My flash disk must have been taken by security operatives
Jun 29, 2009
SIX MPs Face Arrest,†a newspaper headline of Wednesday June 17, 2009 screamed. The story then went on to say, “At least six MPs and a high flying LCV chairman (all of them from Acholi sub-region) face arrest over subversive activities.
LETTER FROM GULU - Nobert Mao
SIX MPs Face Arrest,†a newspaper headline of Wednesday June 17, 2009 screamed. The story then went on to say, “At least six MPs and a high flying LCV chairman (all of them from Acholi sub-region) face arrest over subversive activities.
They are to be charged with a range of treason offences including involvement in subversion and concealment of treason.â€
The story claimed that the LCV Chairman lost his flash disk at a hotel in Kampala “where he had gone to have dinner†and that it ended up in the hands of security operatives. The embellishments of the story simply amused me. But several people, including my wife, called me and expressed concern. That is why I have decided that the truth should be put in the daylight for all to see.
For years I have relied on the Sheraton Business Centre for a lot of my work while in Kampala. It has the ambience and quiet that is good for work. It is also in the centre of Kampala city. I have even relied on them to receive most of my official communication, which is then picked up for onward transmission to Gulu.
Most people who have tried to send me parcels or letters will recall that I have always told them to deliver their messages to the Sheraton Business Centre. In April, I was working from there. When I left, I realised that I had forgotten my flash disk in the computer.
I even recall which computer it was. I immediately called the Business Centre. They told me they had not seen any flash disk. I became suspicious but I decided that there was nothing more I could do. So what about my flash disk and what is this contraption called the UPF?
The document which is 53 pages and not 37 pages as stated in the press says, “UPF as the body name is being retained for the purpose of drafting. The final name of the body shall be agreed upon during the general meeting, whence all members’ entities shall resolve to dissolve and function under a new nameâ€.
The document says “The UPF will instigate an internal grassroots popular movement against the Museveni dictatorship that is also effectively supported by Ugandans in the diaspora and their friends worldwide. The UPF is prepared to remove the Museveni dictatorship by force, if necessary.
The UPF shall establish a Transitional Government as soon as Kampala falls. The Transitional Government will immediately proceed with assurance of civilian safety and seek recognition by foreign governments.â€
The said flash disk was given to me in early 2008 by a graduate student studying in the UK who had attended a seminar on peace-building in Juba. He told me that he got hold of some write-up by a section of our people in the diaspora who thought the whole Juba process was a hoax and that the government of Uganda had no interest in peace.
The group says in its document that it “cannot accept the planned outcome and long-term repercussion of the ongoing Juba peace talks. Further, UPF finds it even less acceptable to reconcile the real powers behind the peace talks with the expected outcome: who the beneficiaries are, what they are after, and why it is important to them that the insecurity in northern Uganda is never resolved.â€
The group does not stop there. It says, “The people of northern Uganda are of peripheral concern to the real powers behind the peace talks. UPF is clear on this point: a perceived success in Juba is worse than a perceived failure.
A success in Juba is an outcome planned and calculated to replicate and multiply the cycle of insecurity. The LRA is an offshoot of the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena, which was an offshoot of her father’s church movement.
Replication and multiplication guarantees that the north remains permanently mired in war and insecurity until the Acholi, the only hurdle between Gen. Museveni and immortality, are reduced to mere shells of their former shelves. This is utterly unacceptable.â€
There are some acknowledgments of the need for continuity in the UPF document. The document says, “UPF shall suspend the current constitution of Uganda forthwith, and reorganise the makeup of Parliament under an Interim Legislative Council (ILC).
However, the UPF government shall uphold, respect, protect, promote and enforce all applicable provisions of all preceding constitutions of Uganda which endow all citizens with fundamental rights and freedoms, and afford them full opportunity to exercise their duties and obligations without infringing on the rights and freedoms of other citizens to do the same.â€
This group thought there had to be a plan to deal with the root causes of the problems that led to the northern Uganda war in the first place. They thought there was need to establish a new organisation to challenge the NRM and Museveni’s stranglehold on power. I asked him for the document. Since I did not have a flash disk he offered me his. That is how I came to possess the flash disk which I lost. Its brand name is “Eucrinâ€.
On the day I lost the disk there was no one else in the Business Centre apart from the staff. Unless it is the staff of the Sheraton Business Centre who are security operatives, I am at a loss how the flash disk found its way into the hands of security operatives.
Before the Juba talks broke down, I received a phone contact from London from someone who denounced the peace talks in totality. He claimed that we should all wait for something spectacular to be launched.
We usually analyse these kinds of things together with other members of the District Security Committee. Many times we think there are just a lot of arm chair rebels seeking publicity.
That is the same opinion I formed about the so-called Uganda People’s Front. But the sensational story published made unnecessary innuendos. They should have been forthright and named me as the owner of the flash disk.
The exaggeration that I was having dinner was uncalled for. Above all, some of the insinuations that the political leaders in Acholi are discouraging the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are blatant lies with no supporting evidence.
This is what was written: “Politicians have always asked those unwilling to return home to hang around saying something big is being worked on … LRA has been annihilated but don’t lose hope. It will re-emerge.†This is utter nonsense.
The political leaders of northern Uganda, especially Acholiland have been at the forefront of the campaign urging IDPs to leave the concentration camps and go home.
