Lt. Col Muhoozi may now be a legitimate target
By Sam Akaki
9th May 2011: Hosni Mubarak’s son, Gamal Mubarak, who was being groomed
Centre in black hat: Saif Gaddafi at his brother's funeral
by his father to take over as President of Egypt must regard himself a very lucky man to be alive today. His father relented to sustained peaceful demonstrations and stepped down without a fire fight. This was a wise decision, which saved Gamal Mubarak and other former first family members from violent deaths. Why?
‘Seal of Approval’ from Her Majesty’s Government
Addressing the British Parliament on 3rd May 2011, the Foreign Secretary Mr William Hague said NATO air strikes against Libya’s “command and control structures” where Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is the “nerve centre” were “wholly legitimate targets”. Mr Hague was not speaking in abstract terms. He was explaining to Parliament NATO’s precision cruise missile attacks on Tripoli, which had instantly killed Col. Gaddafi’s son Sayf al-Arab Gaddafi on 1st May.
NATO, it must be emphasised, is not in Libya as self-styled world policemen. It is acting on behalf of the international community to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorised the use of “any measures” to protect civilians.
In that context, Sayf al-Arab Gaddafi’s violent death must send a graphic message to Lt. Col. Muhoozi and other so called “First Children” in Africa whose fathers are using violence to cling to power, that they are, as William Hague put it, “wholly legitimate targets” of devastating attacks if a people’s revolution were to erupt or and NATO intervenes to protect civilians.
Political inactivity is no longer an insurance policy
Sayf al-Arab Gaddafi’s death has another sobering message, that a First Family member need not necessarily be active politically, to become a legitimate target of attack. Unlike his outspoken elder brother, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi who is the public face of Col. Gaddafi’s regime and de facto Libyan President; Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was totally obscure.
He was so obscure that the UN Security Council did not even bother to include his name on the 26th February 2011 Resolution 1970, which imposed an asset freeze on other members of the Gaddafi family. Yet Sayf al-Arab Gaddafi has become the first casualty in the First Family.
Third and fourth generations are legitimate targets too!
According to Holly Bible, Exodus 20:4-6, God said, “…you shall not make yourself a carved God, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above. For, I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me!”
It was in an apparent fulfilment of this prophesy that Col. Gaddafi’s grandchildren, Hannibal Gaddafi, Mohammed Gaddafi and Aisha Gaddafi were killed along with their father Sayf al-Arab Gaddafi!
The tough choices that Museveni must now face
The decision by NATO to regard Col. Gaddafi, his children and grandchildren as “wholly legitimate targets” should offer General Museveni two simple choices: To take Hosni Mubarak’s route, step down and save his children and grandchildren; or follow Col. Gaddafi’s route, carry on to the bitter end, and wait for NATO or any other intervention forces.
At a personal level, Ugandans should feel sorry for Lt. Col Muhoozi, his siblings, and their children who are facing a dreadful future because of their father’s ambition to create a dynasty. Politically, however, no one should shed a tear for them. They had the option to follow all previous First Children, from Obote’s and Amin’s, Lule’s, Binaisa’s and Tito Okello’s children who made conscious decisions to steer clear of their father’s politics.
Instead, Lt. Col. Muhoozi has not only decided to become the commander of the Special Forces Group, an army outside the national army, but he also decided to deploy his army against peaceful demonstrators in Kampala and around the country. It is most likely that it was the Special Forces Group that murdered baby Juliana Nalwanga and scores of other fatalities in Kampala, Masaka and Gulu.
The UN appalled and shocked by Museveni’s violence
The savage attacks on Ugandans have been so appalling that even the usually indifferent international community could not keep quiet. Drawing attention to the case of Dr. Kizza Besigye, who has been arrested four times in the past three weeks, shot in the hand and attacked with a possible chemical weapon; the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, declared that the “…the manner of Dr. Besigye’s arrest on Thursday was shocking”.
She also said the “the excessive use of force by security officers was plain to see in the television footage of the event”, and demanded that Ugandan government should immediately “halt the use of excessive force against opposition politicians and protesters.”
This, if anyone needs reminding, was the exact language that the UN used initially to warn Col. Gaddafi when he started using brute force to quell demonstrations in eastern Libya. The rest is now history. Col. Gaddafi and his family have become “wholly legitimate targets” of NATO air strikes, which have already killed Sayf al-Arab Gaddafi and his three children.
Uganda’s First Family, especially Lt. Col. Muhoozi Kainerugaba Museveni, Natasha Museveni Karugire, Patience Museveni Rwabwogo, and Diana Museveni Kamuntu and their children should take note. END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
Mr. Sam Akaki is FDC’s International Envoy to the UK and EU
