This morning a friend asked me if I knew of a school where he could enroll to learn Runyankore language. When I demanded to know why, his reason got me bothered, he was fearing for his own life having seen what befell Eddy Mutwe in that infamous basement. Being single, I advised him to marry a Munyankore lady and possibly relocate to western Uganda so that he can interface with Runyanore speaking locals of the area.
A few years ago, I attended an agricultural sensitization tour of western Uganda model farmers with leaders from Bugisu sub region. One of us, a student was asked to speak and for some reason, the young mugisu boy opened his address in Runyankore, you should have seen the excitement of the President and guess what, the student earned himself a scholarship. It was the same face that we saw during the swearing in the New Indian-Ugandan Judge Deepa Verma who happens to speaks Runyankore.
With this at the back of my mind, may be speaking Runyankore is now a necessary evil that must all venture into. When the first son said Eddy Mutwe was in his basement learning Runyankore, I thought it was an innocent statement until I listened to Gen Mugisha Muntu’s discussion on the Hard Question hosted by Solomon Sserwanja. Contrary to Muntu’s thinking, there could be enormous benefits in speaking Runyankore in addition to one’s mother tongue and may be English, Luganda and Kiswahili. Indeed some of these languages are unavoidable.
The other week, the Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, made controversial remarks suggesting that Eddie Mutwe and the chief civilian bodyguard of National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi was in his custody, a basement for that matter learning Runyankore. In the modern systems, that revelation alone was enough for Police to intervene with a view of rescuing the man who had been reported as abducted.
But Uganda being what it is, the police only stopped at informing Ugandans that Eddy Mutwe was not in their custody even after that confession that he was in the custody of Gen Muhoozi. What is not clear is whether Gen Muhoozi was holding Eddy Mutwe in his individual capacity, as the Chief of Defence Forces or as Senior Presidential advisor on special operations. The truth is that it is hard to separate the capacities in which he took his action.
On whether the claim that Eddy Mutwe was indeed held in that basement is no longer in contention as nobody has come out to deny or even allege that the X handle was manipulated by a third party not being the official user. At least what was said in that tweet is exactly what the public saw when Eddy Mutwe was finally driven to Masaka and charged with several offences that are said to have been committed alongside his contemporaries last year in Lwengo.
For those of us who are laughing at the plight of Eddy Mutwe, be aware of one thing, everyone is in potential danger of being abducted with or without a justifiable reason. Standing up to talk now while in temporary freedom is better than saying nothing tomorrow when you, your children or parents are kept in illegal closed doors for torture and then somebody comes out joking about his predicament as if those acts are suctioned in this country.
Well, I know Gen Muhoozi is an adult and his father may not have direct control over what the son says or does but unfortunately the offices that he holds demands restraint. But when all is said and done, what is his father’s say on such careless statements, why does he maintain such a guy as commander in Chief of a national army aware that his remarks can be misunderstood by other ethnic groups that call Uganda their home?
Gen Muhoozi further claimed that Mutwe was distressed upon capture but has since begun making progress with learning Runyankore, the Gen own language. “He cried when the boys grabbed him, but his Runyankore is improving. The beards were the first thing they shaved. Now, his head looks totally clean like an egg,” he added. Indeed when Eddy Mutwe appeared in Court on May, 5th, 2025 for plea taking, he was visibly tortured and indeed his head was shaved clean. Was this a ritual or dehumanizing him?
It is only Odrek Rwabwogo who was bold enough to comment on the controversy on capital radio Saturday in light of the recent social media outburst about the plight of Eddy Mutwa. He appealed to Ugandans to hold Gen Muhoozi to personally account for his actions rather than demonizing the entire First Family. Rwabwogo is the Chairperson of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development and is the husband of Patience, a daughter to President Museveni and sister to Gen Muhoozi.
But why should somebody who has been abducted opposed to arrest be forced to learn that language, what is so special about being able to speak and understand that language that we do not know? Is his failure to lean Runyankole be a reason to keep him incommunicado for a week? What would happen if Amin and Obote had forced Ugandans to learn their respective languages? No doubt in my heard, those remarks have many ugly faces pointing to tribal sentiments. In that capital radio program, Rwabwogo described the remarks as one of the signs of the collapse of government institutions.
What will happen in future if civilians or kidnappers pick up fellow civilians and blame it on the army or the police, what was wrong with sending summons to Eddy Mutwe to appear before the police for questioning, why is it that “arrests” of this kind are not sanctioned by the area Police, why is it that the Police don’t intercept these men in plain clothes when they pick up a civilian, why don’t these “arresting officer” introduce themselves whenever they go for an operation?
The question that nobody has answered is whether Eddy Mutwe was picked by the Army and taken to the basement or he was picked by the Police and handed over to the army and then back to the police before he was arraigned before court charges, including aggravated robbery, simple robbery, assault, and malicious damage to property were slapped on him on the same charge sheet with three others members of the National Unity Platform currently on remand.
Unlike the other previous incidents, the Katikiro of Buganda has come out to be counted, the Uganda Human Rights Commission was able to write a scare craw letter expressing their dissatisfaction, some few catholic and Muslim clerics have voiced their fears. At least Minister of Justice Mao has come out to condemn the actions and so is the Forum for Democratic Change but the other political players are quiet as if it is business as usual.
A wise man once said, “First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Communist, Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist, Then they came for the trade unionists, And I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist, Then they came for the Jews, And I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew, Then they came for me, and there was no one left To speak out for me.
We must all speak in one voice and condemn any act that violate other people’s right lest the same happens to us or our loved ones It does not matter how much hatred you have for Eddy Mutwe or his party, anything that violates his rights must be resisted by all irrespective of religious, political affiliation, social status and tribal sentiments.
The writer Wadada Rogers is a commentator on political, legal and social issues. wadroger@yahoo.ca
