Is Nadduli still proud he made sacrifices to liberate Uganda? 

Author: Musaazi Namiti. PHOTO/FILE

What you need to know:

  • ‘‘Countries make laws that have to be enforced, even if they are draconian”

One of the Ugandans who fought in the Luweero armed rebellion that brought President Museveni to power in 1986 is dealing with tragic news. Mr Abdul Nadduli is mourning the death of his son, Suleiman Jakana Nadduli, who was born after his four children — two sons and two daughters — were killed in the Bush War. 
It is not clear what killed Jakana, but he has been nursing injuries sustained in a road accident and has been walking with the aid of crutches. He was also arrested last month by security forces and tortured — he claimed — over incendiary comments he was making on social media. 

Many Ugandans who are critical of the government have been brutally tortured, and evidence of their physical torture is all over the internet. A writer named Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was subjected to such merciless torture that his entire back is covered in ugly scars. He had to flee Uganda — without a passport — and is currently living in exile in Germany. We can rule out torture as the cause of Suleiman’s death only if the post-mortem points to something else. 

When Jakana was arrested and held incommunicado for days, his father made an impassioned plea for his son’s release. Here is what he said: “I lost four children in the war: two sons and two daughters. Those are the elder siblings of Jakana. Jakana was born after the war…We did not go to the bush to fight to get titles and jobs. We fought to restore peace…” 
He added: “I am appealing to comrades-in-arms — His Excellency the President, Gen [Kahinda] Otafiire, Gen [Jim] Muhwezi — to use your power and authority and release my son and let him return home because he has to receive medical treatment every week. Unless you do this, you are setting the stage for him to join the four who died.”

On Tuesday, news broke that Jakana, who had been rushed to Orient Medical Centre in Wobulenzi Town in a critical condition, had died at the (tender) age of 37. He had his whole life ahead of him. He had political ambitions. 
It is worth noting that Jakana was not arrested for nothing. Countries make laws that have to be enforced, even if they are draconian, like the Computer Misuse Act. Individuals breaking those laws have to be prosecuted. The problem is that the rotten and tired leadership we have in Uganda means that people are arrested anyhow and held illegally (nine times out of 10) in all sorts of places, often picked up by overzealous men from security forces who are eager to impress the leaders who are clinging to power.

Abdul Nadduli would be a happy and contented man if the supreme sacrifices he made delivered what he wanted/wants to see. Is he still proud that he made sacrifices to liberate Uganda? In the video from which the quotes used in this article are derived, he talks about how Uganda has been “retarded” because of theft of public funds by a clique of people wielding power.
He is not saying anything new, of course. For many Ugandans working in the government, in the civil service, etc, the easiest way of getting rich is through corruption. A senior police officer who was gunned down in September 2018 had made videos in which he accused fellow police officers of being horrendously corrupt. He said they had built homes worth hundreds of millions of shillings. Yet many senior police officers have never even seen Shs15 million hitting their bank accounts as a salary.

Mr Namiti is a journalist and former Al Jazeera digital editor in charge of the Africa desk
[email protected]    @kazbuk