Prime
Museveni’s rise to power after overthrow of Obote
Gen Tito Okello-Lutwa (C) exchanges the peace agreement documents with NRM/A’s Yoweri Museveni (L) in Nairobi in 1985. Right is Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi, who chaired the talks. FILE PHOTO
What you need to know:
Rise to power. Thirty years ago, events in Kampala changed the hopes and fortunes of the National Resistance Army rebels when president Milton Obote was overthrown by his own army. The events of August 1985 altered the tide in favour of the rebels.
The July 27, 1985, military coup that toppled president Milton Obote eased the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels’ passage to Kampala.
Six months after the fall of Obote, Gen Tito Okello and Bazilio Okello’s military commission led government was also toppled. After another two months, the whole country was in the hands of former rebels-turned national army.
After being sworn in, according to the African Contemporary Records of 1985-86, Yoweri Museveni promised a policy of economic recovery “to achieve self-dependency without relying on external aid”.
He also declared himself “a strong opponent of the International Monetary Fund”.
The beginning
The military council which was set up after the fall of Obote misfired on a number of fronts. They alienated almost all the Langi soldiers who were deemed to be Obote’s sympathisers and they were faced with the challenge of Museveni’s NRA refusal to join the military council and observe the ceasefire the council had offered.
The already bad situation was made worse by the appointment of the unpopular Paulo Muwanga, Obote’s vice president, as prime minister. Muwanga realised the popular dislike and weeks later offered to resign his post.
The military council worsened the situation when they deployed close to 2,000 former Idi Amin soldiers in Lango sub-region to deal with any potential protest there. The human and property damage caused there left the regional town of Lira in ruins.
Another of the military council’s errors was the appointment of Col Gad Wilson Toko as the defence minister and vice chairman of the council.
They sought to make amends by expanding the military council and bringing on board four members from other armed groups which were opposed to Obote. They included, Maj Isaac Lumago of the Uganda National Army Front, Amin Onzi of the Uganda National Rescue Front, Capt George Nkwanga of the Federal Democratic Movement of Uganda, and Dr Andrew Kayiira of the Uganda Freedom Movement. These increased the number of members to nine, with five of them Acholis.
Lutwa tried to create a civilian government by appointing some senior civilian officials from the Obote regime such as Abraham Waligo, first as a Foreign Affairs minister before replacing Muwanga.
Others were Olara Otunnu, Paul Ssemogerere, Benjamin Obonyo the founder of the National Liberal Party, an Acholi breakaway from DP, Robert Kitariko, Sam Kutesa and Mayanja Nkangi among others.
Among the groups that were opposed to Obote, it was only the NRA that refused to join the new government after Obote’s fall.
Rise of Museveni
Museveni’s rise, according to the African Contemporary Records of 1985-86, was not because of his military superiority, but the disunity and tribal conflict within the Uganda National Army. The tribal conflicts in the army were sparked off by the death of Oyite Ojok, then chief of staff, in December 1983 over who would succeed him.
Some Acholi soldiers in the Magamaga Barracks in Jinja rebelled; they were followed by another clash in Mbuya Barracks, leading to the death of 30 soldiers.
When the coup happened, Museveni’s NRA rebels were in the mountainous regions of the Rwenzori, with their leader himself in Sweden. The new military council was willing to ceasefire and offer Museveni a seat on the council. But he was only willing to take the ceasefire on his terms, and not ready to join the military council unless he was the defence minister.
The African Contemporary Records state that upon return from Sweden via Nairobi, Museveni reorganised the forces and took Mbarara which enabled him have control of coffee growing areas of Masaka. He sold the coffee through Kenya and this availed him with cash to pay his soldiers, which was a confidence boost to the fighters.
They used the advantage of the open ended ceasefire from the military council to penetrate back into central region. According to a radio broadcast of October 15, 1985, the defence minister reacted to the rebel’s attack at Kawanda, just 11 miles from Kampala, saying: “NRA had been given the freedom to move around in the honest hope that they would cease the struggle.”
Earlier on September 14, 1985, Muwanga had been quoted by The Standard Newspaper of Kenya saying: “The army had welcomed NRA men into their barracks and allowed them to share their facilities.”
He went on to say: “I think we must seriously ask ourselves, what is it that makes it difficult for anyone to put down arms? What is he up to? Does he fear to face the people and seek the people’s mandate in any election? Does he only seek power through the muzzle of the gun? These are some of the questions we must ask seriously; otherwise discussions during peace talks would be rendered meaningless.”
As the fighting between the rebels and the UNLA escalated at the end of September and beginning of October, Tito Okello announced that “there was a limit to the patience that had been shown to the NRA”.
The rebel’s spokesperson, Dr Samson Kisekka, responded to Okello’s warning, saying they had taken the whole of western region.
“We have wiped out the army’s 32nd, 33rd, 34th and 35th battalions based in Masaka, Mubende, Mbarara and Fort Portal respectively,” he said.
Kisekka also accused the government of using Amin’s soldiers and Karimojong cattle rustlers as soldiers.
