Africa: History of Uganda Post 1962 Independence

 

In 1962, Uganda became independent from the United Kingdom.  It had been declared a British Protectorate in 1894.  Much of Africa became independent from the former colonial empires following the famous ‘Winds of Change’ speech in 1960 by Conservative Prime Minister Harold MacMillan (extract in title image), in which he cited the expanding desire of former colonies to become independent and self-ruling (see source below for BBC commentary on this speech).  1962 also saw Uganda become a member of the United Nations.   The existing Buganda based monarchy (traditional kingdoms were Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro and Toro) relinquished power having previously, under the leadership of Sir Edward Mutesa, been the most powerful kingdom in the region.  Mutesa (Mutesa II) was elected the first President of Uganda, a largely ceremonial role; with Milton Obote the first Prime Minister.  Obote was the leader of the Socialist Uganda People’s Congress (UPC).

Life under Obote

In 1966, Obote declared himself President and got rid of the role of Prime Minister.  A year later, he abolished the Monarchy.

What was now known as a Republic was made up of very different ethnic and tribal groups with differing religions.  Some of these tribal groups extended beyond the boundaries of Uganda into neighbouring countries such as Sudan: remember that these boundaries had been put in place by those who colonised the territories, without necessarily taking into account the tribal affiliations.  Obote’s agenda  was to unify Uganda, replacing the prevailing ‘ethnic consciousness’ (Hansen) of the time with an ideology that would appeal to those outside the Christian and Western educated elite.  With this in mind, he published a ‘Common Man’s Charter’ in 1968.

Obote, from the northern Langi tribe, in his aspirations for a unified Uganda, no doubt annoyed Buganda in the south which had previously dominated the Republic.  This would have exacerbated any existing north/south divisions.  At times, Buganda threatened independence from the rest of Uganda and Obote was forced to call on the army to prevent this from happening.  In 1966, following his success in the ‘Battle of Mengo’ in which government forces fought against an uprising from Buganda in the south, Obote made Idi Amin second in command in the military.  (A synopsis of this can be found in the sources below).  This brought Amin to the forefront of public attention.  Obote had suspended the existing constitution and abolished all the kingdoms and in order to deal with any further uprisings, the army began to play a more prominent role.  It more or less assumed the role of bodyguard to the President keeping his regime in place.

During its time under British colonial occupation, much of the army had been sourced from the northern kingdoms, although there were other factions.  After independence in 1962, the army consisted of 3 main groups: (1) educated officers from Buganda, the former home of the monarchy; (2) the North, where most of the enlistees were sourced; and (3) Nubians who had come to Uganda from South Sudan prior to independence (Hansen).  Under Obote’s watch with Amin in charge, this changed.  The army became more strongly dominated by the North, Obote himself from the North (as previously mentioned) and Amin from the West Nile region.  A purge of officers ensued.  Those from Teso (see map above) were subjected to a form of ethnic cleansing, the result of which left the 3 remaining groups in charge: (1) the Acholi; (2) the Langi; and (3) the West Nilers.  Within these 3 divisions, there was yet further scope for rivalry for control over the army.

In an attempt to counter this, Obote expanded the intelligence service of the army, filling it with his own supporters.  The most important posts elsewhere were also given to his supporters; the majority from the Lango (mainly) and Acholi tribes.

At a later date, Obote removed Amin from his position as Commander in Chief of the army, putting him in charge of a military training centre; thereby weakening the strength of the West Nile faction and further increasing tensions with many who saw Obote as favouring his own kinsmen.

Whilst this was happening, Amin (who had not been thought to have had political aspirations), started to make friends with the closest associates of Obote.  He started to court those in Baganda who felt disempowered under Obote’s rule and entered into an alliance with his fellow Muslims (of which there were 2 camps: Ugandan based Muslims with Royal connections and others who opposed Obote).  With this fuelling of discontent, Idi Amin gained a lot of support and was able, in January 1971, to form a coup and oust the President from power.

Life under Amin

With Obote out of the picture, any hope of democracy was lost and Amin declared himself President for Life.  Whilst the centre of power in the army remained in the North, there was an increase in dominance of those from the West Nile groups, Amin’s native arena.  The military replaced any previous political regime and Amin’s clever anti-colonialist rhetoric won him favour amongst many of his African neighbours.

