The man who loved excercising power
BORN in 1924, Paulo Muwanga, was the chairman of the governing Military Commission, and the de-facto President of Uganda for a few days in May 1980 until the establishment of the Presidential Commission of Uganda.
By Chris Kiwawulo
BORN in 1924, Paulo Muwanga, was the chairman of the governing Military Commission, and the de-facto President of Uganda for a few days in May 1980 until the establishment of the Presidential Commission of Uganda.
The Presidential Commission, with Muwanga as its chairman, held the office of President of Uganda between May 22 and December 15, 1980.
This was after Muwanga, together with Yoweri Museveni (now the President of Uganda), Oyite Ojok and Tito Okello had deposed Godfrey Binaisa in a coup on May 12, 1980.
Between August 1 and 25, 1980, Muwanga served as Prime Minister before the December 10 elections the same year. After the elections, which were widely criticised by the opposition and Commonwealth observers, Muwanga installed himself as the head of the Electoral Commission and declared Milton Obote’s Uganda People’s Congress party the winner of the polls.
Museveni was among those who contested the elections and waged a guerilla war, which saw him come to power in 1986.
The early days of Museveni’s regime registered several complaints from citizens who felt that Muwanga had deprived them of their constitutional and human rights while he wielded power. Muwanga was subsequently arrested and charged.
He also appeared before the Uganda Human Rights Commission, which was then headed by Justice Arthur Oder in September 1988. During his trial, his lawyer, in a bid to get him out on bail, told court that Muwanga was of advanced age (64 years), had 40 orphans to look after, so he would not jump bail.
Muwanga is said to have had several homes in Masaka, Entebbe and Kagoma on Bombo Road in Mpigi (currently Wakiso district).
Former ministers Bidandi Ssali and Kintu Musoke, who were Muwanga’s close friends, declined to comment about him. All Bidandi could say was: “He was one of us.â€
But one of Muwanga’s former neighbours in Kagoma, Wakiso district, who preferred not to be named, remembers him as a brave man who loved power.
“He would move in a convoy and people would run for safety wherever he passed. Mere suspicion or a rumour that you were planning something against the Government would earn you an arrest,†stated the grey-haired man, now 62.
Muwanga had a humble beginning as a postmaster in Mbarara in the 1960s. He used to help enterprising young men to open up bank accounts, one of whom was Dr. Tom Rushedge (RIP), popularly known as the Old Fox.
In one of his escapades he wrote in the Sunday Magazine, Rushedge remembers how he met Muwanga in the 1980s at Kampala Club and reminded him how his (Muwanga’s) signature had enabled him open up a bank account.
Muwanga reportedly asked Rushedge to bring the signed papers as proof and was so excited about the signature, that he gave Rushedge a huge sum of money for it.
Before becoming an imposing figure in Uganda’s political history, Muwanga served as a diplomat. It is the experience he garnered as an envoy in several countries that analysts say helped him climb the political ladder. His last diplomatic assignment was in France.
Unlike many memorable politicians, Muwanga’s family members kept a reasonable distance from active politics, although he is remembered as a leader whose children were highly educated.
Democratic Party (DP) president John Ssebaana Kizito, who was the deputy leader of his (opposition) party during the Obote II regime, described Muwanga as a man who had veiled aggression. “He liked to move things from the background. He preferred to give his tricks to the President (Obote II). If you did not know him, you would even wet your trousers when he barked at you. He was feared too much!â€
Like other members of the opposition, Ssebaana, then a member of Parliament, also suffered Muwanga’s wrath. The DP chief does not remember the date of the incident, but says the day was a Friday. Ssebaana was summoned in relation to the theft of arms in Lubiri Barracks, allegedly by Kayiira’s rebels. Muwanga also wanted Ssebaana to answer to claims that DP was supporting the NRA rebels led by Museveni.
“He dropped a message at my home that he wanted to meet me at his offices at Nile Mansions. I refused to go because I feared I would be imprisoned. I went the next Monday with Henry Ssewanyana, who was our secretary. Muwanga barked at me, accusing me of supporting Museveni. I denied all the allegations and he did not detain me,†Ssebaana narrates.
