The Washington Demonstration saw Ugandans from Across the US converge on the USA capital. The Uganda and Buganda Flag waving demonstrators, spent about an hour in front of the Uganda Embassy chanting "Museveni Must Go!" It was a carnival situation when Ugandans turned to popular Kadoodi songs and added lyrics, spiting Museveni and calling for his departure from power and return to his favorite profession of cattle keeping.

Mr. John Buwembo who travelled from Boston to join the protest said that the time for being subservient to the Museveni regime is over. He said Ugandans had gone to the Capital Hill and to physically inform the USA leaders that the lobby industry paid by Museveni is peddling lies about democratic advancement in Uganda. "Our coming here is intended to tell the western leaders that there is no democracy in Uganda, and the time to handle Museveni with kid gloves is over", said Buwembo who is the interim Chairman of Gwanga Mujje in Boston.

Frank Musisi, the immediate former President of the Uganda American Association said that the blockading on the King of Buganda from travelling to parts of his Kingdom is a flagrant abuse of the Kings rights of movement, but also an attack on Buganda and its people as an institution. Musisi said that Ugandans in the Diaspora must take on the task of campaigning for Human rights unreservedly because the people in Uganda have been silenced by the government machinery.

Another demonstrator accused the NRM government of being a group of individuals who major intention is to destroy Uganda. "Uganda is made up of the tribes we all know, so you weaken the Itesot, wipe out the Acholi culture and destroy Buganda, and so on, you remain with a shell of what Uganda was; and this is the NRM Agenda."

Mr. Kawunde Miti one of the protest demonstrators said that "Ugandans have given this (NRM) regime enough benefit of doubt and they have failed to deliver economic prosperity, political freedom and social justice. The group you see here represents a diverse coalition of forces against NRM's policies, many of them recent converts to the anti-NRM side. NRM have done nothing but plunge Uganda into economic and political quagmire for the last 23 years. Some are here to protest against the massacres in Luweero, Teso, Acholi, Kasese and now Kampala that have taken place during different periods of Museveni's bloody and endless obsession with power."

The demonstration started at the Uganda Embassy from where the demonstrators made stop at the World Bank, Capital Hill, State Department and White house. The Demonstration was concluded

The petition handed over to the State Department addressed to the Secretary of state listed the grievances of the demonstrators. The main reason were Continued abuse of all peoples Human Rights, specifically the right to free movement and speech which the petition said is evidenced by the closure of several Radio stations and arrest of Journalists. The manipulation of the Constitution to allow Museveni to continually stay in power for 23 years; Gross Corruption which has caused massive indebtedness of Uganda to the international donors without visible improvement of the lives of the masses, brutal and unprecedented murders in Uganda, mainly in the Acholi Massacres and the recent killings of unarmed civilians in Kampala.

The demonstrators asked the State department to pressurize the Kampala regime to flee all people arrested in the recent protests in Kampala because they are "political prisoners."

Meanwhile many Ugandans our reporter spoke to during the demonstration indicated that they were planning to stay away from the festivities of the Independence Day celebration. Kiwanuka Lawrence Nsereko, the Chairman of DP USA, when asked about the intended boycott he said that they are not disregarding the importance of the Day; " we have consciously decided to stay away from the celebration, because the Matunda Za Uhuru, which were meant for all Ugandans are  being squandered by a few greedy politicians, who have decided to rule Uganda in an autocratic way, instead of providing leadership " The DP Stalwart said the they recognize the day, but there is nothing to celebrate when the very reasons, the colonial powers were thrown out continue to be evermore present in our country. "What moral campus do I have to celebrate the departure of the white man, whereas the Sedition law that he enacted, Museveni has embraced it with glee and added violence to its implementation. The problem is that all these fellows have never been freedom fighters, but colonial admirers, who only envied the colonial master and they could not wait to grab the Rolls Royce and the governor's mansion," he said.

In Kampala the King of Buganda Kabaka Ronald Mutebi said that Uganda's 47 years of independence have been wasted by unnecessary conflicts. The king said that instead of working for Unity of Uganda, political leaders have let Uganda down by continued bickering. "This is the time to drop such minds and focus on issues which affect our people," Kabaka Mutebi said. Mutebi called for Unity within Buganda adding that those inciting and instigating the secession of chiefdoms in Buganda through "divisive" politicking will not be allowed to continue down a path that is likely to cause problems in the country. The Kabaka met with president Museveni last week to iron out differences that resulted in the  riots in early September, but observers say that the meeting did not yield much as the government has continued to keep the Buganda radio off the air.

