In the 1960s and 70s, there was a community of equals straddling from Marindi, Mombasa, Lindi, Zanzibar all the way to Mtwala in the east; Arua, Rwenzori, Kabale, Kigoma, Songea and Sumbawanga in the west; koboko, kidepo, Garissa and Mandela in the north moving down to Mbeya and Tunduma (Nakonde) in the south.
This was the land comprising of the original East African Community (EAC): Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
Our people had come from a traumatic colonial era where the Germans nearly killed all the Hehe people during the ‘Hehe rebellion’ in Tanzania. The British had done the same with Kikuyu when they ruthlessly crashed the ‘Mau- Mau’ rebellion. For Uganda, the punishment was meted on its leaders who were exiled (Mwanga of Buganda and Kabalega of Bunyoro).
Therefore after the independence euphoria had settled down, our leaders decided to form one East Africa to unite our people economically and politically. They knew that unity of purpose will strengthen their collective bargain on the world stage.
Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya; Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Apollo Milton Obote of Uganda saw an opportunity missed in 1963 when African leaders were forming the OAU (Organization of African Unity) and rather formed a better body called EAC. It was a mundane idea the benefits of which we still reap.
And yet the natural wonders making East Africa have always been here except that politicians decided to take the centre stage.
This is the land of the great expanse of water called Victoria- world’s second biggest lake; the majestic Kiramanjaro- the fourth tallest mountain in the world; Mt. Kenya and Rwenzori which are also natural wonders. There was a snaking river called the Nile, which takes life to Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sudan. It is the world’s longest river beating the Mississippi and Amazon to claim that position.
East Africa, was the land that had the lions, leopards, wildebeests, hippos, buffalos, tigers, elephants, wild dogs and cheetahs. It had the great Serengeti and Tsavo leading many people to baptize this region as “Noah’s Ark” and others to think that, may be, God stood here during creation.
At one time, Idi Amin told a stunned group of tourists he was on a boat with that:
“That place you see over there, is the headquarter of crocodiles!”
What else would Amin call it after witnessing thousands of crocodiles sun-bathing in the tropical sun? Even in his cruel mind, he remained in awe of the beauty of the land he was privileged to lead.
God indeed, bestowed on Africa, call it East Africa to avoid confusion, many wonders you can’t find elsewhere. The natural beauty; unique flora and fauna made this part of the world a tourist Mecca.
And all those accolades for East Africa were not misplaced partly because our earliest cousins lived at a place called Olduvai Gorge in president Tanzania. Save for the revisionist archeologists and funny historians, Africa (Sterkfontein in South Africa) and Olduvai Gorge are undoubtedly the two places that contain the oldest human remains and the tools they used.
British Sir. Winston Churchill had no choice but to call this region “paradise on earth” and the “Pearl of Africa” (in respect to Uganda) because of its intoxicating scenery, weather and unmatched beauty. If East Africa was located somewhere else and inhabitants not black Africans, it would, undoubtedly, be the richest place in earth. People, tourists, wouldn’t be visiting anywhere else.
But God, in His infinite wisdom, placed it where it is and occupied indeed owned by the people he chose to look after it. I simply love the cleverness of our Creator.
The Almighty God also decided that whilst most of world experienced four weather seasons (summer, winter, spring and autumn) East Africa would experience only two seasons (rain season to plant crops and dry season to harvest and dry them). He prepared our lands for this purpose: to feed and ewe others.
Africa is threatened to be cut into two from the great faults now known as “the rift valleys” running through Kenya (eastern rift valley) and another monumental one (western rift valley) running from L. Albert, George, Edward, Kyoga in Uganda and all the way to the uncompromising L. Tanganyika (the world’s deepest after Baikal in Russia) in Tanzania.
Mountain gorillas were here so are the huge forests like Mabira, Ituli, Minziro, Maramagambo, and Karura. Then there was the extraordinary man-planted forest (Sao Hill) covering some 130,000ha in Iringa Tanzania. Mind-boggling waterfalls, rare bird species and a welcoming people to boot were all here. Men and women of great athletic abilities and endurance were here. Coffee was here; bananas aplenty; sisal; name any known edible plant; all, were in here.
Where else would you expect to find the Masai people who occupied another natural wonder called the Masai Mara? Where else would you expect to find the greatest animal exodus (wildebeest migration from the Serengeti to Masai Mara) where an estimated 2million wildebeest, Zebra and Gazelles take part in this annual spectacle?
This region had great leaders like Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Chief Abdallah Fundikila, Oscar Kambona and Abeid Amaan Karume (Tanzania); Mzeyi Jomo Kenyatta, Jaramongi Oginga Odinga, Thomas (Tom) Odhiambo Mboya, Josephant Njuguna Karanja, Charles Njonjo, Arap Trotich Moi (Kenya) and Sir Edward Mutesa, Saudi Ocheng, Milton Apollo Obote, Basil Batalingaya, Grace Ibingira, Ben Kiwanuka and William Nadiope (Uganda).
