Combatants: A Memoir of the Bush War and the Press in Uganda by William Pike

Summary
Combatants is a historical book that narrates the events during Obote 2’s rule, the bush war of the National Resistance Army (NRA), the war in the north, and the relationship between the New Vision and Museveni’s government. It also captures details of the economic and political atmosphere of Uganda in large part and Tanganyika in smaller part after independence. The problems of political anarchy and economic depression seem to have eaten both countries in virtually the same way. When Museveni decides to go to the bush in his guerrilla fight, he quickly gains the masses’ popularity, which ultimately becomes a huge contributing factor toward his success and his eventual becoming president.

Analysis
I must begin my analysis by telling this to whoever follows my reviews and to anyone who happens to stumble across this one: I read this book a few weeks ago, but I have not brought myself to fully comprehend all the details—perhaps I am just in awe and overwhelmed by the richness of Pike’s writing. For this reason, this review is just a scratch on the surface. Regardless, you will walk away with the most important information you will need to pique enough interest to read the story.

Combatants is a historical document, having been largely written in the 1990s (especially the first 14 chapters) and the last chapter being written in 2018. The book begins with the author William Pike as a young child in Tanganyika where his father was a colonial administrator. They lived in a house on Magagoni Avenue, one hundred yards from the beach. The family had servants whose lives were separate from theirs. In fact, William Pike muses:

“As a child then, my perception of Africans was largely as servants. We, my brothers and I, especially loved Mohammed, my father’s major-demo. He was a kind, strong man who would bundle us up in the dirty linen and carry us downstairs hidden on his back… Yet the servants’ quarters behind the house where Asumani and Mohammed’s family lived was foreign territory…”

In 1959, when Tanganyika’s independence was looming, William Pike and his family returned to London where he pursued his education. When he graduated from York University, he briefly started his journalism career at a local government magazine. At the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), William met Ben Matogo who later, with the help of Eriya Kategaya, smuggled him into Uganda. It is this trajectory that changed William’s life, thus elevating his career with a major revolutionary story. At that time, Kampala was very dangerous, under the rule of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), President Milton Obote 2 and the Acholi. William writes:

“Fear is intangible. I have been in places that are objectively more dangerous, where death is close by. But Kampala then was terrifying.”

Several road-blocks were staged along the roads and were only passable if you could bribe the police officers in charge and also if you were not suspected of being a rebel. There were hours when it was considered unsafe to move, lest you get killed. The Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) was ruthless to civilians: they killed an estimated 100,000-200,000 in the Luwero Triangle and looted mostly coffee for their own benefit and enrichment.

Ideally, the rebel group, the NRA, went to the bush to fight these injustices and restore peace and economic growth. The NRA’s success can be partly attributed to the kind of discipline they lived by. For example: it was against NRA rules to urinate or defecate in the bush other than in a pit latrine, and similarly, escaping to look for women and alcohol was highly punishable. This high level of discipline was present in all NRA camps.

The NRA war strategy was the guerrilla format: attack the enemy and take their weapons. They would also absorb some deserters from the UNLA—those who wished. When Pike met Museveni, he sensed an intoxicating aura of confidence around him. He also had a dreamer’s look in his eyes—that of a visionary. William writes:

“But what made the photographs remarkable was the faraway look in his eyes as he spoke, the look of a dreamer, a revolutionary.”

There are many aspects in this book where William describes situations under the Obote government that still ail the NRM government. One of them is the incompetence of many government officials, including the army; their inefficiency is so great that sometimes they don’t know what they are actually doing. This part of the book states:

“A surly soldier with a hangover signalled that I should get out. He looked at my passport, first upside down and then right way up. ‘You came to Uganda in 1952,’ he said. ‘No. That was the year I was born,’ I replied. He waved us on. It was frightening that he held the power of life and death over those going through the road-block.”

This same incompetence and lack of seriousness is found in many government institutions and with many government workers in Uganda today.

