Muteesa passes as Kamuswaga to evade Obote’s men

Another student from Teso also echoed the same message. I left Nsamizi in mid-May to inform Muteesa about what was happening. He was at Makindye State Lodge, having left Entebbe. He agreed that it was for the same reason he had left Entebbe and moved to Makindye and was waiting for a response from the United Nations where he had complained of such moves by then prime minister Milton Obote.

With Muteesa were many soldiers under the command of Brig Shaban Opolot, who was present on the day I visited.
On May 22 [1966], I returned to Mawogola and informed the people of what was happening in Bulange [Mengo] and the possibility of an attack on the Kabaka. The first sad news to reach me was on the night of May 23 at around 10pm. I was told of the arrest of three county chiefs who had been apprehended on the night of May 22. The three were the pokino of Masaka Michael Matovu, the mukwenda of Singo James Lutaya and the sekibobo of Kyaggwe Lameka Sebanakita.
The news of the attack on Lubiri and the king’s escape and his fleeing found me at my residence in Sembabule. As soon as I got the news, I started mobilising my people to go on a demolition spree. We broke all the bridges to cut off the access roads should the soldiers try to attack my area. Little did I know that Muteesa would end up coming to my area.

Butambala to Mawogola
The Kabaka was delivered to Butambala by Dan Kamanyi, a son of one of the Mengo ministers. Unfortunately, the chief was not there; Tomusange had travelled to Mecca. It was his wife who was at home.

She went on to call the deputy chief who mobilised other sub-county chiefs. But soon word went around that the Kabaka was hiding in the area. Muteesa was not confortable and asked to be transferred somewhere else. He asked to be taken to Gomba, which was headed by Nafutali Musoke. He was a former goalkeeper in the national soccer team who had retired to serve in the Mengo government. He was the Gomba saza chief.

From Butambala, they managed to pass word to a one Kasagira, one of the kingdom officials from Mubende, to come and drive the Kabaka to Gomba. In his Volkswagen, Kasagira drove the Kabaka from Tomusange’s home in Butambala to Gomba.
However, he never made it to Gomba as he had to hide the Kabaka somewhere close to his destination, in a semi-finished house. Kasagira walked to Musoke’s home and told him that Muteesa was in his territory and needed protection.
Now in the hands of Musoke, Muteesa sent me a note through Kasagira asking me to go and pick him from Gomba. On May 27, 1966, at exactly 11am, Kasagira found me at my official residence in Sembabule. I had not run away. I was hiding close by to monitor the situation.

When we heard a car approaching, we thought it was government soldiers coming for me. I peeped from a far and saw Kasagira. I went out to him and Kasagira knelt down to give me the message, as it was the norm. I sent Kasagira back to tell the Kabaka that I would be there at 4pm.

I started mobilising my people and sent for my driver Emmanuel Ssempala from Matete. I had a brand new Ford Tannas at the time. I told Ssempala that the Kabaka had been found and it was a matter of life and death.
When we got to Kisozi bridge, people saw me and came out. I told them I was going to Gomba because the saza chief was dead. I got there at around 5pm and we immediately put him in the car. Kasagira’s car followed closely behind as we left for Mawogola.

We, however, did not go straight to my official residence. Instead, we went to a place where present-day Sembabule Police Station is. It used to be an open-air market. We hid there and hatched a plan for his survival, together with his two guards Katende and Malo.

There, Muteesa asked where I was going to take him because we had got word that his palace at Lwemiyaga had been burnt. I told him that we could not go to that palace as it had been attacked by the soldiers.

I told him to accept me to take him some 15km away to a place called Lugusuulu to an old widow’s home. She was called Nzerena [Nabakoza]. I was sure it would be a safe place to hide him. I knew the lady because I used to stay at her place during my hunting expeditions. Muteesa agreed, saying all he wanted was to be hidden in a safe place. It was already night when we set off.
There were many elephants in the Kayirasha valley that we had to avoid. And indeed we found a herd that had blocked the way. The Kabaka was a good smoker and had his 555 packet and a matchbox. He told me to light the matchsticks because when the elephants smelled the matchstick, they would think it was gunpowder and give us way. Indeed, they did give us way and we drove in the night without switching on the headlights.

