Muhereza Writes,
modernmuhereza@gmail.com
“If there is any tribe to be labelled tribalistic, Baganda should be excluded because the facts at hand prove otherwise.” says Muhereza Modern
At the end of last month, a clip of Chief Justice Owiny Dollo indirectly accusing Baganda of tribalism went viral on different social media platforms. With this highly opinionated generation, the clip attracted mixed opinions some being sentimental and some being logical.
In the clip Dollo lashed out to a group of Diasporal NUP supporters who protested The Late Jacob Oulanya’s medical admission In Seattle USA whom (protestors) he accused of not doing the same when their “ethnic leader” was flown to Germany in a presidential jet when he was sick. Although his allegations were falsehoods as it was later realised that the Kabaka had travelled to Germany using KLM Airlines.
CJ’s statements of insinuating that The baganda were hypocrites and tribalistic where unfortunate especially coming from a leader of Uganda’s 3rd arm of the Government.
It wasn’t in order for Dollo to use a public platform to vent out misguided and factually wrong animus statements.
By using an isolated scenario of a handful of NUP protestors to generalise Baganda as tribalistic, he was being petty. If he was a politician, it would be a futile attempt to score a political credit.
If so, we could also base on his attempt to deny Justice Kisakye hearing of her report during the NUP presidential Election appeal case and brand him a sexist.
Its unfortunate that the Baganda are being critiqued like this despite their great diversity and hospitality. Buganda has been at the center of Ugandas political history since time immemorial that even sometimes the region has refused to give support to their own and channeled the support to leaders of other regions.
In 1981 when the current president YK Museveni launched a guerilla, war against Obote’s government, it was the same year when Andrew Lutaakome Kayiira, a staunch catholic Muganda launched the same Guerilla war against the same government. The baganda ditched Kayiira in support of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni a munyankole whose own people had rejected in the national elections of 1980.
The Baganda did not only support Museveni but highly embraced him some sacrificing their lives and property for him that he even found it more convenient to launch the war from Luweero a region in the central.
Though in his book” Sowing the mustard seed”, he says the choice of Luweero was for strategic reasons, it should be understood that its hard to launch a war where you are unpopular.
In 2001 presidential elections where one of the contestants was Muhammed Kibirige Mayanja – a Muganda, he got an estimate of 1%, Kizza Besigye a Mukiga got 27.82% and Yoweri Museveni got an estimation of 69%. Both Besigye and Museveni got majority votes in Buganda greatly higher than Kibirige Mayanja a Muganda.
Since then, the baganda have been voting Museveni and Besigye who are both non Baganda despite their own people like Abed Bwanika, Senkubugge participating in those elections.
Even at parliarmentary level elections, we have seen Baganda overwhelmingly voting for non Baganda in Buganda at the expense of their own people. If there is any tribe to be labelled tribalistic, Baganda should be excluded because the facts at hand prove otherwise.
By Modern Muhereza, the writer is a Ugandan businessman and social analyst