Because the UNLA was unselective in their massive looting and killings, they lost the support of the population; as a result, the NRA gained massive support including food, shelter, information and recruits. On page 92, William writes:

“Michael Wariye was 14 years old but looked only 10. He had completed the second year of his primary education. ‘My mother was killed last year by soldiers in Kawaku. The rest of my family is scattered. They could be dead. My mother and I were going to hide in the morning and the soldiers shot at us without asking questions,’ he said. ‘I am going to continue being a soldier until the war is over. The way Obote has killed and tortured people gives me no alternative.’”

The part where the NRA defeated the Obote government was particularly memorable. It reflected the fact that victory is not attained in one day. It is about resilience and strategy even if it takes longer. It was Tito Okello who assumed power after the coup facilitated by Paul Muwanga. However, Tito Okello lacked the required skills; as a result his ability to command leadership was undermined. While the NRA created a liberated zone in western Uganda and parts of Masaka, the question that lingers is: “Is this a revolution?” William points out that he thought the NRA guerrilla war and the eventual victory of the NRM was a revolution.

“By Monday, the NRA was in full control of Kampala and the defeated soldiers were streaming back north along the Jinja-Mbale road, walking or driving looted vehicles. On Wednesday, January 29, Museveni was sworn in as President of Uganda by the bewigged British Chief Justice Peter Allen on the steps of Parliament. ‘This is not a mere change of guards. This is a fundamental change in the politics of our government,’ Museveni told the huge crowd.”

When I read this book, it was clear that Ugandan politics are characterized by sectarianism. This, as William writes, derives its genesis from the early colonial rule of “divide and rule.” The colonialists decided that the northern tribes would be in the army, while the Baganda — who had assisted in colonial penetration — were to be gifted land. Hence when Uganda gained independence, it was no surprise that the northern tribes dominated the government from Obote to Amin and the in-between Baganda presidents whose regimes were short-lived. When the NRM took power in 1986, they promised to end sectarian politics and bring unity among Ugandans. Has the NRM government lived up to its promises? A reader can note that Museveni’s government has tried to change this tragedy by absorbing politicians from all parts of Uganda. However, sentiments of Bahima privilege still hang in the air. The war in the north is one that has eaten into the NRM government like cancer, leaving observers to question Museveni’s strategy and whether he valued northerners just like his fellow Bahima.

I cannot close my analysis without pointing out that I was particularly amazed by William’s determination and commitment to putting Uganda’s story out to the world when everybody else was disinterested. His contributions to editing and developing the New Vision are captivating. The New Vision became widespread and popular as it covered the truth. Its revenue grew and it became the best-paying government paper in the region.

The book talks about the AIDS insurgency in Uganda and how the NRM government worked hard to campaign for awareness among the population. A notable figure is “Fille”, who made his HIV status public and travelled all over the country campaigning about the disease. While many traditional healers and cults posed as having a cure for HIV/AIDS, it was understood over time that the disease had no apparent cure.

The lesson I walked away with from Combatants is that Uganda, under NRM leadership, has made a significant step — especially in ensuring peace in the majority parts of the country. However, the struggle for power and the need for President Museveni to stay in the presidential seat has compromised his earlier vision and goals for his leadership, thus allowing corruption and arbitrary decisions in his government. This trajectory has led Uganda into becoming a sectarian state where other tribes believe that the Bahima class of Ankole have an unfair advantage over their fellow citizens.

One can safely conclude that Uganda’s future is likely to stumble back into a history of tribal politics and bloodshed in the struggle for power. Many Ugandans — especially young people — have lost hope and trust in the NRM government. It is important to note that the majority of the population in Uganda did not witness the terror of the past and the political anarchy that claimed many lives and crippled the country’s economic backbone.

Combatants is well-researched and well-documented with photos as pieces of evidence. I had never read such a well-written piece as this.

I would recommend Combatants to every reader who is looking to read a good historical piece.