Thank you, Gen. Muhoozi for honouring Lt. Col. Netanyahu
By honouring Yonatan Netanyahu at the very place where he fell, Uganda has preserved a defining chapter of its history while sending a clear message for the future: courage, sacrifice and the fight against terrorism should never be forgotten.
Amlan Tumusiime. (File)
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OPINION
By Amlan Tumusiime
Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba was only two years old when Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, an elite Israeli military commando, led a daring raid at Entebbe Airport, rescuing over 100 plane hostages. The hostages had been hijacked on Air France Flight 139, shortly after taking off from Athens, Greece. On board were different nationalities, but non-Israeli and most non-Jewish passengers were released, while the Israeli and some Jewish hostages, along with flight crew who chose to stay, remained captive. This was on July 4, 1976.
Aged 30 then, Netanyahu, an elder brother to the current prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, lost his life while saving the hostages. The hostages, who also included children, were hijacked by seven terrorists from both the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and West Germany’s Revolutionary Cells. Netanyahu was the sole Israeli soldier killed during the assault. All seven hijackers were killed, alongside 45 Ugandan army soldiers. Three hostages also lost their lives during a 90-minute operation.
On this rescue mission, Netanyahu led the Israeli rescue force that flew to Entebbe aboard four military transport aircraft to carry out the daring hostage rescue mission. Plane 1 landed completely unannounced. It taxied to the old terminal, and the primary assault team immediately deployed to surprise the hijackers. Planes 2 and 3 landed minutes later to secure the outer perimeter, eliminate Ugandan military resistance and destroy Ugandan MiG fighter jets on the ground to prevent any aerial pursuit. Plane 4 landed safely to act as the primary evacuation transport, taking all the rescued hostages and commandos back into the air. This is the plane that carried the body of Netanyahu after he was shot dead.
There were two other Boeing 707 planes on this mission, but these two did not land at Entebbe; one remained airborne over the area as a command post, and the hospital plane waited in nearby Nairobi, Kenya.
At this point, two Ugandan sentries realised that the convoy was not for President Amin, and the Israeli commandos shot at these two sentries using silenced pistols, but the weapons failed to work, and this premature gunfire alerted other Ugandan guards, causing gunfire to rock the area. Netanyahu lost his life at this point. But the Israeli commandos were able to free the hostages and board the waiting planes. Back home, Netanyahu received a full military funeral, with top-ranking officials, including the then Israeli defence minister, who later became the Israeli prime minister and president, Shimon Perez, attending his burial.
Several schools, parks and streets in Israel are named in his honour.
President Amin, who was in support of the hijackers, drove up to the airport and addressed both the hijackers and the hostages. I am told Amin had personal issues with Israel. A 73-year-old Israeli woman, Dora Bloch, choked on food during captivity and was rushed to Mulago Hospital. The poor woman was on her way to New York to attend her youngest son’s wedding. After the successful Israeli raid, the enraged Amin ordered his soldiers to go to Mulago Hospital and kill her. Her remains were discovered by Tanzanian troops and local authorities in a shallow grave near a sugar plantation in Mukono district. An Israeli pathologist examined the remains and positively identified them using medical records and dental features. Her remains were flown back to Israel and given a State funeral on June 5, 1979, in Har HaMenuchot Cemetery in Jerusalem. Then Israeli President Yitzhak Navon, government ministers and family members of Dora Bloch attended the funeral to honour her as a victim of the 1976 Entebbe hijacking aftermath.
Many people are happy with Gen. Muhoozi for honouring Netanyahu by unveiling his bronze monument at the old Entebbe airport terminal. The statue depicts Netanyahu striding forward with a machine gun in his hand. This was to mark 50 years since the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue mission. This is a good gesture by Gen. Muhoozi because it reaffirms diplomatic and military ties between Uganda and Israel and Muhoozi honouring Netanyahu sends a clear message that Uganda has no room for terrorism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a public statement thanking the Government of Uganda and military leadership for honouring his brother. International media like the BBC, Al Jazeera and Associated Press in New York ran extensive coverage on this. In an official statement, Benjamin said: “I received the tribute from the Ugandan government and the military leadership about my brother with a heavy heart, given the tragic loss 50 years ago”.
I find Muhoozi and Netanyahu share a lot in common. They are both patriotic military figures devoted to their countries. At 18 years old, Netanyahu joined the Israeli defence forces, became a national symbol of Israel and made the ultimate sacrifice at 30 years old when he died leading the historic 1976 Operation Entebbe hostage rescue mission. He committed his early life to serving his country in the military by defending his homeland. At 30 years old, holding the rank of Lt Colonel meant he was a great soldier.
On the part of Muhoozi, too, joined the Uganda People’s Defence Forces at the age of 25 in 1999. Because he had love for his country, Muhoozi, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Nottingham University in the UK, returned to Uganda to serve his country.
Muhoozi has been involved in battlefields like the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Insurgency in northern Uganda and Garamba in DR Congo. He commanded a motorised infantry battalion during anti-LRA operations around Soroti in the early 2000s and later served as second-in-command during Operation Lightning Thunder against Joseph Kony’s LRA in the DR Congo jungles in 2008. Gen. Muhoozi also fought the ADF during 2007 battles in Bundibugyo and Semliki National Park, leading the 1st Commando Battalion, and later oversaw the strategic deployments against the group during Operation Shujaa as commander of land forces.
The 52-year-old, Sandhurst-trained 4-star General was also involved in planning and executing special operations and deployments for UPDF elements serving under the African Union mission in Somalia.
Therefore, when I see some unserious people like Bobi Wine trying to undermine the contribution of Gen. Muhoozi in the army, I pity them because they speak out of ignorance and unnecessary hatred.
Thank you, General Muhoozi, for honouring Lt. Col. Netanyahu. Uganda is proud of you.
The writer is an NRM Cadre