How my operation in Tanzania turned deadly

Kampala. A few months after Gen Idi Amin’s coup in 1971, Ugandan troops under Kisuule, who was then a Lieutenant, entered Tanzania to rescue their colleagues who had sneaked there in search of water. Kisuule, who was later promoted to Lt Col, was to enter Tanzania again seven years later but this time commanding the Ugandan troops into the Kagera Salient for a full-scale war between the two countries. Below is the commander’s account:

The Uganda-Tanzania relations were characterised by a number of military skirmishes between 1971 and 1978 when the conflict erupted into a full scale war. After the 1971 military coup, a number of Milton Obote’s men -- both military and civilians -- went to Tanzania and this obviously made it Uganda’s enemy.

1971 incursion into Tanzania

I don’t recall the date and month, but it was a few months after the January coup of 1971, when president Amin went to open the newly constructed Ntungamo-Kabale road. I was commanding A Company of the Marile Mechanised Specialist Recce Regiment. We were ordered to go to Kikagati where we stayed for two days before being told to go to the Mutukula border.

This was my first time to go to Mutukula. We instead pitched the company headquarters in Rakai District for a couple of days before orders came that we move closer to the Tanzanian border.

Soldiers kidnapped

That very day I moved the company to Kasambya on the road to Minziro, where we reached at night. In the morning I ordered some of my boys to go and fetch water to prepare breakfast. As I waited for the breakfast, I got a report from Officer Kenneth Onzima that four of my men had been kidnapped in Mutukula. That was on August 24, 1971.

I had to analyse the situation and to not report to the headquarters in Kampala. I had to do all within my means to rescue my men. I told Onzima to be my reconnaissance officer as I made arrangements with the security people on the Ugandan side of the border at Mutukula. I told them “when you see APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers) coming, just open the gate”.

I mobilised six APCs, arranging them in numbers and putting my senior and most experienced APC driver, Sgt Hussein Doka, in the lead APC where I was myself. The plan was that when the security guards at the Ugandan side see the APCs coming, they just open the border gate and we go through at full speed to force our way into Tanzania.

With all the six APCs ready, I entered the lead one and raised the other five on radio: “Hullo all stations moving now.” Each APC was calling its number 2-6, all saying “over” and I said, “Move out now.” That’s was the last order I gave and we moved at full speed towards the border. The security did as we had planned, opening the border entrance long before we reached. We went straight into Tanzania.

I was looking through my binoculars when we entered Tanzania. The last thing I recall was seeing a small red light at a distance. The APC was hit and I was badly wounded. My rib cage was blown open, leaving my lungs hanging, with the diaphragm destroyed.

Before I lost consciousness, I asked Sgt Doka: “Are you hit?” he said, “No.” I told him to turn left or right and take my body back to Uganda. By the time I regained consciousness, the APC had been stuck in mud inside Tanzania. Sgt Doka and the gunner had run away, leaving me and a few recruits in the APC. Fortunately, the recruits were not hurt.

My consciousness was on and off. Whenever I would regain consciousness, I would cover my wound with my hand, breathe in heavily and release at once to let the blood out. At one point I signalled to one of the recruits to switch off the APC.

The recruits managed to get me out of the APC and put me out on the ground. I gained some consciousness and signalled them to pour some water in my mouth and I was able to speak. They didn’t know where we were. I told them to look east or west and locate Sango Bay.

They put me on an improvised stretcher, wrapped me in a sheet and started walking. I was crying like a child, as they walked, the broken bones were piercing into my fresh causing a lot of pain. I have never been through such pain in my life.

They reached a point and said they had failed. We returned to where we had left the APC where we spent the night. Recruit Pauline was very caring. She was with me all the time. At one point I asked her for my pistol to shoot myself, but it had been lost. I asked her to shoot me to stop the pain I was going through, but she refused.

The next day still being carried on a stretcher, they tried to locate the other five APCs. We went up to a certain hill where they saw them and other soldiers at a distance. One soldier, Gala, later promoted to a Major, drove one APC to our position to pick us. By then it was late afternoon. I had been hit the previous day around 10am. In the APC the pain was worse than the improvised stretcher they had carried me on at first.

I was taken to Mutukula Prison where Amin and some of his ministers had arrived in a helicopter after hearing the incident. Amin ordered the helicopter to take the ministers first and come for me later. But Captain Ombia refused and told Amin: “Our person is dying and you want us to take ministers first?” The pilot was ordered to take me to Masaka hospital. At Masaka the medical staff said my case was beyond them and referred me to Mulago hospital where the helicopter reached at around 7pm.

I got to Mulago on Thursday but I don’t know much of what happened there. I slept for some days not knowing what was happening around me. I woke up on Sunday, it was like waking up from a bad dream and in the process I reopened the stitched wounds.

The doctor working on me was a Norwegian called Greeks. He said they were not going to apply anaesthesia on me for further stitching. I was put in a special room where no one was allowed to enter, including Amin. Three weeks later, I was discharged and went back to Lubiri barracks.

New appointment

In 1973, I had been promoted to Major and appointed commander of the Artillery Regiment in Masindi. At Masindi there was tribalism. Amin thought it was wise to send there one who was not part of the antagonising tribes of the Kakwa, Nubians and Lugbara. I met each group separately to get to the bottom of the problems at the unit. I started training the unit at Masindi, but its weapons were taken away when Arube tried to overthrow the government around 1975.

While I was in Masindi, I got an operation message calling me as the commandant of the Artillery Unit to go to Masaka. Among others present was the chief of staff, the commanders of the signal department G Branch and all the different units. The Quarter Master General, Idi Amin, himself addressed us.

Present were Col Nzimuri, the Assistant Adjutant and Quarter Master General (AAQMG), Juma Ali Butabika commander of the Marile unit 2UA from Moroto, Ali Kiiza, representing the air force (he was my cadet in the air force and the first cadet to fly Amin on a sole flight), and others. We met at the Suicide Regiment Officer’s mess in Masaka.

After the address, Amin flew us to Mutukula to see the damage done. He gave us three conditions before we could invade Tanzania.

1. If he himself gave the order to attack.

2. If the Tanzanians attacked us.

3. If any of our soldiers was captured or if they started shelling us.

Don’t miss the fourth part of this enthralling series in The Citizen tomorrow