Tinyefuza speaks out on Kayiira
SENIOR presidential adviser on defence and security coordinator Gen. David Tinyefuza has said the murder of Kayiira was the work of rogue elements within his own defunct Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM).
By Cyprian Musoke
SENIOR presidential adviser on defence and security coordinator Gen. David Tinyefuza has said the murder of Kayiira was the work of rogue elements within his own defunct Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM).
He stressed that the National Resistance Army (NRA) had no reason to kill Kayiira because they had good working relations with him.
“Kayiira was not murdered by the Government. Those thugs murdered their own man. We had no reason to kill Kayiira because it was not the first time we worked with him.
“We don’t want to commit ourselves because investigations were done, but you can see where things don’t add up. Those near him had a hand in his death. I think it is those (UFM) characters. We know it’s them,†he emphasised.
He explained that UFM was afflicted by many problems and had split into two units, FEDEMU headed by the late Col. George William Nkwanga and Brigadier Kasirye Gwanga on the one hand, and UFM the 35th Battalion headed by Kayiira and Francis Bwengye on the other hand. “They couldn’t see eye-to- eye, couldn’t even talk to each other. We were the ones who were standing between them. They had political and financial problems,†the general said.
FEDEMU, the Uganda Federal Democratic Movement, was a predominantly Baganda group crusading for federalism. Its leader, Nkwanga, was also murdered under unclear circumstances as NRA took over Kampala. Some suspect Kayiira had a hand in his killing.
Tinyefuza said NRA had known Kayiira since the bush days. After capturing power, they had accompanied him on a tour of Buganda and the west to inspect his troops which were about to be integrated into the NRA.
“He was under our care, being escorted by our senior officer, Col. Fred Mwesige. Why would we kill Kayiira?†he wondered.
The general noted that the operation in which Kayiira was killed was very amateurish, comparing its mediocre nature to people like ‘Ssebaana and (Kampala Central MP) Erias Lukwaago’ who are spreading the propaganda.
“People surround a house for so long. They say: ‘That is the UFM man’. They then allow him to run into the house and follow him, where they shoot him from! That is rubbish! We can’t do that type of nonsense.â€
He dismissed speculation that sniffer dogs led a search team to Lubiri Barracks, where the killer could have been staying.
“In 1987, we did not have a single sniffer dog. The entire Police Force was broken down. Sniffer dogs are a new phenomenon.â€
Tinyefuza believes there are other motives behind the present uproar about Kayiira’s murder.
“It is not about the death of Kayiira. They (opposition) know who was involved. They know it was not the Government because a lot of investigations were carried out. Former DP president, who was internal affairs minister at the time, had access to the reports.
“DP is trying to re-position itself on the political spectrum, using Kayiira to opportunistically rekindle their flame. They are dragging a dead horse. If the Government had been involved, they wouldn’t have invited a high profile investigation team like the Scotland Yard, he argued.“The first action would have been trying to prevent the investigation, or carrying out a mediocre one. But you would not get the best investigation agency in the world and give them the case.â€
He dismissed talks that Kayiira was ‘a great freedom fighter’, noting that his force was beaten in 1982 when its commander, Hussein Abbas and Chief of Staff, Mark Kodili, were captured by the Obote forces and paraded at City Square, now Constitution Square.
“We accommodated the UFM remnants and set up a camp for them in Kasaga when they ran to us. Where was Dr. Kayiira? He claimed to have made a tactical withdrawal to the US when his fighters needed him most.
There was absolutely no reason for us to have feared Kayiira so much that we had to kill him,†the general said, adding that all other political opponents at the time are still around.
“We don’t believe in assassination for it doesn’t solve the fundamental contradictions. It just pushes them under the carpet, giving them time to germinate.â€
He also wondered aloud why DP president Ssebaana Kizito, Paul Ssemogerere and Col. Kizza Besigye, who were in Parliament and the Cabinet, did not ask for the report earlier.
Asked why it took the Government so long to produce the report, he said it was more a matter of bureaucracy than a deliberate move.
