A Lango, Obote studied at the Busoga College and Makerere University. In 1956, he joined the Uganda National Congress (UNC) and later split away by founding the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) in 1960. After Uganda gained independence from British colonial rule in 1962, Obote was sworn in as prime minister in a coalition with the Kabaka Yekka, whose leader Mutesa II was named president. Due to a rift with Mutesa over the 1964 Ugandan lost counties referendum and later getting implicated in a gold smuggling scandal, Obote overthrew him in 1966 and declared himself president, establishing a dictatorial regime with the UPC as the sole official party in 1969. As president, Obote implemented ostensibly socialist policies, under which the country suffered from severe corruption and food shortages.He was overthrown in a military coup d’état by Idi Amin in 1971, settling in exile in Tanzania, but was re-elected in an election reported to be neither free nor fair in 1980, a year after Amin’s 1979 overthrow. His second period of rule ended after a long and bloody conflict known as the Ugandan Bush War during which he was overthrown a second time by another coup d’état in 1985 led by Tito Okello, prompting him to live the rest of his life in exile.
Awon’go Idi Amin Dada30 May 1928[2]Kampala, UgandaDied16 August 2003 (aged 75)Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Idi Amin Dada Oumee[a] (c. 1920s – 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until his overthrow in 1979. He rose through military ranks until he became commander of all Ugandan armed forces in 1970. In 1971, he overthrew president Milton Obote, subsequently ruling as a dictator. His administration carried out human rights abuses, including mass killings, and collapsed the Ugandan economy. He was ousted from power in 1979 after launching an unsuccessful war on Tanzania. He lived in exile for the rest of his life
Amin was born to a Kakwa father and Lugbara mother. In 1946, he joined the King’s African Rifles, part of the British Colonial Army, as a cook. He rose to the rank of lieutenant, taking part in British actions against Somali rebels and then the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, and Amin remained in the army, rising to the position of deputy army commander in 1964 and being appointed commander two years later. He became aware that Ugandan president Milton Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, so he overthrew Obote in 1971 and declared himself president.During his years in power, Amin shifted from being a pro-Western ruler enjoying considerable support from Israel to being backed by Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko, the Soviet Union, and East Germany.[4][5][6] In 1972, Amin expelled Asians, a majority of whom were Indian-Ugandans, leading India to sever diplomatic relations with his regime.[7] In 1975, Amin assumed chairmanship of the Organisation of African Unity, an intergovernmental organization designed to promote solidarity among African states[8] (an annually rotating role). Uganda was a member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights from 1977 to 1979.[9] The United Kingdom broke diplomatic relations with Uganda in 1977, and Amin declared that he had defeated the British and added “CBE” to his title, for “Conqueror of the British Empire”.[10]As Amin’s rule progressed into the late 1970s, there was increased unrest in Uganda, prompted on the one hand by his persecution of political dissidents and certain ethnic groups and on the other by the country’s very poor international standing, a result of Amin’s support for the 1976 hijacking that led to Israel’s Operation Entebbe. He then attempted to annex Tanzania’s Kagera Region in 1978. Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere ordered his troops to invade Uganda in response. Tanzanian Army and rebel forces successfully captured Kampala in 1979 and ousted Amin from power. Amin went into exile, first in Libya, then Iraq, and finally in Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death in 2003.[11]Amin’s rule was characterized by rampant human rights abuses including political repression and extrajudicial killings as well as nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. International observers and human rights groups estimate that between 100,000[12] and 500,000 people were killed under his regime.[10] His brutality and atrocities towards Ugandans has given him the nickname, “The Butcher of Uganda”.
