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Uganda and Parliamentary Government

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Extract

On 24 February 1966, Apolo Milton Obote, the Prime Minister of Uganda, marched into a meeting of his Cabinet with an armed escort, arrested five of his Ministers, and suspended the 1962 independence constitution he had solemnly sworn to protect. Since that fateful day Uganda has known no peace. Indeed, factional divisions and the ambitions of politicians, followed by the military dictatorship of Idi Amin after his coup d'état in 1971, soon reduced the country to howling anarchy.

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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

page 253 note 1 See for example, Mazrui, Ali A. and Engholm, G. F., ‘The Tensions of Crossing the Floor in East Africa’, and ‘Violent Constitutionalism in Uganda’, in Mazrui, (ed.), Violence and Thought: essays on social tensions in Africa (London, 1969), pp. 122–62;Google ScholarMazrui, Ali A., Soldiers and Kinsmen in Uganda: the making of a military ethnocracy (Beverly Hills, 1975);Google ScholarGingyera-Pinycwa, A. G. G., Apolo Milton Obote and His Times (New York, 1978);Google ScholarMittelman, James H., Ideology and Politics in Uganda: from Obote to Amin (Ithaca, 1975);Google ScholarUzoigwe, G. N. (ed.), Uganda: the dilemma of nationhood (New York, 1982);Google ScholarKabaka of Buganda, Desecration of My Kingdom (London, 1967);Google ScholarKarugire, S. R., A Political History of Uganda (Nairobi, 1980), esp. ch. 6;Google ScholarKasfir, Nelson, The Shrinking Political Arena: participation and ethnicity in African politics, with a case study of Uganda (Berkeley, 1976);Google Scholar and Ibingira, Grace S. K., The Forging of an African Nation: the political and constitutional evolution of Uganda from colonial rule to independence, 1894–1962 (New York, 1973).Google Scholar

page 254 note 1 For an informative an detailed study, see Furley, Oliver, ‘The Legislative Council’, in Uzoigwe, (ed.), op. cit. chs. 6 and 7.Google Scholar

page 254 note 2 Karugire, op. cit. p. 188.

page 254 note 3 Ibingira, op. cit. p. 248.

page 254 note 4 Protectorate, Uganda, The Uganda Independence Constitution (Entebbe, 1962), section I.Google Scholar

page 254 note 5 Memorandum on ‘The Executive Law Making Powers of the Buganda Legislature’, in ibid.

page 255 note 1 Ibid. p. 7.

page 255 note 2 Ibid. section 75 (I).

page 255 note 3 Quoted in Mutibwa, Phares, ‘Internal Self-Government, March 1961–October 1962’, in Uzoigwe, (ed.), op. cit. p. 282.Google Scholar

page 255 note 4 See Uzoigwe, G. N., ‘The Agreement States and the Making of Uganda: I. Buganda’, in Uzoigwe, (ed.), p. 93.Google Scholar

page 256 note 1 Quoted in ibid. p. 67.

page 256 note 2 Kabaka of Buganda, op. cit. p. 62.

page 256 note 3 For a recent assessment of the 1900 Agreement, see Uzoigwe, G. N., ‘The Agreement States and Making of Uganda’, in Uzoigwe, (ed.), op. cit. pp. 6173.Google Scholar Cf also Low, D. A. and Pratt, R. C., Buganda and British Overrule, 1900–1955; two studies (London, 1960), pt. I.Google Scholar

page 256 note 4 Kabaka of Buganda, op. cit. p. 114.

page 256 note 5 Protectorate, Uganda, Withdrawal of Recognition from Muteesa II of Buganda, 1953 (London, 1953), Cmd. 9028, Appendix E, pp. 25–8.Google Scholar

page 256 note 6 Ibid. p. 7.

page 256 note 7 See Uzoigwe, ‘The Agreement States and the Making of Uganda’; also Low and Pratt, op. cit. pt. 2.

page 256 note 8 See Protectorate, Uganda, The Draft Uganda Agreenents (Entebbe, 1955).Google Scholar

page 257 note 1 Government, Uganda, Report of the Ugandan Relationships Commission 1961 under the Chairmanship of the Right Honourable the Earl of Munster (Entebbe, 1961), p. 22.Google Scholar

page 257 note 2 Ibid.

