‘Panda Gari’ was not started by Museveni or when Museveni was in Obote II government. Panda Gari was started in around March 1981 when Museveni and his 27 chaps had already gone to the Bush. This I know very well.
In a nut shell, ‘Panda Gari’ was a brain child of some security UPC zealots who failed to comprehend the tactics of guerilla warfare. They adopted the late Gen. Pinochet of Chile style of fighting guerillas and armed opposition.
So, when the UFM attacked the Lubiri barracks sometime around March 1981, positioning their Mortars on Lubaga Hill near the Cathedral, in both humiliation mixed with shame and anger, UPC military wing decided to round up inhabitants of Lubaga and Makindye divisions with the hope of antagonising them into submission or scaring away the ‘bandits’, as Obote and company used to refer to the guerillas. Later on, this Panda Gari (translated from the Swahili – Board the vehicle – you can see how difficult Swahili can be acceptable as a National Language in Uganda with such history of terror; we panda gari, towa saa, ka chini, lala chini, piga lisasi etc.) operations spread to other areas in Buganda and later western Uganda (after learning of Museveni’s involvement in guerilla warfare) with the infamous so-called Computer Men holding Computer print lists. it is a dreaded history that shall take long to be forgotten in Uganda, south of the Karuma.
The bus, Mpaawo Atalikaaba, Reg. number 01LA06 was brought into operation shortly after the removal of Bianisa in May 1980, but during that time it was used to ferry UNLA soldiers (mainly of Acholi and Langi origin – a fact that brought about a Radio Katwe terminology for the LA markings in the number plate to be substituted for Langi-Acholi; if you were in Kampala during that time as you claim, then you must have heard this Radio Katwe news) for deployment in the evenings in some selected few areas of Kampala and its environs.
The first round up of human beings that this bus did was that of rowdy soldiers who had refused to stay in barracks’. This is when the UNLF govt under Muwanga and Museveni tried to show some seriousness with rowdy soldiers in Kampala, but as the election time drew closer, things went haywire and this exercise was abandoned. I keep wondering whysome Acholis keep mum on this fact, or it is also an Okello-Apello concoction?
Obote did not build Mulago hospital, like some of you have time and again posted those lies on this forum. Mulago hospital was built by the British Protectorate government before they relinquished power in 1962. Most of the monies that were used to build the hospital were British Taxpayers money. Mulago hospital was officially opened on 16th October, 1962 (one week after independence day) by the Duchess of Kent. Unless if you want to state that Obote is a custodian of the Aldina magic lamp such that he built Mulago hospital in a record period of one week.
Obote’s UPC started playing dirty already in 1964 when it started buying of opposition MPs (Bataringaya was a DP from Ankole and leader of opposition). In fact KY contemplated joining hands with DP to fight UPC but due to the foolish politics of religion by some Baganda of that time, this proved futile until DP was dilapidated of nearly all its members in parliament one by one; by way of crossing over to UPC. Bw’ova ku byange ng’ogenda ku wangatto!
Robert Nviiri
UAH FORUMIST
