Frank Gashumba and Stanley Ndaula; A Clear Case Of How President Museveni’s Long Reighn Has Submerged And Destroyed Generations Of Brilliant Ugandans

Frank Gashumba and Stanley Ndaula; A Clear Case Of How President Museveni’s Long Reighn Has Submerged And Destroyed Generations Of Brilliant Ugandans

On so many occasions we encounter people in our lives that improve us, derail us or destroy us completely. During the course of my journalistic career I have encountered so many people who have really contributed to the man that I have become today, either by default or design.

Some few years ago, I used to write very bombastic articles which I expected to not only tickle the minds of a few sophisticated people but also to annoy some conservative people.

But one of the sophisticated Ugandans who endeavored to contact me to appreciate my articles was the now embattled frank Gashumba.

I had not known much about him but one day a senior colleague, Mr. Tony Owana (I think he is a manager or something at UBC )placed a call asking me to speak to him about something.

When I inquired who it was, he told me it was a one Mr Frank Gashumba.

I asked him, ‘but why, and about what’?

He told me not to be arrogant and said that he had been tasked to convey a message thanking me for the very wonderful work I was doing with my pen!

Oh, I was elated. He then told me to try to trace him for some pennies-which I never did by the way.\

So some few more months passed by before we could meet with Frank. But one day I heard a car hooting viciously at me at Parliament Avenue-those days I was stationed at Bauman house doing research work with some members of parliament.  

When I stopped I saw a familiar face smiling at me. Oh, it was Mr Gashumba.

Although we had never met before in person, I was shocked that he could simply picked me out of the crowd on a busy day on Parliament Avenue, even when we had never met before!

And we had a wonderful chat of people who had met so many years.

My first impression of him was that he was very, very intelligent. Although I can be very talkative, I ended up doing the listening rather than the talking instead.

He spoke so fast and was a bit more confident than most people you find around town.

In fact I was shocked at the level of pride and self-confidence he exuded. For instance he told me that he will only feel satisfied if he finds more than a billion shillings on his account!

We parted ways, but some few months later he was in the news about the abused child Aisha Nabukeera whom he later adopted. His charity actions endeared me to him so much.

 I was also very inspired by the way he had brought up his celebrity daughter, Sheila, as a single father, just like I was then-(I still regard him as one of the best single fathers this country has ever had).

 Later on we met again at Raja chambers at the offices of our then new online publication The Investigator owned by Mr. Stanley Ndaula.

The Need For The Third Force

This time I was bitter with him about why he was doing political activism without a political address.

It must be recalled that much as Gashumba later allied with FDC’s Kiiza Besigye ,  at first he was a freelancer political activist of some sorts without a known political affiliation.

In other words, he was talking politics without a ‘vehicle’ that would translate that political activism into a deliverable to the masses.

I tried to lecture him about the need for a fresh political dispensation-I mean forming a political party of some sorts with people of fresh ideas like him.

I told him about the need for a third force to champion the cause for a new Uganda. The third force I was talking about is about the emergence of Ugandans who don’t subscribe to the current and old parties like DP, UPC, FDC, JPAM or NRM.

So I thought his brilliance was a big asset for the third force.

Oh, he exclaimed! And you think that can work out Museveni’s Uganda?

I said yes it can, if we agree to work to0gether with very many like-minded people around the country..

I actually told him that most of the independent MPs in parliament belong to the third force.

But he dismissed my idea as nonstarter by reasoning that people are into the political game for money rather than propagating a citizen agenda. I felt betrayed because I wanted to start forging alliances with people of my generation like him to push a political agenda.

I met Mr. Gashumba again on Kampala road at Nandos, and this time I interested him to the idea of starting a media publication.

My view was that he had a big circle of influential people who can sustain a media publication.

He seemed to buy the idea but promised to get back to me and we discuss about the issue.

I have since lost contact with him apart from a few inbox messages which we use interact now and then.

But to be honest with you, Gashumba was supposed to be one of the brilliant politicians of our times if the political environment was different from what it is today.

He has the gravitas to create a charismatic political personality in the mold of Julius Marema in South Africa or my friend and brother Bobbi wine.

But he seems to be a wasted entity that has evaporated with the longevity project of president Museveni.

Stanley Ndaula 

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Stanley Ndaula is another very bright chap who can rise to the helm of our national politics if the environment permits. He is one of the most charismatic and generous person I have ever met in my life.

When we were working with him at The Redepper , he was in charge of the crime desk while I did the political editor and at the same managing the military desk-yes I used to write about war and the Ugandan military.

I was humbled to realize that he (Stanley) was a very humble chap, -he introduced me to humbling terms like owekitibwa , seboo etc.

At that time I was a very arrogant chap- I couldn’t differentiate between my bosses and colleagues of my level-I used to bash my directors.

And he would take me aside and tell me thus ‘’gwe kamwada tomanyi nti oyo mukama wo’’

Having been bought up from the ghetto, I used to just bump around without regard for hierarchy.

Later on when things got a little comfortable for him, I sold him the idea of starting our own publication.

We used to meet at café ballet and chat about how we could run our own newspaper.

Later on in 2013, he gave me a call and told me that it was time to start our ‘thing’.

That is how we started The Investigator with him.

One thing that will surprise you about Stanley is that he seems to know every influential person in  this country. Although I was borne here in town, Stanley shocked me how he came to Kampala in 1996!.

But you would wonder how he has managed to become richer and to know more influential people!

This shows you how brilliant Stanley is.

When he started writing about the inadequacies of the Uganda police I got very worried and implored him to stop or watch his back.

But he went ahead to even critic Gen Kale Kayihura – whom I know to be his very close friend!

Now this is paradoxical!

Now since everything is before court I will not subjudice this court case. But what I know is that Stanley had backup Infor for everything he wrote.

My relief is that at least he has been subjected to a judicial process rather than a hitman sniper of some sorts, as we had feared.

Conclusion

I think the likes of frank Gahsumba and stanley Ndaula are an example of the very many brilliant people who have been submerged by president Museveni’s longevity project.  If we had peaceful political transition, a new government would require the brains of brilliant people like my aforementioned colleagues.

By the way Stanley Ndaula is actually a minister of one  of the monarchies in this country which justifies his leadership potential.

But because president Museveni has been stuck in power with the same ideas and worse of all with the same team of people for the last thirty years, we have not got the opportunity to know of so many brilliant young men out there who can serve this country in many different capacities.

Instead most of these brilliant fellows have invested their time in critiquing a regime which seems to have failed to reform.

 Most of them have resorted to commentating about the state of affairs in the country because the current regime has eaten up space for them to contribute. In the end they end up in jail because of the bickering with the state. ends

Fred Daka Kamwada is a blogger and can be reached on kamwadafred@gmail.com