The Uganda Army (abbreviated UA), also known as Uganda Armed Forces, served as the national armed forces of Uganda during the dictatorship of Idi Amin (1971–1979). It mostly collapsed during the Uganda–Tanzania War, but remnants continued to operate in exile from 1979. These pro-Amin rebel forces continued to be called the "Uganda Army" and maintained a semblance of cohesion until 1980, when they fully fractured into rival factions.
Following Uganda's independence in 1962, colonial units were transformed into the country's first national military which became known as the "Uganda Army". The military suffered from increasing ethnic and political tensions until UA commander Idi Amin overthrew President Milton Obote in 1971. The military was subsequently purged of perceived pro-Obote elements, resulting in a transformation of its setup and organization. Under Amin's rule, the UA became dominated by people of northwestern Ugandan, Sudanese, and Zairean origin, resulting in it being increasingly perceived as foreign mercenary force by most Ugandans. It was massively expanded and modernized, mostly with weaponry of Eastern Bloc origin, though Uganda's difficult international relations resulted in shortcomings in the supply of spare parts.
To maintain power, Amin used a complex patronage system through which he rewarded the Uganda Army's troops and maintained the soldiers' loyalty. As time went on, this system resulted in extreme corruption, growing indiscipline, and internal rivalries. Despite its numerical growth and good equipment, the fighting capabilities of the Uganda Army consequently deteriorated. Regardless, it remained a powerful force, and defeated several uprisings, coup attempts, and rebel invasions. In late 1978, parts of the Uganda Army invaded the neighboring Tanzania under unclear circumstances, resulting in the Uganda–Tanzania War. The military proved to be ineffective and badly motivated during this conflict, and most soldiers defected, deserted or mutinied after March 1979. Loyalist elements of the Uganda Army managed to retreat into Sudan and Zaire, however, from where they prepared to retake Uganda. The Uganda Army's remnants launched two successful invasions in 1980, capturing most of the West Nile region. Thereafter conflicts between its commanders and different factions resulted in a complete fragmentation of the remaining Uganda Army troops. One of these successor groups, the so-called Former Uganda National Army, maintained to be the continuation of the Uganda Army.
History Establishment of Uganda's armed forces
After Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, 4th Battalion, King's African Rifles, at Jinja, was transformed into the country's first military force, the Uganda Rifles. The Uganda Rifles later became the Uganda Army. In the following years, the military was gradually expanded from 700 personnel in 1962 to 4,500 in 1965. Parliament passed the Armed Forces Act in 1964 to organise and regulate the army in place of older British ordinances. The measure provided for additional military expansion, including the establishment of the Uganda Army Air Force.
Besides defending the country from external foes such as during the Congo Crisis and battling regional insurgencies like the Rwenzururu movement, the Uganda Army was politicized. It became dominated by people from northern Uganda such as the Acholi, Langi, and West Nile tribal people. Over the course of the Mengo Crisis of 1966, Prime Minister Milton Obote and his protégé, Uganda Army commander Idi Amin, used the military to oust the country's president, Mutesa II of Buganda, and establish a de facto dictatorship. This event marked the full entry of the military into the political arena, and the start of ethnic purges in the Uganda Army, as many Bantu and Teso troops were ousted from the ranks. Obote subsequently assumed the presidency and Amin was appointed head of the Uganda Army, but rifts soon emerged between the two allies. Obote feared that the Uganda Army had become too dominated by West Nile tribesmen who were regarded as partisans of Idi Amin, and reacted by ordering the recruitment of more Langi and Acholi. By 1968, the Uganda Army had been expanded to about 9,800 personnel. By 1971 it was rumoured that Obote would have Amin arrested. The rivalry culminated in Amin's successful coup d'état of 25 January 1971, when Obote was on a trip abroad. The takeover was achieved with the support of a small coterie of low ranking army officers—most of whom were of Nubian or West Nile origin—who felt their positions would have been threatened by Amin's arrest.
The Uganda Army of Idi Amin Establishment of military rule and first purges Idi Amin's seizure of power meant that the Uganda Army had assumed full state power, ending the previous era during which civilian elites ruled in cooperation with military figures. The new administration and its more down-to-earth ruling style was initially welcomed by much of the population. Amin declared the "Second Republic of Uganda" to showcase his commitment to republicanism. He also released a manifesto justifying the coup; among other points it attacked Obote's "lack of support for the Army" and favoritism of other state security institutions. The week following the coup, Amin issued a decree declaring the creation of a Defence Council "consisting of the Commander-in-Chief, who shall be the chairman, the Army Chief of Staff, the Chief of the Air Staff, and such persons as the Commander-in-Chief may, by writing under his hand, appoint". The Defence Council was supposed to assist Amin and civilian officials in instituting a democratic transition, but this never occurred and soon the council came to supplant the cabinet as the key decision-making institution in the country.
