Updf Foundation Anchored On Support Of The People – New Vision

The challenges and few mistakes notwithstanding, UPDF still remains a solid institution, accountable to the people and the vanguard of peace and stability

In the words of General James C. McConville, the 40th Chief of Staff of the US Army, "Winning matters and people are my number one priority. People are our soldiers, their families, civilians, retirees and veterans. We win through our people, and people will drive success in our readiness, modernisation and reform priorities."

No truer words have ever been said in regard to the relationship between the military and the people.

Looking back at the organisational foundation of the NRA struggle; with reference to Major Ondoga Ori Amaza's book, "Museveni's Long March from Guerilla to Statesman", there was a solid demand that all in the National Resistance Army (NRA) subordinate their individual and/or group interests to the demands of the political objectives and intentions of the struggle, which were arrived at by examining the demands and interests of the Ugandan people, thus establishing an organic link between the young army and the people. This foundation was described as follows;

"The population is the one which gives us food, shelter and intelligence information about the movement of enemy troops. We are both educating our soldiers in practical and everyday examples that it is the people who matter in this exercise. The NRA has learnt that without the support of the people, it cannot carry out the struggle alone and successfully. At the same time, the population knows that without the effective defence from NRA, the enemy would harass their womenfolk, destroy their property with impunity, kill them and eventually make the struggle a failure.

Indeed, the organisational structures and methods of work, upon whose basis the NRA struggle was waged, had revolutionary potential and content. The interests and demands of the people were crystallised into a political programme thus constituting a rallying point for all.

The Code of Conduct developed during the bush war also intended to provide a clear definition of the relationship between the masses of the Uganda people and the NRA.

The NRA leadership established Resistance Committees (RC's) representing their intention to bring about a revolutionary re-ordering of the Ugandan society. It was through these committees, that people could openly criticise anything they disapproved of, for instance NRA soldiers misbehaving. This was the real representation of people's power.'

The effect of the organisational foundations meant to steer the NRA away from the path of becoming a neo-colonial' army whose loyalty, training, ethos, ideological orientation and political preferences are anti-people and unambiguously' undemocratic by essence."

The support the people offered the NRA was deep, in that they risked their lives, since the government troops at the time never hesitated to kill any of them. For instance, the June 9, 1981 incident in Kikandwa, where Luttamaguzi and eight of his kinsmen, who bravely refused to reveal anything about the whereabouts of the NRA, were tortured to death. In recognition of this brave act, the NRA named one of its combat units "LUTTA" and set June 9, as a public holiday (Heroes Day) in memory of the heroism Luttamaguzi and his eight fellow villagers exhibited.

Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, in his book "Battles of the Ugandan Resistance; A Tradition of Maneuver clearly described this relationship as follows;

"The resolute support of the people of Luwero, Ngoma and Bulemezi in general has to be understood in the context of their inextricable ties to the NRA. Their support was for the fighters whom they lived with and daily saw meting out punishments on the dictatorship for the unspeakable atrocities committed against them. It was an empirical relationship based on the numerous struggles they had jointly endured."

Today, the Uganda People's Defence Forces(UPDF) previously the National Resistance Army (NRA) continues to maintain this organisational foundation and background in the execution of its mandate, derived from the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, which is; "to defend and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda, ensuring non-violability of people's and individual rights, the rule of law, governance and most importantly to foster harmony and understanding between Defence forces and civilians.

The UPDF has religiously consolidated the gains of the revolution, putting into consideration the very people, "wananchi" that supported the war up to its very end. The enabling element has been its pro-people character and ideology that seeks to bridge the gap between the men in uniform and the civilian population, creating an environment of Civil-Military Co-operation at home and across the borders.

The challenges and few mistakes notwithstanding, UPDF still remains a solid institution, accountable to the people and the vanguard of peace and stability. Even for the individual crimes committed by some elements within the military, these would never go unpunished; for example, one crime the UPDF would never tolerate is "kuua mtu/wananchi" (killing a civilian). The UPDF Code of Conduct is clear on this. To reaffirm this commitment, the UPDF set up courts, which include, the Court Martial Appeal Court, General Court Martial, Division Court Martial, and Unit Disciplinary Courts, to try and punish, members of the defence forces that commit crimes or violate the code of conduct. These systems are in their entirety accountable to the people of Uganda.

Even for the Local Defence Units (LDU), who are ideally members of the UPDF Reserve/Auxiliary forces, the army leadership still maintains a firm grip on them, through Command and Control and for any violation of people's rights.

However, aside from some mishaps of the institution during the execution of their mandate, the UPDF has done a commendable job that surely deserves credit. The few mistakes made by some elements should not demonise the institution as a whole. So much has been done, that will in most cases not be talked about.

The UPDF has not only grown in number, but as an institution of excellence and professionalism, a character that it has managed to preserve and consolidate back at home and in foreign missions; a trait that was not common with previous armies.

As the citizenry, this is something we should be proud of, and in all that you do, I urge you all to give the officers and men of the UPDF all the support and respect they need and deserve to execute their mandate.

Historically, to date, without the support of the population, we would not have an army capable of protecting the country and its people. Credit goes to HE the President General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for his steadfast stewardship, the heroic combatants of the National Resistance Army who established the organizational foundation, and the officers and men of the Uganda People's Defence Forces who continue to steer the very tenets and gains of the revolution.

Aluta Continua!

The writer is a Staff Officer-Civil-Military Cooperation in the Office of the Senior Presidential Adviser for Special Operations.

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Updf Foundation Anchored On Support Of The People - New Vision