If you, Gen. Tumukunde Henry cannot marshal the defections of one or two Lieutenants General, half-a-dozen Brigadiers General, some Majors General and a sprinkling of some Colonels and Majors, please stop wasting Ugandans’ time.
If only you could cause a mutiny even in a third of the junta’s troop strength, you would have helped the struggle for democracy.
It is a public secret that we are ruled by a junta, not a political party.
For f***’s sake, you know (better than anyone) that your erstwhile Commander-in-Chief cannot and would never handover power if the Electoral Commission declared a different person as the winner of an election.
Accordingly, there’s really no point for you, a decorated General joining hapless civilians on talk shows and press conferences to talk about the problems of Uganda to Ugandans who are firsthand witnesses of poverty, corruption and state-sanctioned violence.
In any case, you built the system and you know where the chinks in the armour are.
Why would anyone buy a 2020 BMW X5 that is powered by a six-litre V8 engine only to drive it in their compound or parking lot and never venture out onto the streets, highways and off-road terrains?
You should drop the pretense and stop trying to be a democrat.
We know you ain’t one. And that is okay.
With the help of those mid- and senior-level defections from the NRA, you will be able to paralyse the nerve centre of Museveni’s power at the level of battalions or even entire divisions of the NRA.
In such a scenario, no one would maim and shoot peaceful and unarmed protesters with the impunity we see daily. There would be a balance-of-terror.
Museveni would treat those opposed to him with some respect. Mutually Assured Destruction would be a real threat.
Dawa ya moto, ni moto, si ndiyo?
And this is not hypothetical.
You know what Generals in your position did in Algeria Sudan, Egypt and Burkina Faso did—they ordered or did what had to be done to cause the troops to stand down.
If the bar I have set is too high, then at least put together a team of Special Ops bodyguards who will match Ochola’s and Muhoozi’s men—muscle for muscle, punch for punch and bullet for bullet—should any attempt be made at arresting you in the same way they pick other Opposition leaders like grasshoppers every time they try to hold meetings or address rallies.
We’re tired of storytellers. Especially when like you, they have tirelessly been part of the killing machine.
Besides, how else would Ugandans know that you aren’t another agent provocateur trying to test the waters for your (erstwhile) boss Museveni and a few months later, return to the fold as many others before you have done?!
Show us what you’ve got, General.
Don’t hunt with the hounds and run with the hare.
karamagiandrew@gmail.com
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