Uganda’s Revolution: How I saw it

Description

Brigadier PacosKutesa was born in Masaka District in 1956. He did his O and A levels at Masaka Secondary School between 1971 and 1975. From 1976bto 1979 he sought out the anti-Amin forces in Tanzania with the aim of linking up with them. He eventually joined the front for National Salvation (FRONASA) and took part in overthrowing Amin. After training as an officer cadet at the prestigious Monduli Military Academy, Tanzania,in 1979-1980,Kutesa was commissioned as a second lieutenant and deployed to the Nakasangola Military Training School as a regimental instructor. In march 1981 he abandoned his post at Nakasongola to join the Luwero bush war against the Obote11 regime. He commanded the famous Katonga bridge battles as a battalion commander before leading the attack on Kampala. He was, in 1986, promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the 4^th Division headquartered in Gulu. From 1990 to 1991 he attended a course at the Ghana Armed Force Staff College, after which he was appointed Chief of Training and Recruitment, a position he held up to 1994. He became a member of the Constitutional Assembly in 1995, and thus helped shape the current Ugandan Constitution. In 1998 Kutesa entered Makerere University, graduating in 2001 with a bachelor of Arts(social sciences) degree.

In Uganda’s Revolution 1979-1986: How I saw it Colonel Kutesa provides us with important insights in to the ideology and principles of the NRA nad the events that trigged the rebellion which resulted in the ouster of the Obote ii and OkelloLutwa regimes. He traces his own growth and development from a naïve young student to an adult troubled by political turmoil, presents his own reasons for joining in what he referred to as ‘the struggle’, and discusses the various roles he played in the course of the war and afterwards. He offers crucial glimpses in to the attitudes, mindset and personalities of the various actors in this war, both when they are under great pressure at the frontline and in more relaxed circumstances. He intersperses the many interesting incidents –some spine-chilling, other riotously side-splitting-that constitute the main thread of this historical narrative with enlightening details about the military and politics, as well as instances of soul-searching and nuggets of philosophy. Though this book was conceived as one-man’s perspective on, and bears testimony to, the revolution, it turns out to be larger than that. The book ends up presenting the greater scenario revolving around the injustices, humiliations and betrayals that make people angry enough to take up arms, thus putting their lives on the line; hence it makes an important contribution to the debate about good governance.