President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has come out strongly to dismiss with contempt sectarian talk engineered by a section of Ugandans who accuse him of employing one tribe in higher positions of government.
The tribalism debate had spilled over to the leisure industry with a number of comedians crafting jokes out of Banyankore.
In his missive released Thursday, Museveni picked on this particular topic which has dominated conversation on several social media platforms.
“The other wrong malignment is trying to cast the NRM as a system monopolized by people from western Uganda. Since you are allergic to history, otherwise, I would have reminded you that much of my time I was in Tanzania, Mozambique etc. How many Banyankore or Westerners were there? We fought in the Luwero Triangle,” Museveni wrote in a letter.
He added that, many Ugandan groups were there: Baganda, Banyankore, Barugwaara, Baruuru, Barundi, Banyarwanda, Baruuli, Banyoro, there was an unclear picture trying to show some army people.
He asked those peddling tribalism to kindly, leave “our Armed Forces out of the nonsense of tribal debates.”
They have serious work to do and they have done it well. Leave them out of your confusion. The only point one can say about that is recruitment in the Armed Forces is by quotas per district. You check during the recruitment time. However, you can look at your fellow civilian officers.”
In the Presidency Museveni listed the number of non- Banyankore he closely works with.
“Here in the Presidency, I am quite comfortable without many Banyankore, or, indeed, any munyankore around. 1) Mitala- Unless he became a munyankore today – Head of Civil Service. ii) Katuramu- Westerner- Kabalega’s land; iii) President’s Office – Kakande- only munyankore through enkaanda, otherwise muganda from Ddwaniro- Masuliita. IV) State House Comptroller- Nakyobe – only guilty on the nkaanda side, muganda of some place. v) PPS to the President- Omona – Originally Acholi, but somehow Kumamunized by residence. I am quite comfortable without any big munyankore in the vicinity,” he said.