These leaders had agreed at independence to unite East African people economically, socially and politically. They had formed the East African Community (EAC) which served the people very well. The community had an airline jointly owned by the three states, same universities and school curriculum, a bank including many projects carried out jointly.
And yet these leaders were not satisfied as individuals in the process destroying a hitherto great idea. They all wanted to be presidents and left us orphaned.
THE COLLAPSE OF THE EAC:
The East African Community collapsed in July 1977. It had suffered so much because of the personal intrigues of the leaders of the member states. Tanzania and Uganda felt that Kenya was benefitting more because of its huge economy. Even the British, the architects of the agreements forming East Africa, had favored Kenya a country where they had hoped to stay and occupy as their settler cousins in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia then), Namibia (South West Africa then) and apartheid South Africa were doing.
Besides, the infighting became personal when Mwalimu Julius Nyerere referred to Kenya as: “A man- eat- man society” as he despised capitalism policies in that country. He saw Kenyan leaders as not caring about their people because of policies which were exploitative and largely inhumane.
Then Kenya through its then foreign minister, Sir Charles Njonjo, called Tanzania a failed state with it’s useless Ujaama policies. He referred to socialist Tanzania as: ” A man- eat- nothing society.” The Kenyans despised Tanzanians and called them a poor people who were easily satisfied with having very little.
So incensed was Jomo Kenyatta that he ordered his finance minister Mwai Kibaki not to remit any money to the East African budget. The community was left with no option but to collapse since the biggest funder had pulled out.
Uganda wasn’t even in play because it’s president- Idi Amin Dada- had turned it into a “briefcase country” with one man controlling even the very air his people breathed. He was the minister of everything and all Ugandan women were his!
Of course the Ugandan dictator was watching all this with disdain and amusement. He didn’t understand too much economics and paid not much attention on how countries become wealthy.
“East African Community? Which person was that?7” He once asked his close aides.
Around that time and ever since 1972, when Obote and Museveni hastily- arranged rebels invaded Uganda from Tanzania, the Ugandan Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada VC, DSO, MC, CBE, was in no-talking terms with Mwalimu Nyerere. The Mwalimu had opened Tanzania a jar to let in any Ugandan who felt oppressed by Idi Amin and his henchmen.
The hatred was too deep that the Tanzanian leader used to call Idi Amin: “Kikeito- big foot(shoe) and “nyoka hatari sana- dangerous snake.”
And Amin, on his part, would often deluge Nyerere by calling him as “my ageing wife in Dar es Salaam”. That Nyerere was always bitter because Amin “yali takyika- failed to attend to his wife’s bedroom needs!”
Of course these personal intrigues and vendettas were not good for the smooth operation of the EAC.
We were a people facing an existential threat because of neo-colonialism and pattern- states we had been reduced to but found ground to quarrel with each other. I am inclined to believe that our former colonial masters might have been the boogymen igniting the fires of disunity. The OAU (AU now) had failed dismally now even these other communities or unions were being failed.
Idi Amin had also rekindled animosities emanating from colonial boundaries which he called ‘artificial lines’ therefore had to be revised. He wanted Tanzania to return an area in Kagera district called Kyaka Ugandans had baptized ‘Buganda Kyaka’. But he wasn’t ready to return Kabale and West Nile which had also been removed from Rwanda and Sudan respectively and added to Uganda by the same imperialists.
As if that was not enough, Idi Amin often threatened to invade Kenya and kill Mzeyi Jomo Kenyatta. The Ugandan giant was not happy that Tanzania was harbouring Milton Obote and Yoweri Museveni among other liberators. But he was very bitter after Kenya had allowed the Israel commandos to use it’s airspace and to refuel Jewish military planes during “Operation Thunderbolt”.
This operation came about when in June 1976, Amin Dada allowed Palestinian fighters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and some German zealots to land an hijacked Air France flight 139 at Entebbe airport. Majority of the passengers were Jews who were flying from Tel Aviv to France.
After much negotiations and Idi Amin noncommittal, the Zionist state sent a group of commandos and extracted its people from the now old Entebbe airport. Idi Amin, a Muslim, had collaborated with the Palestinian brothers (I think Libyan Gaddafi had a hand in convincing Amin Dada) and was enjoying the limelight as the hostage drama lasted.
Therefore Kenya had betrayed him and he complained severally about this. Coincidentally, Kenya suspended it’s remittance to the East African budget the same month of June and year 1976.
Truth be told, Idi Amin was a ‘nationalist’ who did not see any good from working with Tanzania and Kenya. A few years back he had chased Asians (Indians) for what he had termed as: “Milking a cow without feeding it.”
