.