Gen David Sejusa
In a July 1 email titled, 'Passing of our mother,' Sejusa said that much as he and his wife Juliet are unable to bid Kemitono, 85, farewell, he was still considering a return to Uganda.
Sejusa lamented that despite his family's relatives on both sides helping Museveni to ascend the presidency, the president has not had the courtesy to send a condolence message.
"How history is a cruel enforcer of fate! My wife's father, Prince Patrick Ruhinda, a young barrister [who had studied at] Cambridge University, was dragged from his chambers of Ruhinda, Mulina & Co Advocates on a Kampala road and murdered by Idi Amin, and his body has never been found," said Sejusa.
"So, his daughter Juliet never buried him. Now she can't bury her mother because of Mr Museveni, a person, who was brought to power through the efforts of her brothers and uncles and her husband. What an irony life can be!" Sejusa lamented.
Sejusa, now leader of Freedom and Unity Front, a political group formed in exile, said this trauma shall come to pass and "we shall triumph someday and regain our freedom. We fully knew then as we do now that fighting for one's dignity and freedom requires one leaving that comfort zone – to be ready to pay that extra price".
Efforts to get a comment from army spokesman Lt Col Paddy Ankunda bore no fruits. However, the president's press secretary, Tamale Mirundi, said on phone yesterday that sending a condolence message is optional, depending on the circumstances.
"Gen Sejusa should understand that even when he was powerful, there were criminals who could not bury their close relatives, yet some were as close as Luzira prison, but Sejusa out of his wish decided to exile himself in London. Who forced him there?
"The mother-in-law died a natural death and did not die in a safe house," Tamale said.
He added that blaming Museveni for Sejusa's failure to bury his in-law can be compared to blaming the Uganda government for the execution of Ugandans in China over drug trafficking.
"Does Sejusa expect President Museveni to hire for him a plane to come and bury and go back?" Tamale asked.
Sejusa vows to return
Without explaining how or when, Sejusa vowed to return to Uganda.
"We shall return home and our country will be free for all, once again. And we shall heal it to move away from its wounded past and usher in a new era where the roots of future instability will forever be reserved by letting our people shape their own destiny without manipulation and trickery," he said.
"From the beginning, I told Ugandans that I will be part of this liberation process and to that end I promise to return home. This is a promise I intend to keep.
Freedom fighters always keep their word." Sejusa said the details regarding his coming will be determined by his political group, FUF.
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