I’m sorry, but the President and Commander-in-Chief does not commandeer!

Oct 27, 2003

SIR— I wish to draw your attention to the article “Museveni mourns Kategaya’s mum” published in The New Vision on Wednesday, page 2. The reporter, Kyomuhendo Muhanga, wrote that “Museveni, who sent the message from Soroti where he is currently commandeering the operations against the Jos

SIR— I wish to draw your attention to the article “Museveni mourns Kategaya’s mum” published in The New Vision on Wednesday, page 2. The reporter, Kyomuhendo Muhanga, wrote that “Museveni, who sent the message from Soroti where he is currently commandeering the operations against the Joseph Kony insurgency, contributed sh10m towards the burial arrangements.”

A military officer of the rank of a lieutenant-general, let alone the one specifically referred to also as the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces and the President of Uganda, cannot and should not be associated at all with vagaries of commandeering.

Commandeering is an undertaking arising from desperate military operations occasioned by disorganisation, noticeable incompetence in command and control. However, when an allowance is made that not all journalists are conversant with militarily parlance, most standard English dictionaries indicate the word “commandeering” strictly in a derogatory sense. I will give some examples.

The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology says the word “commandeer” originates in South Africa of the Boer days — Kammandereu in Afrikaans, meaning “to seize for military use”.

However, the New English Dictionary and Thesaurus (Geddis & Grosset, the new edition) indicates not only that “commandeer” refers to “seizing for military purpose”, but also may mean “to appropriate (property) for one’s own use”.
According to the American Intermediate Dictionary by Thondike and Darnhary, “commandeer” is indicated as “seize (private property) for military or public use.”
The right word to use, I believe, is “commanding”, the operations, which has no disparagement and sarcastic innuendos.

Major Kakooza Mutale
Citizen of Uganda

Editor: We apologise for inadvertently using the word ‘commandeer’ which was clearly incorrect.

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