Africa-Press – Uganda. Flight Captain George Michael Mukula, the former presidential pilot and current NRM Vice Chairman for Eastern Uganda, has shared a dramatic account of how he averted a near-fatal plane crash involving President Museveni on September 30, 1995.
Speaking at a recent NRM mobilization event in Mbarara, Mukula recounted the incident in vivid detail, describing how quick judgment and decisive action saved the president’s life and those of other passengers onboard.
“In 1995, we were flying from Kidepo to Mbarara with the President and Baroness Linda Kyoka. It had rained heavily, and the soil at the airstrip, which is naturally sandy, had been distorted,” Mukula recalled.
“As we attempted to take off, with the late Luuzo in command, the left wing began cutting through elephant grass. The engines were unstable — not giving equal thrust.”
Mukula said he realized they were in imminent danger when one engine lagged behind the other during takeoff, a situation that could lead to catastrophic failure.
“Ahead of us was the Kidepo Valley, and we hadn’t yet picked up enough speed on one engine. I took over from Luuzo and aborted the takeoff,” he said.
“Had I not intervened, we would have crashed. The aircraft was headed for disaster.”
The veteran politician and former Soroti Municipality MP, who served from 1996 to 2016, said the close call remains one of the most defining moments of his career. “If I hadn’t made that decision, Uganda’s history would be different. I thank the Lord for sparing President Museveni, a revolutionary leader whose mission was far from over,” Mukula said.
Mukula also used the occasion to reflect on the importance of the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) legacy and his own role in defending and strengthening it.
He cited the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) incursion into Teso in 2003 as another pivotal moment that tested the NRM’s resolve.
“When the LRA attacked Teso on June 15, 2003, I told Musa Ecweru — who was then RDC in Kasese — to return. While others were fleeing, we were mobilizing. We formed 16 battalions of the Arrow Boys, and later more in Lango and Kitgum,” Mukula said.
“Together with the UPDF, we rolled back Kony like a carpet into the Central African Republic.”
Mukula, who was accompanying Speaker of Parliament Anita Among during her campaign for the NRM 2nd National Vice Chairperson (Female), urged party delegates in Ankole to support his bid for continued service on the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC).
“The CEC is the political compass of this country,” he said. “It provides ideological direction, anchored in the NRM’s four pillars: patriotism, Pan-Africanism, socio-economic transformation, and democracy. ‘Tuko na kazi’ — we have work to do.”
Source: Nilepost News
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