The first few 2-3 years of Amin’s period in power have been referred to as his ‘Honeymoon Period’ with people being optimistic for change (Hansen).  Whilst the army became the new governing institution, there was no sound policy put in place and violence became the norm in terms of influencing those in a position of power.  Obote’s decision to abolish the kingdoms was upheld by Amin and Uganda remained a republic with no intention to turn it into a federal state.  Old chiefs in local governments were phased out with new ones and were supervised by the military.  Hence, the army was in a sense being used to try to foster a sense of national unity.  There was no governing party or parliament; instead, the new organ was the State Supreme Council which operated under military law.  Any new law or regulation under Amin was issued by decree.

Shortly after the coup, Amin put forward his intention to decrease the ethnic tensions in the country, cementing this desire by selecting a Cabinet that was more ethnically diverse and representative.  He elected the language spoken by the army, Kiswahili (a form of  Swahili, with Kiswahili being used to denote the language also and Swahili the language and the culture), to be the national language and this  replaced English in August 1973.  Swahili is a language with its origins along the East African coast.  It was used as the common language by traders from the 7th and 8th Centuries AD as they needed a common language to negotiate with Arab traders.  Swahili was not the language spoken in the southern kingdom of Buganda.  Immediately after independence in 1962, English was still considered to be the main language spoken universally, with a number of different tribal languages being used in local communities throughout the country.

(There is a very beautiful song sung in Swahili by Harry Belafonte and the South African singer Miriam Makebe called ‘Malaika’, which means ‘Angel’.  My father introduced me to it and I used to play it to my oldest boy Oscar when he was a little baby and it comforts him still, even though he can’t remember me playing it, or attempting to sing it, at that time.  You can watch it here on you tube sung by Makebe, a South African singer and civil rights activist, who died in 2008.  Please do try to find a recording with Belafonte singing also as it adds so much more emotion to the song).  

Four months into his regime, Amin organised a religious conference between the three main religions in the country: the Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Muslims.  His plan was to unite all three in some form of national Church of Uganda.  He invited the British Archbishop of Canterbury to this conference but he didn’t come.  Sadly this unity of churches didn’t really come to anything and Amin blamed it on the Archbishop for his lack of attendance.

The Economy under Amin and the Asian Expulsion

Much of the Ugandan economy prior to Amin coming to self-elected power revolved around the Asian communities, many of whom had Ugandan citizenship.  This came to an end in 1972 when Amin forced 70,000 Asians, whether Ugandan citizens or not (around 23,000 were citizens), to leave the country.  Amin accused them at a conference on the ‘Asian Question’ in December 1971 of a ‘reluctance to integrate’ (Hansen).  Their property and business assets were seized by him and distributed as he saw fit in accordance with who he favoured at that time and who best benefited him.

The economy was an issue and with the increasing role that the military held, it now absorbed round one third of the national budget.  August 1972 brought a ‘war of economic liberation’ (Hansen).  During this period, all properties and businesses that were owned by the Asian community were handed over to the ‘government’, i.e. Amin and his military cronies.  Amin offered up their businesses for private sale in a bid to get more money.

Despite Amin’s stated declaration that he wished to have a Uganda more devoid of religious and ethic tension, the ruling group, i.e. those in the military, became more and more dominated by West Nilers and Muslim Nubis, both of which represented the origins and religion of Amin.  Other groups in the army were gradually pushed out and subject to a form of ethnic cleansing, thereby negating any of Amin’s previous rhetoric that he wanted to create a more unified state.  The West Nilers and Muslim Nubis were given more than their fair share of businesses and properties that had been confiscated from the Asian communities after they had been forcibly evicted from Uganda.  In 1973 Amin had talked about tribalism as being a ‘stumbling bloc’ to a strong nation and yet he simultaneously praised the Nubians for being unique in their ability to assimilate and include other ethnic groups (Hansen).

Increasing Authoritarian Rule and Censorship under Amin

During this period, both newspapers and trade unions were banned.  Military tribunals replaced an independent judiciary.  Many of those who were in favour of the old regime were arrested and many disappeared without trace, including the Chief Justice and the Chancellor of Makerere University (Hansen).

