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THE LAST WORD: A giant retires

I have almost 36 hours of interviews autobiographical interviews with Obote and I asked him about Byanyima. An extract of his comments was published in Daily Monitor just before Obote died in October 2005. “He is a very good friend,” Obote told me of Mzee Byanyima, “because he is an honest man. I still wonder why a man of such great principles remained in DP. He really belonged to UPC. It is in UPC that you find men like Byanyima. He was lost in the DP. He is a good man.”

Obote’s respect for Mzee Byanyima in spite of their political and policy differences is illustrated by yet another significant event. On May 27, 1980, Obote returned from exile in Tanzania, landing at the airstrip in Mbarara and drove directly to Ishaka, Bushenyi, where he held a huge welcome rally. After the rally he drove back to Mbarara and spent a night. And guess whom he invited for dinner that evening? Mzee Byanyima! They ate and talked, reminiscing about Uganda’s turbulent period under Amin.

That Obote felt it important to invite Byanyima for dinner on his first day in Uganda after nine years in exile instead of the many UPC stalwarts from the district speaks volumes about the two men and their mutual respect in spite of (and may be also because of) their political, policy and ideological differences. But it is also an indication of how much Uganda has changed. Today, political differences are seen as personal animosities and policy disagreements are treated as personal conflicts. Yet if there is a lesson from the life of Mzee Byanyima, it was the demarcation between the political and the personal.

In my many and long discussions with him, he would tell me of how even Amin, while driving to Kabale, would once in a while stop over at his home for a chat. Given the impression we have of Amin as an evil man, this came as a surprise to me. Byanyima was very critical of Amin’s government and its actions. But not once during my many and long discussions with him did he attack Amin personally. He would criticise his politics and policies and the actions of the intelligence services and the army but never the man.

It is through these interactions with Mzee Byanyima that I learnt slowly key principles that I always aspire to uphold. I learnt from his relationship with Obote that you could disagree with a president without being disagreeable. You could appreciate positive qualities in a president without necessarily endorsing his/her rule. It is possible to work with a president for the good of the nation without working for him. Finally, I learnt that you could compromise with a president without being compromised by him.

Mzee Byanyima did all this with Obote and set an example that we have failed to emulate. He was a unique politician who defended his principles with passion and dedication but did not hold personal grudges against those he disagreed. He was also unique because he never took a political position so that he can be loved by the masses or be accepted by those in power. On the contrary he sought clarity, not reputation and engaged in politics in pursuit of his values not in a quest for power.

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amwenda@independent.co.ug

2 comments

  1. Hello my historical friend and brother Andrew:

    Thank you for sharing the time you spent with Mzee Byanyima and Mzee Obote (now both in heaven). While reading your article, it reminded me the time we have always disagreed and agreed especially in politics, but we have remained great friends (should I say brothers) from the first time we met in Mbarara High School in 1989. True, our politicians should learn something from the two great wise men!

    Again thank you

    John-B Sanyu (Aka Komanda Ikara)

  2. To my political friend from his adopted son on Father’s day,
    A Tribute to Mzee Boniface Byanyima: talking to you and I from his heavenly dwelling!

    A Poem:

    Fill not your hearts with pain and sorrow,
    But remember me in every tomorrow.
    Remember the joy, the laughter, the smiles,
    I have only gone to rest a little while.

    Although my leaving causes pain and grief,
    my going has eased my hurt,
    and given me relief

    So dry your eyes and remember me,
    not as I am now,
    but as I used to be.
    Because, I will remember you all,
    and look on with a smile.
    Understand in your hearts,
    I’ve only gone to rest a little while.

    As long as I have the love of each of you,
    I can live my life in the hearts of all of you.
    John-Bosco Sanyu
    (Political friend and “son” to the late Mzee Boniface Byanyima)

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