By George Murumba

28^th January 2013:

Last Friday, January 25, was the 42^nd anniversary of the day the then Maj. Gen. Idi Amin Dada staged the military coup that ousted former Ugandan President Dr Apollo Milton Obote.  This is how John Fairhall, The Guardian newspaper correspondent described the events from Nairobi on Tuesday, January 26, 1971.

“…Uganda’s army has seized control of the country and appointed its commander, Major-General Idi Amin Dada, as head of a military government. Troops moved in on Entebbe Airport and principal buildings in Kampala early this morning.

Sporadic firing of automatic weapons and a few mortars continued until about midday. Then Radio Uganda broadcasts gave the country the news of an apparently successful coup. President Milton Obote, who was flying home from the Commonwealth conference as the coup was taking place, arrived in Nairobi tonight.

The 46-year-old leader was driven to a hotel accompanied by Kenya’s Vice-President, Mr Daniel Moi. A police car with siren wailing, preceded them into the city from the airport where police kept reporters and sightseers at a distance.

The Uganda capital, Kampala was quiet tonight with a curfew in force, and troops patrolling the streets. General Amin said he was a soldier not a politician and the military government would be a caretaker regime until new elections. The election date would be announced as soon as the situation was normal.

Earlier, news of Obote’s deposition had brought Kampala people cheering into the streets, strewing green branches before army vehicles, cheering drinking and dancing with troops. Troops fired celebration volleys into the air.

A broadcast by an unnamed army officer accused President Obote and his regime of corruption, suppressing democracy, and failing to maintain law and order. He also alleged the former President had insulated Uganda from Kenya and Tanzania, and, perhaps most significantly of trying to divide the army and put his fellow Lango tribesmen in the most senior army and Government posts.

General Amin is typical of the tough Moslem soldiers who served in the British King’s African rifles and since independence have worked right up through the ranks. Not a man of intellect or political finesse but with great ability at man-to-man straight talking with ordinary soldiers, he has always maintained contact with the ranks, bypassing his officers to do so.

In the shifting Ugandan political scene his own position has been in doubt recently. Last November he was reported to be under arrest and the Ugandan Government had to issue a formal denial and show Amin in public. But at the same time his personal bodyguard of 50 men who guarded his house in Kampala was cut to a handful.

Obote was not then ready to challenge Amin but was quietly building up a mainly Lango special regiment based on Uganda’s only parachute troops to act as a presidential bodyguard.

With Kampala sealed off and Entebbe Airport closed it is still not clear what started the coup. A loud explosion at 2am rocked Kampala and is believed to have been an attempt to blow up Amin in his house. From then on Amin’s forces took over. Most of the firing was in the air to clear the streets but at least nine dead are reported.

Uganda’s army has been notable for lack of discipline, arising partly from tribal friction between Obote’s Lango and the Acholi of the northern region whence Amin comes. The strength is four rifle battalions, each with about 700 men, and about 20 British-supplied Ferret armoured cars and mortars.

Today’s broadcast accused Obote of not holding elections since he came to power at independence eight years ago. It said the common man was suffering from high taxes and prices. Ministers and senior officials were accused of amassing huge wealth including “fleets of cars and buses, and even aeroplanes”.

In a personal broadcast, Amin said all political prisoners and all those imprisoned on unspecified and unfounded charges would be released forthwith. Five former Ministers were among those detained by Obote.

A year ago Obote survived an assassination attempt, which rumour put at the door of Bugandans whose traditional ruler, the Kabaka, was deposed by Obote in 1966. Now the Bugandan position remains uncertain but there is no sign that the military Government will be much more accommodating to them than Obote’s.

A broadcast today attacked Obote’s eviction of Kenyan’s and the cutting of currency links with Kenya. The Kenya Government has long been suspicious of the Socialist stand of Obote and will doubtless welcome today’s Radio Uganda references to Obote’s preaching of socialism while fleeing the people.

By the end Obote was ruling over a police state, less efficiently organised than those of some European countries, but as his political hold diminished his police hold increased through a network of informers, secret arrests and prisoners held without trial.”

Considering the reasons that Idi Amin gave at the time for overthrowing Milton Obote’s government, one wonders whether he wouldn’t have overthrown Museveni’s government today.  We would like to hear your views below.  END: Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates

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