To Idi Amin Dada; Uganda was for Ugandans!
Tanzania is great today because it allowed it’s Indian and Arab people to enjoy all the rights of citizenship. Kenya is great today because it allowed white settlers to enjoy all the rights of citizenship. Uganda, up to this day, is a lame country because Idi Amin even Milton Obote wanted Uganda for Ugandans!
Until Yoweri Museveni, a thoughtful man, came and allowed Asians back and now Chinese, Uganda was even importing sweets from Kenya!
MUSEVENI ENTERS THE FURRY:
Uganda’s president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has much to owe East Africa. First and foremost, according to unfounded indeed persistent rumors, Museveni might have been born in Burundi, Rwanda, karagwe in Tanzania or Ntungamo in Uganda. With those rumors alone, this qualifies Museveni to be a true citizen of East Africa subsequently it’s first president.
After finishing his A’Levels, and moving around rural Uganda working as a teacher and an evangelical preacher, a young Museveni had tried to join Makerere University, like most of his peers, but failed. The reasons for this failure have no bearing on this writing.
Nonetheless, he later enrolled at the University of East Africa at Dar es Salaam in 1967 to study political science and economics. He graduated in 1970 and got himself a job in the Milton Obote’s office as an intelligence researcher.
Now wait for this: Museveni’s report warning of an impending coup by the military (January 25, 1971) remained unread on Milton Obote’s table. That is the reason why Museveni hastily left Uganda the next day after the coup (do you still wonder why Museveni can’t be overthrown through a coup d’etat?)
Now you have seen the education of a young Museveni through a EAC bursary where he went on to meet other bigwigs of the African liberation like Sam Shafishona Nujoma, Ndabandingi Sithole, Jonas Savimbi, Samora Moises Machel, Mishake Muyongo, Hifekepunye Pombili Pohamba, Andimba, Govan Mbeki,
Toivo ya Toivo, Holden Roberto, Eduardo Mondlane, Joshua Nkomo, Oliver Tambo, Joachim Chissano, Mnangwaga, John Garang, Chris Hani, Jacob Zuma, Hage Gheingob, among others.
A young Museveni met his wife, Maama Janet in Kenya; married her in England and lived with her in Tanzania. As a matter of fact, Muhoozi Kainerugaba was born in Tanzania (some not-so-serious people believe that MK is not a child of Maama Janet!).
With this simple historic analysis, it is now obvious that President Museveni knows and understands the beauty inherent in unity of purpose. East Africa threw at him a rope- lifeline- when he was drowning. Now he wants all of us to benefit.
It was again East Africa, read Tanzania, that sacrificed to see Uganda liberated from the iron grip of Idi Amin in 1979. The liberation of Rwanda and Zaire now DRCongo all followed a similar pattern: when they assist you, you assist others!
That’s why on 30 November, 1999, a new treaty reviving East Africa was signed by the heads of states. It has long expanded with the inclusion of Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DRCongo. It has a huge land and a population of 340 million people almost the same as that of the United States of America.
East Africa is a sphinx rising out of the African plains and jungles; and threatening to rival any regional block anywhere on earth.
Are the citizens ready to embrace this new challenge?
WHY WE NEED EAST AFRICA:
One of the most dominant ideas known to man is the desire to be free and to make an economic success of oneself. Human desires (wants and needs) all strive to fulfill economic prosperity and freedoms (of speech, owning property, movement, practice own beliefs or religion, etc).
Voting in political contests call it ‘multiparty elections’ is second fiddle to other wants.
Having known all this and more, President Museveni has spent a greater portion of his rulership of Uganda talking about ‘kidakyonka- stomach alone” warning the population to also produce for the market. While his friends in the NRM are failing him, and the opposition always laughing at him, Museveni often comes up with new methods all aimed at turning Ugandans into wealthy people.
But most of interventions have failed to significantly change the lives of our people hence the need for East Africa. He now believes and rightly so that a greater market is what we all need to tap into if our household incomes are to improve.
Why not East Africa when Europe is one with most trade barriers almost eliminated between member states? Why would rich United States, Canada and Mexico strive to have one economic block? China and other Asian countries are united in one economic block called ASIAN.
If Africa has failed, according to Museveni, then we should have the East Africa Community and fast- track it into a federation or union la European Union.
Therefore President Museveni is pushing for a East African Community with much political and economic power for the more than 350 million people living in the region.
Our people need to move between East Africa unhindered and free to live and transact business as they wish. All small nationalistic attitudes have to be done away with and we let our people move unhindered between the great land bestowed on them by the Almighty.
Last word: “When spiders unite; they can tie down a lion!”
Adam Kamulegeya
adamkam2003@gmail.com
0779 104 336
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