Ugandans descend on Moshi to plan post-Amin regime

It is 40 years since the Moshi conference was convened in Tanzania to create the first post-Idi Amin regime.
It was during this conference that the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) government, led by Yusuf Lule and whose reign holds the record as the shortest in the country’s history, was created.
The March 1979 conference at the Moshi regional police headquarters drew participants from the diaspora who wanted to see regime change in Uganda.

Making of Moshi
When the Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) pushed the Uganda Army out of Tanzania following their invasion in October 1978, they planned to inflict the same pain Amin had inflicted on Tanzanians by pounding their towns.
But by March 1979, TPDF had reached Lukaya Town in central Uganda and it became clear that the regime in Kampala can fall. In the meantime, Tanzania was facing a lot of pressure from the international community for having invaded Uganda.
In 1978, Amin had released a three-year development plan which indicated that Uganda’s GDP was in the negatives.
Prof Tarsis Kabwegyere, who was the chief convener of the Moshi conference, was among Ugandans exiled in Nairobi, Kenya, who read the plan and got concerned.

“When I got the plan, I shared it with colleagues and a discussion about the state of affairs started. This was the creation of the Nairobi Discussion Group,” he says.
Kabwegyere at the time was also an external examiner at Dar es Salaam University, and whenever in Tanzania, he interacted with Ugandans exiled there, except former president Milton Obote.
“It was during that time that I got acquainted with Tanzanian director of intelligence called Kitini, who turned out to be an important contact later. Following the Amin invasion, Tanzanians wanted some Ugandans they could work with to remove Amin. That’s how we came in,” explains Kabwegyere.

“I was given the responsibility of organising and I assembled a team comprising [Edward] Rurangaranga, Okot Nyoromoi and myself to lead towards a conference of national unity.”
With no external funding available, Kabwegyere used his own money to invite the different groups.
“It was Sam Kutesa [Uganda’s current Foreign minister], also exiled in Nairobi, who helped me financially. More than 80 groups turned up. Some were formed within the compound of the conference,” says Kabwegyere.
“We decided to have an accreditation committee, with me as its chairman, constituted. Others were Prof Edward Rugumayo, Omwony Ojwok as the secretary, Dr Senabulya and Okot Nyoromoi. We allowed in 22 groups, but giving priority to the main political parties like UPC and DP.”

Wangoola-Wangoola was one of those that travelled from Britain. He represented the Uganda Human Rights Group UK.
“We had been the leading voice against Amin’s dictatorial rule in the UK. And we had also kept in touch with people like [Dani] Wadada Nabudere and others who were in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. That’s how I ended up attending the conference,” Wangoola-Wangoola says.
Henry Makmot was at the time a lecturer at the East African Statistical Training Centre at the University of Dar es Salaam and was asked by Osindek Wangwor to look out for the planned meeting in Tanzania.
“The proposed conference was to galvanize the efforts of all Ugandans opposed to Amin’s dictatorship so as to form a political front that would augment the military wing of the struggle,” Makmot says.
On March 21, 1979, two groups of UPC stalwarts arrived at Msasani, Tanzania, where Obote was residing.

The group from Lusaka, Zambia, had Dr Moses Apiliga, Dr George Obua, Justice Emmanuel Oteng, Dr John Luwuliza-Kirunda, Dr Absolom Kenneth Oteng, and Dr Willy Anokbongo. The Nairobi group had Samwiri Mugwisa, Edward Rurangaranga and Chris Rwakasisi.

“Dr Apiliga took charge and briefed us about the conference and he instructed us to subdivide into several discussion and liberation groups so as to boost UPC’s participation in the conference,” Makmot says.

UPC created different groups such as National Unity and Reconciliation, Uganda Liberation Group Zambia, UPC Lusaka and Uganda Unity Group Lusaka.
Others groups included Uganda Human Rights Group UK, Fronasa, Uganda Freedom Union, Uganda National Movement, Negotiating Committee for Democratic Unity Dar es Salaam, Save Uganda Movement, Moshi Discussion Group, Muthaiga Discussion Group, and the Uganda Nationalist Organisation.
In total, 22 groups from as far as USA, Sweden, Switzerland, Egypt and Barbados attended.