Coup
Eventually a rift developed between Amin and Obote, exacerbated by the support Amin had built within the Uganda Army by recruiting from the West Nile region (his region of origin), his involvement in operations to support the rebellion in southern Sudan and an attempt on Obote’s life in 1969. In October 1970, Obote took control of the armed forces, reducing Amin from his months-old post of commander of all the armed forces to that of the commander of the Uganda Army.[27][36]Having learned that Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, Amin seized power in a military coup with the assistance of Israeli government agents[37][38][39] on 25 January 1971, while Obote was attending that year’s Commonwealth summit meeting in Singapore. Troops loyal to Amin sealed off Entebbe International Airport and took Kampala. Soldiers surrounded Obote’s residence and blocked major roads. A broadcast on Radio Uganda accused Obote’s government of corruption and preferential treatment of the Lango region. Cheering crowds were reported in the streets of Kampala after the radio broadcast.[40] Amin, who presented himself a soldier, not a politician, declared that the military government would remain only as a caretaker regime until new elections, which would be held when the situation was normalized. He promised to release all political prisoners.[41]Amin held a state funeral in April 1971 for Edward Mutesa, former king (kabaka) of Buganda and president, who had died in exile.[42]
On 2 February 1971, one week after the coup, Amin declared himself President of Uganda, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Uganda Army Chief of Staff, and Chief of Air Staff. He suspended certain provisions of the Ugandan constitution, and soon instituted an Advisory Defense Council composed of military officers with himself as the chairman. Amin placed military tribunals above the system of civil law, appointed soldiers to top posts in government and government-owned corporations, and informed the newly inducted civilian cabinet ministers that they would be subject to military courtesy.[27][43] Amin ruled by decree; over the course of his rule he issued approximately 30 decrees.[44][45]Amin renamed the presidential lodge in Kampala from Government House to “The Command Post”. He disbanded the General Service Unit, an intelligence agency created by the previous government, and replaced it with the State Research Bureau. The bureau headquarters in the Kampala suburb of Nakasero became the scene of torture and capital punishment over the next few years.[46] Other agencies used to persecute dissenters included the military police and the Public Safety Unit.[46]Obote took refuge in Tanzania, having been offered sanctuary there by the Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. Obote was soon joined by 20,000 Ugandan refugees fleeing Amin. The exiles attempted but failed to regain Uganda in 1972, through a poorly organised coup attempt.[47]
Amin retaliated against the attempted invasion by Ugandan exiles in 1972 by purging the Uganda Army of Obote supporters, predominantly those from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups.[48] In July 1971, Lango and Acholi soldiers had been massacred in the Jinja and Mbarara barracks.[49] By early 1972, some 5,000 Acholi and Lango soldiers, and at least twice as many civilians, had disappeared.[50] The victims soon came to include members of other ethnic groups, religious leaders, journalists, artists, senior bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, students and intellectuals, criminal suspects, and foreign nationals. In this atmosphere of violence, many other people were killed for criminal motives or simply at will. Bodies were often dumped into the River Nile.[51]The killings, motivated by ethnic, political, and financial factors, continued throughout Amin’s eight years in control.[50] The exact number of people killed is unknown. The International Commission of Jurists estimated the death toll at no fewer than 80,000 and more likely around 300,000. An estimate compiled by exile organizations with the help of Amnesty International puts the number killed at 500,000.[10]In his 1997 book State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin, Henry Kyemba (who was a Ugandan minister for three years in Amin’s cabinet) states that “Amin’s bizarre behavior derives partly from his tribal background. Like many other warrior societies, the Kakwa, Amin’s tribe, are known to have practiced blood rituals on slain enemies. These involve cutting a piece of flesh from the body to subdue the dead man’s spirit or tasting the victim’s blood to render the spirit harmless. Such rituals still exist among the Kakwa. Amin’s practices do not stop at tasting blood: on several occasions he has boasted to me and others that he has eaten human flesh.” (Kyemba 109–10)[52]Among the most prominent people killed were Benedicto Kiwanuka, a former prime minister and chief justice; Janani Luwum, the Anglican archbishop; Joseph Mubiru, the former governor of the central bank of Uganda; Frank Kalimuzo, the vice-chancellor of Makerere University; Byron Kawadwa, a prominent playwright; and two of Amin’s own cabinet ministers, Erinayo Wilson Oryema and Charles Oboth Ofumbi.[53]Amin recruited his followers from his own ethnic group, the Kakwas, along with South Sudanese, and Nubians. By 1977, these three groups formed 60 per cent of the 22 top generals and 75 per cent of the cabinet. Similarly, Muslims formed 80 per cent and 87.5 per cent of these groups even though they were only 5 percent of the population. This helps explain why Amin survived eight attempted coups.[54] The Uganda Army grew from 10,000 to 25,000 by 1978. Amin’s military was largely a mercenary force. Half the soldiers were South Sudanese and 26 per cent Congolese, with only 24 per cent being Ugandan, mostly Muslim and Kakwa.[55]We are determined to make the ordinary Ugandan master of his own destiny and, above all, to see that he enjoys the wealth of his country. Our deliberate policy is to transfer the economic control of Uganda into the hands of Ugandans, for the first time in our country’s history.
