How 1979 liberation war ushered in political turmoil

On April 11, 1979, a combined force of Tanzania People’s Defence Forces and Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), captured Kampala and overthrew president Idi Amin’s government.
They installed Prof Yusuf Lule as the fourth President of Uganda. Prof Lule was sworn in in front of Parliament amid jubilation and drumming on the streets of Kampala.
Prof Lule formed an interim government with hand-picked members. The interim Parliament was called the National Consultative Council (NCC) with Prof Edward Rugumayo as chairman. The other strong men in the government were Paulo Muwanga, Yoweri Museveni and Brig David Oyite-Ojok.
Prof Lule, however, lasted only 68 days as president. He was forced out of power by the NCC, Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) and UNLA who accused him of being a tribalist and making government appointments unilaterally without consultations.
A motion was moved in the NCC to remove him from power. The motion was passed and Prof Lule lost the presidency.

December 1980 elections
I was staying in Nairobi at the time with many other Ugandans as refugees. We received information from Dar es Salaam that president Nyerere was planning to allow Uganda to hold a general election in December 1980 and bring back Milton Obote to contest for presidency.
Because of the popularity Prof Lule had during his short-lived presidency, we invited him to Nairobi to plan for the general election. The idea was to make him the Democratic Party presidential flag bearer in the December 1980 polls.
Lule arrived in Nairobi at the beginning of April 1980 and we formed a think tank. It comprised Dr Andrew Kayiira, Mr Bernard Kibuuka Musoke, Mr Balaki Kirya, this writer, and Prof Lule as chairman.
There was also another formidable political group which had Prof Peter Muyanda Mutebi, Peter Polly Mukiibi, Augustine Lusiba, Francis Bwengye, Sam Njuba, and Sam Sebagereka.
We formed a Nairobi branch of the Democratic Party and elected Lule as chairman. That same month, Godfrey Binaisa, who succeeded Lule as president, allowed political parties to resume activities.
Immediately, DP members in Kampala convened a meeting at Rubaga Social Centre and the party was revived. I represented Prof Lule at that meeting, which also elected Dr Paul Ssemogerere to lead the party.

Plan to return Lule on June 17, 1980
Binaisa was president for only 10 months. He was removed in early May 1980 when he tried to remove Brig Oyite-Ojok as army chief of staff.
Five men then took over the leadership of this country and they formed a ruling body called the Military Commission. They included Col Zed Maruru, Mr Yoweri Museveni, Mr Paulo Muwanga, Maj Gen Tito Okello and Brig Oyite-Ojok.
Milton Obote returned to Uganda on May 27, 1980, to prepare himself and his party UPC for the December 1980 general election.
In Nairobi, we moved very fast and made plans for Prof Lule to come back to Uganda. Our think tank sent Prof William Senteza Kajubi and I back home to prepare for Lule’s return.
We set up the ‘Return Prof Lule committee’ chaired by Prof Kajubi. The late Dr Sulaiman Kigundu and the late Alfonse Ntale of DP were committee members.
We planned for Prof Lule to return on June 17, 1980. So on June 16 we went to Paulo Muwanga to get clearance for Prof Lule to come back the next day. He told us to return the following day.
On June 17, 1980, Kampala streets were full of people waiting to welcome Lule. That was because of the publicity that was given to his return.
At 11am, we again met Muwanga in his office at Parliament. He told us to see him at 2pm.
What surprised us was that before we met him, Muwanga had announced over Radio Uganda at lunchtime that they had blocked Prof Lule’s return.
We went back to his office to face him with a lot of anger. We found him on the stairs that lead to the Parliament entrance. He ordered us to disperse the masses that had gathered to welcome Lule.
We used an open Land Rover belonging to Mr Migadde, a mechanic in Kibuye, to go around Kampala telling people to go home and not to cause any problem.
Later on, we were informed that Muwanga blocked Lule’s return for fear that he would, with the support of the people, try to assume the leadership.
I went back to Nairobi and Prof Kajubi followed me two days later and we started planning for the December 1980 elections.
In October, Mr Peter Polly Mukiibi and myself brought many Ugandans from Nairobi to register as voters in preparation for the elections.
The 1980 election, meant as a return to democratic civilian rule, was marred by widespread irregularities and, although it brought Obote back to power, it led to the country’s most devastating civil war.

Fighting groups
What followed later was the formation of the fighting groups both in Uganda and Kenya by Ugandans to remove the Obote regime.
In Nairobi, we formed the Uganda Freedom Movement (UFM) under the command of Dr Kayiira, who came to Uganda together with his forces and camped in Bujuuko forest on Mityana Road. Mr Museveni (now President) with his Popular Resistance Army camped in Bulemeezi County (Luweero Triangle).
Unfortunately, the UFM forces did not do well in Bujuuko forests and Kayiira returned to Nairobi. We formed another fighting group, The Uganda Federal Forces (UFF) under the command of Ben Mumanya. The Museveni forces did not do well also in Bulemeezi in the initial stages.
Three Buganda elders, Paul Kavuma, a former Katikkiro of Buganda, Prince Badru Kakungulu of Kibuli, and Bishop Yokana Mukasa formerly of Mityana, who worked secretly and closely with Museveni to fight Obote, advised Museveni to travel to Nairobi and join Prof Lule and form one strong fighting army to defeat Obote.
Museveni heeded the advice and travelled to Nairobi with the late Eriya Kategaya for talks with Lule. Both sides met in Nairobi on July 8, 1981, in the home of the late Chris Mboijana in Kabete area near Kianda School.
Negotiations were held, agreement reached and signed and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) was formed under the chairmanship of Lule and Mr Museveni as deputy.
The fighting National Resistance Army (NRA) was also formed under the command of Museveni and the deputy was Ben Mumanya. Unfortunately, Mumanya died mysteriously at the Kenya- Uganda border as he travelled back to Uganda to fight Obote.
The Luweero Bush War went on for five years and we enjoined the former UFM fighters in NRM. Victory was achieved on January 25, 1986, when Mr Museveni captured power.
It was most unfortunate that Lule died in February 1985 before the end of the war.