The press has been awash with coup stories, claims and counter claims. This talk, however, is diversionary and masks the real fundamental issues facing us as a country.

Indeed, the coup talk is potentially disruptive and counterproductive.

Suffice to state that the long and odious struggle of NRM has been to move Uganda from dictatorship to democracy, however imperfect it may be, democracy it is all the same.

What would be the implications of this gigantic reversal of the political course? By the way, people should not confuse a people’s popular uprising with a coup. A popular uprising is a legitimate people’s struggle whereas a coup is an illegitimate anti people activity.

Man in the news, Gen. David Sejusa

This is, however, a discussion for another day where I have covered the nature of the current clash between Parliament and Executive and showing the inevitability of it in ideological terms.

The central issue, however, that is facing us and indeed staring us in our faces, which I think is causing all these frictions is how to manage the different political forces that are taking central stage in the country. When a government has been in power for 27 uninterrupted years, it becomes inevitable that people will start asking questions about service delivery, about accountability, about crime etc, and ultimately will start demanding for change of some sort. It’s only natural.

The central role of leaders therefore, is to confront, head on, the complex issue of how to manage these changes. Many failures often, result from the tendency of the people who are in charge, keeping their heads down in denial about this fact.

Often times, precious time and opportunity is lost in this procrastination and dilly dallying. So all this turmoil we see today, especially among the political actors and between the different state institutions in an inevitable consequence of maturity (coming of age) of a system which requires a clearly set out ideological and political frame work.

This is the ideological issue and the core question of our time. And how we handle this central issue will determine how Uganda as a country and the Eastern African region will be, not in the next 20 or 30 years, but may be three years or less. This is what faces us and must guide us in the choices we make today.

The other issue that must be confronted and resolved is what I may term generational gridlock; this basically refers to generational roles and positioning of the different generational political/military actors in the political dispensation now and in the future.

There are four generations which can be said to be active in the current political life of the country. The first is that of independence struggle era. These are people who participated in the independence struggle or were part of the political process immediately after independence. This group is represented by elders like our wazei Kintu Musoke, Kirunda Kivejinja, Bidandi Ssali, Miria Obote, Rhoda Kalema, and Joyce Mpanga, Honorable Henry Kajura, Moses Ali and others.

The second category is that which cut its political teeth, so to speak, during the turbulent post independence years. This group is led by His Excellency the President, with elders Honorable Eriya Kategaya, Tarsis Kabwegyere, Sam Kutesa, Kahinda Otafiire, Amama Mbabazi, Edward Sekandi, Fredrick Ssempebwa, John Katende, Richard Kaijuka, Amanya Mushega, Tumusiime Mutebire, Ruhakana Rugunda and others.

The third category is the generation of those who were still in school until the overthrow of Idi Amin. This group comprises majority of the current corporate class like Dr. Simon Kagugube, Onyango Obbo etc, Generals, Elly Tumwine, David Sejusa, Nyakairima Aronda etc, people like Miria Matembe, Prof. Ntambirweki, Mugisha Muntu, Dr. Kizza Besigye, Richard Butera and many of the middle aged professors, MPs and military generals you hear of today.

The fourth category is the category of post NRM/NRA bush war. These I can safely term as the children of the revolution. Though this has two segments, they can be joined, for their political and social outlook has been determined or influenced by the same circumstances.

These are the young people like late Noble Mayombo, Andrew Mwenda, Robert Kabushenga, Norbert Mao etc. To this group we can add up many young professionals in many fields today. People like a young Kampala lawyer, Erias Lukwago, Theodore Ssekikubo, Abdu Katuntu, Frank Tumwebaze, Richard Todwong etc.

The reason I am raising this, rather unfamiliar subject is the centrality of the generational positioning which may have a profound impact on the whole equation of any change management. The leaders must start focusing on this question if they have to avoid friction and discontent by failure to appreciate the generational gridlock. This is however, a different subject all together which should highlight the crucial importance of the matter on the orderly functioning of society in the process of the management of change.

The third component that we must confront is the role of the military in the management of the State. Will it remain an embodiment of the aspirations of the people from which it derives its legitimacy and power or will it try to subvert the power of the people and by so doing loose its historic pro people position which would of course result in its collapse and inevitable defeat, for the people always win no matter how long it may take. This is in fact why this coup talk is dangerous.

