By C.D Rauxen Zedriga – 12^th-18^th July 2010

It was gratifying reading the response of my friend Ofwono Opondo [who once labeled me an economic migrant] to Col. John Ogole’s interview.  But let’s deal with the facts.Between 1980 and 1986, most people in Luwero went to sleep only to be woken up by NRA rebels speaking Swahili with an Acholi accent.  That deceitful act bought them a license to butcher the local Baganda in their homes in order to arouse anger against the Acholi and other northerners.  The following day, the same “Acholi” NRA rebels would return with condolence messages wrapped in a Kinyankole accent to dance over the graves of the dead.

The UNLA which had a constitutional responsibility to defend Ugandans were subsequently lured by some Baganda into NRA rebel traps and killed.  Since they were the “enemies”, their bodies would be left to decompose in the bushes of Luwero.  At the end of 1986, the skulls of these unburied UNLA soldiers were then collected and displayed on the roadside as evidence of the massacre committed by the UNLA; not NRA.  Now my friend Ofwono Opondo doesn’t want Col. Ogole to talk about these things because he is “wanted man” in Uganda.

After Luwero, the NRA killing machine headed towards Gulu, Kitgum, Lira and West Nile.  Of course, these victims had to react.  And the only way they could react was to look inwards and raise their heads in self defence.  After all, the rest of the country was saying “twebaka tulo” or [at least we sleep. Ed].  The war in the north was therefore the perfect excuse that Museveni needed to drive his enemies into the infamous Internally Displaced Camps [IDPs] from where they would die a slow and painful death.

The Iteso too, for their association with Peter Otai’s UPA, were quickly ushered into empty rail wagons and baked like potatoes.  And Ofwono Opondo wants Ugandans not to talk about these things.  Can Ofwono Opondo, in all honesty, defend what NRA soldiers like Nelson Katagara did in Teso?  Are Ofwono Opondo’s threats to Col. Ogole what the late Col. Sserwanga Lwanga fought for?  Ugandans must not allow the likes of Ofwono Opondo to stifle serious debates that could lead to national reconciliation.  I challenge Ofwono Opondo to repeat the things he used to say about Museveni’s NRM when he was still in Uganda Times and New Vision.