In August 1972, Amin declared what he called an “economic war”, a set of policies that included the expropriation of properties owned by Asians and Europeans. Uganda’s 80,000 Asians were mostly from the Indian subcontinent and born in the country, their ancestors having come to Uganda in search of prosperity when India was still a British colony.[57] Many owned businesses, including large-scale enterprises, which formed the backbone of the Ugandan economy.[58][59][60] He referred to Asians as the “Brown Jews” because of their dominance in commerce and their perceived economic control.[61]On 4 August 1972, Amin issued a decree ordering the expulsion of the 50,000 Asians who were British passport holders. This was later amended to include all 60,000 Asians who were not Ugandan citizens. Amin claimed that he had a dream in which God told him he must expel all Asians for the welfare of Uganda. Furthermore, he believed that Asians were sabotaging the economy of Uganda.[62] Additionally, the reasons articulated by Amin suggest a racial basis for the expulsion.[63] Around 30,000 Ugandan Asians emigrated to the UK. Others went to Commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa, Canada, and Fiji, or to India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States.[58][59][60] Amin expropriated businesses and properties belonging to the Asians and the Europeans and handed them over to his supporters. Without the experienced owners and proprietors, businesses were mismanaged and many industries collapsed from lack of operational expertise and maintenance. This proved disastrous for the already declining Ugandan economy.[43] At the time, Asians accounted for 90% of the country’s tax revenue; with their removal, Amin’s administration lost a large chunk of government revenue. The economy all but collapsed.[64]Idi Amin murdered an estimated 500 Yemeni Hadrami Arab merchants.[65][66]In 1975, Emmanuel Bwayo Wakhweya, Amin’s finance minister and longest-serving cabinet member at the time, defected to London.[67] This prominent defection helped Henry Kyemba, Amin’s health minister and a former official of the first Obote regime, to defect in 1977 and resettle in the UK. Kyemba wrote and published A State of Blood, the first insider exposé of Amin’s rule.[68]On 25 June 1976, the Defense Council declared Amin president for life.[69]
Ugandan invasion of Tanzania in 1979, East Germany attempted to remove evidence of its involvement with these agencies.[6]In December 1973, Amin launched a sarcastic ‘Save Britain Fund’ during the 1973–1975 recession to “save and assist our former colonial masters from economic catastrophe”, while offering emergency food supplies and urging Ugandans to donate.[80][81][82] In 1974, he offered to host and mediate negotiations to end the conflict in Northern Ireland, believing that Uganda’s position as a former British colony made it apt to do so.[83]
several of Amin’s ministers defected or fled into exile.[94] In early 1978, Adrisi was severely injured in a car accident and flown to Cairo for treatment. While he was there, Amin stripped him of his positions as Minister of Defense and Minister of Home Affairs and denounced him for retiring senior prison officials without his knowledge. Amin then proceeded to purge several high-ranking officials from his government[95] and took personal control of several ministerial portfolios. The shakeup caused political unrest and especially angered Adrisi’s followers, who believed that the car accident was a failed assassination attempt.[96]In November 1978, troops loyal to Adrisi mutinied. Amin sent troops against the mutineers, some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border.[43] Fighting consequently broke out along that border, and the Uganda Army invaded Tanzanian territory under unclear circumstances.[97] According to several experts and politicians, Amin directly ordered the invasion in an attempt to distract the Ugandan military and public from the crisis at home.[98][99] Other accounts suggest, however, that Amin had lost control of parts of the Uganda Army, so Amin’s sanction for the invasion was a post-facto action to save face regarding troops who had acted without his orders.[100][101] In any case, Amin accused Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere of initiating the war against Uganda after the hostilities had erupted, and proclaimed the annexation of a section of Kagera when the Ugandan invasion initially proved to be successful.[43][47] However, as Tanzania began to prepare a counter-offensive, Amin reportedly realized his precarious situation, and attempted to defuse the conflict without losing face.[102] The Ugandan President publicly suggested that he and Nyerere participate in a boxing match which, in lieu of military action, would determine the outcome of the conflict.[103][b] Nyerere ignored the message.[103]In January 1979, Nyerere mobilized the Tanzania People’s Defence Force and counterattacked, joined by several groups of Ugandan exiles who had united as the Uganda National Liberation Army. Amin’s army retreated steadily, despite military help from Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi[22] and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.[106] The President reportedly made several trips abroad to other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the war, attempting to enlist more foreign support.[107][108] He made few public appearances in the final months of his rule, but spoke frequently on radio and television.[109] Following a major defeat in the March 1979 Battle of Lukaya, parts of the Uganda Army command reportedly urged Amin to step down. He angrily refused and declared: “If you don’t want to fight, I’ll do it myself.” He consequently fired chief of staff Yusuf Gowon.[110][111] However, Amin was forced to flee the Ugandan capital by helicopter on 11 April 1979, when Kampala was captured.[22] After a short-lived attempt to rally some remnants of the Uganda Army in eastern Uganda[112][113] which reportedly included Amin proclaiming the city of Jinja his country’s new capital,[114] he fled into exile.[22] By the time of his removal from power, Amin had become deeply unpopular in Uganda. The symbols of his rule, his pictures, and buildings associated with him were subject to vandalism during and after the war.[
museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa[b] (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and former military officer who has served as the president of Uganda since 1986. Born in Ntungamo, Uganda (then under British control), Museveni studied political science from the University of Dar es Salaam where he initiated the University Students’ African Revolutionary Front. In 1972, he participated in the abortive invasion of Uganda against the regime of President Idi Amin. The next year, Museveni established the Front for National Salvation and fought alongside Tanzanian forces in the Tanzania–Uganda War, which overthrew Amin. Museveni contested the subsequent 1980 general election on the platform of Uganda Patriotic Movement, though claimed electoral fraud after losing to the unpopular Milton Obote. Museveni unified the opposition under the National Resistance Movement and started the Ugandan Bush War. On 30 January 1986, after the decisive Battle of Kampala, Museveni was sworn as president.[3]
As president, Museveni suppressed the Ugandan insurgency and oversaw involvement in the Rwandan Civil War and the First Congo War. He ordered an intervention against the Lord’s Resistance Army in an effort to halt their insurgency. His rule has been described by scholars as competitive authoritarianism, or illiberal democracy. The press has been under the authority of government. His presidency has been characterized by relative economic success and, in its later period, an upsurge in anti-homosexuality activity alongside numerous constitutional amendments, like the scrapping of presidential term limits in 2005 and age limits in 2017.[4][5][6]On 14 January 2021, Museveni was reelected to a sixth term with 58.6% of the vote, despite many videos and reports showing ballot box stuffing, over 400 polling stations with 100% voter turnout and human rights violations.[7] In response to protests during the 2026 Ugandan general election, Museveni has reportedly deployed the military, sent special military forces to jail opposition leader Bobi Wine, and deployed “snatch squads” to kidnap protesters.[8]
Museveni was sworn in as president on 29 January. After a ceremony conducted by British-born Chief Justice Peter Allen, he said this was not “a mere change of guard” but “a fundamental change”. Speaking to crowds of thousands outside the Ugandan parliament, Museveni promised a return to democracy, stating: “The people of Africa, the people of Uganda, are entitled to a democratic government. It is not a favor from any regime. The sovereign people must be the public, not the government.”[37][38]
Political and economic regenerationeditUganda began participating in an IMF Economic Recovery Program in 1987. Its objectives included the restoration of incentives in order to encourage growth, investment, employment, and exports; the promotion and diversification of trade with particular emphasis on export promotion; the removal of bureaucratic constraints and divestment from ailing public enterprises so as to enhance sustainable economic growth and development through the private sector and the liberalization of trade at all levels.[39]
The NRM came to power promising to restore security and respect for human rights. This was part of the NRM’s ten-point programme, as Museveni noted in his swearing in speech:[3][40]The second point on our programme is security of person and property. Every person in Uganda must [have absolute] security to live wherever he wants. Any individual, any group who threatens the security of our people must be smashed without mercy. The people of Uganda should die only from natural causes which are beyond our control, but not from fellow human beings who continue to walk the length and breadth of our land.Although Museveni headed a new government in Kampala, the NRM could not project its influence fully across Ugandan territory, finding itself fighting a number of insurgencies. From the beginning of Museveni’s presidency, he drew strong support from the Bantu-speaking south and southwest, where Museveni had his base. Museveni managed to get the Karamojong, a group of semi-nomads in the sparsely populated northeast that had never had a significant political voice, to align with him by offering them a stake in the new government. The northern region along the Sudanese border proved more troublesome. In the West Nile sub-region, inhabited by Kakwa and Lugbara (who had previously supported Amin), the UNRF and FUNA rebel groups fought for years until a combination of military offensives and diplomacy pacified the region.[41]The leader of the UNRF, Moses Ali, gave up his struggle to become the second deputy prime minister. People from the northern parts of the country viewed the rise of a government led by a person from the south with great trepidation. Rebel groups sprang up among the Lango, Acholi, and Teso peoples, though they were overwhelmed by the strength of the NRA except in the far north where the Sudanese border provided a safe haven. The Acholi rebel Uganda People’s Democratic Army (UPDA) failed to dislodge the NRA occupation of Acholiland, leading to the desperate chiliasm of the Holy Spirit Movement (HSM). The defeat of both the UPDA and HSM left the rebellion to a group that eventually became known as the Lord’s Resistance Army, which turned upon the Acholi themselves.[41]