The last point concerns our opposition politicians. Have they discussed or do they even know what part to play or even how to position themselves in this inevitable national process? Do they have the ideological depth to manage constructively the rather complex dynamics of moving a system from democratic centralism to liberal democracy without disrupting the social and political cohesion of the state? For instance, what is the ideological foundation of “Walk to Work” campaign? What is its end state as we say in the military? It is revolutionary in intent or evolutionary? That is, does it aim at sweeping away the current government or reform it? I hope they even fully understand the mechanisms of political warfare vice visa strategy and tactics.

The last component and perhaps the most crucial of all is the role of civil society and the population at large. With the political and quasi-military (Mchaka mchaka/cadre training etc) empowerment they have attained in the last 31 years of NRM rule (1981-2013), how will they behave if their power is challenged by the political class, be they politicians or the military?

All the above will influence the behavior of the international community and determine the economic situation in the country and the long term stability of the state and the region. These are the issues facing us as a country not this coups or counter coups. For in the long run they are not sustainable politically, socially, ideologically not even plausible in the geopolitical setting.

Gen. David Sejusa (a.k.a Tinyefuza)

(This letter was first published by the Daily Monitor News paper on Saturday, February 2, 2013)

The post Gen. David Sejusa letter on the Muhozi project that led to Daily Monitor closure first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Journalists and human rights activists have today condemned the action by the government to close down two newspapers and two radio stations for their reporting on the controversial letter by Gen. David Sejusa.

Police officers today sealed off offices of Daily Monitor, armed with a search warrant. But the search turned into closure as the police led by Criminal Investigations Department Deputy Director Godfrey Musana said the Daily Monitor premises are a crime scene. The police also sealed off offices of Red Pepper, a daily tabloid and declared it a crime scene too.

The security operatives switched off the printeries of the newspapers, as well kfm and Dembe fm to the astonishment of the staff of two media establishments.

“Instead of carrying out the search, the armed men disabled the printing press, computer servers and radio transmission equipment.”“The intention was to prevent the monitor from operating, broadcasting and printing its newspapers. We are horrified by this act, which is a gross disregard of the Ugandan law and a violation of the Monitor’s constitutional right,” said Alex Asiimwe, Daily Monitor’s Managing Director .

In a press statement, Police Spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said the police received intelligence information that there are people who have started scanning signatures of senior government officials “with the intention of using the said signatures on documents claiming they are officials documents from government whereas not.”

The Uganda Journalists Association President Joshua Kyalimpa and the Coordinator of the Uganda Journalists Human Rights Network Wokulira Sebagala issues statements today condemning the government for what they termed as attack on press freedom and freedom of expression.

These events are a result of coverage of Gen. Sejusa’s controversial letter first published by Daily Monitor on May 7. The letter by Gen. Sejusa aka Tinyefuza was written to the Director of the Internal Security Organisation to investment claims that there is a plot to assassinate or link to rebellion senior army and government officials allegedly against “Muhoozi project”   an alleged plan to have the president’s son succeed him in State House.

Gen. Sejusa, the coordinator of intelligence agencies is said to have mentioned himself Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, Chief of Defence Forces Aronda Nyakairima among the people being framed.

In an email showed to journalists by a Kampala his lawyer Joseph Luzige, Gen. Sejusa accepted to have written the letter but said he handed it over to the Director of ISO himself and is not sure how it got to journalists.

Here are more articles and documents on the matter

Court orders Daily Monitor journalists to name source– African Center for Media Excellence

Monitor offices under police siege -Daily Monitor

Military officer’s assassination allegations ensnare journalists

‘Warning to media against undermining national security’

Police question Monitor journalists as government moves to gag media

President’s aide storms newspaper office, threatens journalists

Govt is tampering with right to know

ISO agent arrested at Monitor, Gen Tinye’s case goes to court

Oguttu accuses UCC, minister of intimidating journalists

UCC (Uganda Communiction Commision) warning.pdf

Police statement on Daily Monitor Red Pepper premises search 20-05-13.docx

Police statement on Daily Monitor Red Pepper premises search 20-05-13.docx

The post Uganda government condemned for closing newspapers and radio stations in latest media attack first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.