I taught Museveni how to drive

SUNDAY VISION

On September 17, 1972, Ugandan exiles based in Tanzania attempted to overthrow the government of Idi Amin Dada. But as fate would have it, the mission failed and many were captured and killed.

The heroic deed of one man, George Walwanyi, the only expert driver in the mission, saved his colleagues, including President Yoweri Museveni, writes Charles Etukuri and Joseph Wanzusi.


When Idi Amin Dada overthrew President Milton Obote in January 1971, not everyone was happy with the takeover. Different forces immediately started mobilising to oust him. Tanzanian President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who was a close confidant to the exiled Obote, offered sanctuary to this group.

As events in the country turned from bad to worse, George Walwanyi, a brother to former public service and cabinet affairs minister George Wakholi, was not spared either.
 

On March 28, 1971, after a football game, Walwanyi drove to Malukhu to pick Wakholi’s wife, Alice who was a nurse and her newborn girl, Agnes Namutosi, to see the former minister who was in his hide-out.
 

“As we approached Mbale town, we met a convoy of cars carrying soldiers who then surrounded our car,” he says.
Walwanyi was pulled out of the car, severely beaten and asked to reveal the whereabouts of his brother before being stuffed into a boot and driven to Mbale Central Police Station.
 

“They introduced themselves as soldiers from Makindye and ordered the Police to keep me in for the night,” he adds.
Wakholi’s wife and child were driven back to her residence and asked to disclose his whereabouts, but they refused. A message was then sent to Wakholi to surrender if he wanted to see his family. He surrendered the next day.  “I was released immediately,” he says.

“When the reports of the arrest and looting got to Amin, he ordered the immediate arrest of the officers who had been involved in the whole saga. Among those arrested was Maj. Gen. Sam Nanyumba. I was called to Police to record a statement and when their colleagues heard about the incident, they came looking for me.” His friend, who had a shop, overheard them asking someone where they could find me.

“He quickly alerted me and advised me to go away.  “I boarded a vehicle to Tororo where my brother had a friend. I wanted to flee to Kenya where I had a cousin. As fate would have it, intelligence had got wind of a group of men who were on board the same train and were heading to Kenya. Just before the train could set off, soldiers surrounded the train. They pulled out the men and nobody has ever known what happened to them. I was lucky that at the time I had gone to the engine room and survived narrowly and took off,” he says.
 

“Finally in March 1971, I boarded another train to Nairobi. I was lucky that when the ticket examiner came, he spoke to my neighbour in Lugisu which was my language. I was so excited and greeted him. He knew my brother and what had happened to them. I was later introduced to another group of Ugandans who were heading to Tanzania to fight Amin and I forgot about going to see my cousin.”
 

In Nairobi, the group was received by Ikuya Masete and others. “We were put in a hotel and then the next day boarded the OTC buses to Tanzania. When we reached Arusha, we were taken into the police station and screened. We were then booked into hotels and were given strict instructions not to move around aimlessly for fear that we would blow our cover.”
 

STAY IN TANZANIA
 

Life was a bit difficult for the Ugandan on the first few days because of language barrier. The group stayed in Arusha for one month and when their cover was blown, they were moved to a refugee camp. “We were told to cut grass and build camps. Each of us was given a blanket, a sisal bag to fill with grass, one saucepan and plate. After picking out the best, we were taken to Morogoro for training. We were placed directly under the Tanzanian government, while those who failed were retained as refugees. We were named mwanamugambo and given political and military training.
 

But then Amin got wind of this and one day when the group had just finished training and were resting, a helicopter from Uganda dropped leaflets in the camp urging them to go back home. We were shifted from Morogoro to Tabora. We stayed there until 1972, training as we waited for orders from our commanders. The Ugandan exiles were deeply divided along tribal lines,” Walwanyi says.
 

“While at the training, Yoweri Museveni, who was among the dissidents who had fled to Tanzania, used to come and visit us to constantly brief us about the progress of the war. Obote remained holed up in his house which had been provided to him by Nyerere,” he adds.

After undergoing training, it was time to test the battlefront. In September 1972, a decision was made to attack Uganda and lorries were sent to transport us to the railway station.
 

“Our destination was kept secret. We boarded trains to Bukoba and it was only when we arrived that we were briefed that we were going to attack Uganda.”
 

At Bukoba, Walwanyi met his brother. “When I arrived, Brig. Oyite Ojok asked to see me. I was so scared and thought I had done something wrong. He then directed me to where my brother was and I met him for the first time in over a year. He was dressed in a jacket and carried a gun. My brother then told me I had been promoted to sergeant and I was going to attack the Simba battalion in Mbarara and wished me the best. He told me we would meet in Kampala and that he was going to be in another group that would travel via Mutukula to Masaka.”
 

The group that left for Mbarara comprised 200 people and was told that they were going to meet another group of 40 headed by Museveni along the way.
 

“We were taken to the armoury and given guns. Those who went via Mutukula were 800 and were under the leadership of Tito Okello Lutwa and Ojok, while we were under the command of Captain Oyille, Okumu, Okot and Museveni.”
 

Their entry was smooth and they overran the resistance. “We then broke into groups, but the soldiers at the barracks put up a spirited fight. Within a few hours, most of the commanders had been captured and killed. We had no communication and could not know what was happening. It was then that we heard an announcement that all our commanders had been arrested and some killed.”
 