The NRA subsequently earned a reputation for respecting the rights of civilians, although Museveni later received criticism for using child soldiers. Undisciplined elements within the NRA soon tarnished a hard-won reputation for fairness. “When Museveni’s men first came they acted very well—we welcomed them”, said one villager, “but then they started to arrest people and kill them”.[42][43]In March 1989, Amnesty International published a human rights report on Uganda, Uganda, the Human Rights Record 1986–1989.[44] It documented gross human rights violations committed by NRA troops. According to Olara Otunnu, a United Nations Diplomat argued that Museveni pursued a genocide to Nilotic – Luo people living in the Northern part of the country. In one of the most intense phases of the war, between October and December 1988, the NRA forcibly cleared approximately 100,000 people from their homes in and around Gulu town. Soldiers committed hundreds of extrajudicial executions as they forcibly moved people, burning down homes and granaries.[45] In its conclusion, the report offered some hope:[citation needed]Any assessment of the NRM government’s human rights performance is, perhaps inevitably, less favourable after four years in power than it was in the early months. However, it is not true to say, as some critics and outside observers, that there has been a continuous slide back towards gross human rights abuse, that in some sense Uganda is fated to suffer at the hands of bad government.On 13 September 2019, Museveni’s former Inspector General of Police (IGP) General Kale Kayihura was placed on the United States Department of the Treasury sanctions list for gross violation of Human rights during his reign as the IGP (from 2005 to March 2018). This was due to activities of the Uganda Police’s Flying Squad Unit that involved torture and corruption. Kayihura was subsequently replaced with Martin Okoth Ochola.[citation needed]
First elected term (1996–2001)editElectionseditThe first elections under Museveni’s government were held on 9 May 1996. Museveni defeated Paul Ssemogerere of the Democratic Party, who contested the election as a candidate for the “Inter-party forces coalition”, and the upstart candidate Kibirige Mayanja. Museveni won with 75.5 percent of the vote from a turnout of 72.6 percent of eligible voters.[46] Although international and domestic observers described the vote as valid, both the losing candidates rejected the results. Museveni was sworn in as president for the second time on 12 May 1996.[47] In 1997, he introduced free primary education.[48]The second set of elections were held in 2001. Museveni got 69 percent of the vote to beat his rival Kizza Besigye.[46] Besigye had been a close confidant of the president and was his physician during the Ugandan Bush War. They had a terrible fallout shortly before the 2001 elections, when Besigye decided to stand for the presidency.[49] The 2001 election campaigns were a heated affair with Museveni threatening to put his rival “six feet under”.[50] The election culminated in a petition filed by Besigye at the Supreme Court of Uganda. The court ruled that the elections were not free and fair but declined to nullify the outcome by a 3–2 majority decision.[51] The court held that although there were many cases of election malpractice, they did not affect the result in a substantial manner. Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki and Justices Alfred Karokora[52] and Joseph Mulenga ruled in favor of the respondents while Justices Aurthur Haggai Oder and John Tsekoko ruled in favor of Besigye.[53]International recognitioneditMuseveni was elected chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1991 and 1992.[citation needed] Perhaps Museveni’s most widely noted accomplishment has been his government’s successful campaign against HIV/AIDS. During the 1980s, Uganda had one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, but now Uganda’s rates are comparatively low, and the country stands as a rare success story in the global battle against the virus. One of the campaigns headed by Museveni to fight against HIV/AIDS was the ABC program. The ABC program had three main parts “Abstain, Be faithful, or use Condoms if A and B are not practiced.”[54] In April 1998, Uganda became the first country to be declared eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, receiving US$700 million in aid.[55]Museveni was lauded by some for his affirmative action program for women in the country. He had a female vice-president, Specioza Kazibwe, for nearly a decade, and has done much to encourage women to go to college. On the other hand, Museveni has resisted calls for greater women’s family land rights (the right of women to own a share of their matrimonial homes).[56] The New York Times in 1997 said about Museven
These are heady days for the former guerilla who runs Uganda. He moves with the measured gait and sure gestures of a leader secure in his power and his vision. It is little wonder. To hear some of the diplomats and African experts tell it, President Yoweri K. Museveni started an ideological movement that is reshaping much of Africa, spelling the end of the corrupt, strong-man governments that characterized the cold-war era. These days, political pundits across the continent are calling Mr. Museveni an African Bismarck. Some people now refer to him as Africa’s “other statesman”, second only to the venerated South African President Nelson Mandela.