“It is the right of the public to demand (for the report). I am sure it was not deliberate for the Government to keep the report away, just lack of coordination,†he commented.
SENIOR presidential adviser on defence and security coordinator Gen. David Tinyefuza has said the murder of Kayiira was the work of rogue elements within his own defunct Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM).
He stressed that the National Resistance Army (NRA) had no reason to kill Kayiira because they had good working relations with him.
“Kayiira was not murdered by the Government. Those thugs murdered their own man. We had no reason to kill Kayiira because it was not the first time we worked with him.
“We don’t want to commit ourselves because investigations were done, but you can see where things don’t add up. Those near him had a hand in his death. I think it is those (UFM) characters. We know it’s them,†he emphasised.
He explained that UFM was afflicted by many problems and had split into two units, FEDEMU headed by the late Col. George William Nkwanga and Brigadier Kasirye Gwanga on the one hand, and UFM the 35th Battalion headed by Kayiira and Francis Bwengye on the other hand. “They couldn’t see eye-to- eye, couldn’t even talk to each other. We were the ones who were standing between them. They had political and financial problems,†the general said.
FEDEMU, the Uganda Federal Democratic Movement, was a predominantly Baganda group crusading for federalism. Its leader, Nkwanga, was also murdered under unclear circumstances as NRA took over Kampala. Some suspect Kayiira had a hand in his killing.
Tinyefuza said NRA had known Kayiira since the bush days. After capturing power, they had accompanied him on a tour of Buganda and the west to inspect his troops which were about to be integrated into the NRA.
“He was under our care, being escorted by our senior officer, Col. Fred Mwesige. Why would we kill Kayiira?†he wondered.
The general noted that the operation in which Kayiira was killed was very amateurish, comparing its mediocre nature to people like ‘Ssebaana and (Kampala Central MP) Erias Lukwaago’ who are spreading the propaganda.
“People surround a house for so long. They say: ‘That is the UFM man’. They then allow him to run into the house and follow him, where they shoot him from! That is rubbish! We can’t do that type of nonsense.â€
He dismissed speculation that sniffer dogs led a search team to Lubiri Barracks, where the killer could have been staying.
“In 1987, we did not have a single sniffer dog. The entire Police Force was broken down. Sniffer dogs are a new phenomenon.â€
Tinyefuza believes there are other motives behind the present uproar about Kayiira’s murder.
“It is not about the death of Kayiira. They (opposition) know who was involved. They know it was not the Government because a lot of investigations were carried out. Former DP president, who was internal affairs minister at the time, had access to the reports.
“DP is trying to re-position itself on the political spectrum, using Kayiira to opportunistically rekindle their flame. They are dragging a dead horse. If the Government had been involved, they wouldn’t have invited a high profile investigation team like the Scotland Yard, he argued.“The first action would have been trying to prevent the investigation, or carrying out a mediocre one. But you would not get the best investigation agency in the world and give them the case.â€
He dismissed talks that Kayiira was ‘a great freedom fighter’, noting that his force was beaten in 1982 when its commander, Hussein Abbas and Chief of Staff, Mark Kodili, were captured by the Obote forces and paraded at City Square, now Constitution Square.
“We accommodated the UFM remnants and set up a camp for them in Kasaga when they ran to us. Where was Dr. Kayiira? He claimed to have made a tactical withdrawal to the US when his fighters needed him most.
There was absolutely no reason for us to have feared Kayiira so much that we had to kill him,†the general said, adding that all other political opponents at the time are still around.
“We don’t believe in assassination for it doesn’t solve the fundamental contradictions. It just pushes them under the carpet, giving them time to germinate.â€
He also wondered aloud why DP president Ssebaana Kizito, Paul Ssemogerere and Col. Kizza Besigye, who were in Parliament and the Cabinet, did not ask for the report earlier.
Asked why it took the Government so long to produce the report, he said it was more a matter of bureaucracy than a deliberate move.
“It is the right of the public to demand (for the report). I am sure it was not deliberate for the Government to keep the report away, just lack of coordination,†he commented.