Ssebaana notes that Muwanga summoned him because his boss, Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere, the then leader of opposition, was out of the country.
The DP chief says Muwanga accused the DP chairperson for Mubende of harbouring Museveni at his home and the opposition of not releasing any statement condemning the rebel attack on Lubiri Army Barracks.
“I denied everything and explained to him that we had not issued a statement because Government had said that nothing had been destroyed and that the army had repulsed the attackers.â€
Ssebaana said he was taken aback when Muwanga threatened to destroy his house and kill him and his family for concealing information about rebel activities. “I was so terrified because it had happened to Ntege Lubwama.â€
But after about two months, Muwanga met Ssebaana at parliament and asked for forgiveness for his rudeness.
Muwanga, according to Ssebaana, was also a man of intrigue and treachery. “He used to pit people around him against each other, including his boss (Obote II).†There are claims that he could have had a hand in the death of Oyite Ojok, whose helicopter was shot down.
But Muwanga was not entirely a bad man, Ssebaana says. “He was the Vice-President and I was the deputy leader of opposition. We worked together a lot. If you approached him in case of a problem, he would help.â€
During the Obote II regime, many people in the opposition would be kidnapped and some murdered, Ssebaana reminisces. But if the opposition got the message early enough before someone was killed, they would approach Muwanga and he would often save those arrested.
Ssebaana cites two incidents where two opposition supporters had been kidnapped by Obote’s soldiers but were released when they approached Muwanga.
Muwanga was a man of many faces. His contemporaries remember how he would use his chief bodyguard, James Mukanya, as a decoy. Mukanya, who currently operates a restaurant in Mbale town, was Muwanga’s look-alike.
“Several times, Muwanga would put Mukanya in his car and people would think it was him in there. He would be welcomed as Muwanga and he would not object, only to see the true Muwanga emerging later,†said a veteran journalist.
Other people would run to Mukanya to explain their problems to him, thinking he was Muwanga. To confuse them, Mukanya would listen to them and then forward them to his boss.
One of Muwanga’s former closest allies and henchman says his friend was a good man, whom many simply misunderstood. Muwanga died in 1991 at the age of 67.
BORN in 1924, Paulo Muwanga, was the chairman of the governing Military Commission, and the de-facto President of Uganda for a few days in May 1980 until the establishment of the Presidential Commission of Uganda.
The Presidential Commission, with Muwanga as its chairman, held the office of President of Uganda between May 22 and December 15, 1980.
This was after Muwanga, together with Yoweri Museveni (now the President of Uganda), Oyite Ojok and Tito Okello had deposed Godfrey Binaisa in a coup on May 12, 1980.
Between August 1 and 25, 1980, Muwanga served as Prime Minister before the December 10 elections the same year. After the elections, which were widely criticised by the opposition and Commonwealth observers, Muwanga installed himself as the head of the Electoral Commission and declared Milton Obote’s Uganda People’s Congress party the winner of the polls.
Museveni was among those who contested the elections and waged a guerilla war, which saw him come to power in 1986.
The early days of Museveni’s regime registered several complaints from citizens who felt that Muwanga had deprived them of their constitutional and human rights while he wielded power. Muwanga was subsequently arrested and charged.
He also appeared before the Uganda Human Rights Commission, which was then headed by Justice Arthur Oder in September 1988. During his trial, his lawyer, in a bid to get him out on bail, told court that Muwanga was of advanced age (64 years), had 40 orphans to look after, so he would not jump bail.
Muwanga is said to have had several homes in Masaka, Entebbe and Kagoma on Bombo Road in Mpigi (currently Wakiso district).
Former ministers Bidandi Ssali and Kintu Musoke, who were Muwanga’s close friends, declined to comment about him. All Bidandi could say was: “He was one of us.â€
But one of Muwanga’s former neighbours in Kagoma, Wakiso district, who preferred not to be named, remembers him as a brave man who loved power.
“He would move in a convoy and people would run for safety wherever he passed. Mere suspicion or a rumour that you were planning something against the Government would earn you an arrest,†stated the grey-haired man, now 62.