page 257 note 3 See Uganda Argus (Kampala), 26 10 1961.Google Scholar

page 257 note 4 Ibid. 7 October 1961.

page 257 note 5 Ibid. 1 November 1961.

page 258 note 1 Mazrui and Engholm, op. cit. p. 123.

page 258 note 2 Ibid. p. 124.

page 259 note 1 Quoted by Mutibwa, in Uzoigwe, (ed.), op. cit. p. 278.Google Scholar

page 259 note 2 Kabaka Yekka means ‘Kabaka Alone’.

page 259 note 3 Mazrui, Soldiers and Kinsmen, p. 11.

page 260 note 1 Ibid. p. 11.

page 261 note 1 Kabaka of Buganda, op. cit. p. 179.

page 261 note 2 The ‘lost Counties’ of Bunyoro had been handed over to Buganda as a reward for their services during the British conquest of Bunyoro at the close of the nineteenth century.

page 261 note 3 See Uganda Argus, 8 January 1964.

page 261 note 4 Ibid. 9 January 1964.

page 261 note 5 Ibid.

page 261 note 6 Ibid.

page 261 note 7 Mazrui and Engholm, op. cit. pp. 122–46.

page 262 note 1 See Karugire, op. cit. p. 189.

page 262 note 2 Ibid. p. 190.

page 262 note 3 Ibid. p. 191.

page 262 note 4 Ibid. pp. 191–2.

page 263 note 1 The Hansard [Uganda], December 1965–February 1966, pp. 331–4.

page 263 note 2 Karugire, op. cit. p. 194. For a detailed account of these accusations, see ibid. pp. 189–96. See also Hansard, op. cit. pp. 430 and 492; and Scott, Roger, The Developement of Trade Unions in Uganda (Nairobi, 1966).Google Scholar

page 263 note 3 Mazrui, Soldiers and Kinsmen, pp. 7–29.

page 263 note 4 Hansard, p. 500.

page 264 note 1 The members of the Commission were Sir Clement de Lestang (Court of Appeals of Eastern Africa), Mr Justice E. Miller (High Court of Kenya), and Mr Justice Augustine Saidi (High Court of Tanzania).

page 264 note 2 The full report which was published only in 1971, for reasons that are unclear, confirmed, more or less, the essence of the released information.

page 264 note 3 For a useful analysis of this constitution, see Gingyera-Pinycwa, op. cit. pp. 90–104.

page 265 note 1 See Uzoigwe, G. N., ‘Civil-Military Relations in East Africa: towards a historical approach’, in The Journal of African-Afroamerican Affairs (East Lansing), 3, 2, 1979, pp. 102–7.Google Scholar

page 265 note 2 For a useful analysis of this constitution, see also Gingyera-Pinycwa, op. cit. pp. 104–16.

page 265 note 3 In 1969, the U.P.C. was formally declared to be the only official party in Uganda.

page 265 note 4 Since Obote could not obtain loyalty and popularity voluntarily, and since the unsuccessful assassination attempt of 1969 dramatised this lack, he decided to try to prevent insult and injury by legislation. For example, he forced through Parliament a law under which a citizen could be sentenced to life imprisonment, with no option of a fine, if found guilty of even throwing a tomato at the President. see the Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 1970, section 2b.

page 265 note 5 See Obote, A. M., The Common Man's Charter With Appendices (Entebbe, 1970).Google Scholar See also Obote, A. M., ‘Policy Proposals for Uganda's Education and Needs’, in East Africa Journal (Nairobi), 2, 2, 1969, pp. 39.Google Scholar Cf. Okello Oculi, ‘The Issue of Participation and the Common Man's Charter’, in ibid. 2, 2, 1969, pp. 25–38; and A. G. G. Gingyera-Pinycwa, ‘On the Proposed Move to the Left in Uganda’, in ibid. February 1970.

