Jeje Odongo Reveals NRA Roots

By Hamis KaheruFormer army commander Lt. Gen. Jeje Odongo has revealed how he collaborated with the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels to attack the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), to which he belonged. “On February 5, 1981, the current minister of defence, Amama Mbabazi, came to my house in Kabamba barracks with the late Sam Magara and Akanga Byaruhanga and talked to me,” he said in an interview over the weekend.The following day the NRA attacked Kabamba barracks, marking the start of their armed struggle against Milton Obote’s government. Odongo, a cadet officer in UNLA at the time, was an instructor at Kabamba, which doubled as a training institute.News of Odongo’s meeting with the rebels on the eve of the attack quickly reached his bosses and he was arrested.“The girl who was serving tea saw my visitors and talked about the meeting. I was arrested and remanded in Luzira prison for two years,” Odongo said. He said after his release he remained an “internal contact” for NRA within the UNLA until early 1985 when he joined the rebels in their bush strongholds. Odongo said he joined the army towards the end of 1978. He said in 1979 he went for a cadet course in Tanzania together with Elly Tumwine, Joram Mugume and Steven Kashaka.Before joining the army, Odongo was a teacher at Kyebambe Girls School, Nyakasura School and Mpanga Secondary School, all in Fort Portal, Kabarole. He was at Makerere University between 1973-1976 where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree.Ends