The 6th of February every year is celebrated as a historic day in Uganda; this is the day our army marks the attack on Kabamba barracks in 1981, which essentially launched the five-year guerrilla war that eventually brought this government to power in 1986. So, 6th February 2019, marked exactly the 38th anniversary since the National Resistance Army (NRA) launched the first guerrilla attack in 1981 on Kabamba Barracks. The attack culminated into the five-year guerrilla war that eventually brought National Resistance Movement (NRM) to power in 1986 and eventually gave important birth to days to the NRM family.
This day is a true story of bravery, patriotism, nationalism and heroism and ultimate sacrifice one can offer for his country and people.
Patriotism or national pride is said to be a feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to a homeland and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings relating to one’s own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects, and true patriotism isn’t simply about waving the national flag. …but is about preserving, fortifying and protecting our democracy, not inundating it with big money and buying off politicians. It means defending the right to vote and ensuring that more citizens are heard, not fewer and this has been achieved in our country thanks to the 43 Patriots with 27 guns who began the long journey to our complete freedom.
What was ensured through this act of patriotism include common good, justice, liberty, popular sovereignty, life, equality, diversity, the pursuit of happiness, truth, patriotism, and rule of law.
As opposed to patriotism, which involves social conditioning and personal opinion, nationalism involves national identity and the belief that one’s nation and/or its government is supreme, a true spirit that drove the heroes on a suicide-like mission to Kabamba military barracks on that historic day of 6th Feb 1981 (Tarehe Sita).
Nationalism, on the other hand, is a political, social, and economic ideology and movement characterized by the promotion of the interests of a particular nation, especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the nation’s sovereignty over its homeland. It is this ideological line that energized the 43 young patriots to the point of self-sacrifice that we have gained from for the last 33 years of the NRM led government.
This ideology is based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the Nation-State surpass other individual or group interests. We are witness to the work method of the TEREHE SITA group, which not only has stopped in Uganda but has spread across the region through our garland officers’ work in the region; it is this ideological correctness that has enabled UPDF to be a force to reckon with in the region and an envy of everyone globally.
A hero or heroine, on the other hand, is a real person or the main character of a literary work who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength; the original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of glory and honor.
When you think of heroism, you might think of great acts of bravery, such as rushing into burning buildings and facing danger in battle. Heroism consists of putting others first, even at your own peril.
When you critically analyze the act by the TEREHE SITA group you only see unsung heroes that God himself bestowed on this great pearl, and tears just roll on cheeks to imagine what they must have gone through in order to give this country an image it had lost to the dogs, a country that was only known for exporting refugees and now exports not only services and other goods to the region to the point of surpassing the regional powerhouse Kenya, but also exports peace and security to the region and a safe haven to those whose lives are threatened back home.
As a country and a generation and those to come after, we owe a lot to the TAREHE SITA heroes and we can only repay them by continuing with the good work that was begun by these nationalists.
BRAVO TAREHE SITA HEROES
For God and My country