On an international level, Amin became a key ally in Israel’s Africa policy because of its strategic geographical position in Africa.  Israel provided Uganda with arms deliveries and supplies to its air force.  They also strengthened the intelligence system in Uganda and the Israeli intelligence system, Mossad, is famed for its strong expertise in this area.  Israel even built an airport in Uganda and it was a surprise, therefore, when Amin asked them to leave in 1972.  Israel had been slow to supply military equipment and it wasn’t always of the best quality and sophistication and so many of the Israelis in Uganda left too.  Amin tried to court West Germany for arms supplies but having no success here, turned to Gaddafi in Libya.

Amin’s Association with Gaddafi; Middle Eastern Connections and Ties with the Eastern Bloc

Whilst visiting Libya, Amin signed a joint communique with Gaddafi with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli wording.  The Libyan presence now replaced that of the Israeli presence in Uganda.  Oil rich Libya also provided technical and financial support to Uganda, in addition to their own military soldiers from time to time (which were needed particularly when Uganda was at loggerheads with neighbouring Tanzania, where Obote and many those who had supported his regime, had fled).

Amin’s new anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian stance opened up many new affiliations in the Middle East for him.  Saudi Arabia provided generous financial support during the 1970s as a result of Amin’s policy that elevated Ugandan Muslims to a higher echelon in society.  The intelligence that had been provided by Israel was now provided by East Germany and thus, Uganda became a new key player in the Cold War with his anti-Israeli stance and his ties with Eastern bloc countries.  Even China delivered arms to Uganda and Cuba opened up an embassy there.

British Exodus from Uganda and Israeli Hostage Crisis

After the Asian expulsion in 1972, Amin set to work seizing any British firms based in Uganda.  The West saw all of this happening and suspended any financial aid they were contributing with America being the first country to do so.  The United Kingdom followed suit following the hostage crisis in 1976.  The Israelis rescued hostages from Entebbe airport with one of the Israeli casualties being, as I only found out recently, the brother of Israel’s current Prime Minister Netanyahu.  The hostages, mostly Jews or Israelis,were held hostage by pro-Palestinian high-jackers.  (More information can be found on this in the BBC link in the sources below).

Gradual Decline of Uganda under Amin

After Amin’s initial ‘honeymoon period’, Uganda gradually went into downward spiral.  In 1977, Amnesty International estimated that around 300,000 had died during Amin’s rule.  Violence as a form of intimidation was on the increase and several failed coup attempts made him paranoid.  The survival of his regime now stood paramount.  Uganda’s neighbour Tanzania were not friends of Amin’s regime and had tried to invade before.  Many Ugandan Catholics, in addition to people in power, were arrested or killed.  Later on, Amin also saw the Anglican Church of Uganda as a threat when they wrote a letter to him in 1977 criticising his war against the educated and the intimidation tactics used by his security forces and their threats to the seizure of life and property.  The Archbishop at that time, Archbishop Luwum (of the northern Acholi tribe) was accused of hatching a pro-Obote plot and was killed, along with two other leading members o the Anglican community (Hansen).

Tensions were surfacing amongst Ugandan Muslims along regional and ethnic lines with a shift in balance towards the West Nilers and Muslim Nubians.  Men from the West Nile now represented 35-50% of Amin’s army. Amongst the West Nilers, there were four major ethnic groups and tensions arose amongst them.  The Alur, the second largest in number, were the most prominent faction due to their number, their education and their economic advantage.  The Alur also had affiliations to the northern tribes of the Acholi and the Langi and as such, they were soon eliminated.  Soon after, the Madi tribe went through the same process, having complained of a religions discrimination in favour of Muslims.  The Lugabra were the largest group in the West Nile and formed 20% of Amin’s army.  In 1974 amidst growing tensions, this group was also purged and what had been the smallest of all four tribes, the Kakwa, now moved to the forefront.  This was the ethic shift.  In terms of a religious shift, the West Nile Nubians became the elite.

Amin started to recruit soldiers from outside of Uganda; from South Sudan and Zaire.  These new guerrilla troops consisted 10-15% of his army.  They proved very loyal to Amin’s regime; a loyalty that came at a price, for it was bought.

