In the midst of the flurry of questions on the fate of Eddie Mutwe, an aide to Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi), the President of the NUP, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Ugandan army takes credit for his honesty and transparency in this matter. That he came out to reveal that Mutwe was in his custody and providing evidence of the same with the captive’s pictures is a welcome gesture that reassures his people and the public that nothing worse could befall him.
Bobi Wine and NUP had sent out a “missing person” SOS, unsure and speculating where he might be. The CDF came out to say that he was the one holding the said missing person. Regardless of how this came to be, it revelation should allay the fears of those who were looking for him and enable them to make demands on his captor-or host, as the case may be, since many aren’t sure of the circumstances of this disappearance.
Why would someone come out brazenly to incriminate himself? For Gen. Kainerugaba to emerge and state that he was holding the captive was a good thing because, then, you are sure who to hold responsible for anything. How often do you come across someone willingly admitting responsibility for something that causes people to scratch their heads? Did Amin’s SRB and Dr. Obote’s NASA give such notices?
Muhoozi gave details of what Mutwe was reportedly going through, providing pictures of his previously bearded head now clean-shaven. If this was done as part of an act to humiliate him, who is responsible is known.
The CDF also said that the detainee was being taught Runyankore, something that has unnerved many who look at this as an ethnocentric act. I am not sure if “being taught Runyankore” goes for exactly being tutored in the said language but if it is indeed so, what is tribal about learning a language? Would it be more tolerable if he said Mutwe was being taught French or Russian or Kiswahili? Since we have the “captor” stating these things himself, we shall get to the bottom of what he meant and why.
Something bothers me about our colonisers; why did they choose to teach us their languages yet they supposedly regarded us as unequal with them? They even went on to give us their education and sow their cultural practices among us including dressing styles and social etiquette. Do you introduce someone you hate into your cultural circles? I have witnessed how some Africans dislike seeing fellow Africans living in similar standards; that if so and so is wearing the same shirt as mine, I stop wearing it; if his children go to a certain school, I transfer mine to one with higher standards, etc.
While studying Muhoozi’s acts and statements, let’s leave out the language “joke” because Nkore isn’t short of language speakers, and this shouldn’t be expanded beyond social media.
Focus should be on the circumstances under which Eddie is being held and if his rights have been violated in the process. And if that is the case, we know the remedies available within the legal provisions enforceable in the country. The most vicious human rights violators do not expose themselves. They harass or kill quietly! Why is Muhoozi not afraid to show his face in this? He could simply keep quiet and feign ignorance. We have a chance to open a new chapter of accountability, transparency and human rights entrenchment, but in the mist of politics and ethnocentric speculation, we miss an opportunity to engage for the interests of those we lead and defend.
Bobi Wine should move and meet the CDF and demand for his man’s release. And as this particular case is resolved, where are the other missing persons said to be held on political grounds since Gen. Kainerugaba is open about those in his custody? What other truths can we unearth about any missing or oppressed Ugandan and the activities of the different political and security players? Openness and transparent engagement is the key! I am sure that Eddie cannot suffer anything worse now that we know where he is.
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