UGANDA

COMPENDIUM OF CONFLICTS IN UGANDA
some mentioned that the Tanzanian soldiers were popularly called Wakomboozi, or
‘liberators’. 156 Participants in Arua, however, also chose to call this conflict the Saba Saba
War, after the destructive rocket launchers used by the TPDF, or the 1979 War, revealing
a more ambivalent attitude toward the actions of opposition forces. 157
20. Conflict between Christians and Muslims (post - 1979)
The advent and penetration of Uganda by Christianity during the 1870s gave way to
religious conflicts based on ideology and belonging that continue today. Religious
tension also infiltrated national institutions in which members of various denominations
were both the victims and perpetrators of oppression and discrimination.
Religious conflicts in Uganda, however, were magnified during the regime of Amin, as
he attempted to Islamise the entire country. 158 In the process, he paved the way for
the persecution and even execution of members of other religions. 159 When Amin’s
government was toppled, Muslims became targets for revenge by members of other
religious groups, and significant numbers of Muslims were murdered, persecuted and
oppressed.
In Mbarara district, for example, a participant revealed that ‘’When Amin was
overthrown, the local people slashed the plantations of Muslims, destroyed their cattle
and burnt their houses. Many Muslims were forced to flee away in fear of vengeance
and some leaders and active participants during the persecution of the Muslims were
imprisoned for a long period of time in Luzira.” 160
Past religious conflicts and ideologies remain significant in explaining the continuing
violence between Christians and Muslims, making religion more of a dividing than
uniting factor in Uganda.
21. The Bush War (Luwero Triangle) (1981-1986)
The 1980 elections, which were dominated by Obote’s UPC and Paul Kawange
Ssemogerere’s Democratic Party, were widely denounced for malpractice and
vote-rigging. Nonetheless, Milton Obote of the Uganda People’s Congress
(UPC) was declared the winner, prompting an outcry from opposition groups. 161
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, although not a major contender, had run on the
Uganda Patriotic Movement ticket. He refused to accept the new government 162
and responded to the UPC victory by initiating a rebellion against the new Obote
156 Research conducted in Bulambuli and Hoima Districts
157 Research conducted in Arua District
158 Phares, M. (1992) Uganda since independence, a story of unfulfilled hopes. Kampala, Fountain Publishers
Ltd
159 Kasozi, A.B.K. et al. (1994) The social origins of violence in Uganda, 1964-1985. London, McGill-Queen’s
University Press
160 Research conducted in Mbarara District
161 Research conducted in Bulambuli, Soroti and Nakasongola Districts
162 Research conducted in Nakasongola District
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