The conference was to come up with an organisation that would give cover to the Tanzanian presence in Uganda.
Mwalimu Julius Nyerere wanted the world to know that this was a Ugandan effort to remove Amin from power. Two special guests were invited; Yusuf Lule, who had worked in the Commonwealth, was needed for diplomatic reasons within the Commonwealth. He was also known to Nyerere from their Makerere days.
Lule was also a prominent Muganda whose presence would cool the Buganda animosity, if any, and he also did not carry any political baggage, save for his affiliation to Kabaka Yekka.
The other special guest was Paulo Muwanga. He came to the conference in a military combat, straight from the war front. He was the spokesperson of the armed forces and that shows how he ended up in the Military Commission.

Agenda
The first day of the conference was spent on jostling for who should and who shouldn’t attend.
“By the end of what would have been first day, no business had been done as some factions of UPC, DP and KY that had not been accredited had forced their way into the conference hall,” Makmot says.
Tanzania as host had its own interests in the conference and their Foreign Affairs minister Benjamin Mkapa (later president), attended to oversee their interests.
Even before the conference got underway, UPC affiliated delegates resolved to have one of their own, Eric Otema Allimadi elected as the chairman of the conference, and Paulo Muwanga as head of the organisation to be formed. They were, however, outmanoeuvred during the accreditation as not all their members were given cards to attend the conference.

After the name of the organisation was agreed upon as the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), with the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) as its military wing, business turned to the leadership and structure of the organisation.

“Two names, Paulo Muwanga and Yusuf Lule, were nominated. As they were being debated, [Yoweri] Museveni cautioned against sidelining the fighting forces led by him and Obote. It was at that point that he was cut short by the Tanzanian official monitoring the proceedings and taken out,” Makmot says.
“While he was away, Col Tito Okello took to the floor and said his military colleagues had decided that since Paulo Muwanga was already working at the warfront he should leave the chairmanship to Prof Yusuf Lule.”

The structure of UNLF was broken down into a national consultative council, the national executive committee, a military commission, finance and administrative committee, political and diplomatic committee and a constitutional drafting committee.
The agenda was to discuss the situation in Uganda and to form an organisation on the basis of which to engage with Tanzania.
According to Wangoola, one of the most contentious issues during the conference was what Constitution to be followed in case of the fall of the regime in Kampala.

“The consensus was that we could go by any Constitution as a practical necessity. We said that whatever constitutional arrangement in place it would be to the organs of the UNLF. That UNLF will be the authority under which any president of Uganda will exercise power,” he says.
Lule was elected the chairman of the national executive committee which was under the national consultative council (NCC). As the conference closed, Lule addressed a press conference and the delegates left Moshi.
Exactly 15 days after the Moshi conference, Kampala fell to the combined force of UNLA and TPDF on the night of April 10, 1979, and the announcement was made on April 11, hence marking that day as the liberation day that subsequently became a national holiday.
Delegates in Moshi had agreed that the NCC was to act as the interim parliament in the event the government in Kampala fell.

“When we got to Kampala, there was a lot of behind the scenes negotiations to have the president inaugurate Parliament. Before he did, he announced a 52-man cabinet. His calculation was to pack the NCC with his appointed people. At the time the NCC was made up of about 40 members,” says Wangoola.
The Cabinet announcement raised tension in the NCC as it was done without it being consulted or approving.
When Lule met with the NCC, he basically dismissed them, saying it was not time to talk but work because there was too much work to be done. This set into motion his removal from power.

Moshi spirit overflows to Uganda
With Lule out, some of the people who were at the Moshi conference wanted to carry on with the Moshi spirit.
“Two main parties, Save Uganda Movement and Fronasa, plus other members from DP and UPC who weren’t comfortable with their parties came together and formed Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM),” says Kabwegyere.
Among those who left their parties to form UPM included Bidandi Ssali, Ruhakana Rugunda, Jeremiah Opira and Matia Kasaija who came up with UPM.
As the convenor of the Moshi conference, Kabwegyere was disappointed that the Moshi spirit died within 68 days after taking power.
“We lost an opportunity. If Lule had kept and followed the Moshi resolutions the history of this country would be very different.”

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