THE 1972 INVASION; THE BATTLE AND THE DIPLOMATIC TENSION.
D day arrived and the infantry attack was slated to occur at the crack of dawn. The western axis that was under Yoweri Museveni comprised of about 40 FRONASA soldiers who among them included Kahunga Bagira,Mwesiga Tumusiime,Ruzinda and other 330 infantry fighters commanded by Capt. Oyile, Lt.Okot and Lt. Okoumu. They were to attack Mbarara barracks and nearby garrisons through Kyaka and Nshungyezi before proceeding to Kampala. However the battle that started at dawn was over by midday. As Mr John Kamu an eye withness of the battle at Mbarara summarized the battle , ``they arrived at Mbarara and made some gains, but they were quickly out gunned and outnumbered and to make things worse the Uganda army was alerted prior henceforth they laid in an ambush.” . By the end of the battle, most of the rebels had been killed, captured or fled back across the border to Tanzania. However, those that ran and integrated into society were later identified , turned in by the community, captured and later publically executed as a warning sign to others. Yoweri Museveni leader of the FRONASA group, luckily escaped and fled back to Tanzania where looking back at the invasion he stated in his book sowing the mustard seed `` the invasion was a disaster and anything which could possibly go wrong went wrong. The whole invasion exercise was a comedy of errors.”Upon his return to Tanzania, he swore never to work again with Obote, blaming the latter for the failure of the invasion and with that, the rivalry that would dominate Uganda in the early 80s was born.
The other axis of Kyotera Masaka Kampala was fiercer and bloody compared to the Mbarara one. The Masaka attack was led by Bazililo and Tito Okello and they were to attack Masaka through Kalisizo. The attack commenced at the crack of dawn and the rebels soon had the upper hand. A combination of a surprise attack and a poor coordination among the Ugandan army, made victory look a possibility for the fighters. The Ugandan government later announced ``Tanzanian troops numbering at least 1000 have advanced to within 100 miles of Kampala after occupying towns of Kyotera, Kakuto and Kalisizo.” General Amin clearly astonished by what was happening, ordered a full mobilisation of troops throughout the country to counter the attack and issued orders that any soldier who retreated or surrendered would be punished. However Tanzanian troops weren’t involved in the combat as this was further stressed by Major General Sarakikya the commander in chief of TPDF who denied the allegations made by the Ugandan government on the same day of the attack. Tanzanian radio later that same day reported that the Ugandan garrison at Umbura had been taken over by dissidents fighting Amin and that fighting was ongoing. On Sept 18th, however it became clear that president Amin`s forces had the upper hand over the invaders. As Mr. Enoka Bainomugisha wrote in his autographical book, A Life Of No Regrets, `` the Masaka attack was led by Bazililo and Tito Okello who when attacked by the Amin forces near Kalisizo called for reinforcement using old Uganda army communication codes known by Amin`s army.” This mishap gave the government soldiers valuable information that enabled them launch a bloody but effective counter attack to the rebels. When the guns become silent, 230 invaders were killed, 50 captured, at least 150 civilians dead with about 9 Ugandan soldiers dead according to the official statement from Ugandan government at the time. Upon victory president Amin was seen receiving some of the captured invaders who included Mr Wilfred Odong, Mr.Picho Ali and captain Oyile ,Obote`s cousin. All were paraded through the streets of Kampala and later executed.
One of the notable if not the bravest soldiers of the invasion was Paulo Tindimwebwa who was the leader of the battalion that attacked Kalisizo. A former Ugandan air force pilot and an assistant researcher in presidents Obote`s government who fled to Tanzania shortly afterwards the 1971 coup, he was one of the most experienced ,trusted and respected commander in the invading force. Born to Rev. Eriakim and Rosa Kamujanduzi in 1947 , Paulo was a very social, chrematistic , ambitious and focused man, qualities which made him an exceptional soldier and leader of men. Many of his military attachés referred to him as Paulo Karim due to the slight resemblance he had to the Nilotic group which by then dominated the army. On the fateful day on September 17th, his battalion after scoring early gains, was quickly outnumbered and out gunned by the government forces and a heavy artillery battle ensued and thus it then that his heroic journey in life ended. As Oyite Ojok later recalled as he told his brothers, ``I last saw him as he heading to Kalisizo ,he was a brave commander.” As his younger brother John Kamu later recalled `` he told us he would never surrender to Amin`s forces, that he would rather shot himself if need be.” Whether that is what happened, only GOD knows, but what is for sure is his memory lives on as a patriotic soldier who sacrificed his life for his country.
The rising diplomatic tensions and the Mogadishu accord.
Upon the invasion on the 17th of September, the Ugandan government was quick to blame both Tanzania and her former colonial master Britain. The latter was highly suspected because of the expulsion of about 20000 Ugandan Asians the previous month, majority of whom had British passports, in Amin`s economic war. This caused an unwanted influx of immigrants and caused a political stir in Britain. After the invasion, the Uganda police arrested and detained a number of British citizens among them four newspaper journalists and a photographer. The government accused them of illegal entry and claimed they were British spies.
On the 18th, radio Uganda announced that government had appealed to both the O.A.U and United Nations against what it termed as aggression from Tanzania. Later the same day, two Ugandan aircraft bombed Bukoba 40 miles south of the Ugandan border, killing at least 9 people and wounding at least 200. The situation was made tense when the TPDF moved its 4th battalion towards the Uganda border so as to prevent another Ugandan attack. With tensions rising, president Nyerere sent a telegram to King Hassan II of Morocco was by then OAU chairperson protesting Ugandan aggression. Counter accusations upon accusations followed with more and more world leaders getting involved such as Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Haile Selaasie of Ethiopia who were in Nyerere`s corner and Col. Gadhafi and president Nimeri of Sudan who were standing with Amin. On Sept 21st, voice of. Kenya reported that both the governments of Uganda and Kenya had agreed to ceasefire . It must be noted that the OAU had reached out to president Kenyatta to act as a mediator between the two nations, but he later declined. The OAU then turned to president Said Barre of Somalia who drafted a peace plan that both governments later accepted. As all this was going on, president Sadat sent a telegram to Amin expressing his sadness about the invasion and offering support to Uganda against what he termed as ``Zionist aggression.”
Negotiations on the Mogadishu peace plan were to commence on the 27th of September , but the negotiations were cagey as there was suspicion and a lack of trust among the two leaders. However, after a lot of concessions on both sides, the peace agreement was signed on October 5th, with peace agreement published simultaneously in Mogadishu , Kampala and Dar es Salaam. On Oct. 20th on the invitation of Said Barre, both leaders attended the national day celebrations in Mogadishu. Both leaders sat on opposite ends of reviewing stands and never met or said a word to each other.
The Mogadishu peace accord would be broken in November 1978 with the start of the Uganda Tanzania war and it would again cause diplomatic headaches for Nyerere in the 1979 Monrovia OAU summit.
Sources; John Kamu, Enoka Bainomugisha `` A Life Of No Regrets,” David Martin ``Idd Amin”, Yoweri Museveni ``Sowing The Mustard Seed” First Edition And Kessings Worldwide Archives.
© rugaba.
