My father was close to Dr Obote. On a personal, individual level, Dr Obote was a respectable man. He, on numerous occasions, extended a helping hand to several people. In his space, Dr Obote was humane and considerate. Dr Obote valued education, which explains his earnest effort to aid Ugandan students in those turbulent times who sought admission to Zambia and Dar es Salaam Universities even after his overthrow in 1971. Dr Obote was hugely kind to my father. When my father fell ill in a camp at Tabora, Obote invited him to his palatial home in Dar es Salaam where Mama Miria Obote nursed him. I sneaked in twice to see my father and interacted with Dr Obote, who I found genial. When I made a decision to go to the bush in 1981, people close to him seemed to suggest Dr Obote had expressed disappointment by the exodus of the young people who had grown up under UPC. My disagreement with Dr Obote was never at a personal level. I disagreed with him on political systems. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet him before he passed on. When we took over power in 1986, he had already moved to Zambia. I, however, met with Mama Miria Obote and explained to her that in all the things that made me decide to do what l had to do, nothing had been personal, and it had all been about political disagreements.
“The Bush war was a constant struggle to stay alive. I joined the struggle in March 1981. Five months down that road, I got shot twice. I took a bullet to my right thigh, and another struck me on the right side of my chest. A few soldiers and I were in Bukalasa when we fell into an ambush at about 3 am. We lost six men that day. We fought back hard and successfully repelled the attack. I was later lifted to our camp in Kikandwa and subsequently clandestinely taken to Kisekka Hospital for specialised treatment. A month later, I returned to the frontline. The war was a cocktail of various personalities. Today, the man we know as President Paul Kagame stood out tall for his unflinching devotion to discipline. Discipline was one mark one could read in everything he did; personal discipline and discipline of others. He endeavoured to exert his discipline upon others, perhaps a little too strongly – bearing in mind we were operating in a situation where the majority of the people were not disciplined yet.
I met my wife in 1991. Julia had returned from Canada to attend her father’s memorial service. Her father, the late John Kakonge, had been the Minister of Agriculture in Dr Obote’s government. John unlawfully lost his life in 1972. I first met Julia through a common friend in Kampala. She was quite attractive, and I thought she was beautiful. I made a few inquiries about her conduct, which indicated she lived by desirable values. I equally desired an educated wife. A bond grew between us, and I decided I wanted to marry her. Julia and I got married in 1992. She shortly returned to Canada to complete her studies. Julia and I have two children, a son and daughter.
Mugisha Gregory Muntu, 61
