Women’s experiences during the bush war
Jan 26, 2008
<b>Liberation day special</b><br><br>MIRIA Matembe once referred to the African woman as a ‘beast of burden’. Beasts of burden indeed were the women on the frontline during the NRA bush war of 1981 to 1986. In addition to the constant hunger and death looming over their heads, to these women,
Liberation day special
MIRIA Matembe once referred to the African woman as a ‘beast of burden’. Beasts of burden indeed were the women on the frontline during the NRA bush war of 1981 to 1986. In addition to the constant hunger and death looming over their heads, to these women, even things like personal hygiene and privacy were unattainable fantasies. Yet, one could not even cry about it lest they risked being charged! Lydia Namubiru brings you some of the bush tales
Proscovia Nalweyiso
Oh yes, she was at the frontline not once or twice. This former primary school teacher joined the bush in 1982 because she was “tired of fleeing from place to place as a civilian living in the war zone.†She actually wrote to Fred Rwigyema asking to join the NRA.
She proved herself a formidable fighter and was appointed leader of the women’s wing, a full fledged combative wing. She says she always tried to protect her women but in an unsuccessful attack on Mbarara barracks, “I lost five women.†Another fight near Semuto when they were caught unawares by the enemy remains chillingly vivid. “The fighting was so frightening, so intense,†she said in an earlier interview with the press.
A Colonel today, Nalweyiso is the highest ranking female officer in the UPDF and she says she would be willing to go back to the bush if the army started terrorising people again.
Oliver Zizinga
Captain Oliver Zizinga is no pushover and she has never been. When the government forces killed her first born son William Sebugwawo, in 1980, like a fearless but wounded lioness, she vowed to support anyone against them and joined the NRA bush war the following year with some of her own children. As an officer, she never went to the frontline but instead cooked for the leader, Museveni, and attended mediatory meetings.
Yet, this iron woman once wept for three consecutive days when she was accused of poisoning Museveni. She even attempted to get herself killed by walking out of the safety of the camp into enemy territory. Thereafter, she was summoned to the High Command and ‘charged with crying’, an offence that was punishable with death by the firing squad. She was forgiven after Museveni pleaded that she was a first time offender.
Sarah Navuga
At 15, Captain Sarah Navuga was catapulted into the guerrilla war by fate rather than choice but has stayed rooted in the army to date. She is now the commandant of the women’s wing in the UPDF. During what was meant to be a short holiday visit with relatives in Luwero, the rebels came by looking for youths to recruit and they recruited her. Many times, a bottle of water for washing her privates was all the luxury she could afford by way of personal hygiene. Luckily for her, she never had to deal with menstruation periods because the tension of the battlefront just drove them away for the whole duration of the war. She recalls how they used to pick jiggers and lice out of the folds of their skins.
Getrude Njuba
One time, the troops had to cross River Mayanja. The men simply removed their clothes and crossed. There before boys young enough to be her sons, Captain Gertrude Njuba had to pull all her clothes up! It is an experience she found deeply embarrassing. She remembers having only a single piece of underwear that she kept for occasions when she would be on the move! It was sheer awe of the special man that she believes Museveni is, that kept her going. “There were times I used to think that he is not human in some of the things he used to do in the bush. He used to inspire me,†she once told the press.
MIRIA Matembe once referred to the African woman as a ‘beast of burden’. Beasts of burden indeed were the women on the frontline during the NRA bush war of 1981 to 1986. In addition to the constant hunger and death looming over their heads, to these women, even things like personal hygiene and privacy were unattainable fantasies. Yet, one could not even cry about it lest they risked being charged! Lydia Namubiru brings you some of the bush tales
Proscovia Nalweyiso
Oh yes, she was at the frontline not once or twice. This former primary school teacher joined the bush in 1982 because she was “tired of fleeing from place to place as a civilian living in the war zone.†She actually wrote to Fred Rwigyema asking to join the NRA.
She proved herself a formidable fighter and was appointed leader of the women’s wing, a full fledged combative wing. She says she always tried to protect her women but in an unsuccessful attack on Mbarara barracks, “I lost five women.†Another fight near Semuto when they were caught unawares by the enemy remains chillingly vivid. “The fighting was so frightening, so intense,†she said in an earlier interview with the press.
A Colonel today, Nalweyiso is the highest ranking female officer in the UPDF and she says she would be willing to go back to the bush if the army started terrorising people again.
Oliver Zizinga
Captain Oliver Zizinga is no pushover and she has never been. When the government forces killed her first born son William Sebugwawo, in 1980, like a fearless but wounded lioness, she vowed to support anyone against them and joined the NRA bush war the following year with some of her own children. As an officer, she never went to the frontline but instead cooked for the leader, Museveni, and attended mediatory meetings.
Yet, this iron woman once wept for three consecutive days when she was accused of poisoning Museveni. She even attempted to get herself killed by walking out of the safety of the camp into enemy territory. Thereafter, she was summoned to the High Command and ‘charged with crying’, an offence that was punishable with death by the firing squad. She was forgiven after Museveni pleaded that she was a first time offender.
Sarah Navuga
At 15, Captain Sarah Navuga was catapulted into the guerrilla war by fate rather than choice but has stayed rooted in the army to date. She is now the commandant of the women’s wing in the UPDF. During what was meant to be a short holiday visit with relatives in Luwero, the rebels came by looking for youths to recruit and they recruited her. Many times, a bottle of water for washing her privates was all the luxury she could afford by way of personal hygiene. Luckily for her, she never had to deal with menstruation periods because the tension of the battlefront just drove them away for the whole duration of the war. She recalls how they used to pick jiggers and lice out of the folds of their skins.
Getrude Njuba
One time, the troops had to cross River Mayanja. The men simply removed their clothes and crossed. There before boys young enough to be her sons, Captain Gertrude Njuba had to pull all her clothes up! It is an experience she found deeply embarrassing. She remembers having only a single piece of underwear that she kept for occasions when she would be on the move! It was sheer awe of the special man that she believes Museveni is, that kept her going. “There were times I used to think that he is not human in some of the things he used to do in the bush. He used to inspire me,†she once told the press.