By Fregence Gumura
In our series focusing on the veterans of anti-Museveni struggle that have since gone into oblivion, today we reflect on Mike Kawuma Kayiwa, the young man who was among the vibrant change agents in 2001 Reform Agenda days. To all those that were politically active since 2001 will remember the young Turks in the Reform Agenda that included Maj. Okwir Rabwoni, Asaph Ntanda, Jethro Nuwagaba, Sam Mugumya (now jailed in Ndoro Military barracks– Democratic Republic of Congo) and Mike Kawuma Kayiwa among so many others who started the drive for young people to fight for what they termed as sanity, constitutionalism and rule of law.
Mike Kayiwa Kawuma flanks his mentor Ken Lukyamuzi
Mike as one of the chief change agents in Kampala in the areas of Rubaga South was a brand name in the corridors of power and since then worked with Forum for Democratic Change top leadership to recruit and train people into the struggle for regime change. When the FDC made an alliance with Conservative Party (CP) in 2006, Mike helped John Kenny Lukyamuzi “the man” win the position of Member of Parliament Rubaga South as one of his chief strategists. He indeed went through a lot with Ken including confronting police.
Mike Kawuma speaks as a young naive activist
Mike Kawuma was also a frontline activist in the defense of opposition leader Kizza Besigye in 2006, 2011 and 2016 general elections. He equally participated in bloody riots including the 2011’s ‘Walk to Work,’ the 2015’s demand for electoral reforms and others like “My land My life.” All these were championed by KB the renowned king of defiance politics in Uganda.
Kawuma also hobnobbed with Bukenya when the ex-VP fell out and resisted President Museveni
Kawuma subsequently worked a bit with the Uganda Law Society-Legal Aid Project as their Anti-Corruption Programs Officer. It was in that capacity that he later opted to participate in Black Monday and the “name and shame” campaign that focused on publishing corrupt officials for a possible blockage from contesting for political office. Of course, they most times hit a dead end given the dangerous levels that corruption has reached with politicians being the main perpetuators while the same vice has eaten most of the government agencies and institutions including the Uganda electoral commission that was expected the enforce the reforms Mike Kawuma and other activists were agitating for.
Besigye gets arrested by ex-CPS DPC Aaron Baguma downtown during political confrontations which Mike Kawuma Kayiwa always participated in
Immediately after 2016 General elections that saw President Museveni swear in for another term that will mark 35 years of his stay in power, Mike Kawuma seemingly worn out disappeared from the political lime light after the arrests that became rampant following the raid on the FDC headquarters by police and the military. The much-publicized brutal crackdown on Besigye’s allies attracted plenty of publicity locally and globally.
In his hey days, Kawuma was a certified activist
Colleagues in the struggle suspect Kawuma, who has been incommunicado for much of the time since 2016, could be hiding somewhere in the US where he has been living in extreme fear for close to 3 years now. Efforts to establish contact with him by media reporters didn’t yield as the man seemed too fearful claiming it wasn’t safe for him to blow his cover fearing external agents of the regime in Kampala. Mike Kawuma Kayiwa joins multitudes of Ugandan political activists who have continued to run to Middle East, Europe, America, Asia and many other parts of the world for fear of their lives due to the increasing threats on opposition leaders and members.
In his political activism, Kawuma was always mission-oriented and reached out to all. Left in the photo is Moses Byaruhanga who those days was a very influential assistant to the President
Mike Kawuma Kayiwa is definitely missed by many youth including those he recruited into Besigye’s defiance politics whose proponents say it’s about stamping out bad governance, corruption and inefficiency.
On his social media accounts, Mike Kawuma keeps these memorable photos like treasures
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