In official briefing papers from Madeleine Albright’s December 1997 Africa tour as Secretary of State, Museveni was claimed by the Clinton administration to be a “beacon of hope” who runs a “uni-party democracy”, despite Uganda not permitting multiparty politics.[58] Museveni has been an important ally of the United States in the war on terror.[59]Regional conflicteditMain articles: First Congo War and Second Congo WarFollowing the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the new Rwandan government felt threatened by the presence across the Rwandan border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of former Rwandan soldiers and members of the previous regime. These soldiers were aided by Mobutu Sese Seko, leading Rwanda (with the aid of Museveni) and Laurent Kabila’s rebels during the First Congo War to overthrow Mobutu and take power in the DRC.[60]: 267–268 In August 1998, Rwanda and Uganda invaded the DRC again during the Second Congo War, this time to overthrow Kabila, who was a former ally of Museveni and Kagame. Museveni and a few close military advisers alone made the decision to send the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) into the DRC. A number of highly placed sources indicate that the Ugandan parliament and civilian advisers were not consulted over the matter, as is required by the 1995 constitution.[60]: 262–263 Museveni apparently persuaded an initially reluctant High Command to go along with the venture. “We felt that the Rwandese started the war and it was their duty to go ahead and finish the job, but our President took time and convinced us that we had a stake in what is going on in Congo”, one senior officer is reported as saying.[61]The official reasons Uganda gave for the intervention were to stop a “genocide” against the Banyamulenge in the DRC in concert with Rwandan forces,[62] and that Kabila had failed to provide security along the border and was allowing the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) to attack Uganda from rear bases in the DRC. In reality, the UPDF were deployed deep inside the DRC, more than 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) to the west of Uganda’s border with the DRC.[63]Troops from Rwanda and Uganda plundered the country’s rich mineral deposits and timber. The United States responded to the invasion by suspending all military aid to Uganda, a disappointment to the Clinton administration, which had hoped to make Uganda the centerpiece of the African Crisis Response Initiative. In 2000, Rwandan and Ugandan troops exchanged fire on three occasions in the DRC city of Kisangani, leading to tensions and a deterioration in relations between Kagame and Museveni. The Ugandan government has also been criticized for aggravating the Ituri conflict, a sub-conflict of the Second Congo War. The Ugandan army officially withdrew from the Congo in 2003 and a contingent of UN peace keepers was deployed.[64] In December 2005, the International Court of Justice ruled that Uganda must pay compensation to the DRC for human rights violations during the Second Congo War.[65][66]Second term (2001–2006)edit2001 electionseditIn 2001, Museveni won the presidential elections by a substantial majority, with his former friend and personal physician Kizza Besigye as the only real challenger. In a populist publicity stunt, a pentagenarian Museveni travelled on a bodaboda motorcycle taxi to submit his nomination form for the election. Boda-boda is a cheap and somewhat dangerous (by western standards) method of transporting passengers around towns and villages in East Africa.[67]There was much recrimination and bitterness during the 2001 presidential elections campaign, and incidents of violence occurred following the announcement of the win by Museveni. Besigye challenged the election results in the Supreme Court of Uganda. Two of the five judges concluded that there were such illegalities in the elections and that the results should be rejected. The other three decided that the illegalities did not affect the result of the election in a substantial manner, but stated that “there was evidence that in a significant number of polling stations there was cheating” and that in some areas of the country, “the principle of free and fair election was compromised.”[68]
19-year restriction on the activities of political parties. In the non-party “Movement system” (so-called “the movement”) instituted by Museveni in 1986, parties continued to exist, but candidates were required to stand for election as individuals rather than representative of any political grouping. This measure was ostensibly designed to reduce ethnic divisions, although many observers have subsequently claimed that the system had become nothing more than a restriction on opposition activity. Before the vote, the FDC spokesperson stated, “Key sectors of the economy are headed by people from the president’s home area… We have got the most sectarian regime in the history of the country in spite of the fact that there are no parties.”[84] Many Ugandans saw Museveni’s conversion to political pluralism as a concession to donors – aimed at softening the blow when he announces he wants to stay on for a third term.[85] Opposition MP Omara Atubo has said Museveni’s desire for change was merely “a façade behind which he is trying to hide ambitions to rule for life”.[86]