The newspaper was right that the document is full of contradictions. In my next column, I will offer an analysis and also reflect on the current arrests and threats of arrests based on rumours and paranoia.
The writer is LC 5 chairman Gulu
SIX MPs Face Arrest,†a newspaper headline of Wednesday June 17, 2009 screamed. The story then went on to say, “At least six MPs and a high flying LCV chairman (all of them from Acholi sub-region) face arrest over subversive activities.
They are to be charged with a range of treason offences including involvement in subversion and concealment of treason.â€
The story claimed that the LCV Chairman lost his flash disk at a hotel in Kampala “where he had gone to have dinner†and that it ended up in the hands of security operatives. The embellishments of the story simply amused me. But several people, including my wife, called me and expressed concern. That is why I have decided that the truth should be put in the daylight for all to see.
For years I have relied on the Sheraton Business Centre for a lot of my work while in Kampala. It has the ambience and quiet that is good for work. It is also in the centre of Kampala city. I have even relied on them to receive most of my official communication, which is then picked up for onward transmission to Gulu.
Most people who have tried to send me parcels or letters will recall that I have always told them to deliver their messages to the Sheraton Business Centre. In April, I was working from there. When I left, I realised that I had forgotten my flash disk in the computer.
I even recall which computer it was. I immediately called the Business Centre. They told me they had not seen any flash disk. I became suspicious but I decided that there was nothing more I could do. So what about my flash disk and what is this contraption called the UPF?
The document which is 53 pages and not 37 pages as stated in the press says, “UPF as the body name is being retained for the purpose of drafting. The final name of the body shall be agreed upon during the general meeting, whence all members’ entities shall resolve to dissolve and function under a new nameâ€.
The document says “The UPF will instigate an internal grassroots popular movement against the Museveni dictatorship that is also effectively supported by Ugandans in the diaspora and their friends worldwide. The UPF is prepared to remove the Museveni dictatorship by force, if necessary.
The UPF shall establish a Transitional Government as soon as Kampala falls. The Transitional Government will immediately proceed with assurance of civilian safety and seek recognition by foreign governments.â€
The said flash disk was given to me in early 2008 by a graduate student studying in the UK who had attended a seminar on peace-building in Juba. He told me that he got hold of some write-up by a section of our people in the diaspora who thought the whole Juba process was a hoax and that the government of Uganda had no interest in peace.
The group says in its document that it “cannot accept the planned outcome and long-term repercussion of the ongoing Juba peace talks. Further, UPF finds it even less acceptable to reconcile the real powers behind the peace talks with the expected outcome: who the beneficiaries are, what they are after, and why it is important to them that the insecurity in northern Uganda is never resolved.â€
The group does not stop there. It says, “The people of northern Uganda are of peripheral concern to the real powers behind the peace talks. UPF is clear on this point: a perceived success in Juba is worse than a perceived failure.
A success in Juba is an outcome planned and calculated to replicate and multiply the cycle of insecurity. The LRA is an offshoot of the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena, which was an offshoot of her father’s church movement.
Replication and multiplication guarantees that the north remains permanently mired in war and insecurity until the Acholi, the only hurdle between Gen. Museveni and immortality, are reduced to mere shells of their former shelves. This is utterly unacceptable.â€
There are some acknowledgments of the need for continuity in the UPF document. The document says, “UPF shall suspend the current constitution of Uganda forthwith, and reorganise the makeup of Parliament under an Interim Legislative Council (ILC).
However, the UPF government shall uphold, respect, protect, promote and enforce all applicable provisions of all preceding constitutions of Uganda which endow all citizens with fundamental rights and freedoms, and afford them full opportunity to exercise their duties and obligations without infringing on the rights and freedoms of other citizens to do the same.â€
This group thought there had to be a plan to deal with the root causes of the problems that led to the northern Uganda war in the first place. They thought there was need to establish a new organisation to challenge the NRM and Museveni’s stranglehold on power. I asked him for the document. Since I did not have a flash disk he offered me his. That is how I came to possess the flash disk which I lost. Its brand name is “Eucrinâ€.
On the day I lost the disk there was no one else in the Business Centre apart from the staff. Unless it is the staff of the Sheraton Business Centre who are security operatives, I am at a loss how the flash disk found its way into the hands of security operatives.
Before the Juba talks broke down, I received a phone contact from London from someone who denounced the peace talks in totality. He claimed that we should all wait for something spectacular to be launched.
We usually analyse these kinds of things together with other members of the District Security Committee. Many times we think there are just a lot of arm chair rebels seeking publicity.
That is the same opinion I formed about the so-called Uganda People’s Front. But the sensational story published made unnecessary innuendos. They should have been forthright and named me as the owner of the flash disk.
The exaggeration that I was having dinner was uncalled for. Above all, some of the insinuations that the political leaders in Acholi are discouraging the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are blatant lies with no supporting evidence.
This is what was written: “Politicians have always asked those unwilling to return home to hang around saying something big is being worked on … LRA has been annihilated but don’t lose hope. It will re-emerge.†This is utter nonsense.
The political leaders of northern Uganda, especially Acholiland have been at the forefront of the campaign urging IDPs to leave the concentration camps and go home.
The newspaper was right that the document is full of contradictions. In my next column, I will offer an analysis and also reflect on the current arrests and threats of arrests based on rumours and paranoia.
The writer is LC 5 chairman Gulu