By Tumuhimbise Norman
As you may recall I once led the “Jobless Brotherhood” social movement back in 2014. Our social movement was known for using creative activism and humour through the yellow Pigs that symbolised Mr. Museveni and his henchmen’s greed which has not changed any way!
Following our so many successful demonstrations, very many young people would reach out to my closest members for recruitment and or working together on various campaigns. It is through this, that a friend called to inform me that Burora Anderson admired my resilience, a well thought over and planned modus operandi.
According to this friend Anderson repeatedly lamented “…for sure how did Norman and Mayanja beat Parliamentary security to be able to deliver the yellow pigs without being detected…I wish I could meet him…”! Given our busy schedule I wasn’t in position to approve Anderson’s request until late 2016.
Firstly, Anderson had been to the team that supported Rt. Hon. Amama Mbabazi’s bid for presidency in early 2015 though not as active as Zahid Ssempala, Mzee Bwanika and other vibrant youths who were Jackie Mbabazi’s blue eyed boys at a time. Due to reasons I suspect to be financial and most likely political survival as is for most activists, he [Anderson] did not see his relevance in Mbabazi’s camp.
When the 2016 elections were done Anderson was as irrelevant as letters A & Y in the word “Okay”. He was busy cruising his very old 1996 Subaru with a yellow fuel gauge warning on this Subaru’s dashboard as he loitered in every office for political favours while on the other hand he pestered my PA for a meeting appointment.
The hopelessness and his lack of political purpose nor self confidence and expertise like a few of us made Anderson too desperate for life to the extent that he auctioned his brains to the powers that be. For purposes of of buying a refurbished product at a wholesale price as is with Japan’s used vehicles, Anderson was subjected to an elementary military training commonly known as kyakamukyaka on a recommendation of Molly Kamukama with other greedy activists in Kyankwanzi where Mr. Musevevni brainwashes citizens majority of whom young people. Those of you who don’t know Kyankwanzi, it is a place in Uganda where upon attendance of its political curriculum even a PHD holder’s reasoning becomes like that of a mentally ill Pinguin with no “NO” what so-ever to any of Mr. Museveni’s ideas. In fact some Kyankwanzi products have equated their master as being immortal and God for that matter.
According to my reliable source the 2016 post election team of youths that was brainwashed in Kyankwanzi had been promised RDC positions upon return; a promise that never saw light. All they got was the over size yellow T-shirt each baring Museveni’s photo with his usual slogans of “Prosperity for all” among other less important words.
Having completed the brainwash series in Kyankwanzi, Anderson and his team returned to Kamapala with the false hope of becoming RDCs as earlier promised but the big wings started their best game of hide and seek towards the poor Anderson and others. Unlike others, Anderson was always at one of Moly Kamukama’s Kololo based office in talks with a one Awel to convince Molly to deploy him anywhere but all this was in vain. I am sure this is yet another reason why Anderson wanted me to be his political god father that would propel him to being an activist and subsequently be remembered by the NRM users. Indeed he was remembered years later.
Time check 2pm. On phone was was my then PA’s call. “…Sir. Mr. Burora is killing me with calls… you had asked him to meet you today Sunday…what should I tell him…”? Said the PA. Much as it was a Sunday, I told the PA to give Anderson my number and ask him to call me directly. With in no minute a strange number was already calling and upon picking, the caller introduced himself as Burora Anderson. I asked him to suggest where we would meet around town and he proposed Subrina’s pub on Bombo road.
As my principal especially when meeting strangers, I arrived an hour earlier, took cover to see which other people would come with Anderson since I knew that Museveni’s security agents were capable of using him to kidnap me; luckily he arrived alone. I saw him calling me as I took more minutes to ascertain if indeed he was alone. Minutes later I called him back and directed him to where I was seated. At first his smile seemed genuine, he narrated to me how he was was a disgruntled NRM youth who admired our group’s activism. At first he asked whether it was possible to recruit him into our group but I told him that our recruitment procedure was not as easy as he thought. By-and-large our discussion wasn’t bad until months later when his true snake colours surfaced as we shall see.
When our meeting at Subrina’s pub was done, I told Anderson that I would brief my team to get their opinion. The team suggested that for them to trust Anderson we would have him in one of our activities an idea that the desperate Burora accepted. Anyways did he have any choice! I must confess that I was too quick in trusting Burora. This is because days later I started moving around with Burora and other activists to some progressive NGO’s and other individuals to support our cause. I am sure Anderson had never met any big wings in the NGO world! We went on to have various meetings amongst activist groups of Sauti Ya vijana whose members included but not limited to Mzee Bwanika and Musoke Eria, NRM poor youth with Ssempala Zahid and Kazibwe Bashir [NOT the Kawempe MP] as for Anderson he din’t have any formation that’s why he would hold out as the jobless brotherhood member most likely to attract attention.