page 266 note 1 For some of the more sensible of the numerous studies on the Amin years, see, for example, Mazrui, Ali A., ‘Piety and Puritanism under a Military Theocracy: Uganda soldiers as apostolic successors’, in Kelleher, Catherine M. (ed.), Political-Military Systems: comparative perspectives (London, 1974),Google Scholar‘The Resurrection of the Warrior Tradition in African Political Culture’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies (Cambridge), XIII, 1, 03 1975, pp. 6784,Google ScholarSoldiers and Kinsmen in Uganda, ‘Ethnic Strarification and the Military-Agrarian Complex: the Uganda case’, in Glazer, Nathan and Moynihan, Daniel P. (ed.), Ethnicity in the Modern World (Cambridge, Mass., 1975),Google Scholar and Racial Self-Reliance and Cultural Dependency: Nyerere and Amin in comparative perspective’, in Journal of International Affairs (New York), 27, 1, 1973;Google ScholarListowell, Judith, Amin (Dublin, 1973);Google ScholarMartin, David, General Amin (London, 1974);Google ScholarLofchie, Michael, ‘The Uganda Coup - Class Action by the Military’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, X, 1, 05 1972, pp. 1935;CrossRefGoogle ScholarMartin, Michael, ‘The Uganda Military Coup of 1971 – a Study of Protest’, in Ufahamu (Los Angeles), 3, 3, 1972;Google ScholarMittelman, James H., The Uganda Coup and the Internationalization of Political Violence (Pasadena, 1972);Google ScholarRavenhill, F. J., ‘ Military Rule in Uganda: the politics of survival’, in African Studies Review (Waltham, Mass.), XVII, 1, 1974;Google ScholarSouthall, Aidan, ‘General Amin and the Coup: great man or historical inevitability?’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies XIII, 1, 03 1975, pp. 85105;CrossRefGoogle ScholarTwaddle, Michael, ‘The Amin Coup’, in Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies (London), X, 2, 1972;Google ScholarDecalo, Samuel, Coups and Army Rule in Africa: studies in military style (New Haven, 1976), ch. 5;Google Scholar and Ibingira, Grace S.K., African Upheavals Since Independence (Boulder, 1980), pp. 175–83.Google Scholar

page 267 note 1 See Gertzel, Cherry, ‘Uganda After Amin: the continuing search for leadership and control’, in African Affairs (London), 79, 317, 10 1980, pp. 461–89;Google ScholarLegum, Colin (ed.), Africa Contemporary Record: Annual Survey and Documents, 1979–80 (London and New York, 1981), pp. 346–77;Google ScholarSouthall, Aidan, ‘Social disorganisation in Uganda: before, during, and after Amin’, in The Journal of Mondern African Studies, XVIII, 4, 12 1980, pp. 627–56;CrossRefGoogle ScholarAmnesty International, Report 1981 (London, 1981), pp. 90–3;Google Scholar and Jørgensen, Jan, Uganda: a Modern history (London, 1981), pp. 331–45.Google Scholar

page 267 note 2 Jørgensen, op. cit. p. 332.

page 269 note 1 My companions and I were forced out of our car three times during our drive from Entebbe to Kampala. To my surprise, whereas the Ugandans behaved politely, the boyish-looking Tanzanians were brutal, arrogant, and careless. They carried their weapons rather loosely, and slowly searched our suitcases at gunpoint, although it was raining so heavily that all our clothes and personal possessions, including books and papers, were thoroughly soaked. They behaved similarly to all the passengers on my way back to Entebbe by public transport, although thankfully it did not rain that day.

page 270 note 1 Editorial Summary, ‘Uganda: events since 1971’, in Africa South of the Sahara, 1981–82 (London, 1982), p. 1080.Google Scholar

page 270 note 2 Binaisa had wanted Commonwealth ‘supervisors’ to oversee the elections, whereas Obote and his supporters rejected this proposal on the grounds that it amounted to outside interfernce in the internal affairs of Uganda. The Commonwealth Observer Team was, therefore, a watered-down version of the original proposition: the rõle of the members was simply to observe and nothing more.

page 270 note 3 Africa South of the Sahara, 1981–82, p. 1080.

page 271 note 1 Ibid.

page 272 note 2 Amnesty International, Newsletter (London), XII, 3 and 5, 03/05 1982, and Annual Report, 1981 and 1982;Google Scholar also Dyer, Gwynne, ‘Uganda: 20 years of tears’, in Nigerian Statesman (Owerri), 20 12 1982, p. 4.Google Scholar