Milton Obote

Lore & Background

In 1956 Obote joined the Uganda National Congress (UNC). In 1960 he split away and founded the Uganda People's Congress (UPC). After independence in 1962, he became prime minister in a coalition with Kabaka Yekka. A rift with Mutesa over the 1964 lost counties referendum and a gold smuggling scandal led Obote to overthrow him in 1966, declaring himself president. He established a dictatorial regime, making the UPC the sole official party in 1969. His ostensibly socialist policies caused severe corruption and food shortages. In January 1971, while visiting Singapore for a Commonwealth conference, Obote was overthrown by the army and Idi Amin became president. He settled in exile in Tanzania. He was re-elected in 1980 in an election reported to be neither free nor fair. His second period ended after the Ugandan Bush War, when he was overthrown by Tito Okello in 1985, prompting him to live the rest of his life in exile.

Reader's Guide

Milton Obote's significance lies in his role as Uganda's first post-independence leader. He navigated the transition from British colonial rule, forming a coalition with Buganda's royalist party, but his subsequent consolidation of power—suspending the constitution in March 1966, abolishing the federal structure in 1967, and banning all opposition parties after a 1969 assassination attempt—set a precedent for authoritarian rule. His 'Move to the Left' socialist policies included the government taking a 60% share in major private corporations and banks in 1970, but these were undermined by flagrant and widespread corruption and food shortages that sent prices through the ceiling. Obote's legacy is deeply contested: he helped negotiate Uganda's independence and guided the country through its earliest years of sovereignty, yet both of his periods in power were characterised by authoritarian rule, severe corruption, the suppression of opposition, and economic hardship for ordinary Ugandans.

Did You Know?

• Obote was the third born of nine children of a tribal chief of the Oyima clan Lango ethnic group.
• He was implicated in a gold smuggling plot together with Idi Amin, then deputy commander of the Ugandan armed forces.
• On 19 December 1969, an assassin shot Obote in the face, breaking two of his teeth and passing through his cheek; the assassin's pistol then jammed.
• Obote's secret police, the General Service Unit, was led by his own cousin.
• He was overthrown in January 1971 while visiting Singapore to attend a Commonwealth conference.

Roots and the Forging of a Politician

Apollo Milton Obote was born in Akokoro village in the Apac district in northern Uganda on 28 December 1925. He was the third born of nine children of a tribal chief of the Oyima clan Lango ethnic group. He began his education in 1940 at the Protestant Missionary School in Lira, and later attended Gulu Junior Secondary School, Busoga College, Mwiri and eventually university at Makerere University. Having intended to study law, a subject not taught at the university, Obote took a general arts course, including English and geography. At Makerere, he honed his natural oratorical skills; he may have been expelled for participating in a student strike, or alternatively left after a place to study law abroad was not funded by the protectorate government. He worked in Buganda in southern Uganda before moving to Kenya, where he worked as a construction worker at an engineering firm. While in Kenya, Obote became involved in the national independence movement. Upon returning to Uganda in 1956, he joined the Uganda National Congress (UNC), and was elected to the colonial legislative council in 1957. In 1959, the UNC split into two factions, with one faction under Obote's leadership merging with the Uganda People's Union to form the Uganda People's Congress (UPC) in 1960. Obote represented the UPC at the Ugandan Constitutional Conference at Lancaster House in 1961.

Coalition, Scandal, and the Seizure of the Presidency

In the runup to independence elections, Obote formed a coalition with the Buganda royalist party, Kabaka Yekka. The two parties controlled a Parliamentary majority and Obote became prime minister in 1962, appointed on 25 April 1962 by Sir Walter Coutts. Mutesa, the Kabaka of Buganda, became ceremonial president. In January 1964, a mutiny occurred at the military barracks at Jinja; Obote sent his defence minister Felix Onama to negotiate, but Onama was held hostage and agreed to significant pay increases and rapid promotions, including for Idi Amin. In 1965, Obote was implicated in a gold smuggling plot together with Idi Amin. When Parliament demanded an investigation and the ousting of Amin, Obote suspended the constitution and declared himself President in March 1966, allocating himself almost unlimited power under state of emergency rulings. Several members of his cabinet were arrested and detained without charge. Obote responded with an armed attack upon Mutesa's palace, ending with Mutesa fleeing to exile. In 1967, parliament passed a new constitution that abolished the federal structure and created an executive presidency.

The Assassination Attempt and the Machinery of Repression

On 19 December 1969, as Obote was leaving the UPC annual delegates' conference at Lugogo Indoor Stadium in Kampala, Mohamed Sebaduka fired one shot at the president. The bullet struck Obote in the face, breaking two of his teeth and passing through his cheek. Sebaduka's pistol jammed, and another assassin, Yowana Wamala, threw a grenade that failed to explode. Sebaduka was shot by Obote's bodyguards, but both conspirators escaped in the pandemonium. Investigators later arrested them and several members of the Democratic Party, accusing former prime minister Benedicto Kiwanuka of orchestrating the plot. In the aftermath, all opposition political parties were banned, leaving Obote as an effectively supreme leader. A state of emergency was in force for much of the time and many political opponents were jailed without trial for life. Obote's regime terrorised, harassed, and tortured people. His secret police, the General Service Unit, led by Obote's cousin, was responsible for many cruelties. In 1969–70, Obote published the Common Man's Charter, outlining his approach to socialism known as the Move to the Left. The government took over a 60% share in major private corporations and banks in 1970. During his regime, flagrant and widespread corruption emerged in the name of his version of 'socialism'. Food shortages sent prices through the ceiling. Obote's persecution of Indian traders contributed to this rise in prices.

Exile, Return, and a Second Downfall

In January 1971, Obote was overthrown by the army while on a visit to Singapore to attend a Commonwealth conference, and Amin became president. Once informed of the coup, Obote flew to Nairobi to rally loyalist army elements, but Kenyan authorities blocked his attempts to contact his followers. He moved to Tanzania where he received much more support from President Julius Nyerere. Obote built up a rebel army and moved to Sudan from late March 1971. However, his exile efforts were hampered by lack of support among Ugandans; even part of the UPC split from him. The Sudanese government signed a treaty with Amin in early 1972, expelling Obote and his followers. Overall, Obote was unable to mobilize more than about 1,000 insurgents. He was re-elected in 1980 in an election reported to be neither free nor fair, a year after Amin's 1979 overthrow. His second period of rule ended after the long and bloody Ugandan Bush War, during which he was overthrown a second time by a coup in 1985 led by Tito Okello, prompting him to live the rest of his life in exile.