By Richard Tindamanyire | An Ungrateful Society
This morning I awoke to think and reflect on some of the ungrateful Ugandans who compare and contrast Museveni’s governance with that of Amin and Obote and conclude to be the worst of all.
First of all, I pity the conventional logic of that section of critics that is above the age of 40 years because they know and saw all the heinous acts that were committed during both regimes – and, unfortunately being inspired by the state apparatus of the day.
They saw, passed through the numerous military check-point roadblocks along all the highways. Most of you saw people’s wives being pulled out of UTC buses and raped by the Military there in front of the parked bus and the dissenting husbands shot point-blank.
Most of you saw your fathers being stripped naked, beaten up, their watches, shoes and money robbed as they took you back to school aboard a bus. Some of you lost your Oris watches and school fees on these road blocks or bus/taxi parks after alighting.
Panda Gali was the order of the day with the innocent Wannainchi being swooped off from public places and taken on a pilgrimage to nowhere and never to be seen again.
Offices worked half day because if your people at home didn’t see you by 5pm the probability that you would ever be seen again was next to zero. Curfews began at 6.00pm. Between 4.00 and 5.00pm taxi windows became the entry doors by the struggling passengers to get home at the earliest. Once inside the taxi you’re not sure if you will make it home because as you glance at the back seat, a gallant soldier in full military fatigue is postured with a mean face. You pray to God that your children meet you in one piece. Nay, far from it but at least you’ve made it home though minus your watch, shoes and all your day’s earnings because as the mighty soldier alighted at Banda Stage he ordered all the “Bipinga” in the Taxi to surrender their watches (those days putting on a wrist watch was trendy and almost every capable adult had one), shoes and money. The Taxi conductor’s day’s collections couldn’t be spared either.
Gun shots were the order of the day in every inch of the suburbs. Each shot would go with a thumping dead body. On average, in a day, one would hear not less than 100 shots in any Kampala suburb.
Professors in institutions of higher learning were pulled out of lecture rooms and made to disappear forever. Religious leaders couldn’t be spared either.
If your relative disappeared for days, it would be wise to make a will on his behalf and install an heir. As for Amin’s time, it would be wise to go to Namanve raging forest to look for the corpse. But you would be lucky to make it back home as you were likely to be hit by the next corpse being thrown out of the Military Land Rover.
And did I hear someone talk of sugar, washing soap, salt, paraffin and soft drinks? All these were luxuries only available through the army shops. People in the villages used pawpaw leaves and omululuuza to wash school uniforms and their Sunday best. We went to bed at 6pm because there was no paraffin for light. Homework was done immediately you came from school in the evening or else you risk the militant kibokko of Master Perez the following day.
Now, you the youth aged below 40 years must have been reading the above in awe as a movie story because it’s unimaginable that we lived through those hard-to-believe times and that we lost loved ones. I don’t think any of you would have liked to find more of the same when you were born. You found an exquisite, peaceful and enjoyable freedom of everything (speech, free day and nocturnal movements and these days fighting and beating the Police and presiding Judges!) ushered in by our beloved, enduring, patient and tolerant President Museveni with his NRM Leadership.
Let’s stop being an ungrateful Society in the copy-cat of the Arab spring who the selfish Americans used in a bid to loot their oil and riches only to be left in the sorry state of unendin, perpetual homicide clashes that seem to have no end after the plunder of their fortune. The late Gaddafi warned his people of these selfish invading rats but they didn’t listen. The retribution is manifested for everyone’s assessment.
Now you senile ungrateful Ugandan Country men and women who saw it all through Amin and Obote but go on to deliberately skew our innocent youth towards your selfish, insensitive and imperialistic agenda and without the least shame plant in them your venomous indoctrination that our Ugandan saviour Museveni is worse than Obote and Amin, you must be having a psychiatric problem. And you go to national radios and TVs and in enjoyment of the peace, stability and freedom of speech ushered in by Museveni, you utter all the lies, abuses, scorn and ridiculous profanities and drive back home in peace and reach in one piece for yet tomorrow’s open rally to bellow the same silly lies to a gathering of youths as you’re still indeed enjoying your peace and freedom, something Amin and Obote must be “despising” Museveni for, in their interred ashes of a barbaric legacy.
History tells stories of ungrateful societies as can be seen below:
When the Bolivian military managed to find Che Guevara out of his hiding with the information of his discovery provided by the shepherd, after a successful arrest they asked the shepherd: “Why denounce and betray a man who sacrificed himself to fight for your freedom and well-being?” The shepherd replied: “I denounced him because the crackling of arms scared my animals in pasture” (during the war against the invaders!)
When Mohamed Karim, the Egyptian who undertook to resist the assault of Alexandria launched by Napoleon, was arrested by the army and sentenced to death, Napoleon appealed to him and said: “I have the trouble to execute a man who has valiantly defended his country, I do not wish history to retain the image of a person who stifles the impetus of the patriots that defend the integrity of their homeland, so, I promise you freedom if you pay ten thousand gold coins as financial compensation to my soldiers that the resistance killed.”
Smiling, Mohamed Karim replied: “I do not have the full amount requested on me, but I am indebted more than 100 thousand pieces of gold by the merchants of Alexandria, they will pay for sure, this is fine, so that I have my life saved!” Chained, Mohamed Karim was driven to the Alexandria market for a tour of the market in search of the sum on which his freedom would depend. But, to his great surprise, no merchant was on his fate, worse, the natives accused him of being a destroyer of property, and undermining the economic vitality of the port city of Alexandria!” (Because during the course of resisting the French imperialism led by Napoleon some property and few businesses were destroyed as it happens in every war). Napoleon, in view of the resignation and betrayal of Karim by his family (Egyptians), declared: “I will concede that the sentence of capital punishment be executed not because you killed my soldiers, but for having fought for a cowardly people, who care more about their business than about their integrity!”
Mohamed Rachid Rida, Syrian Arab reformator, said: “To revolt on behalf of an ignorant people, is like to set yourself on fire in order to light the way for a blind man!”
Meditate and fully understand the ingratitude of a society that is ready to shamelessly deny its commitments, its convictions and its conscience to please the foreign political, subversive financial donors and imperialists without weighing in the catastrophes thereafter like in the case of Libya. And who says it wasn’t timely that more than 1,200 NGOs have been invalidated and de-registered. It was time to show them that the government all along knew their callous, subversive activities but patience and tolerance were being exercised to give them a chance to reform back to their line of purpose. It didn’t happen and thus action has been taken.
The writer is a proud NRM Mobilizer
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