KAMPALA – In a powerful gesture of political reconciliation, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has officially welcomed back former bush war hero Colonel Samson Mande into the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), during celebrations marking Uganda’s 63rd Independence Day at Kololo Independence Grounds.
The event, held on Wednesday, turned a new page in a decades-long political rift that saw Col. Mande live in exile for over twenty years. His return and reintroduction to the nation were hailed by the President as a symbol of “reconciliation and forgiveness.”
Col. Mande, a respected figure from the 1980-86 National Resistance Army (NRA) bush war, had been a staunch critic of the government. He fell out with President Museveni in 2001 after what he described as a failure to fulfill promises made during the struggle in the jungles of Luwero.
The disagreement escalated dramatically when Col. Mande, alongside the late Major General James Kazini, Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, and the late Col. Samson Kyakabale, allegedly planned a coup against the government. The plot was reportedly neutralized by the state.
Following the failed attempt, Col. Mande and Col. Kyakabale fled Uganda, eventually settling in Sweden in 2001. From exile, they aimed to build a rebellion to overthrow the government in Kampala. However, their plans never materialized, largely due to a lack of financial resources and insufficient political support within the country.
After years away, Col. Mande recently chose to return to Uganda. His dramatic reappearance at the nation’s most significant ceremonial event, standing beside the President, marks a significant moment in Uganda’s contemporary political landscape.
The move is seen as a strategic effort by the NRM to foster unity and integrate former dissidents, using the occasion of Independence Day to underscore themes of national healing and the long-reaching arm of political forgiveness.
