I was detained by Bazilio Okello after 1985 coup

Dr Ezra Nkwasibwe was a Health minister at the time of the coup in 1985. Photo by Henry Lubega

What you need to know:

Obote’s second overthrow. This week in Witness, we go back to July 1985 when Milton Obote was overthrown for the second time by his own soldiers. Dr Ezra Nkwasibwe was a Health minister at the time. He narrates the events.

When the 1985 coup happened, political parties were starting to prepare for the forthcoming election. Then Health minister and also MP for Kabale East, Dr Ezra Nkwasibwe was heading to Kabale to address his constituency.
“I learnt of the coup while on the way to Kabale to address a political rally in my constituency.
When I reached Kammengo on the Masaka highway, the people I met coming from the opposite direction told me not to continue. They said Masaka was already riotous and that Mbarara was worse. I decided to go to the police station in Kammengo, and inquire what was happening.

The officer there told me there was a lot of chaos even in Kampala, and that Obote seemed to have run away. I decided to continue with my journey to Kabale because although dangerous, it was a safer option than Kampala.
When I reached Masaka I found almost 30 soldiers, who stopped me. I had a bodyguard in the car, though I was travelling in a private car not the official government vehicle. We were both armed, I had a pistol and he had an AK47 gun.

They pulled me out of the vehicle; my bodyguard was angry and wanted to cock his gun, I told him not to, and we were pulled out of the vehicle. After knowing who I was, they ordered us to go back to Kampala.
I drove to Masaka Police Station first to deposit my gun and that of my bodyguard. On the way back to Kampala, there was no incident until when we reached Busega roundabout. The place was teeming with soldiers.
They knew me, they said ‘minister, how are you’, I said fine, they asked if I had a gun, I said no, they said ‘drive slowly or else you will be shot at’. I slowly drove through lines of soldiers from Busega until I reached the city centre.

Detained at Nile Mansions
When I got to town, I drove very fast to reach Nakasero where I was living. The following day, soldiers who had taken over government announced that all ministers should report to the command post which was at the Nile Mansions (now Serena Hotel).
That morning, I asked my brother who was staying with me to accompany me to the Nile Mansion. I wanted him to drive the car back home once we got to the Nile Mansions (Kampala Serena Hotel).

At the gate of the Nile Mansions, some soldiers wanted to take my pick-up truck but one of the lieutenants who knew me stopped them. My brother drove the car back home. I found other ministers there, others came after me. We were kept there from the early hours of the morning without being told what was happening. With soldiers surrounding the place, we were held like prisoners.
At around midday Bazilio Okello came and addressed us. He said: “You people have no problem, the problem is Obote. We shall release you, just keep sitting there.”
By then the new junta had declared a state of emergency. It was after 6pm during the curfew time that we were released. We were about 20 ministers, we were all parked in one omnibus and had police escorts to take us home.

Immediately after the Nile Mansions gate, there was a police-manned roadblock, they asked us where we were going after curfew. We said we had been detained, and we had just been released. They ordered us out of the car and told us to sit down on the tarmac on the street.

‘House arrest’
After almost an hour later, a permanent secretary in the Education ministry hailing from Gulu, who was passing by saw us, he stopped and talked to the policemen. ‘Can’t you see these people have been responsible people in government? Have some respect for them,’ he said. That’s when they released us; the policemen who were supposed to escort us were just looking on.
When we got home, two soldiers were sent to provide security at the residencies of all former ministers. We were confined to our homes, it was like a house arrest. During that time we expected Museveni rebels to attack anytime.
After almost a week, I rang Bazilio Okello’s office and told him I wanted to go to Kabale where my children were, as they needed school fees. He said ‘much as I would not mind you going, you will get problems along the way.’ I told him to give me a letter and I would know how to go about that.

Journey to Kabale
He agreed and gave me the letter allowing me to travel from Kampala to Kabale. As soon as I got the letter I set off.
From Kampala to Mbarara the journey was uneventful. When I reached Mbarara I found that it had fallen in the hands of the NRA rebels. They approached and asked me ‘you man where are going?’ I told them I am going to Kabale. They made a few jokes and let me pass. When I reached Kabale I got home and decided to become an extinct political volcano.”