In the Sunday Monitor of 28th September, 2014, Mzee Ssemwogerere gave an extensive interview covered from page 14 to 15.

I agree with some of the contents of the interview such as the rigged elections of 1962 and 1980. The rigging was structural and obvious. The multiple ballot papers, the multiple ballot boxes, the enclosed polling booths, the failure to count immediately after polling at the voting points and declaration of results, the gerrymandering of Constituencies etc, etc.

It is also true that in the 1980 elections, the DP attracted leaders that had been in UPC and KY in 1962. Mzee Ssemwogerere quoted a number of names and they are well known. In fact that re-alignment of forces had already taken place even by 1965-66. I remember the vote in Parliament for the election of, I think, Kakonge. The DP, KY and the Ibingira UPC had put forward Mashaate. Kakonge won by a narrow margin.

However, there are many points on which I do not agree with Mzee Ssemwogerere – both in the past and now but will not go into them here. They include the decision by the DP leadership to join the Parliament of 1980-1985 and his belief in lobbying Oyite Ojok and Muwanga to “save the lives” of some Ugandans.

The NRM position has always been to hold accountable all killers if they are identified. I confirm to the readers that the Okello Government released some of the prisoners that had not been killed, but not all. I did not know that it was Mr. Ssemwogerere that spearheaded that. I congratulate him for that. I am also pleased that Mr. Ssemwogerere confirms that in the 9 years he was with the NRM, he was “not inhibited” from carrying out his work as Minister of Internal Affairs or Minister of Public Service.

However, there are fundamental points in Mr. Ssemwogerere’s interview that I cannot leave unanswered. Top on the list is Mr. Ssemwogerere’s answer to the interviewer’s question that run as follows: “DP will be 60 next month. Don’t you get a feeling that it is considerably weakened?” What was Mr. Ssemwogerere’s answer? It was as follows: “you have got to see what has been happening to other parties. Tell me which political party has stood? Look at UPC, CP, KY etc, etc”. He goes on: “Where is Kanu in Kenya? Where is Banda’s party in Malawi? Where is Nkrumah’s Party?” The point Mzee Ssemwogerere was attempting to make was that all political parties had to decline on account of not being encouraged by the People in power at given times. Unfortunately, that is not true. Yes, there are those parties which have declined and there are reasons for that. However, there are those that have stood the test of time. I may cite four of them: the ANC of South Africa, Swapo of Namibia, MPLA of Angola and Frelimo of Mozambique…..

I have not added Tanu/CCM because it has been in power all the time. That notwithstanding, Tanu/CCM/Afro-Shirazi have had to struggle ideologically and politically against competitors both before Independence and after independence when Multi-partyism was re-introduced in Tanzania. The other four (Frelimo, ANC, Swapo and MPLA), however, were, for long periods, under-ground and being persecuted by the People in power (the White racists in South Africa and SW Africa and the Portuguese colonialists). They, however, survived and thrived. ANC was in opposition and under-ground for most of the time between 1912 and 1990 – a period of 78 years. When democracy was introduced, it won with a good majority and it has continued to win ever since. Why did ANC thrive and survive while other Parties were emerging and disappearing? It was on account of a correct ideological diagnosis of the South African Society.