Museveni’s Luwero triangle war was justified
By Abbey K. Semuwemba
18th Oct 2010
I have read comments in the media attributed to several NRM historicals who are now in opposition saying that they regret participating in the Luwero war because of what president Museveni has turned out to be 23yrs down the line. But I would like to look at this from a different angle.
I am not a fan of president Museveni but I still believe the Luwero Triangle war was justified. Yes, Museveni has become a bad chef. But it doesn’t mean that the chef we had after the rigged 1980 elections was any better. May be we have to reflect and improve on our methods of recruiting chefs to avoid more food poisoning cases in future.
The main principles of a just war
The main principles of a just war are: having a just cause; being declared by a proper authority; possessing the right intention; and having a reasonable chance of success and the end being proportional to the means used.
Museveni and his NRA/NRM had a just cause which was getting rid of a dictatorial government which had stolen the 1980 elections. The authority that declared war was a mixture of members of Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM) and other registered parties in Uganda. Their intentions were good at the time and most Ugandans, Baganda in particular, supported them.
They knew that the majority of the population was behind them. That’s why they chose the Buganda spot in Luwero where Obote and UPC were openly hated after his government abolished kingdoms in 1966 and later committed several murders in the 1980s.
The death of innocent civilians and the use of child soldiers cannot make a war unjustifiable. International agreements such as the Geneva and Hague conventions are historical rules aimed at limiting certain kinds of warfare. If any crimes were committed by Museveni’s soldiers in Luwero, then somebody should investigate it and hand over his findings to the international bodies.
For instance Mr. Otunnu, the UPC president, has been asking for investigations into the Luwero war. It was wrong for General Tinyefunza to threaten him in response. By the way, the NRM doesn’t just make threats. If Otunnu is still in doubt, let him ask Dr. Besigye who has been subjected to anything you can think of from the moment he started opposing Museveni’s government.
A desperate Otunnu is now reported to be seeking audience with president Museveni and I think we already know what happens to politicians lobbying to meet the president.
The moral justifications for war
There are moral arguments in this area that are probably torturing the minds of those who fought in Luwero because things have not changed as they expected and yet people died. But consider this: To defeat Germany in World War II, it was deemed necessary to bomb some civilian centres. In the US Civil War, General Sherman burnt Atlanta.
Now let us analyse the internal dynamics of war before some in the opposition start comparing the Joseph Kony war with the NRA war. First of all, there is a difference between a conventional war and an irregular guerrilla war.
Conventional wars have clear frontlines in which attacks and counter-attacks take place. Violence against civilians and combatants takes place in clearly distinguished spaces. Civilians are generally isolated from the battlefield: while some may live close to the frontlines, or even go there to visit combatants, their life is somewhat independent from the events taking place in it.
In a guerrilla war [like the Luwero Triangle one], such a clear spatial distinction between battlefield and non-battlefield areas is lacking. War takes place all over the territory. Consequently, there is a greater mingling of civilians and combatants. So despite the fact that it is called the Luwero Triangle war, civilians were killed in other parts of the country as well.
Civilians are killed in a guerrilla war when, for example, they hide one group, help them to flee, give false indications, remain silent, or even engage in violent confrontation with one of the groups. Going by this explanation, it’s likely that it was the UNLA that exerted violence on the civilian population in Luwero Triangle. Obote had no support in Buganda where most of the killing took place. He had ‘lost’ an election in 1980 but imposed himself on the people of Uganda.
In Kony’s case, civilians in the north were most likely killed because of non-cooperation with the NRM government. But it’s difficult to know exactly who between LRA and UPDF was doing more killings. The difference between the Kony war and the Luwero Triangle war was that unlike Museveni, Kony failed to mobilize the population in the north to support his cause
In a nutshell, wars are justifiable on the basis of some of the things mentioned above. What happens during and after the war does not make it unjustifiable. Museveni’s war against Obote’s forces was justifiable. In fact, if he hadn’t done it, somebody else would have. Obote had to go.
And please, for the sake of my peace, don’t ask me if I think Museveni deserves the same treatment today. Just ask Museveni this question: What happened to you buddy? END. If it’s Monday, it’s Uganda Correspondent. Never miss out again!
Mr. Abbey Semuwemba is a Ugandan living in the United Kingdom
