President Yoweri Museveni has lashed out at Ugandans who celebrated when former Security Minister Gen. Elly Tumwine died. The former Bush war hero passed on in August this year due to lung cancer.
Reacting to public comments on Gen Tumwine and other issues on Wednesday, President Museveni said on the 5th of October, he had opportunity to look at the tweets that were being sent by some malicious and confused people when Gen. Tumwine died.
According to Museveni, his staff have been telling him about those tweets, but he had not had time to look at them.
In his statement, the President pointed out some tweets like that of controversial satirical writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija who “moaned” (meaning mourned) with pleasure and National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine who became biblical, quoting “dust to dust” and admonishing everybody to be “humble” – meaning that Tumwine was not humble.
“That type of thinking is wrong for the following reasons:We all shall die, eventually. That, therefore, cannot be a matter for celebrating whether you like the person in question or not. People who do that are deceiving themselves,” Gen. Museveni said.
“The only relevant questions, then, are:What contribution have you made in life and what achievements have you attained in life?” he added.
The President revealed that on the two questions, the late Tumwine passes with flying colors because he came from a semi-traditional family (Christian but not educated balokole) and became a University graduate secondary school teacher by 1977. He later joined the anti-Amin Liberation struggle in 1979 and has been in the Resistance ever since, attaining the rank of General, MP, Minister, etc.
“I am told that he settled his brothers in the Burunga Farm where his parents were when I taught there in 1967 and bought his own farm in the Rwemikooma area and has left thousands of cattle, nice family house etc,” H.E the President commented.
“God gave him a wife, they have adult children who are all University graduates.
Tumwine helped many children of the NRM veterans, one of them being Mariam Seguya, RDC of Kiboga.
Tumwine was active in the church, was a music composer and a painter of pictures.He was a member of the smart partnership movement started by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.”
President Museveni further disclosed that by celebrating that Tumwine has died at 68 years of age, after achieving all this, shows that the perpetrators are, at the least, shallow because the fallen senior army officer did not fear death since that is why he went to fight with arms, to look for possible death, when he was in his 20s, on account of patriotism and Pan-Africanism.
“Moreover, Tumwine because he lived longer than some of the other fighters, he cared for the children of some of the fallen comrades. Tumwine was an early achiever in education, a freedom fighter, an artist, a philanthropist and a wealth-creator (big farmer). If some people do not appreciate such people, it could be that they are either uninformed (ignorant) or they are parasites (want affluence without working).”
Museveni said such people should be guided or condemned if they persist in their negativity.
“The roads everybody rides on, the schools, the electricity stations that generate electricity for the night-club goers to have trans-nights and tweet the following day etc., are from the sweat of the wealth creators like Tumwine, not to forget the peace the tweeters are using to express their malice. Go and send tweets in Mogadishu, if you think peace is not important,” the President added.
“The tweeters who speak of belonging to the “have nots” who resent the “haves”, should be reminded that right from 1996, the NRM Government created the Entadikwa Fund based at the sub-county where the leaders are elected by universal suffrage by the voters. Ever since that time, the NRM is always sending money for precisely the have nots: NAADS; Youth Fund; Women Fund; OWC; Emyooga; and, currently, the PDM.”
He also notef that the Minister of State for Microfinance. Hon. Haruna Kasolo and Ritah Namuwenge of Emyooga can share with Ugandans success stories of some of the people that respond to these efforts.
“On account of some people complaining that the local elite “begabira bokka”, on account of sending support through the LCs, the CAOs or the OWC soldiers, we are now sending money directly to the saccos of the wealth creators (e.g. farmers) at the Parish level, cutting out the Government officials. Therefore, the NRM advice to the have-nots has always been; use these grants (OWC) or soft money (PDM, Women Fund, Youth Fund, Emyooga, Entandikwa, send a cow) to get out of the have-nots and join the “haves”.”
Regarding whether Tumwine had genuine mourners, President Museveni said critics can look out for pictures at Rwemikooma (burial place for the late General) if they have spectacles to see.
“Therefore, the malicious actors be informed that Gen. Tumwine was a success in every important aspect, the seven years spent away from home in the resistance notwithstanding.His comment about shooting rioters, is not his composition. He was informing the Public about the Riot Act, in Uganda the Penal Code Act, which is used in many countries.”
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