Muwanga had a humble beginning as a postmaster in Mbarara in the 1960s. He used to help enterprising young men to open up bank accounts, one of whom was Dr. Tom Rushedge (RIP), popularly known as the Old Fox.
In one of his escapades he wrote in the Sunday Magazine, Rushedge remembers how he met Muwanga in the 1980s at Kampala Club and reminded him how his (Muwanga’s) signature had enabled him open up a bank account.
Muwanga reportedly asked Rushedge to bring the signed papers as proof and was so excited about the signature, that he gave Rushedge a huge sum of money for it.
Before becoming an imposing figure in Uganda’s political history, Muwanga served as a diplomat. It is the experience he garnered as an envoy in several countries that analysts say helped him climb the political ladder. His last diplomatic assignment was in France.
Unlike many memorable politicians, Muwanga’s family members kept a reasonable distance from active politics, although he is remembered as a leader whose children were highly educated.
Democratic Party (DP) president John Ssebaana Kizito, who was the deputy leader of his (opposition) party during the Obote II regime, described Muwanga as a man who had veiled aggression. “He liked to move things from the background. He preferred to give his tricks to the President (Obote II). If you did not know him, you would even wet your trousers when he barked at you. He was feared too much!â€
Like other members of the opposition, Ssebaana, then a member of Parliament, also suffered Muwanga’s wrath. The DP chief does not remember the date of the incident, but says the day was a Friday. Ssebaana was summoned in relation to the theft of arms in Lubiri Barracks, allegedly by Kayiira’s rebels. Muwanga also wanted Ssebaana to answer to claims that DP was supporting the NRA rebels led by Museveni.
“He dropped a message at my home that he wanted to meet me at his offices at Nile Mansions. I refused to go because I feared I would be imprisoned. I went the next Monday with Henry Ssewanyana, who was our secretary. Muwanga barked at me, accusing me of supporting Museveni. I denied all the allegations and he did not detain me,†Ssebaana narrates.
Ssebaana notes that Muwanga summoned him because his boss, Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere, the then leader of opposition, was out of the country.
The DP chief says Muwanga accused the DP chairperson for Mubende of harbouring Museveni at his home and the opposition of not releasing any statement condemning the rebel attack on Lubiri Army Barracks.
“I denied everything and explained to him that we had not issued a statement because Government had said that nothing had been destroyed and that the army had repulsed the attackers.â€
Ssebaana said he was taken aback when Muwanga threatened to destroy his house and kill him and his family for concealing information about rebel activities. “I was so terrified because it had happened to Ntege Lubwama.â€
But after about two months, Muwanga met Ssebaana at parliament and asked for forgiveness for his rudeness.
Muwanga, according to Ssebaana, was also a man of intrigue and treachery. “He used to pit people around him against each other, including his boss (Obote II).†There are claims that he could have had a hand in the death of Oyite Ojok, whose helicopter was shot down.
But Muwanga was not entirely a bad man, Ssebaana says. “He was the Vice-President and I was the deputy leader of opposition. We worked together a lot. If you approached him in case of a problem, he would help.â€
During the Obote II regime, many people in the opposition would be kidnapped and some murdered, Ssebaana reminisces. But if the opposition got the message early enough before someone was killed, they would approach Muwanga and he would often save those arrested.
Ssebaana cites two incidents where two opposition supporters had been kidnapped by Obote’s soldiers but were released when they approached Muwanga.
Muwanga was a man of many faces. His contemporaries remember how he would use his chief bodyguard, James Mukanya, as a decoy. Mukanya, who currently operates a restaurant in Mbale town, was Muwanga’s look-alike.
“Several times, Muwanga would put Mukanya in his car and people would think it was him in there. He would be welcomed as Muwanga and he would not object, only to see the true Muwanga emerging later,†said a veteran journalist.
Other people would run to Mukanya to explain their problems to him, thinking he was Muwanga. To confuse them, Mukanya would listen to them and then forward them to his boss.
One of Muwanga’s former closest allies and henchman says his friend was a good man, whom many simply misunderstood. Muwanga died in 1991 at the age of 67.