{UAH} THE MULINDWA NOTES ON VIOLENCE IN UGANDA {--- Series two-Hundred-but sixty five}

Friends

 

As the Norwegian organization continues with the Acholi control of Uganda politics violently {series 264},  here is another one that is very interesting, for he is addressing what Acholi did during The Tito Okello government. And again  I have already stated that I never wrote this piece but I was not even in Uganda when it was Witten. These are just observations made about Acholi by a Norwegian organization at how brutal but violent they so are to get power..

 

Ugandans we need to address Acholi violence candidly for many out there are actually discussing it.

 

10. REGIME OF OKELLO’S MILITARY GOVERNMENT

 

Tito Okello’s time in power turned out to be short. Obote was overthrown in July 1985 and Tito Okello was chosen as president. Okello's regime collapsed as early as January 1986 when Museveni committed a successful coup d'etat. This short time period will be analyzed in this chapter and the focus will be in the status of the Acholi in the polity. The new government did not enjoy wide support among the Ugandans but it had control of the armed forces (Ingham 1994, 208). The support of Okello was deteriorated by Museveni, who effectively used his protracted people’s war to turn different ethnic groups against each other to his own advantage. For example, Obote had noted that “Museveni terrorized and brutalized the people of Luwero and in order to win the sympathies of the Baganda; he made such terror and violence to appear as having been wholly the misdeeds of the UNLA” (Obote 1990). This was the only time in Uganda’s history when the government was fully in the hands of the Acholi. The root causes of the coup came from the internal fractioning of the UNLA, which started after the death of Major-General Ojok. During Obote’s regime, the position of the Acholi in the Ugandan polity was determined by the army in which the Acholi and the Langi formed the majority. All three factions: the DP, radicals of the UPC and the NRA (Museveni), were gaining from the coup of Okello. Despite the common enemy, Obote, it was not enough to unite these actors for a long time. The coup started when Museveni was in Sweden to collect international support for his "mission" (Ingham 1994, 206). When all the strategic targets of Kampala had been sieged and all main streets barred, the soldiers begun to rob the civilians.

 

Tito Okello had made his decision and withdrew to Acholi land. There he collected supporters and formed an army of his own. Ingham describes these events in a following way: "Too late, Obote began to get an inkling of the plotting that had been going on. While working in his office at 1 a.m. he was informed by a close associate, Dr. Opiote, that the army in Gulu was marching on Kampala under the leadership of Basilio Okello [Tito Okello’s army General]" (Ingham 1994, 206). With this army, Basilio Okello started to march towards Kampala. At this point, Obote still had a grip of his office, although Kampala was under a siege. The fact that Okello gathered a new army from the Acholi district, and not from those who were pillaging the capital, shows how fractioned the UNLA was at the time. Soldiers had multiple subloyalties. Some were loyal to Paulo Muwanga (Vice President), some to the commanders working under Obote, and, lastly some were loyal to Tito Okello. When Obote noticed that the troops loyal to him were rapidly decreasing in numbers, he escaped to Kenya where his wife already was. After Obote was gone, the formation of the new government proved to be difficult. Okello’s regime was short-lived. The events during his time mostly relate to his problematic relations with Museveni. In sum, Okello’s rise to presidency was the culmination to the mutual beneficial relations between the army and the Acholi. The division between the north and the south remained in the same position as during Obote’s regime. The only exception was that, for a very short period of time, Kampala can be partly classified as belonging to the same side as northern Uganda:

 

This was because the Acholi army was in control of the capital Tito Okello was shown to be an incapable leader and he did not enjoy widespread support. During Okello’s regime, politicians held on to their subloyalties. Some were loyal to Muwanga, some to the UPC and others to Okello, or even to Obote. The fractioned government could not stabilize its power. This opened new possibilities for Museveni who had not participated in the government. Okello, leading a paralyzed government, contacted Museveni and tried to negotiate for support. At this point, the UNLA was too fractioned and undisciplined to form a real obstacle for Museveni's plans. In January 1986, Okello escaped from Kampala and Museveni took his place as a head of the state

 

Stay in the forum for Series two hundred and sixty six is on the way   ------>

EM

On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"