We left the cars some distance away from Nabakoza’s home and walked the rest of the journey. We arrived soon after 11pm. Nabakoza took time to open as I called out. It was until I identified myself that she opened. She came out saying she thought it was soldiers who had come for them.
Nabakoza asked if the Kabaka was still alive. ‘I don’t know, but you come and we talk,’ replied.

She called out one of her two sons called Male and we moved to the side of the house. I told the old woman that I had brought my brother, the Kamuswaga from Kooki, who had run away from his place after the army raided his area.
I told her that he arrived earlier, but I had to wait for the cover of night to bring him to her place. She agreed that she would hide him, and myself if I so wished.

I told Nabakoza that my brother had two children with him and asked if they would not be seen by the Bahima who came to her place to buy rock salt for their cows. She promised to hide them. Her son too made the same promise.
And with that assurance, we moved back to the car where the Kabaka was and drove into the compound.

First to get out was Malo and Katende and I introduced them as Kamuswaga’s guards. I asked to have a look inside her house, but she said she had five grandchildren sleeping inside. I was afraid our plan was not going to work. I offered to take them back to their parents in Kagologolo. She agreed.

We resorted to checking the house where Nabakoza’s son Male was staying. It was a small two-roomed house with a bed in one of the rooms. The bed poles were dug in the ground with grass and two pieces of bark cloth for a mattress.
After inspecting the house, Kasagira, the two bodyguards and I got satisfied that if we locked Muteesa in the house, no one would know. Male’s belongings were taken out. We got a mat and laid it on top of Male’s ‘mattress’. That was Muteesa’s bed for that night.

I went out to pick the Kabaka from the car. He was putting on a hat to disguise himself. I introduced to our hosts, ‘here is the Kamuswaga,’ I said.
They were happy and welcomed him without him responding. But I then removed the hat and told the old woman, ‘this is Kabaka Muteesa.’ There was a mixture of joy and sorry as she did not know what to do.

I showed Muteesa to his bed and said, ‘Kabaka teyebika lubugo naye oja kulwebika.’ (The king does not cover with a backcloth)
‘Kati tewali kyakola njakulwebika,’ (There is no alternative. I shall use it to cover myself) he replied.
It was passed midnight.”

Obote’s first speech as president of Uganda on April 15, 1966

“Mr Speaker, it is providence that has willed that I and my colleagues should be alive today after the meeting of this House on the February 4 this year [when Kabaka Yekka former secretary general Daudi Ochieng tabled a motion to impeach prime minister Obote, ministers Felix Onama, Adoko Nekyon and Col Idi Amin for their alleged involvement in the plundering of gold, ivory, coffee and money from Congo].

During the time that has elapsed from that day until today, this country has gone through a most difficult period. Those who were elected to come here to discuss matters of State, to discuss matters that affect citizens of this country, to discuss the welfare of the people who elected them, will probably recall the darkest Friday that this country ever witnessed since the creation of earth – that is February 4, 1966.

It was most unfortunate that I personally was not present on that day. I can now tell the country that immediately after those who talked in this House and those who listened went out, a lot of things happened, and by God’s grace this country received the bounty of the creator and was, therefore, not plunged into bloodshed.

Most of us have been thinking very seriously [about] what to do in order to give this country a basis that they will understand, and to rid this country of irresponsible ambitions and the desire that, because of accident of birth, somebody must direct as of right the affairs of State and the lives of our citizens who elected us to this place.

Uganda is composed of definite traditional organisations and on February 4, 1966, Uganda witnessed something that many of us hoped would never be a reality – that was the open and public exposition of the relation between master and servant, when the servant sits in this house, for the servant to deliver the goods to the master.

Innocent citizens would have suffered merely because an ambitious man [MP Ochieng], was brought into this House through friendship, who was brought into this House on promise that he would deliver Uganda on a silver plate to his master [Kabaka Edward Mutesa II],wanted to turn the whole of this country into the domain of one man.”

In the next part we look at how Muteesa’s escape was planned and executed