Three years after Amin came to power, he declared a Land Reform Decree (September 1975).  At this point, Amin was in need of funding.  His regime, after pilfering all the Asian land, was not known for its expertise in cultivating said land and so much of it had lost its value.  Many farmers had stopped framing on a commercial scale and had started to farm purely for their own survival.  There was a great deal of capital flight and money left Uganda.   The Land Reform Decree made all privately owned land public land that was vested in the state and many people living on that land, working that land, were forced to pay rent.  This was particularly the case in southern Buganda.

All of this eventually contributed to the fall of the regime, which was brought about primarily from an invasion of Tanzanian forces and Ugandan guerrillas in exile, in Tanzania, along with the former leader Milton Obote.

Fall of Amin and Obote II Period

Obote established the People’s Congress Party and returned to power in the 1980 elections.  This period is known as the ‘Obote II’ period.  Uganda went through a civil war during this period in the years from 1981-85.

Obote’s initial challenge after deposing Amin was facing a regime that had flexed its muscles and extended its power by using violence, during which time there was a corresponding decline in moral values.  The military had infiltrated much of society and any form of government that had existed under Obote’s first rule.  De-politicizing the role of the army and building it up again with representatives from all factions; i.e. all tribes and all religions, making it more representative of Uganda as a whole was the first item on the agenda.

Surprisingly enough, many members of the old educated elite had managed to survive the 8 years of military oppression under Idi Amin and had continued to function in an administrative fashion, albeit in a diminished manner.  Ministries and other organs of government had managed to operate in a kind of ‘shadow land’ (Hansen). They continued to write papers, albeit that these were not channelled into policy making as there was none.  This did serve to ease Uganda’s transition back towards normality as it hadn’t been left in a total institutional vacuum, regardless of the fact that Amin had done nothing to support this side of things.  Amin had failed to create a productive society during his time in power but fortunately for Uganda, there are those who continued despite him.

What had changed during Amin’s time in power was that Muslims were now on an equal par with the Christians who had previously, perhaps as a result of Uganda’s time under British colonial occupation, thought themselves superior.  In terms of the Islamisation of society, whilst Amin favoured many of the Muslims in Uganda, (particularly those who were closely affiliated  with him and his hometown), he never had any intention of passing laws in accordance with ‘Qaranic prescriptions’ (Hansen).  He had, in  1974, become a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, but this had been largely symbolic vis a vis increasing ties with the Islamic Middle East out of financial necessity.  Successive governments have not severed their role in this.

When Obote regained power, Amin fled to his friends in Libya.  He eventually settled in Saudi Arabia, (a haven for many deposed dictators), where he lived until his death in 2003.

Yoweri Museveni: 1986-Present

On 27th July 1985, there was an army coup and Obote fled with the military regime installing General Tito Okello as Chief of State.

On 29th January 1986, Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Army seized Kampala.  Museveni declared himself President.  By this time, the civil war in Uganda had ended.  (The LSE paper below gives a detailed coverage of the civil wars that have affected Uganda, if you are so inclined).  During Museveni’s time as President, there has been a demand for an investigation into Uganda’s many human rights atrocities but nothing has really happened in this vein.  Museveni brought in a more inclusive government with all factions being represented; even those who had been associates of Idi Amin.  During his time as President, there have been many economic improvements, although Uganda is still considered to be one of Africa’s poorest countries.  1996 saw him lift a ban on other political parties but he has still continued to win election after election with much of his popularity stemming from his contribution to Uganda’s economic recovery.  1996 ushered in the first democratically held elections so although he had been in power for ten years, this period established him internationally as President for his ‘first term’; (the time line of his terms in his Presidency can be somewhat confusing if you don’t know this).  During Museveni’s second term which commenced in 2001, Museveni made changes to the Constitution to eliminate term limits from the Presidency.  During this term, Museveni also ushered in a multi-party political system after a 19 year absence. During Museveni’s third term, commencing in 2006, the Ugandan parliament attempted to announce an Anti-Homosexuality bill that came with a death penalty for those who offended (November 2009).  Fortunately this bill was shelved in May 2011 as it was immensely unpopular, particularly on an international scale.

