Picture 1: (1977) Idi Amin walking with Janan Luwum. By this time, Luwum was already plotting to kill Idi Amin.
Picture 2: (1980) Journalist Dan Wooding pointing at non-existent crocodiles at Karuma bridge. Dear Editor. I found it amazing when I read the New Vision story (Luwum Murder: What Witnesses Said, published February 12th) about the late Archbishop Janan Luwum (RIP). It appears that the story was based on the Commission of Inquiry instituted by the government in 1987. The first "witness" in the report is one Daniel Mulemezi, purportedly a police officer who claims to have been privy to events. In another article from the Daily Monitor (How Amin killed Ben Kiwanuka), the same Daniel Mulemezi claims to have also saw what happened there as well. To me, Mr. Mulemezi seemed to be everywhere to so as to expediate the process and satisfy a kangaroo court but provides no shred of evidence, nor any police investigation report, no mention of colleagues, nor meetings with superiors who sanctioned/supervized his investigations. Something very unlikely in any police force especially for major cases. In his testimony he appears as some lone element just telling stories to satisfy the government of the day. I also say Kangaroo court because this commission of inquiry actually failed to include crimes committed by the geurilla NRA who according to a confession by a Col. Kahinda Otafiire in 1994, was involved in possible war crimes against civilian populations. Actions that they would then make sure were blamed on the UPC government by wearing UPC T-shirts during their attacks on villages. Such atrocities are surprisingly not included in the commissions report yet they were committed in the time frame covered by the commission, and Mr. Kahinda Otafiire was and still is part of the goverment that set up that commission of inquiry. Why then isn't such testimony included in the commissions proceedings? Was their a deliberate effort to blame others while sweeping their own dirt under the rag? A kangaroo court is one set up to satisfy political ends. And more importantly, it helps to validate false claims made against political foes. After the Amin regime, the survival formula for all was: "Blame Amin and survive, or praise him and die at the hands of wakombozi". So every Ugandan prepared a horrendous story in case they needed to use it. Many European journalists have fallen prey to this, including Dan Wooding whose picture shows him standing on Karuma bridge pointing at non-existent crocodiles that Amin had alledgedly thrown his foes at. Some Ugandan took the journalist there and the mzungu swallowed the story evrn without seeing a crocodile. Those of us who have always used that bridge on our way to and from West Nile, know that there have never been crocodiles in that place. The simple reason is that the waters are so tremendously rough that nothing can live in those waters. It is so dangerous that even a sport like rafting is impossible. Nobody has ever seen any crocodiles at Karuma. Period. So this survival formula explains Mustafa Adrisi's testimony in the inquiry. He was a detainee possibly seeking a way out of his predicament when he faced the inquiry. Following his damning testimonies, he has lived freely with the goverment until his recent death where he was even accorded a State funeral. We are talking about Idi Amins Vice President here. There was no way that could happen if he had stuck to the official narrative of the government he had previously served. The late Mustapha Adrisi says that the guns Janan Luwum was found with were brought from Amins State Research armoury. But those who have read the book "Sowing the mustard seed", have heard Museveni talk about the subversive operation he organized at the time from Tanzania with the help of a reluctant Nyerere. Museveni actually mentions by name the people who drove the very vehicles that were carrying the weapons. He explains that the plan was to have guns inside the country ready to start a popular uprising. So to say that the Archbishop was an innocent lamb is either wishful thinking, a cover up, or selective amnesia at work. Because Luwum was part of a real plan to topple the government. The Archbishop knelt down in front of the whole diplomatic community at Nile Mansions and confessed to the plot. Incredibly, he is the one who actually pointed at Erinayo Oryema and Oboth Ofumbi (RIP) as his accomplices? That is first hand testimony from soldiers who were present, and some still alive. As for the actual death of Janan Luwum, the commission of inquiry seems to say that he was killed in two different places. At first the report says the Archbishops death occured at Makindye Military Police barracks where he was alledgedly taken. Then the same report changes the story towards the end and says he was also killed at State Research Bureau, Nakasero. Which one is it? I have discussed my own research findings surrounding the death of Janan Luwum. It tells a completely different story. One that analyses inconsistencies in the current narrative and also investigates those events from both political sides. The Amin government and the rest. It is a research that I hope to make public in due course. In the meantime, a commission of inquiry has the powers of a high court but only in terms of summoning persons of interest to appear before it. They don't issue any judgement. And that's the reason why it is inappropriate to even start publicly saying "Luwums murder". Because the other side says it was a car collision and that has never been proved wrong in a trial. Basically there hasn't been any judgement here. Allegations are allegations until a satisfactory independent investigation is conducted and its findings presented in a proper court that is mandated to make a ruling. Hussein Juruga Lumumba Amin Kampala, Uganda.
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