It was a day Lt Col Anthony Kyakabale said he would never forget. And, no, this was not from the Bush War in Luweero where his acts of valour would see him registered in the army as RO/00058. But it could have been. Kyakabale claimed May 13, 2001, saw him check into a clinic in Kabale Town after grappling with the debilitating effects of a bout of malaria. Another narrative, though, had him at the centre of the fracas that marred a rally in Muhanga. It went on to add that Kyakabale used his firearm in a reckless manner, firing a couple or so of bullets when tempers flared.
‘I wasn’t at the rally,’ Kyakabale told this publication in a 2015 interview, adding: ‘The then Chief of Military Intelligence sent a van full of soldiers to arrest me, basing himself on the rumours. My driver was later arrested, beaten, and he later died. Having received information about the death of my driver, I had to flee to Rwanda because I feared for my life.’
After initially staying in Rwanda, Kyakabale relocated to Sweden, where he spent a dozen years in exile. He always looked back on 2001 as something of a turbulent year. Way too many rumours that were flying targeted his person. If it was not that he was knees deep in illegal gold trade in the north eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Beni, it was his involvement with a shadowy rebel group-People’s Redemption Army (PRA)-then linked to Opposition leader and fellow Bush War hero Kizza Besigye.
When he returned to Uganda in 2015, Kyakabale disclosed that the process of returning home from exile got underway sometime in 2008. It followed a phone conversation he had with then Brig James Mugira. Kyakabale, who had raised eyebrows in 2001 when he fled the country while still a serving soldier, was doubtful that President Museveni would extend an olive branch that easily. So when Mugira sent a team to his residence in Sweden, an air of doubt hovered above the brief conversation. Kyakabale told the team matter-of-factly that he would only revert after consulting his friends and family.
They did not hear from him again. When then Brig Leopold Kyanda tried his luck in 2009, he too ran into a speed bump. So did then Brig Charles Bakahumura and then Brig Dr Musinguzi in 2014. It was Brig Bakahumura with whom Kyakabale worked closely in Gulu, where he was a battalion commander in the 1990s that eventually struck gold. Kyakabale agreed to return home and mend fences with President Museveni. After the reconciliation, Kyakabale was promoted from the rank of Lt Col to full Colonel and later appointed a senior presidential advisor.
After his promotion to the rank of Colonel in May 2016, Kyakabale was retired from the army. He then retreated to his home village of Rushebeya, Rwamucucu Sub-county, where he lived a quiet civilian life. This was in stark contrast to the publicity that he garnered in 2001 when, along with two other Bush War comrades-Colonels Samson Mande and Edison Muzoora (deceased)-he relocated to Rwanda where he made it clear that there was no love lost between him and President Museveni.
When news of Kyakabale’s passing in Sweden was announced two Sundays ago, a dark cloud hovered above Kigezi Sub-region. Herbert Turyagitura, a cousin of the deceased, who doubles as the Rushebeya Village chairperson, asked the government to repatriate his remains from Sweden to his ancestral home in Rukiga District for burial. ‘We also appeal to the government to financially support the children of the late Kyakabale as a way of appreciating his contribution during the NRA/NRM Bush War,’ Turyagitura said.
Kyakabale was aged 64 at the time of his death.
Road to exile:
“The then Chief of Military Intelligence sent a van full of soldiers to arrest me, basing himself on the rumours. My driver was later arrested, beaten, and he later died. Having received information about the death of my driver, I had to flee to Rwanda because I feared for my life,” Kyakabale told this publication in a 2015 interview.