Besigye's most trusted Baganda

Jan 20, 2020

In meetings, the team discussed the idea of convincing either, Bidandi Ssali, Eriya Kategaya or Amanya Mushega, to contest against Museveni in 2001. When the aforesaid made varying excuses, Njuba backed Besigye to take on Museveni.

POLITICS         ELECTIONS

At 10:52 am, on May 18, 2004, Dr Sulaiman Kiggundu sent his worker to Conrad Plaza, Kampala, to give $1,000 to an official of Col. Kizza Besigye's pressure group, Reform Agenda.

The money was meant to facilitate a delegation of Reform Agenda to London, England. Indeed, on May 22, the secretary-general of Reform Agenda, Geoffrey Ekanya, led the delegation, which left Entebbe Airport by Kenya Airways.

It was received at Heathrow Airport by Sam Akaki. Then on May 25, Akaki led that delegation to 10 Downing Street for a meeting with the staff of British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Throughout the meeting, they implored the British government to place stringent economic embargoes on President Yoweri Museveni's government over what they described as continued torture of Reform Agenda supporters in ‘safe houses' by the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) and security led by Col. Noble Mayombo.

The delegation also presented to British government officials a hair-raising list of foreign bank accounts owned by some National Resistance Movement (NRM) government officials.

Those accounts were provided to Reform Agenda officials by the son of their colleague, who was then working in the foreign currency department of a certain bank.

On return from London, Ekanya briefed the deputy chairperson of Reform Agenda, Sam Njuba, since its chairperson, Besigye was still in exile in South Africa. It is pertinent to note that since 1999, Besigye trusted Njuba so much.

They shared several secret strategies aimed at removing Museveni from power. Besides Njuba, the other three Baganda whom Besigye trusted so much were Prince Vincent Kimera, Prof. Richard Bwogi Kanyerezi and Dr Chris Kibuuka.

Incidentally, Njuba, Kimera and Kanyerezi had originally been Museveni's political allies.

PROF. KANYEREZI
After Idi Amin was removed from power, on April 11, 1979, President Yusuf Lule appointed Museveni, minister of defence and Paul Muwanga, minister of internal affairs. Afterwards, the deputy chairperson of the public service commission, Joyce Mpanga, a sister of Kanyerezi, went to Nile Mansions, to ask Muwanga to order the Police chief, Luke Ofungi, to vacate her official residence at John Akibua Road, Nakasero.

Mpanga had known Muwanga since 1950s, when he vended bread at Gayaza Girls School. At the time Mpanga arrived at Nile Mansions, Muwanga was absent. She, instead, talked to Museveni, who in turn, prevailed over Ofungi.

In the aftermath, Museveni, Mpanga and Kanyerezi had a lunch meeting inside the rented residence of Sam Ssebagereka's first wife, Justine, at Diamond Trust Building, Kampala. Out of that relationship, Museveni attended consultative meetings which Mpanga and Kanyerezi convened in Nakasero, towards the 1980 elections.

Those meetings were held under the auspices of Mpanga's forum, Informed Citizens of Buganda, which aimed at denying Dr Milton Obote and Uganda People's Congress (UPC), a chance to win the elections. Democratic Party (DP) members, such as Paul Ssemwogerere, attended a few of the meetings at the urging of lawyer Henry Kayondo, who was married to Mpanga's relative, Betty Nansikombi.

The leader of the Conservative Party (CP) Mayanja Nkangi, also attended. Not long after, the forum collapsed, after Ssemogerere and Nkangi stopped coming for meetings. Actually, Nkangi telephoned Mpanga and declared: "Mwanyinaze, oyo omugoba nte nze siyinza kugenda naye." (My sister, I cannot ally with that cattle keeper (Museveni)."

Thereafter, Kanyerezi and Mpanga became members of Museveni's new political party, Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM). Kanyerezi was at the time the head of internal medicine at Mulago Hospital. When Museveni launched the war against Obote's government, on February 6, 1981, Kanyerezi fled to exile in Nairobi, Kenya, and served as a member of the NRM external wing.

Besides, he was the personal doctor of NRM's first chairperson, Prof. Lule, who had a strange ailment which kept disturbing him whenever he sat for long. That is why whenever NRM external wing had meetings at the residence of Israel Mayengo in Lavington, Nairobi, Kanyerezi would at certain intervals take Lule for treatment inside the bedroom of Mayengo's son, Reagan Jjuuko.

When the National Resistance Army (NRA) took over power, on January 26, 1986, Kanyerezi returned to Uganda and set up a private clinic on Nkrumah Road. By 2000, when Besigye declared his presidential bid, Kanyerezi was still running that clinic, before setting up Kampala Hospital, in 2007.

Besigye reached out to Kanyerezi with the hope that he was the right person to market him well within the Mengo establishment structures. Of course, Kanyerezi had deep-seated contacts within that establishment, given that his father, Asanasio Masembe, was the overseer of Mengo Palace during Ssekabaka Edward Mutesa II's reign.

That is why he was among those that were killed in 1966 when Obote ordered Col. Amin to invade that palace. Actually, Masembe's remains have never been found. Because of that family background, when Prince Ronald Mutebi returned from exile, he appointed Kanyerezi as a member of his ruling council (Ssabataka Supreme Committee) from 1989-1993.

