2010; Terrorism, Uganda and terrorism …

It is December, 25th, 2009, we are ending the year, a certain underwear bomber’s plans are foiled. That piece of news always stays on the radio and on TV channels. This one did not. I did not realise that it would not stay in the media until mid February at Shiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

For fear of the worst winter in decades in Europe, yours truly had picked an extremely warm winter jacket from Owino market, the jacket was complete with a hood! That was the first mistake probably, yours truly had his hood on even before reaching the arrivals point at the airport. His passport had a Nigerian entry having visited Lagos in August, 2009. That is how Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s name and the December 25, 2009news item came to mind. Extra checks for me at Shiphol airport. I did not scream racism until a rather old white woman saw us (the three of us in our delegation) almost freezing at the airport train station and laughed at us, pointing to us to show her friend. I felt revolted but we had gone for the ICC Trial competition.

If I thought that the terrorism brush ended at Shiphol, I was wrong. The World Cup in South Africa brought to the whole of Uganda the same news items from radio and TV channels to real life. From my heroic Sembule radio, I learnt of the terror strikes, even as Spain and the Netherlands expressed themselves on the pitch, my ear was on the radio and phone tapping updates regarding the bombings. Facebook was the only way of spreading the news, one friend rubbished my updates on the bombings saying I was mistaking fireworks for bombings.

The bombings came, debates raged as to whether Uganda should stay in Somalia, I opined that knowing that Uganda’s interest in Somalia is holding the USA card, I reasoned that we should pull out. Kalyegira Timothy told us that Museveni had planted the bombs, not Al Shabaab. Debate raged as police confiscated his tools of trade, his modem, laptop and other personal details. I opined that he should be allowed to give his opinion, right or wrong.

The terrorism bug continued to grip Uganda. Our security apparatus paraded suspects that they said had confessed, the country is entering 2011 awaiting the trial and conviction of those suspects. The FBI and CIA marauding cops have not told us anything about the bombs and who was responsible. America changed its attitude towards Uganda and plainly accepted its accomplice status regarding the twenty-four year old family dictatorial rule in Kampala. Even the Anti-homosexuality Bill was pushed out of the news for most of the year by this terrorism story.

And the year is ending in very much a similar way, 20th, December, 2010, a Kampala-bound coach was attacked by grenades linked to terrorism.

Question is, should we allow 2011 to also get a terrorism taint? What cost are we paying for our peacekeeping role in Somalia known in many circles as an American accomplice role in the west’s quest to keep hold of resources and other starategic interests? I even thought this would be an election issue but it is not yet and may not be, so, are we giving up to live in perpertual terror for interests that do not benefit our nation?