UGANDA

NATIONAL CONFLICTS
1971, Amin took the opportunity to stage a coup and seized power on January 25 th ,
thereby pre-empting a reported order from Obote to loyal army officials to arrest Amin
and his supporters. 126
Amin gained support from the Baganda, who had been marginalized under Obote since
the Kabaka Crisis, which contributed to the success of the overthrow. 127 Once in power,
Amin allowed Kabaka Mutessa II’s body to be returned from exile for burial. Throughout
his regime he showed special favour to the Kakwa and Nubian people from his home
region of West Nile. 128 Notably, the participants from Arua in West Nile did not cite the
Amin coup as a destabilising national conflict. According to participants in Bundibugyo,
the Baamba and Bakonjo, two ethnic groups who had been incorporated into the Tooro
Kingdom against their will, also benefited under Amin when they broke away from the
Batooro and formed a new district in 1974. 129
PHASE IV: Failure of Democracy, Entrenchment of
Militarism (Amin’s Rule: 1971 – 1979)
In the period 1971-1979 prospects for democracy dwindled. Uganda’s
first coup was described as the moment when ‘Uganda really lost track’.
The new head of state personalized the army and turned its guns against
Ugandan citizens for survival. The military rather than the people
gained a central position in Ugandan politics and ethnicity became a
determining factor whether any individual considered the state and
army an ally or a threat. Such a militaristic regime could not be tackled
through democratic means, and indeed, the regime ended the way it
began: through force of arms.
15. Amin’s reign of terror (1971 - 1979)
Amin’s coup sparked an eight-year reign of terror in which his torture tactics and grave
human rights abuses destabilized the entire country. 130 Acholi and Langi army officials
and soldiers were specifically targeted for execution because of the threat they posed
to the regime. 131
In 1972, Amin divested Asians and Indians of their property and forced them into exile.
In turn, he awarded their seized wealth to his supporters and his fellow Muslims. 132
This resulted in revenge killings against Muslim communities throughout Uganda.
Powerful elites, wealthy business people, and religious leaders were also killed. The
126 Brett, E.A. (1995) Neutralising the use of force in Uganda: The role of the military in politics. The Journal
of Modern African Studies 33 (1) pp. 129-52; Research conducted in Hoima District
127 Brett, E.A. (1995) Neutralising the use of force in Uganda: The role of the military in politics. The Journal
of Modern African Studies 33 (1) pp. 129-52
128 Research conducted in Adjumani District
129 Research conducted in Bundibugyo District
130 Research conducted in Mubende District
131 Research conducted in Adjumani, Bulambuli, and Pader Districts; Tall, M. (1982) Notes on the civil and
political strife in Uganda. A Journal of Opinion 12 (1/2) p. 41
132 Brett, E.A. (1995) Neutralising the use of force in Uganda: The role of the military in politics. The Journal
of Modern African Studies 33 (1) pp. 138,139
79