Milton Obote
Milton Obote (December 28th 1925 - October 10th, 2005) was the Prime Minister and eventual president of Uganda before being overthrown first by Idi Amin and then by Yoweri Museveni. Whilst not as evil as Hitler or Stalin during his first term as President all opposition parties were banned and many political opponents were jailed for life without trial. His regime also terrorized, harassed and tortured people and the secret police led by his brother were also responsible for many cruelties. When Amin came to power Obote's regime was also celebrated by many Ugandans.
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His second election was thought to have been rigged and this led to a guerilla war which eventually deposed him again. In 1983 the Obote government launched Operation Bonanza, a military expedition that claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced a significant portion of the population. The brunt of the blame for this massacre was placed on the people of northern Uganda for supporting the action of the Prime Minister which increased the existing regional tensions in the country. It has been estimated that approximately 100,000 to 500,000 people died as a result of fighting between Obote's Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) and the guerrillas.
On 27 July 1985 Obote was deposed again. As in 1971, he was overthrown by his own army commanders in a military coup d'état; this time the commanders were Brigadier Bazilio Olara-Okello and General Tito Okello. The two men briefly ruled the country through a Military Council, but after a few months of near chaos, Museveni's NRA seized control of the country. By July 1985, Amnesty International estimated that the Obote regime had been responsible for more than 300,000 civilian deaths across Uganda. Abuses were particularly conspicuous in an area of central Uganda known as the Luweero Triangle.
After his second removal from power, Obote fled to Kenya and later to Zambia. For some years, it was rumoured that he would return to Ugandan politics. In August 2005, however, he announced his intention to step down as leader of the UPC. In September 2005, it was reported that Obote would return to Uganda before the end of 2005. On 10 October 2005, Obote died of kidney failure in a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Milton Obote was given a state funeral, attended by President Museveni, in the Ugandan capital Kampala in October 2005, to the surprise and appreciation of many Ugandans because he and Museveni were bitter rivals. Other groups, such as the Baganda survivors of the Luweero Triangle massacres, were bitter that Obote was given a state funeral.
He was survived by his wife and five children. On 28 November 2005, his wife Miria Obote was elected UPC party president.