particularly the Kayunga district. Riots occurred and over 40 people were killed while others were imprisoned. Furthermore, nine more people were killed during the April 2011 “Walk to Work” demonstrations. According to the Human Rights Watch 2013 World Report on Uganda, the government failed to investigate the killings associated with both of these events.[98]Fundamentalist ChristianityeditIn 2009, MSNBC and NPR reported on Jeff Sharlet’s investigation regarding ties between Museveni and the American fundamentalist Christian organization The Fellowship (also known as “The Family”).[99][100] Sharlet reports that Douglas Coe, leader of The Fellowship, identified Museveni as the organization’s “key man in Africa”.[100]LGBT rightseditSee also: LGBT rights in UgandaFurther international scrutiny accompanied the 2009 Ugandan efforts to institute the death penalty for homosexuality, with British, Canadian, French, and American leaders expressing concerns for human rights.[101][102] British newspaper The Guardian reported that Museveni “appeared to add his backing” to the legislative effort by, among other things, claiming “European homosexuals are recruiting in Africa”, and saying gay relationships were against God’s will.[103] Museveni and members of NRM continue to use the terms “gay” and “homosexuals” to degrade opponents and in particular members of the National Unity Platform.[104][105] In 2023, Museveni signed an anti-LGBTQ+ bill and called on other African leaders to reject the “promotion of homosexuality”.[106]Fourth term (2011–2016)
Museveni was reelected on 20 February 2011 with a 68 percent majority with 59 percent of registered voters having voted. The election results were disputed by both the European Union and the opposition. “The electoral process was marred with avoidable administrative and logistical failures”, according to the European Union election observer team.[107][108] Following the fall of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Museveni became the fifth-longest serving African leader.[109]
In October 2011, the annual inflation rate reached 30.5 percent, principally due to food and fuel increases.[110] Earlier in 2011, opposition leader Kizza Besigye staged “Walk to Work” protests against the high cost of living. On 28 April 2011, Besigye was arrested because Museveni said Besigye had attacked first, a charge he denied.[111] Besigye’s arrest led to more riots in Kampala.[112] Besigye promised that “peaceful demonstrations” would continue. The government’s response to the riots has been condemned by donor nations.[113]Museveni was reelected on 20 February 2011 with a 68 percent majority with 59 percent of registered voters having voted. The election results were disputed by both the European Union and the opposition. “The electoral process was marred with avoidable administrative and logistical failures”, according to the European Union election observer team.[107][108] Following the fall of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Museveni became the fifth-longest serving African leader.[109]
In October 2011, the annual inflation rate reached 30.5 percent, principally due to food and fuel increases.[110] Earlier in 2011, opposition leader Kizza Besigye staged “Walk to Work” protests against the high cost of living. On 28 April 2011, Besigye was arrested because Museveni said Besigye had attacked first, a charge he denied.[111] Besigye’s arrest led to more riots in Kampala.[112] Besigye promised that “peaceful demonstrations” would continue. The government’s response to the riots has been condemned by donor nations.[113]In more recent years, infringements on press freedom have increasingly been a central focus. According to Human Rights Watch, “Between January and June [2013], a media watchdog organization registered 50 attacks on journalists, despite multiple pledges to respect media freedom.”[114] During this period, two widely read periodicals, The Daily Monitor and The Red Pepper, were shut down and seized by the government because they published allegations about a “plot to assassinate senior government and military officials who [were] opposed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni … and his plans to hand over power to his son when he retires”.[115]Another issue of human rights became an issue in early 2014 when Museveni signed an anti-homosexuality bill into law. In an interview with CNN, Museveni called homosexuals “disgusting” and said that homosexuality was a learned trait. Western leaders, including United States President Obama, condemned the law.[116] Museveni has criticized the US’s involvement in the Libyan Civil War, and in a UN speech argued that military intervention from African countries produces more stable countries in the long term, which he calls “African solutions for African problems”.[117]Fifth term (2016–2021)edit2016 electioneditMain article: 2016 Ugandan general electionThe presidential candidates included Museveni and Kizza Besigye, who complained of rigging and violence at polling stations. Voting was extended in several locations after reports of people not being allowed to cast their votes. According to the Electoral Commission, Museveni was reelected (18 February 2016) with 61 percent of the vote to Besigye’s 35 percent.[citation needed] Opposition candidates claimed that the elections were marred by widespread fraud, voting irregularities, the repeated arrest of opposition politicians, and a climate of voter intimidation.[118]2018 age limit bill