Nairobi talks
Kenya and Tanzania were concerned about the events unfolding in Uganda and chose president Daniel arap Moi to invite the government of Uganda and the rebels to Nairobi for talks, which started on August 26, 1985. He promised the two parties that he will do everything possible to find a solution.
From the start of the talks, Museveni demanded for the resignation of the military council and wanted half of the seats for the new council that would replace the one under Okello. After Nairobi I and Nairobi II, the NRA/M delegation’s demands kept on changing.
In Nairobi II, it had been agreed that they will take six seats to which the Okello regime had agreed, even the NRA’s nomination of one of its members to be the vice chairman of the council was approved, but when the talks resumed they demanded for seven seats and opposed the representation of any other armed group in the conflict to the council.
The groups the NRA didn’t want to be part of the military council had already been incorporated into the council. When Museveni raised his objection, they in turn opposed the lion’s share of membership given to NRA.
The Lutwa government suggested a presence of the foreign force from Kenya and Tanzania as observers to the disarmament of all fighting groups ahead of the creation of a national army. Museveni opposed the idea, saying: “It will compromise the sovereignty of Uganda.”
By the time the fourth round of the peace talks began on October 28, the military council’s position was much weaker than it was before the talks began. Okello began the round agreeing to all NRA demands, but the rebels insisted on not having the other armed groups on the council.
On the same day both parties also agreed on a ceasefire, unfortunately in less than 48 hours it was broken when a battle broke out in which the rebels accused the government troops of attacking their positions.
When the fifth round of talks began on November 4, 1985, the council accused Museveni of wanting to divide the country on tribal lines following his declaration that he had created new administrative structures in the areas they controlled.
Round six almost failed to take off as Museveni pulled out at the last hour due to personal reasons. Okello accused him of having gone to shop for arms; Museveni defended himself saying he was visiting his family in Sweden.
While in Sweden, The London Times newspaper of November 28, 1985, quoted Museveni saying: “Egypt is sending military experts to Uganda, Canadian mercenaries and former British SAS instructors were complicating the situation in Uganda by supporting the UNLA to attack the NRA bases.”
A day earlier, he had been quoted by Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper, threatening to open his offensive lines unless the UNLA attacks stopped. “If peace talks fail, NRA will take Kampala by force,” he said.
Despite the accusation and counter accusations, it was hoped that the agreement would be signed before the end of November 1985, but it was not until December of the same year that the comprehensive peace agreement was signed, with a ceasefire to be implemented within the next 48 hours.
According to the African Contemporary Records, doubts about the viability of the agreements were voiced soon after its signing.
President Moi after witnessing the signing said: “The most important thing is mutual trust for this agreement to work.”
Gen Okello said: “There is now victor and vanquished under the new settlement,” while Museveni said, “The NRA is a very serious partner, if you want peace we are serious partners, if you want trouble we are also serious opponents.”
Within weeks, cracks had already developed in the agreement. By December 31, the military council accused the NRA of not taking necessary measures to implement the agreement as it had attacked the UNLA bases at Kabasanda and had failed to nominate its representatives to the council. The NRA was also blaming the military council for violating the agreement when it promoted the defence minister from the rank of a Colonel to Brigadier.
With no progress on the implementation of the agreement, president Moi of Kenya and his Tanzanian counterpart Ali Mwinyi planned a joint meeting in Kampala on January 3, 1986, but called it off at the last hour for security reasons.
During the same time in January, Museveni was in Kasese addressing a meeting in which he said “NRA is now armed with a gun and a peace agreement”, according to the Kenya News Agency.
A few weeks, later his men marched onto the streets of Kampala.
New government
Three days after the fall of Kampala, Museveni was sworn in as president of Uganda. But before that, soon after his forces had secured Kampala, the NRC met at Lubiri on the outskirts of Kampala in a meeting where they drafted “article number one” which acted as the constitution until 1995 when a new Constitution was promulgated.
About Nairobi talks
Kenya and Tanzania were concerned about the events unfolding in Uganda and chose president Daniel arap Moi to invite the government of Uganda and the rebels to Nairobi for talks, which started on August 26, 1985.
He promised the two parties that he will do everything possible to find a solution.
From the start of the talks, Museveni demanded for the resignation of the military council and wanted half of the seats for the new council that would replace the one under Okello. After Nairobi I and Nairobi II, the NRA/M delegation’s demands kept on changing.
KEY facts
During his swearing in, Museveni said the new government was not a military government but that of freedom fighters.
On democracy: “It is the right of the people of Africa to have democratic governments... The people should be able to hire and fire any government…”
On Security of persons and property: “The people of Uganda should die only of natural causes which are beyond our control, but not from fellow human beings.”
On unity of Uganda: “The past regimes have used sectarianism very much to divide the people so that they can use them…We want people who have different individualities, tribes, religion…. But this must not be used in politics.”
However, within three months of his presidency on March 11, 1986, Museveni ordered all political parties to suspend meetings and rallies.
Explaining his decision, Museveni said, “This did not mean that political parties are banned, but the new administrators should allow only meetings intended for unity along the lines set by the government.”