Walwanyi says he witnessed some of his close friends killed in action. “We had taken cover in the banana plantations around Simba Battalion barracks and I saw my comrade Kutosi shot dead, while another fighter Peter Natoli who attempted to rescue Kutosi, was also hit in a fierce gun battle,” Walwanyi recalls.
 

Panic set in and Museveni quickly moved in to fill the gap. By the time he took over, the group of 240 men had been reduced to 70. Most had been killed and others captured.
 

MOMENT OF TRUTH
 

It was impossible to overrun the barracks at this time and reinforcements were coming in, so Museveni made a decision to withdraw to avoid losing more men.
 

The trucks had been parked at a nearby hill and the group was asked to retreat. “By this time, most of the drivers we had come with had been killed. So Museveni asked who knows how to drive. I raised my hand because I was an experienced driver. Someone else volunteered, but he only knew how to drive in one gear. Museveni also said he did not know how to drive, but had sat with drivers and had theoretical knowledge. He said if somebody reversed the car and put it for him on the road, he could drive in one gear.
 

“There were nine lorries. I went to reverse the first lorry and it couldn’t brake because it had no brake fluid, so I crashed it in the valley. I went to the second truck and successfully steered it as Museveni organised and calmed the fighters.
 

“After the three cars were arranged, Museveni insisted that I lead, but I told him since he did not know how to drive, he leads and then the two of us follow him. My reasoning was that if he drove behind me he would easily knock me and in case he crashed we did not have communication and it would be impossible to save him.
 

“I took him through the basic driving skills and I must confess he is such a fast learner. But then most of the combatants were scared to drive in the other two lorries because the drivers were learners. When we reached the Mbarara roundabout, instead of going around, Museveni went through because he could not negotiate it.”
 

And as they went to refuel, Museveni crashed into the petrol station. “At the station he wanted us to go back and burn the remaining trucks, but we were scared to go back and since we had survived, what we wanted was to get as far away as we could. At the station, I drove the lorry back to the road and he started it himself. We drove 34km out of the 64 and he got tired. We were driving at a distance but could not see him ahead. It was a slope and it seems he had slept on the steering, lost control of the truck and swerved off the road.
 

“When I asked him what had happened, he told me driving had fatigued him. I got the truck back on the road and we reached Mutukula without any major incident,” Walwanyi says. On arrival, the group was disarmed and immediately taken to a camp.

“I learnt about the fate of my brother and the others through Radio Uganda.” Wakholi was allegedly captured and eventually succumbed to his injuries and up to now the search for his remains continues.
 

Soon after, a fall out among the leaders resulted into formation of new groups. “I joined Museveni’s group at my rank of sergeant and was taken to a camp in Nakingwea, bordering Mozambique. I was later deployed in Kisumu and coordinated activities around Lake Victoria.”
 

But Amin’s dreaded State Research Bureau started rounding up rebel sympathisers and some of those who had trained with them at Nakingwea were killed. Others opted to go to exile and Walwanyi decided to look for another job.
 

“I left Kisumu and later went to Dar-es-Salaam where I got a job as a driver. I later quit and got another job. But still kept in touch with my friends in the struggle.”
 

COMING BACK TO UGANDA
 

When Amin attacked Kagera, Nyerere quickly rallied the dissident groups. “I also abandoned my job and joined the liberation war. I came on the sidelines of the Tanzanian army. After the war, I was told to go to Russia, but I refused because I had no shelter and my wife had been taken by another man. I was arrested and detained for 14 days. I still refused and was put in for another seven days. But I was saved by Ikuya who went and briefed Obote about my predicament.”
 

Later those who never wanted to remain in the army were asked to choose what they wanted. “I applied to be made a Ssaza chief. But Obote refused, saying I was too senior for that position. He advised me to stay in the army. Those who were dealing with war allowances minded about their own people. We who did not have people in that office were given very little money to start us off.”
 

MEETING MUSEVENI AGAIN
 

“Museveni was the Minister of Defence at the time and we met one day in Kampala. He was so happy when he saw me. He gave me some money. We decided to quit the army and do private business. Four of us joined hands and formed Wanale Quick Transporters. We did not have sufficient money to start off big, but we were lucky we had friends who were well-placed. Magode Kuya was Minister of Rehabilitation and we had another friend, Moses Apiliga, who was Minister of Supply.
 

With such friends, all they needed were chits to introduce them to key places for subsidies and foods.
“If you had a chit from a minister, you could go to NYTIL and you are given bundles of textiles. I was given 21 rolls and I sold them and got sh240,000 and used that money to buy a new Datsun pick-up at Uganda Motors to start off.
 

“I was given a chance to go to Nile Breweries and pick some crates of beer and sell them. I also went to Foods and Beverages and was given sacks of sugar.”
After selling this, the four collected the money and bought the first bus and a lorry.
 

CHANGE OF EVENTS
 

But following the defeat of the Tito Okello junta in January 1986, the groups which had now established themselves lost everything. “The soldiers who were fleeing grabbed all our vehicles and properties and fled with them as they were retreating.
 

“Life has been so difficult for me ever since that time. I wish I can get another opportunity to meet my friend Museveni and share with him,” he says. He now lives a simple peasantry life in Lwangoli village Busoba sub-county in Mbale district and still hopes that one day, he will be rewarded for his participation in the liberation struggles of Uganda.
 

“Currently I am living a miserable life. My old house caved in and it was my son who built for me this small one. I have been trying to meet the President but I have failed,” he says.