When Museveni was elected to serve a fourth term in 2011, his main opponent Kizza Besigye claimed that the elections had been rigged and were a fraud.  Besigye was arrested and shot (he survived) in April that year for his involvement in instigating mass protests in Kampala over the rising food and fuel prices and government corruption.  These protests were brutally suppressed by the military: 5 Ugandans were killed and dozens wounded.  To this day, these are the largest anti-government protests Uganda has experienced.

Other Issues affecting Uganda today

Somalia, a mainly Muslim African country, is close to Uganda.  In July 2011, 75 people who were watching the final of the World Cup game in a restaurant in Kampala, were killed in an explosion.  The Somali militant Islamist group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility.  Al-Shahbab had been battling Somalia’s weak, Western backed government for many years and was trying to discourage other African countries from supporting the transitional government.  Uganda contributes troops to an African Union force that has been propping up the Somalian government.

In October 2011, the Ugandan foreign minister and two other ministers resigned under corruption charges for taking bribes from oil companies.  There had been a recent discovery of large oil reserves in Uganda and oil companies were alleged to have been paying bribes to ministers two win the contract for extracting that oil. Museveni denied that his government were involved further in any of these bribes and his parliament voted to suspend all pending oil deals until a national oil policy could be implemented.

President Museveni has just been re-elected to serve his fifth term (February 2016), although these elections are under investigation.  His prime minister since 2014 has been Ruhakana Rugunda, a former physician/doctor.  Prior to that, the lawyer Amama Mbabani served as Prime Minister from May 2011-September 2014.

His main challenger to date has been Besigye, who stood in the elections of 2006, 2001 and 2016 but lost.  Besiege, who is under house arrest at time of writing this article, has accused the President of using intimidation tactics and vote rigging to win the elections.  Museveni denies this, citing that he did not win in all of the electoral constituencies.

How is the Ugandan Government Structured?

The Ugandan Cabinet consists of a President, a Vice President, the Prime Minister and various ministers that are considered necessary to facilitate the running of the state.  The Prime Minister is mainly there to assist the President who, unlike other countries where the President’s role is largely ceremonial, holds the majority of the power.  He is the head of state, head of government and head of the armed forces.  The Cabinet is appointed by the President from elected legislators.  The Prime Minster assists the President in supervision of the Cabinet.  The post ofPrime Minister was created in 1962.  In 1966, the then Prime Minster, Obote, suspended the Constitution and abolished the post of Prime Minster, making himself President.  The post of Prime Minister was re-established in 1980.

During Amin’s time in power, 1971-1979, there was no Parliament, no Government and no Cabinet.

 

Additional Written Sources (where full link has not been provided within the article) 

BBC Comment on Harold MacMillan’s 1960 ‘Winds of Change’ speech 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/3/newsid_2714000/2714525.stm

The ‘Battle of Bengo’ is mentioned in the following paper  written by Stefan Lindemann for the London School of Economics, (LSE), in August  2010 

http://www.lse.ac.uk/internationalDevelopment/research/crisisStates/Publications/wpPhase2/wp76.aspx

A more accessible and less academic account of the Battle can be found on Wikipedia of course, (but I have to offer an academic alternative for reasons of  academic legitimacy)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mengo_Hill

BBC Comment on the Israeli hostage crisis in Uganda 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/4/newsid_2786000/2786967.stm

‘Uganda in the 1970s: a decade of paradoxes and ambiguities’

Holger Bernt Hansen

(The majority background to this article is based on Hansen’s work)

Image  Sources

Source for ‘Winds of Change’ image in title frame: 

http://www.log24.com/log/pix14A/140613-Wind_of_Change-speech.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Uganda_Protectorate_British_administration.png/300px-Uganda_Protectorate_British_administration.png

(1st map)

http://wikitravel.org/upload/de/4/4c/Uganda.png

(2nd map)

https://respectinternational.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/uganda.jpg

(3rd map)

http://noticias.starmedia.com/imagenes/2011/04/idi_amin_c748c8e7d9a80a97553a596861.jpg

(Amin)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/id/a/a4/MiltonObote1980.jpg

(Obote)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Museveni_July_2012_Cropped.jpg/220px-Museveni_July_2012_Cropped.jpg

(Museveni)