“When is independence ending?”

Each Tuesday afternoon we have classes on the history, culture and politics of Uganda with Professor Simba, who is the acting Dean of the Political Science Department at Makerere University. Makerere historically was, and still is, a very prestigious university in East Africa. Many heads of state (former and current), including Jomo Kenyatta and Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, as well as Julius Nyerere of Tanzania earned degrees here. Last week Professor Simba lectured on highlights of Uganda’s political history since its independence from Great Britain in 1962. Following is a summary of the lecture, which I found very interesting, with not many of my own original thoughts included.

Like many post-colonial African countries, Uganda has had a tumultuous, and at times violent, history since independence. Milton Obote was the first Prime Minister of Uganda. He initially left all of the army commanders in their posts(who had been trained by the British), giving into their demands and appointing Idi Amin as the Deputy Army Commander. This is contrasted with Kenyatta in Kenya and Nyerere of Tanzania who sacked all of the army commanders under colonialism and redistributed positions and power. Neither of those leaders were sacked by violent coups d’etat. In contrast, Obote was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971 when he was out of the country. Obote’s regime had been characterized by increasing violence toward dissenters who might challenge his power, as well as paranoia after an assassination attempt.

Idi Amin was semi-literate and spent his entire career in the Ugandan army until he became the self-appointed president (read: dictator). Under the Obote regime, Amin built up an army that was based upon personal allegiance and aggrandizement. He recruited soldiers from the Sudan that had little concern for the well-being of Uganda and were loyal only to Amin himself. Before he took over in the coup he was being investigated by Obote for being unable to account for US$5 million (that was a LOT of money in the 1970s in Uganda). Amin single-handedly drove the economy into ruin. When he became president he promoted many people who had no qualification for positions - he also had no conception of a budget and spent large amounts of money on pet projects. In order to quelch unrest in the military he issued a decree to force all people of Indian descent to leave the country on very short notice. This substantive population formed the prosperous backbone of the middle class in Uganda. Their businesses and personal assets were seized and given to the army, most of which was squandered. Amin’s foreign policy was erratic and driven mostly by the goal of obtaining as much aid as possible. For years Uganda was supported financially and militarily by Israel; within a period of days he decided to switch alliances to receive support from the PLO and Libya, kicking Israelis out of the country in the meantime. Perhaps what Amin was most notorious for was the abduction and killing of over 300,000 of his own citizens. Most of them were the rich elite, many very well educated, and those who spoke out against him. Many would just disappear, never to be seen by their families again. Often their bodies were dumped in the Nile to be eaten by crocodiles, though he was also famous for brutal forms of torture frequently involving mutilation of corpses. Amin was overthrown by the combined Tanzanian People’s Defense Force and Ugandan exiles who invaded Uganda in 1979. There is a theory that Amin actually tried to start a war with Tanzania because he wanted to capture a corridor of (Tanzanian) land in order to gain access to the ocean, but the Ugandan army was ill-prepared because of Amin’s rapid promotion of unqualified soldiers through its ranks.

After Amin there was a brief succession of two leaders (both overthrown by coups) then elections that were marred by allegations of rigging in which Milton Obote won (making him President for a second time). He was overthrown in 1985 and the following regime was then overthrown by the current president, Museveni in 1986.


Professor Simba said if you speak to many elderly people in the country they will ask, “When is independence ending?” For them, the stability and quality of their lives under colonialism was better than what they have lost since 1962.

However, one thing that current president Yoweri Museveni has brought to the country is stability. The 1980s in Uganda was marred by high levels of insecurity and violence. Museveni has successfully improved security (in most parts of the country) and has complete control over the military. He is credited with “turning the economy around” through some positive economic development. At the beginning of the HIV epidemic Uganda sent a group of soldiers to Cuba to receive training. Health screening was mandated for all the soldiers and it was found that 20-30% of them were infected with HIV. Supposedly Castro called Museveni and asked him how he expected to have a stable army if a third of them were going to die of AIDS. This evidently was enough of an impetus to spur him to act – Uganda has subsequently become an international model for its early and widespread efforts to tackle the impact and spread of the disease. Museveni is also credited with improving gender equality in Uganda and enjoys strong support from women’s rights groups. For example, he supported banning the practice of female genital mutilization in eastern Uganda (which is now illegal) and also is credited with increasing the percentage of women attending Makerere from 17% to 48%. Finally, Museveni is responsible for decentralizing government so that there is more regional and local control.

Museveni’s weaknesses are many, not the least of which is that he has been in power for 23 years. When he first came to power he was expected to be a model African leader by stepping down from power after a reasonable amount of time. In fact, initially he strongly criticized other African leaders for staying in power for too long. Additionally, he has failed to end the war in northern Uganda with the Lord’s Resistance Army that has been going on for over 20 years. There is some speculation that he has deliberately not ended the conflict because it gives him a reason to maintain military power and resources. Many other ‘uprisings’ have occurred since Museveni came to power and they have all been squelched within a very short period of time. The Ugandan army under Museveni has been accused of gross human rights violations, most of which Museveni denies. Finally, Museveni is criticized for his failure to build lasting, self-sustaining institutions in Ugandan government and civil society. His has largely been a “one person rule” and is supported by a base of people who have benefited from his rule through corruption. He does not endorse multiparty democracy.

Uganda will have elections in 2011 and Professor Simba thinks that Museveni will ‘win’ again, as he has in the last 3 elections because he has a base of support from several constituents, including those benefiting from corruption, leaders in the military, many women’s groups, and conservative people in rural areas who tend to vote against change. Additionally, there is not a clear strong opponent for Museveni. However, he thinks Museveni will not run again in 2016.

To end I’ll just touch on Uganda’s relations with the United States. In the 1990s there was a spread of Islamic fundamentalism in the Sudan, around the time that Osama bin Laden was based there. After the 1996 bombings attributed to bin Laden the US looked at Museveni as the strongest ally against that influence, massively increasing its funding to Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Rwanda. The bottom line (which is not new for US history) is that the US turns a blind eye to undemocratic leaders when they help us defend our own interests. Thus, there has been no pressure on Museveni to step down.

I think the part of Museveni’s 23-year rule I find the most dangerous is the complacency it breeds to the democratic process. The people who would want change don’t believe they have any power to achieve it and the people who don’t want change have deeply entrenched interests, digging in their feet to prevent losing that power. Voter turnout in Uganda is about 70% in national elections, but many people, especially those in rural areas, often rush to the polls because a rumor spread that they will be arrested if they don’t vote.

Professor Simba said that the mark of a true democracy is when leadership is transferred peacefully back and forth between different parties. Uganda has a long way to go. We shouldn't take this for granted in the U.S.