By Henry Ochieng
March 23, 2004
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PARLIAMENT - Kashari MP, Maj. John Kazoora yesterday joined the political ping pong between Lt. Gen. David Tinyefuza and two Movement historical members and accused the general of accepting a “package”. Kazoora did not specify what this package contained but implied that it was key in inducing Tinyefuza to return to the Movement fold after he fell out with establishment late 1996. He was reacting to remarks which Tinyefuza made on Monitor FM’s Andrew Mwenda Live talk-show last week. Tinyefuza said on the show that former ministers Eriya Kategaya and Bidandi Ssali are opposing the lifting of presidential term limits because they are angry with President Museveni for sacking them from Cabinet in May last year. Kazoora told The Monitor during a sit-down in Parliament building yesterday that “it is because of a package that he [Tinyefuza] went back to lick his vomit like a dog. He should tell us about the package which forced him back”. In 1996 Tinyefuza said he was done with the Movement regime and declared that returning to it would be like a dog turning to eat its vomit. He had criticised the army’s handling of the war in the north and President Yoweri Museveni had reprimanded him for the criticism and promised to have him court-martialled. Appearing before a House Select Committee on the war in north on November 29, 1996, Tinyefuza also accused government of lacking political will to end the insurgency. On December 5 that year he resigned from the army saying he had “lost faith” in it as an institution. The army rejected his resignation and he successfully sued government in the Constitutional Court. However the government appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the lower court ruling and declared that Tinyefuza was still in the army. The general remained in political limbo for years before he was rehabilitated to rejoin the Movement and to represent the army in Parliament in 2001. Maj. Kazoora yesterday said that Tinyefuza had sworn in Runyankore that “Tindikugarukira bitanaki nk’embwa (meaning: I will not return to my vomit like a dog)”. Kazoora said that by reneging on his personal oath, Tinyefuza’s action leaves no doubt that he is “an unreliable person whose anger in 1996 by far surpassed the annoyance of the two elders [Kategaya and Bidandi] who are just expressing their views”. Kazoora also wondered what Tinyefuza meant when he said during the Andrew Mwenda Live show that he would not “give these fellows power”. “Which power does he have? He should clarify to the public what he means by giving power as if he is keeping it somewhere in his pocket. These army officers should not intimidate the public,” the MP said. “The nearest he came to power was when he commanded Operation North [in 1991] and tortured the political leadership like Adimola, Tiberio Okeny, Omara Atubo and Zachary Olum. Government was embarrassed and had to settle [with the leaders] out of court,” he added. He also asked whether by speaking on a controversial political subject in a partisan manner, Tinyefuza was not going against President Museveni’s instructions in 2000 directing army MPs to only be “listening posts” in Parliament and avoid controversy. However, Tinyefuza yesterday wondered why Kazoora who is also a serving army officer is himself engaging in partisan politics. “Kazoora is in Pafo … you tell them we shall take them head on if need be and he should have no doubt about that,” the general said by telephone. On the allegations that he succumbed to an implied bribe, the general responded tersely: “I never take bribes.” |
© 2004 The Monitor Publications
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