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Well the past few months have been very interesting. We are excited to announce that we have a new producer on board, Jason Byrne!

Also, we have just returned from yet another filming trip, this time it was back in the UK! It was quite last minute, I was in Sydney packing a container of bikes just 10 days ago for an upcoming shipment to Cambodia for my charity Bikes 4 Life, and that’s when I got the call!

I was offered an opportunity to conduct some exclusive interviews with some people who are extremely difficult to access, but those who could add enormous insight into the film. There was also an ‘invitation only’  press conference that I was invited to attend. How could I refuse?

So, I had about 4 days to get everything sorted, get a camera man, get flights, and get all the way from Melbourne to London! As it turned out, I did go, and it all worked out rather well! My new producer organised a great camera man / DP, Ellery Ryan, who was simply brilliant!

I won’t mention all the interviews I conducted, but I will touch on the event that I was invited to attend and document. It was the press conference and launch of the recently formed Ugandan Party, FUF (Freedom and Unity Front) and its Manifesto.

The function was held at the London School of Economics (LSE) Alumni Theatre Hall on Saturday. Speakers included Professor Kaveh Moussavi of Oxford University, Dr. Amii Omara Otunnu (FUF Chairman) and Genral David Sejusa (formerly known as Tinyefuza).

General David Sejusa (Tinyefuza)
Renegade General David Sejusa (Tinyefuza)

General Sejusa, fled Uganda in April after authoring a controversial letter to internal security bosses to investigate reports of planned assassinations of members opposed to the alleged grooming of the President’s son, Muhoozi, for presidency. Sejusa fought in the National Resistance Army war that brought President Museveni to power in 1986. He also led military operations in northern Uganda against brutal warlord Joseph Kony. Sejusa was accused of highhandedness and committing atrocities in the bloody war. After an on-and-off relationship with Museveni, Sejusa in April decided to break ranks with government before escaping to London, UK where he has helped form FUF, with aim to cause regime change in Uganda. (http://chimpreports.com)

At the launch General David Sejusa, formerly the most senior army officer and closest ally of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, lifted the lid on what has been going on in the country during the 27 years of Museveni’s rule. It included heavily the state of corruption, and explicitly detailed the election rigging of the 2006 elections, stating that opposition leader Kizza Besigye clearly one the election in a landslide victory.

FUF Launch in London: General David Sejusa, Dr. Amii Omara-Otunnu and Professor Mouvani
FUF Launch in London: General David Sejusa, Dr. Amii Omara-Otunnu and Professor Kaveh Moussavi

FUF claims it intends to front “the global campaign to transform Uganda into a nation of peace and sustainable development based on the ethical values of democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law.”

The day before leaving I also had the chance to meet again with Milton Allimadi, who had flown in from New York for the event. Milton is the publisher of Black Star News, and I had the privilege of interviewing him back in New York in 2011.

Ebony and Milton Allimadi of Black Star News
Ebony and Milton Allimadi of Black Star News

I also was honoured to meet with the brother of Dr. Olara Otunnu (UPC President) and human rights expert, Dr. Amii Omara-Otunnu, who I also conducted an interview with. He is the interim Chairman of FUF.

Dr. Amii Omara-Otunnu is the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Human Rights and Professor of History at the University of Connecticut. In addition to his UNESCO chairmanship, he is also the Executive Director of the Institute of Comparative Human Rights at the University of Connecticut.

I will release some footage from the interviews and press conference soon so please check back!

Uganda is going through some very interesting times. Times of change.

I’m back in Australia now, and have to get everything together, as a new and final stage of post-production is to begin in early 2014.

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Published on Oct 2, 2012 by ntvuganda http://www.ntvuganda.co.ug/

Security has remained tight at the residence of Opposition leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye as they blocked him from moving out. It is here that he rubbished police allegations that he was behind a haul of ammunition which had been seized in Kalerwe just a day before the walk to freedom demonstrations. However Police Commander Kampala metropolitan Andrew Kaweesi yesterday told NTV that he had substantive evidence that Besigye is organizing an armed rebellion to overthrow the government an issue he said police wont allow.