Prince Mutebi also appointed Kanyerezi on the Mengo establishment committee, which negotiated with Museveni's government for the return of Buganda properties which Obote's government had seized. It was, therefore, in light of Kanyerezi's attachment to the Mengo establishment that Besigye requested him to support his 2001 presidential bid.

Kanyerezi agreed, but on condition that Besigye promised to grant Buganda a federal system of administration, among its other aspirations. Since that had to be made in writing, Kanyerezi nominated Mayengo as a member of the committee that drafted Besigye's manifesto.

Indeed, a section in that manifesto which covered Buganda's issues was authored by Mayengo. Besides, Kanyerezi mobilised campaign funds for Besigye. His other colleague with contacts at Mengo, Florence Bagunywa Nkalubo, offered massive fuel which was supplied to Besigye's campaigners at Total Nateete.

In December last year, Kanyerezi died and was buried at Maya, on Masaka Road.

SAM NJUBA
As noted earlier, Njuba was the other Muganda that Besigye trusted most. Njuba was a law student from the University of East Africa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

In fact, in 1967, when Museveni joined that university, Njuba was already in his third academic year, along with Frederick Ssempebwa (Professor), Joseph Balikuddembe and Tom Baruku. Consequently, in 1981 when Museveni was fighting Obote's government, Njuba served as a member of the NRM external wing.

No wonder, in June 1981, Museveni chose Njuba, Rukikaire and Rugunda as part of his delegation for meeting with Col. Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. In the same month, Njuba accompanied Museveni to Kingsbury, England, for a meeting with Prince Mutebi, which took place inside Lule's residence. After the NRA took over power, Museveni appointed Njuba as minister for constitutional affairs, before replacing him with Steven Kavuma.

Thereafter, Njuba declined Museveni's job of serving at the army court. In light of that fallout, Njuba embraced Besigye when he authored his November 1999 controversial document, An insider's view of how NRM lost the broad-base. Njuba also mobilised his family members to support Besigye's cause.

That is why when Mayombo was pushing for the court-martialling of Besigye over the aforesaid document, Njuba's second wife, Robinah Bazzeketta, met her friends (Annet Luyizzi, Ssebowa Kagulire and Medi Kajoba) for an evening drink at Kisementi, Kamwokya and urged them to support Besigye's cause.

 Later, Njuba met some of the aforesaid at his then favourite drinking joint at Bamuharu Florists, Wandegeya and told them how Besigye had a genuine cause. Eventually, when the army retired Besigye, on October 20, 2000, Njuba attended night planning meetings with Besigye in Bugolobi.

Njuba would drive for those meetings in a dramatic way, aimed at hoodwinking security operatives. For instance, he would leave his Nangabo residence at around 6:00pm and would have a stopover in Kasangati for a drink with Kibuuka's father. Then at around 8:00pm, Njuba would continue to Kansanga and take at least another club beer.

Thereafter, he would drive off to Bugolobi for those secret meetings. In those meetings, they discussed the idea of convincing either, Bidandi Ssali, Eriya Kategaya or Amanya Mushega, to contest against Museveni in 2001. When the aforesaid made varying excuses, Njuba backed Besigye to take on Museveni.

Thus, on October 20, 2000, Besigye declared his presidential bid. In the aftermath, Njuba attended another night meeting at Bugolobi, in which Njuba, Winnie Byanyima advised them on how to handle security agencies. The minutes of that meeting were taken by Wycliffe Bakandonda. In the meantime, Njuba used his office as the chancellor of Namirembe Diocese to lobby clergy into supporting Besigye.

PRINCE KIMERA
The third Muganda whom Besigye trusted was Prince Vincent Kimera. No wonder, Besigye confessed during the March 2006 burial of Kimera that he (Kimera) participated in his 2001 escape to exile in South Africa.

During Besigye's 2001 presidential bid, Kimera tried to market him within the Catholic Church institution and also to some people who at the time mattered in the Israeli government.

Kimera had immense contacts within the Catholic Church, which were introduced to him by the late Bishop Adrian Ddungu of Masaka. Bishop Ddungu loved Kimera so much. This manifested in 1977, when Ddungu sent the younger brother of Bishop Paul Kalanda, Fr Peter Musomero, to London to convince the anti-Amin personalities to consider Kimera as the next president in case Amin was removed.

Later, in 1980, Kimera allied with Dr Andrew Kayiira's rebel group, Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM). Thereafter, he supported NRA after he disagreed with Kayiira over failed arms supplies. When Museveni took overpower Kimera hoped to be appointed a minister.

After a long waiting, he embraced Besigye in 2001 and organised his first meeting at Pope Paul VI Memorial Hotel in Ndeeba, Kampala.

CURRENT CONFIDANTS
With the death of Njuba, Kimera and Kanyerezi, Besigye has since aligned his confidants.

His most trusted Baganda allies at the moment are Joyce Ssebugwawo, lawyer Yusuf Nsibambi, Ambassador Wasswa Biriggwa and a female judge. The judge became Besigye's top confidant in 2006, when she went early in a special taxi to his home at Kasangati and donated $10,000 for his campaigns. While handing over those dollars to Besigye, she remarked: Bambi tuyambe naye tufa (please rescue us).

 

 

 

 

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