Uganda: CBS’ accusers may lead us into genocide [opinion]

Following its closure precipitated by the 2009 September riots, inciting the masses into committing genocide besides abusing the President of Uganda are some of the accusations labelled at CBS- the radio run by the Buganda Kingdom in Mengo.

CBS has variously been compared to Rwanda’s Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) commonly known as Radio Mille Collines which, as an active participant in the Rwanda genocide of 1994, called upon ethnic Hutus to rise up and ‘chop the tall trees’ or squash the Inyenzi (cockroaches). These were coded messages to kill their Tutsi counterparts.

The comparison takes off on a good note since the ownership of both radios is private. It then crash lands badly as a contrast because RTLM enjoyed strong ties with the government of Habyarimana yet CBS has always been at loggerheads with the NRM government. RTLM was pro-government policies. CBS has been accused of being against government polices like land reforms.

It is claimed that CBS called upon Baganda to take action against “people with long noses who are bent on stealing their land.” This reference is understood to mean people from western Uganda. Whether the views expressed by an opinionated caller (like the long nose view) to a radio station or a pundit at a town hall debate are those of a radio station and its management is a subject of debate. What is not debatable is the fact that the ‘long nose directive’ was neither from the Kabaka or any of his appointed officials and therefore does not constitute official policy of the Buganda Kingdom and its people.

These falsehoods are part of a wider scheme to trivialise the disgruntlement against the NRM. In this game, there is an attempt to portray last September’s spontaneous riots as parochial disruptions from Baganda as a group by calling them ‘Buganda riots’ or ‘Kabaka’s riots.’ Yet among those rioters arrested and detained at the Rapid Response Unit in Kireka were people from various nationalities.

These included one Assimwe and Twinamasiko from western Uganda, who belong to the ethnic groups of people who were supposed to be ‘dealt with’ by those incited to riot. It is also part of court records that Assimwe went on to plead guilty of taking part in a riot and was sentenced to community service! This is what convinces us to believe a motive behind the closure of CBS other than incitement, making CBS a scapegoat or sacrificial lamb.

One of these could be that there is a small clique that has amassed wealth during the tenure of this government. Many of these people feature prominently in most scandals and corruption deals. They are increasingly feeling a lot of resentment from the general public and are beginning to feel insecure.

One of the sly ways of protecting their ill gotten wealth is by appealing to emotions brought on by ethnic sentiments. They create an impression that those against them, are against them because of their ethnic origin and not necessarily their abuse of power.

To effect this they have created a ‘them’ against ‘us’ with the flag bearer of ‘them’ being CBS radio, its sponsors and followers. They then stretch this animosity to the entire western Uganda creating an impression that all those originating there are under threat from those critical of this clique. This takes us dangerously to the case of the Rwandan genocide. People who feel threatened are easy to organise to defend themselves. It also becomes their interest to keep a government that will protect them in power at all cost.

The sponsors of the genocide formed the uniting Impuza Mugambi (those who have the same goal). It resulted into interahamwe (those who strike together) who carried out the genocide to avert the ‘threats.’ The accusers of CBS are inadvertently setting the stage for the genocide they accuse CBS of inciting.

Mr Sengoba is a commentator on political and social issues
nicholassengoba@yahoo.com

- March 2, 2010 by Nicholas Sengoba

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Source: www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/-/689364/871386/-/ahorydz/-/index.html  (accessed 02.03.10)