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Radhika Coomasawary (NY)
U.N Special Representative for Children & Armed Conflict
 
Dr. Kizza Besigye (KLA)
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) President
 
Dr. Olara Otunnu (KLA)
UPC President & Former U.N USG CAAC
 
Bishop Odama & Bishop Ochola (KLA & GULU)
Acholi Religious Peace Leaders Initiative (ARLPI) 
 
Nandala Mafabi (KLA)
Opposition Leader
 
Major General Pecas Kutesa (KLA)
Uganda’s People Defense Force (UPDF)
 
Jo Becker & Rona Peligal (NY)
Human Rights Watch (HRW) LRA Experts
 
Milton Allimadi (NY)
Black Star News Publisher
 
Jolly Okot (KLA)
Director (Uganda) Invisible Children
 
(more…)

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My second trip to Uganda was vastly different from the first, back in 2009.

In 2009, I was researching the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army), Joseph Kony and the topical issue of children in armed conflict. I spent most of my time with former child soldiers in Northern Uganda and also made a promise to a group of child soldiers that I had become close to. The promise was to send 2 bicycles, to help them in their lives and in their rehabilitation and re-integration into society.

In 2012, I returned with a container of 400 bicycles, a mission I had been on since my trip there in 2009. I also set up a bike workshop and vocational training centre at Friends of Orphans in Pader, to help victims of the conflict.

As as far as my research on the war in Northern Uganda goes, I had learnt a lot more in the three years since my first visit. During that period I also traveled to the United States, where I interviewed people at the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Black Star News, UNICEF, Resolve Uganda and many other organizations.

My knowledge of the conflict grew day by day, and when I returned to Uganda earlier this year, I had many new contacts to meet and learn from. These included notable and die-hard pro-democracy activists such as Barbara Allimadi, Shawn Mubiru, Anne Mugisha, opposition leaders Kizza Besigye, Nandala Mafabi and the honorable UPC President and former UN Under Secretary General for Children in Armed Conflict, Dr. Olara Otunnu. The experts and scholars I met with included Adam Branch from Makerere University, Leander Komakech, Okello Okello John Livingstone and Major General Pecas Kutesa – who all offered interesting and informative insights into the war and the state of democracy in Uganda. This really put a new spin on my take of the conflict, which had gradually been happening since the U.S trip in 2011. There were things that didn’t add up and it has taken a long time to work out the truth, as the media portrayal of the conflict is far from the facts I had uncovered. Uganda, I also discovered, was a democracy in disguise. On two occasions I was almost arrested, for no reason other than having a camera and having friends who are with the opposition. On my last day in Uganda, the day I was grabbed by the Police and threatened to be tear gassed, my friend Doreen was actually arrested and put into maximum security prison (Luzira), for voicing her opinion about the government and Museveni’s corrupt regime. I can tell you first hand, Uganda is not as free and democratic as it appears to be…

I still spend countless hours researching the conflict and the human rights situation in the country, as what has occurred in Northern Uganda has been so well concealed by the powers that be, and the international community at large, making it very difficult for the truth to be made visually transparent. The ‘Kony War‘, as it is often called, is not what it seems. That is not to say that Kony does not exist, nor that he has not committed the atrocities that are now well-known to the world, thanks to the viral video campaign from Invisible Children, Kony 2012. The perpetrator of this conflict is not Kony, as most would believe due to media and government deception and misinformation. Joseph Kony is sadly a product of the war, and should still however be made to face justice for his crimes. But, will that bring justice to the Acholi people of Northern Uganda, particularly if the other perpetrators are not also made to stand trial for their involvement in this human tragedy? How can justice prevail when impunity reigns?

This year I also spent much time in Uganda looking into how the conflict can be resolved and what is the best way forward. Is military intervention (which is what is currently happening) the correct road, or could truth and reconciliation through national dialogue and peace talks be a better and more effective option? There are many differing views on this subject, but on the ground, there seems to be only one. Invisible Children have called out loud and clear for U.S military intervention in the region, but where has that got them in the past, and for what reasons would they really be intervening? The fact of the matter is, why intervene now, when they really needed to intervene 10 years ago, when there was a serious humanitarian crisis going on. That’s when everyone was silent on what was going on. That’s when help was needed and voices needed to be heard. Now there is relative peace and the people in Uganda want to know, “WHY NOW?”.

‘Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.’
Albert Einstein