Museveni, as the incumbent president of Uganda, signed the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 2 2017,[119] commonly known as the “Age Limit” bill on 27 December 2017. The bill was passed by the 10th parliament of Uganda on 20 December 2017.[120] As of 27 December 2017, in accordance with articles 259 and 262 of the Constitution of Uganda, the bill has effectively amended the Constitution to remove the presidential age limit caps. Before the amendment, article 102 (b) barred people above 75 and below 35 from running for the highest office. The current age limit bill also extends the term of office of parliament from five years to seven. The bill also restores presidential two-term limits which had been removed in a 2005 constitutional amendment.[citation needed]Challenge to the billeditAfter Museveni signed the 2018 Age Limit Bill into law on 27 December 2017 (but parliament received the letter on 2 January 2018),[121] the general public protested as they had been doing prior to the signing of the bill, using all avenues including on social media.[122] In October 2017, some MPs returned what they alleged were bribes to facilitate the bill.[123]The Uganda Law Society and members of the opposition house sued and challenged the bill in court, citing that the process leading to the vote was in violation of Articles 1, 2, 8A, 44 (c), 79 and 94 of the Ugandan constitution because the Speaker of Parliament [Kadaga] closed debate on the Amendment after only 124 out of 451 legislators had debated the bill.[124] They also argue that the use of force by the army and police during the bill debate was inconsistent with and in contravention of Articles 208(2), 209 and 259 among others.[125] The third argument they make is that the bill violates other constitutional clauses in relation to the extension of terms[126] and electoral procedures. One legislature [Mbwaketamwa Gaffa] is quoted as saying, “when the president ascents [sic] to the bill, it might be legal, but it will be illegitimate, and we are going to challenge it.”[127]Public reaction to the new bill
The law enforcement agencies in Uganda, i.e. the police, the military etc., have arrested at least 53 people, including opposition leader Kizza Besigye, for demonstrating against the bill to scrap the presidential age limit.[128][129] A group of legislators from the ruling party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), clandestinely agitated to remove the age limit because it would give Museveni leeway to run for another term in the 2021 elections.[128]A three-month survey conducted between September and November by civil society organizations recorded that 85 percent of the sampled population opposed the removal of the age limit, with only 15 percent in support.[130] Ugandan lawmakers have voted predominantly to remove the presidential age limits because they want to pave way for the Museveni to spend a sixth term in office.[131] Human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo said that removing the age limit – one of the most important safeguards – will entrench a dictatorial and autocratic regime in Uganda.[131]Sixth term (2021–2026)
On 16 January 2021, the electoral commission of Uganda announced that Museveni had won reelection to a sixth term on 14 January with 58.6% of the vote.[132][133] Runner-up Bobi Wine, and other opposition leaders refused to accept the results, claiming that the election was the most fraudulent in Uganda’s history.[7] During the campaign for the presidential elections on 19 November 2020, Museveni described Wine’s campaign as being financed by foreigners, and, in particular, foreign homosexuals.[104] Independent organizations and democracy experts confirmed the elections were neither free nor fair.[134][135] The Electoral Commission published a Declaration of Results form that turned out to be fraudulent.[136] The Electoral Commission promised an investigation which did not take place.[137] Wine was placed under house arrest on 15 January.[138] Independent international observers called for investigation into potential election fraud amidst a nationwide internet shutdown, human rights abuses,[139][140] and denied accreditation requests.[141][142] Wine was released on 26 January.[143]In June 2021, 44 people were arrested at an LGBT center, with the pretext of violating COVID SOPs.[144] In July 2022, Museveni hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, saying that “We don’t believe in being enemies of somebody’s enemy.”[145] In October 2022 Museveni apologized to Kenya on behalf of his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba who tweeted that he could invade Kenya in two weeks.[146] In July 2023, Museveni attended the 2023 Russia–Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.[147] Without specifically mentioning the Russian invasion of Ukraine or any other war, Museveni said that the “only justified wars are the just wars, like the anti-colonial wars. Wars of hegemony will fail and waste time and opportunity. Dialogue is the correct way.”[148]After the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, Museveni expressed concern over the situation and called for dialogue and a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[149] In June 2025, Museveni announced his candidacy for the January 2026 presidential election.[150] He was formally declared the candidate of his party the following month.[151] On 27 August 2025, the ruling National Resistance Movement endorsed Museveni as presidential candidate for the 2026 election. The party, which was holding its 5th National Conference, also endorsed Museveni as the party chairperson until 2031.[152]Seventh term (2026–present)editInitial results released on 16 January showed Museveni leading in the 2026 presidential election with 76.25% of the vote, followed by Bobi Wine with 19.85%.[153] Wine’s supporters protested the results.[154] On 17 January, Museveni was officially declared the winner of the presidential election with 71.65% of the vote.[155]