The new regime immediately embarked on a program of military expansion. An Israeli firm was contracted to build two new army bases and several airfields. New mechanised battalions were established, as well as a paratrooper unit. Portions of the Uganda Army Air Force were redeployed from its main installation in Entebbe to the new airfields. Foreign equipment was ordered and procured with the assistance of France, Egypt and various Arab states, though the acquisitions depleted Uganda's foreign exchange reserves.
The coup created unrest in the Uganda Army, as tensions rose between the pre-existing Acholi and Langi-dominated hierarchy and the new command structure consisting of the junior officers who had supported Amin's takeover. Amin actually promised reforms in the army to make it more ethnically representative and improve its discipline. Despite this, hundreds of soldiers were massacred in the coup's immediate aftermath—including chief of staff Suleiman Hussein. The early killings—as well as arrests—were largely selective and meant to remove potential dissidents. Nevertheless, the repression disproportionately affected Acholi and Langi officers and thus provoked the flight of hundreds of Acholi and Langi soldiers from the country, who went into exile to link up with Obote. In April 1971, the full extent of the exodus was revealed when Sudanese authorities interned hundreds of army deserters and returned them to Uganda, where they were then massacred. Realizing that it could not effectively prevent the flight of army personnel from the country and fearing that more Acholi and Langi would join with Obote, Amin's regime resorted to indiscriminate violence and moved to systematically purge the Uganda Army of Acholi, Langi, and Teso soldiers. Teso soldiers were targeted by Amin's supporters despite the fact that many of them did not resist the coup. Researcher Thomas Lowman interviewed several Ugandans who had witnessed the killings of Teso personnel, and all of them said the massacres of these soldiers were a result of "confusion rather than strategy." Lowman concluded that the Teso soldiers were "erroneously targeted".
About 5,000 Acholi and Langi soldiers were killed or forcibly disappeared in the next months. Journalist Patrick Keatley estimated that as much as two thirds of the original military personnel were killed within a year. The most severe purges took place in July 1971, when fighting broke out at the military barracks of Mbarara, Jinja and Moroto. The Ugandan government maintained that pro-Obote guerrillas had attacked the barracks, whereas a pro-opposition source stated that the fighting had erupted due to tribal rivalries and 900 Acholi as well as Lango troops being massacred by Amin's supporters. A large number of the Acholi and Langi exiles joined Obote's "People Army" and "Kikosi Maalum" force which aimed at overthrowing Amin. These insurgents found a haven in Tanzania which opposed Amin's seizure of power, causing tensions that resulted in border clashes in August 1971. In August 1971, FRONASA rebels attempted to set up a guerrilla base on Mount Elgon, but they were quickly discovered and mostly arrested by Ugandan security forces.
In order to replace the purged troops and consolidate his power, Amin enlisted tribesmen belonging to ethnic groups that lived in the West Nile District, Sudan, Zaire (present-day DR Congo), Kenya, and Rwanda. These tribes such as the Kakwa, Nubians, Madi, Lugbara, and Alur were believed to be more loyal to Amin, and their fortunes were tied to the survival of his regime. In addition, former Congolese Simba and ex-Anyanya rebels from southern Sudan rebels became an important force among the restructured Uganda Army. Most promotions were granted to Muslim soldiers. In the course of 1971, Amin recruited 19,742 new soldiers, nominally increasing the Uganda Army to 27,000. This massive intake of untrained troops, along with the political purges and the expanded patronage system caused widespread indiscipline. By the end of the year, just 11,409 soldiers were actually accounted for. Tom Cooper and Adrien Fontanellaz described the military as being in a state of "near-anarchy" from this point onwards. The government could not financially sustain this expansion, and subsequently reduced the number of personnel. In early 1972, Amin ordered another purge of Uganda Army troops that were suspected of being disloyal, killing "thousands" of Luo soldiers. About 600 soldiers who had been imprisoned since the coup were also executed. At the same time, Amin strengthened the military's rule by stationing troops in every village of the country, ostensibly to aid rural development. In fact, it mostly helped to keep the population under control. He also expelled Uganda's Asian minority in early August 1972, and redistributed their wealth to his supporters, including the military. Amin also wielded the army as the country's main arm of law enforcement, which facilitated soldiers' abuse of power over civilians and subverted the authority of the police and non-military institutions. Given wide latitude to act, soldiers could shoot civilians with the justification that they were "resisting investigation". They also began conducting public executions.
1972 invasion, growing factional violence, and Operation Entebbe