Interview

Crested Journal put five questions to Mr. Kawunde Miti and James Kabonge in regards to the demonstration, here we reproduce the interview.

You have come here to Demonstrate; why are you demonstrating and what do you expect to achieve?

We're here to express solidarity with our compatriots back home in Uganda who cannot exercise their freedom to assemble and to express themselves without the risk of being killed as we can do in this democracy. We, the Ugandans in the Diaspora are the voice of the voiceless in Uganda. We also want to register our discontent with the dictatorial regime in Uganda that continues to muzzle the press, shutter media outlets that highlight Museveni's abuse of power. Our protest will cause the Western backers of the Nakasero regime to reconsider their support to NRM brutal rule. This will send a message to the Nakasero regime that, its lack of popularity extends beyond Bugerere, Mityana, Nateete, Mukura, Kichwamba, Kanungu and Corner Kilak.

Uganda has been under the same regime for the last 23 years and there has been no such out showing of disapproval of the government actions; why now?

The recent election of President Obama presents us with a new chance and challenge to fix our own backyard in an urgent but orderly manner.  YES WE CAN. Uganda will be celebrating her 47th independence anniversary tomorrow, October 9, 2009. We are not prepared to celebrate the 50^th anniversary without democracy in Uganda. We have given this regime enough benefit of doubt and they have failed to deliver economic prosperity, political freedom and social justice. The group you see here represents a diverse coalition of forces against NRM's policies, many of them recent converts to the anti-NRM side. NRM have done nothing but plunge Uganda into economic and political quagmire for the last 23 years. Some are here to protest against the massacres in Luweero, Teso, Acholi, Kasese and now Kampala that have taken place during different periods of Museveni's bloody and endless obsession with power. Others are protesting again the economic crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Museveni and his henchmen throughout the Great Lakes Region, land grabbing, corruption and the systematic collapse of national institutions. Therefore, different protests, lobby campaigns, and negotiations aimed at different issues have been taking place since 1986 but the recent massacres in Kampala have once again shown the increasing despotism of the Nakasero regime and thus the urgency to replace the regime with new leadership and independent institutions of the state.

Why do you think that Federalism is the way forward?

Federalism was demanded by the majority of Ugandans in the Odoki Constitutional Commission Report which the NRM government chooses to ignore. Federalism is the most efficacious way to self-determination because people would be direct stakeholders in their welfare, development and governance. Ugandans are tired of top-to-bottom edicts designed by Museveni and Museveni alone. Decentralization has failed as a tool to deliver government services to the masses. Instead, it is now being used to divide homogenous societies in Uganda and for NRM's gerrymandering purposes only. Federalism would conform to the world standard that takes the county as the proven core unit of local administration linking to central government through regional states like Central, Northern, Eastern and Western. Counties will be economically more viable than the haphazard districts that Museveni has created in Uganda and they would be small enough for the citizens to feel and exercise political ownership by running their own taxation, police, school, road and social services.

You are in he Diaspora, how do you expect your massage to create an impact on the ground in Uganda?

We remit a lot of funds and socio-political influence to sustain our people and the economy back home in Uganda. Also, we can influence other world powers to pull the rug from under Museveni's military junta via our congressmen and via boycotting of corporations that profiteer with the regime at Nakasero. When we expose the regime's excesses, the people at home will be encouraged to sustain their resistance against the regime even when they face increasing brutality. As an organized group in the diaspora, we have the resources denied to our people back home to organize politically, maintain vigilance and to hold the regime accountable. For example only we are helping to record, compile evidence and later to file charges against the members of the NRM regime in international courts where they the victims of this regime's 23-year tyranny can get justice.

Some people are arguing that peaceful dealings with Museveni will not yield any changes; that he has to be pushed against the wall; how do you see change in Uganda without resorting to violence?

It's about time the military left politics and let the people chart their own political destiny. However, we may not need to use violence to topple the Nakasero regime as the recent Kampala demonstrations suggest. The alternative tool that those demonstrations brought forth is civil disobedience. For the first time in so many years, Ugandans saw the regime panicking and grabbing at straws, even resorting to appeals to a traditional leader they so want to keep out of politics to help them to calm the masses! How ironic and teachable that moment was! Guns and tear gas failed to reign in the beast that NRM has been feeding on poverty, lies and torture to maintain its 23 year hegemony on power. Therefore, much as we abhor violence, we have been galvanized by the power of civil disobedience to bring the NRM to its collapse sooner than later.