A few questions to Dr.Ssemogerere

Dr. Paul Ssemogerere is like an old bible of Uganda politics. I wonder if he has written any books at all because I would love to read them. He has lived to see it all, to narrate it all, and to examine it all. He was a member of LEGCO in 1961-62. He was born before Museveni, he was a youth, 35 years old to be exact, when Museveni went to university in Tanzania in 1967.He lived through the 1966 crisis, saw it, felt it, and was compelled to join DP. He was the minister of internal affairs when Andrew Kayiira was gunned down in 1987.

However, I have always wondered about something; would DP have had more chances of getting power if he had not been selfish and let Prof.Yusuf Lule stand on DP ticket for presidency in 1980. For him and his addressees it was self-evident that Lule would lessen his chances of becoming president ever, just like Bobi Wine has battered some people’s presidential ambitions. However, Lule had several advantages: 1- he was a former president and very popular in Buganda; 2- He had the support of the British govt, a factor exemplified when the British ambassador then, participated in the ‘NO LULE, NO WORK’ demonstrations in Kampala, after he was removed from power by Nyerere and NCC; 3- he had the support of the military wing of Andrew Lutakoome Kayiira.

When it came to fighting Obote after the 1980 elections, Ssemogerere could have none of it. But Lule, at least, had formed a rebel group based in Nairobi, and It was his group that united with Museveni’s PRA to form NRM, with him becoming the first chairman of NRM. Seriously, he wasn’t as daft as he’s portrayed in some books.

Ssemogerere was a presidential candidate in the 1980 and 1996 elections, and then he hanged his boots in 2005, because his ‘movies’ couldn’t sell anymore. When a movie star begins to appear in a television series as a regular cast member, it can usually be taken as an overall descent in their careers.

Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba writes from United Kingdom

"In tribute to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Uganda, two bastions of strength in a world filled with strife, discrimination and terrorism."