Guys,
Brig. Rwehururu was trained in India in the 1960s, not Pakistan. He was in both the Obote 1 and Amin armies and was one of the very few officers not from West Nile, who fought for Amin until they were defeated then fled into Sudan, and later Zaire. He was also among the last of Amin’s officers to meet Amin in Saudi Arabia when they went to ask him to support their war against UNLF and Obote but he says Amin told them to go hang.
Rwehururu, from Kabale, was also perhaps the only Amin officer to put up any fight against the Tanzanians and Kikosi Maalum around Sembabule. In fact he stalled the Tanzanian advance until 205 Brigade Commander Brig Herman Lupogo (currently Chairman of Tanzania AIDS Commission), had to be removed and flown back home, to be replaced by Brigadier Muhiddin Kimario. From then on, Rwehururu’s battalion was badly beaten till Kampala was taken and he fled to West Nile.
Whereas the current generals, after the fall of Amin either worked in the UNLA or the anti-Obote army belonging to the other rebel groups, Rwehururu stuck with the forces of the defeated Idi Amin and were seen as fighting to return Amin to power. Rwehururu was among the officers who led the attack on Arua and Bombo by former Amin soldiers in the 1980/81 and was still keeping the company of people like Brig. Abdallatif, Col Dronyi and Brig. Taban Lupayi among others, when it was seen as ‘politically incorrect’ to do so at the time.
He was among a group of officers who went to Jeddah to meet Amin and seek his support to recapture power. He writes of this very clearly in his book. He only returned to Uganda after the Lutwas took over. Apart from that he is a very highly trained officer through and through.
He has also been serving in different capacities in the UPDF. He was lastly commandant of Kabamba Army Training School, which is one of the most respected infantry training schools in the country.Before Kabamba Military School, he was also a military attachee at the Uganda High Commission in Nairobi.
He was heading a Military Tribunal against economic saboteurs in charge of Busoga and Eastern provinces, at the outbreak of the war in 1978. So court martial things will not be new to him.
The brigadier who was originally a seminarian, joined the forces in 1965 after the east African mutiny of 1964 and he is a mukiga by tribe. But he is a real professional soldier who should be admired.
It is Brig.Bernard Rwehururu who led journalist ,Ahmed Katerega of the Newvision Newspaper, to admire military and almost joined it. Ahmed Katerega states that he(Rwehururu) used to be smart and used to frequent Ssembabule on his way from and Kabamba and Masaka. Then in 1979, he was based at SSEMBABULE and taught Tanzanians A LESSON THEY WILL NEVER FORGET. He is remembered however that his Suicide Reconnaissance Regiment was Bantu dominated compared to other battalions like Tiger in Mubende, but was less disciplined. So it is not proper to generalise all Nilotics, Nilo Ha mites and Sudanic as indiscipline simply because UNLA and Anya Anya were indiscipline. Uganda Armed Forces in Ssembabule was more discipline in 1979 than Tanzanian People’s Defense Forces and UNLA. People of Lwemiyaga near Kabamba, can tell.
After Rwehururu had ordered civilians, to leave Ssembabule, some old people remained claiming that they had no where to go. When Tanzanians came, in they killed all of them. One was Wookulira who was then around 90, Lupiiya Zitta, and a few others. However personally, the two Tanzanian soldiers who came to Ahmed Katerega’s home in Nnambiriizi, five miles West of Ssembabule, were good. They first visited a trading centre and started training youth how to shoot. Then they went to Katerega’s antie, Nantale, who was a local beer seller, drunk, then came to the bush where Katerega and his little sister were grazing cattle. One greeted them(Katerega and the sister) that “Siboota,” they then moved to our home where one of Katerega’s step mothers from Kyotera, knew some Kiswahili and engaged them for a while. Then they teased another who knew nothing claiming that they were taking her with her baby. She cried and they laughed off, and left for Ssembabule.
Tanzanians did not know that an ordinary person could own a iron sheet roofed house or tile roofed one, putting on a watch, or owning a radio and a radio cassette. They were all “amaalo” to borrow from Luganda.Tanzanians destroyed Masaka and Mbarara deliberately, before they had developed an idea of taking over Kampala.
Ahmed Katerega was one of those people who dreamed of a revenge. But with regional integration, he has decided to forget and embrace our brothers and sisters south of River Kagera.
Ahmed states that on a day he does not remember in March 1979, a MIG 21 was hit by another MIG 21, at Byesika village, five kilometres Ssembabule Town on Masaka-Mubende High Way. ”We all run to the scene from our local R/C primary school. The pilot’s body was badly dismembered. l remember on of the local residents examined the private person’s pilot and CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS NOT AMIN SINCE HE WAS NOT CIRCUMCISED.
”Over a week later, one Saturday (Saturdays were school days as Fridays were public holidays since December 1977), army trucks full of soldiers took over Ssembabule. A public rally was called by our County Chief Francis Kasozi, who was also a soldier. In attendance was fresh Haji Bello, the incoming Assistant District Commissioner Buddu District in charge of Mawogola Sub District. We were addressed by non other than Rwehururu, acting Commanding Officer Suicide Reconnaissance Regiment Masaka (He was Second in Commander but his Sudanese Commander had already fled home). He told us to leave the town as it was a war zone.”
”Days later Tanzanians, who had already taken over Masaka attempted to add on Ssembabule, basing from Mateete near Mbiriizi on Masaka-Mbarara High Way, but failed. Hundreds were killed in Balisanga kibugo valley. They attempted second time basing at Kitaasa in Bukomansimbi county but failed and this was when Rwehururu used a Katutsia at Kikoma hill.”
Ahmed finaky said:”The third time, the battle was at my home village nambiriizi, but even then, Tanzanians were defeated.After the fall of Kampala, Uganda Armed Forces retreated to Kabamba, Mubende, Masindi etc… They were never defeated in Ssembabule. l was 12 and l attempted to join the army but was too young. But several future uncles in law joined, surrendered to Tanzanians who never knew about rights of prisoners of war, tortured them, detained them without trial, until they were released around 1982, and they joined NRA.”
Apartheid, just like Zionism, were far worse than any racial, colonial, imperial armies. But regime change in post independence Africa should not come with its own armies. There should be ejection and absorption, the way Nyerere did after 1964 mutiny. Rwehururu’s villagemates like Msuguri were retained. Notorious ones could be detained , tried, then others dismissed, but disciplined ones like Rwehurururu should have been retained after the fall of Iddil Amin.
Rwehururu’s book is a must read, for any body who wants to know the inside and out of our past armies and probably the present army.I recommend you to read one of his master pieces… “Cross to the Gun” then you will understand his anatomy….Basically he was one of the men and women who fought along Idi Amin againt TPDF…….
The book: ‘A Cross to the Gun’ is one of the most interesting books about the 1971 coup, the Amin army and factionalism that befell it, the 1978-79 war and Amin’s troops in exile. In Kampala you can get it at Aristoc Booklex for about 20,000shs.
UAH FORUMISTS
04/08/09,12:27:34