In order to have a stronger and united force against the junta even when the likes of Anderson wanted to use our activism as a demand notice, we started a campaign named “Citizens campaign against corruption” At a time of this campaign Mr. Museveni as usual had awarded his inner bootlickers of Jennifer Musisi, Allen Kagina, Doris Akol, Peter Nyombi (RIP), Fredrick Ruhindi and others with the infamous 6 Billion “Handshake”.
By the evening of 10th.Jan.2017 I had solely mobilised enough resources to enable us have the press conference which was scheduled for the 11th.Jan.2017 and all that Anderson had to offer as capital was his head and the unreliable content there-in. Not in bad faith but I am sure that this was Anderson’s first formal media appearance. Thanks to my good heart and the team that embraced him. I cant forget how he would pester our media coordinator Mukose Arnold to wait for him so that we could start our press conference at Bativa garden on the D-day.
Following this successful press conference, Anderson thanked me like nothing. He would always refer to me as; commander, comrade, my boss, my brother as the common practice of so many political con-men. But non the less we continued engaging Anderson after all he was as jobless as the rest of us. On the 27th.Jan.2017 we went ahead and engaged him in a press conference held at City House the then FDC Kampala office. This press conference aimed at asking citizens to isolate all the handshake beneficiaries and or boycott functions organised by any of the handshakers. I remember how he begged me to allow him to appear as the campaign chair- a request I accepted and on our statement he signed as our chairperson while I signed as the campaign secretary despite my seniority. At first Anderson won our hearts in terms of trust building but later I started getting intel that he would betray us.
As Museveni’s appetite to amend article 102 (b) went wild as that of a hungry hyena, we continued to mobilise and organise young people in preparation for any eventualities. Again we formed an activists campaign named “Crusaders for a Peaceful Transition” where in our press conference held on Feb.13th.2017 Anderson went missing and switched off all his known numbers despite having been one of us in the primary arangements. Luckily enough enough we had a every successful activity.
Despite all our efforts to fight corruption, the thieves just changed agents. During one of the parliamentary sessions, parliament discovered that the central Bank had procured its pens at UGX 400000 each. As always I convened a meeting aimed at convincing fellow members to have a peaceful demonstration and Anderson was part of the meeting too. We planned tactfully to ensure that this campaign becomes a success.
Unlike the previous campaigns that called for press conferences, this time round we intended to have the Yellow Pigs heads dropped around bank of Uganda with the name tags of Emmanuel Mutebire and Keith Muhakanizi both RIP. To test Anderson’s trust, I drove him around and it is only him that I showed the exact spot where these Pig heads would be dropped. Guess what as early as 6am military and Uganda police had been deployed at Bank of Uganda. To my other confidants we planed to drop the said heads at the Finance ministry but wanted to see whether Anderson wasn’t a government spy. By 10am of 17th.Aug.2017 the Pig heads had landed at the finance ministry. As for Anderson he switched off his phones most likely because he had misinformed his handlers but also betrayed us!
Much as Anderson had twice proven the snake in him, I dint want him to be too far. I remember him coming home and asked the people he had come with to step aside so that he could take a photo of only me and him. Later I discovered that he used this photo to convince his masters that he was too close to me and that he would feed them with all the info they needed about me. During the Togikwatako campaigns he asked for my office address which I gladly disclosed and I thought that this time round he meant well.
At MM plaza was our office, where I am convinced would come to pick info for his bosses. But before we could have our peaceful demonstrations, the selfish Anderson together with Ibrahim Kitata now LC5 Lwengo district, Kassim Kamugisha, Ismail Lesin, Samuel Odong launched “Kick Age Limit out of the Constitution” (KALOC) as a counter force against our crusaders for peace transition. Due to Anderson’s traits of betrayal, greed and selfishness, I denounced him as my friend on 17th.Sept.2017. @followers Robert Mayanja Bobi Wine Makolo Kavuma Defiance Man Brooke Williams Kikomeko @highlight David Lewis Rubongoya Mzee Bwanika Mukose Arnold Anthony Namirembe Angella Hon Saad Mukooli Kalumba Frank AYub KHan Nyanjura Doreen Erias Lukwago Sempala Zahid Karamira George Karamagi Andrew Godwin Toko Aripa Omalla Mike Irumba Live Andrew Irumba Amooti Fredrick
Namuguzi Ntale Iude Ainebyona Innocent
Call me Norman Tumuhimbise.