Obote II – Overthrow is Nigh Again

by Satish Sekar © Satish Sekar (April 26^th 2015)

Tragedy and Farce

Milton Obote had regained power as a result of the Commission headed by Paulo Muwanga declaring him the winner of the December 1980 elections. Many believed that the poll was rigged. Yoweri Museveni returned to guerrilla warfare to bring down Obote’s government. Muwanga’s decision to join Obote’s cabinet as Vice-President justified Museveni’s decision.

In his first term Obote was intolerant of opposition. Dissent was seen as a personal betrayal. His policies and actions isolated him, making him vulnerable for overthrow. His protégé Idi Amin, proved to be one of the continent’s most brutal dictators. That paved the way for Obote’s return, but Obote’s flaws had not deserted him. They had become worse in some ways.

Obote had been betrayed once – he feared treachery. The notorious Luzira Prison and others were filled with opponents. Torture was rife. It appeared that Obote had learned nothing from his previous overthrow. Nor had his régime. Muwanga’s Nile Mansion Office was notorious. A summons to it was to be feared, but Muwanga sometimes interceded for those about to be arrested if asked to. Nevertheless, he was feared.

Injustice

Opposing Obote or even Muwanga came at a price and there was the corruption that had overtaken the criminal justice system too.

No case illustrates that pervasive corruption better than the appalling miscarriage of justice suffered by Mpagi Edward Edmary and his cousin Fred Masembe. Police and a pathologist conspired to allow William Wandyaka and his family to pervert the course of justice. Edmary and Masembe were wrongfully convicted in 1982 of the murder of Wandyaka – a crime that had not occurred.

A year later their appeal was dismissed. Masembe fell victim to malaria. He was denied medication by the prison authorities – why waste resources and medicine on a man they were going to execute anyway? Edmary and Masembe appealed for clemency which was denied.

They could have been judicially murdered at any time, but there was a problem – a huge one. Not only were Edmary and Masembe innocent, but the supposed murder victim William Wandyaka was in fact alive and well throughout their ordeal. They were victims of a corrupt judicial and political system. It cost Masembe his life – a crime Edmary had to watch, but was powerless to prevent.

Photo of Mpagi Edward Edmary courtesy of Scott Langley.

The Sudan Problem

Obote quickly faced rebellion. Museveni had returned to the armed struggle – this time against his former ally – and two years into his term Civil War broke out in Sudan again. Sudan had played a role in his downfall, as some took advantage of Amin’s ties to southern-Sudan to join the Ugandan army.

They were involved in Amin’s atrocities against Ugandan citizens. Obote never forgot nor forgave it. Inevitably the Sudanese conflict affected the north of Uganda as well. It continued despite changes in government, especially in Sudan. Gafaar Nimeiry was overthrown in a military coup. The governments that followed were unable to resolve the issues. Uganda echoed Sudan’s experience too as both countries militarily affected each other’s affairs. That continued until further coups in both contries brought Omar al-Bashir and Yoweri Museveni to power in 1989. A year later both signed non-aggression pact in Kampala.

The Seeds of Discontent

Muwanga was an influential and powerful man behind Obote’s throne. He had powers of life and death. Muwanga wasn’t all bad. Even the opposition say that he occasionally interceded and secured the release of prisoners that they [the opposition] were concerned about. Nevertheless, Muwanga wielded considerable power and an accusation of helping Museveni from him came at high price.

Obote’s second term left many victims, dead, maimed, falsely imprisoned, fearing when the security forces would come for them. Suffice to say, the human rights abuses were legion. Having been overthrown by his former protégé, Idi Amin, Obote was slow to trust and very quick to see plots against him. Some were genuine, others not, but Obote had learned little from his first overthrow. Indeed, he sewed the seeds of his second overthrow. After the brutality of Amin, this was inexcusable.