EVEN UNDER MUSEVENI, LUOS/NILOTICS STILL DOMINATE MILITARY SERVICE:Colonial agents like Emin Pasha, Samuel Baker and Capt F. D. Lugard set up colonial armies in Uganda using Sudanese Nubians. Later on the trend of enlisting the Luos and Nilotics gained ground throughout the colonial era. It is not true that the colonial administration preffered those ethinic groups to serve in the army at the exclusion of other ethinic groups. It is a fact Bantu ethinic groups were reluctant to join military service. A number of southerners served in the pre-independence army. Bugandas king Muteesa and Tooro George Rukidi were soldiers. Many other ex-service men (Kawonawos) of the KAR from among the Ugandan Bantu communities even fought in the World War II. By the time Uganda gained independence in 1962, though the new Uganda Army was dominated by the Luos and Nilotics, a significant number of Bantu speaking had enlisted into the army. The misconceptions that surrounded the events of 1966 that saw the army invade and send the Buganda King Mutesa into exile aggravated the situation. The consenquental abolition of Bantu Kingdoms by the UPC government led by Milton Obote - a Luo left the army tagged to the Nilotics and Luos. In particular, the Baganda found no pride in serving in the army. NRAs Brig. Kasirye Gwanga has publicly stated that he cant render his military service beyond Karuma Bridge - to Northern Uganda. This trend of events was not confined to military service alone but affected the Police and Prisons services too. Since security service was voluntary, those Bantus who enlisted into security services made very successful careers. There is no evidence of any government policy that aimed at eliminating Bantus from security services. Circumstancial evidence shows that the Bantus did and continue to find military service a vigorous and tiresome exercise. Interestingly, the Bantus embraced the less tiresome intelligence or secret services during the post independence regimes. Several Bantus including Rwandese migrants made succesful careers in Secret Service. Museveni too after University enlisted in the Intelligence services under the Obote I government. With time, the Nilotics/Luos developed a liking for security services coupled by their traditional worior-like nature. That is why they even dominate the private security services - a service viewed by Bantus as demeaning. The former are generally prefered by property owners as being reliable and trustworthy. During the time of Amin a number of Bantus made successful careers in the security services. There was nothing like his elimination or restricting of Bantus from security services. After the fall of the Iddi Amin government though military service was voluntary, the Bantus still shunned enlisting in the military. This is what Museveni set out to exploit by preaching the secterian gospel of how leaders from northern Uganda were building a Luo/Nilotic army as a power base. He embarked on building a secterian southern Bantu army. However, a number of Bantus had embrraced the new post Iddi Amin national army including the Rwandese refugees and immigrants. Upon launching his five years bloody rebellion, Museveni took a good number of these Bantus/westerners to the bush. By the time he took over power in 1985, his NRA was a purely composed of Bantus from central and western Uganda. The defeated former soldiers from West Nile, Northern and North eastern regions were refered to as Anyanyas. The NRA propaganda was that it had reversed the colonial trend of the Nilotics/Luos domination of military service. The NRA got overwhelming enlistment from the Luo/Nilotic regions. The insurgency in these regions that ensued left people economically stranded. With no education facilities in place many children and youths had no option but to join the NRA in order to provide for their families. NRAs reprisal harassment and arbitrary arrests on suspicion of being insurgents also led many to enlist in the NRA. Some defeated former UNLAs too enlisted as fresh recruits and others even forfeited their previous ranks. The auxillary forces formed by the NRA in these regions helped boost the NRA strength too. Surrendering former insurgents from various armed groups in these regions have also been joining the NRA. Since coming to power, the state of welfare in the NRA has been appalling due to the thieving leadership that enjoy the Musevenis protection. Lower ranks of the NRA hailing from the peaceful and economically prosperious southern and western regions would desert in big numbers. For the impoverished NRAs from West Nile, Northern and North Eastern region, the rate of desertion was very low. During the re-enlistment of former combatants (Veterans) for the Congo expedition, the turn up from the Luo/Nilotic regions was overwhelming and many were retained in the NRA. Currently they dominate the lower rank and file of NRA. Their rise to command positions has been systematically contained. SFG is their no-go area. INFO. IS POWER
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 23:37:17 +0000
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