W.E.B. Du Bois InstituteAmin's UgandaAuthor(s): Philip ShortSource: Transition, No. 40 (Dec., 1971), pp. 48-55Published by: Indiana University Press on behalf of the W.E.B. Du Bois InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2934129Accessed: 15/11/2010 19:27Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unlessyou have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and youmay use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. 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Du Bois Institute are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Transition.http://www.jstor.orgTRANSITION 40 Am i n ' sUgan da (Ahalf-yearly report] Phi li p Short ' Tos aveabads i tuati onfromgetti n g wors e'i s a m odes t en ough am bi ti on for a coup: m os t govern m en ts - to-be s peak of m aki n g a bad s i tuati on better.Yet i t wasthi sphras e whi ch wasus ed to jus ti fy the overthrowof Dr. Mi ltonObotei nUgan da onJan uary 25. The words , ' It hasbeenn eces s ary to take acti onto s ave a bad s i tua- ti onfromgetti n g wors e' , form ed the open i n g s en ten ce ofthe proclam ati onwhi chan n oun ced that Major- Gen eral Idi Am i nhad s ei zed power.Ugan dan ss ti ll repeat themtoday asaki n d ofwatchword. To what exten t hasthat early objecti ve beenachi eved, an d how hasi t beenm odi fi edi nthe i n terven i n g m on ths ? The un n am ed group of s oldi ers who proclai m ed Am i n ' scom i n g to power li s ted 18 gri evan ces whi ch, they s ai d, had left the people ' an gry, worri edan d very un happy' . They i n cludedthe curtai lm en tof fun dam en talfreedom sof s peech an d as s oci ati on ; thebreakdown of law an d order; m ateri alan d poli ti calcorrupti onwi thi n the ruli n g eli te; econ om i c hards hi ps am on g large s ecti on s ofthe populati on ; the n eglect of the arm edforces i nfavourof DrObote' sGen eral Servi ce Un i t (GSU); tri bali s ti c m an i pulati onwi thi nthe arm y an d a hi gh level oftri bal ten s i onwi thi nthe coun try as a whole; an d Ugan da' si s olati on fromthe Eas t Afri canCom m un i tythrough the i m pos i ti onof curren cy con trols . Som e were clearly m ore i m portan t thanothers .The i m pos i ti onof curren cycon trols , for i n s tan ce, di s advan - taged m ai n ly thos e Ugan dan swhos e hom esbordered Ken ya an d Tan zan i a, a s trategi callyi m portan tgroup but n um eri cally as m all m i n ori ty. Econ om i c hards hi pswere wi des pread,affecti n g ci ty dwellersthrough the ri s i n g cos t of li vi n g, an d farm ersthrough lower pri cesfor cas h crops . Poli ti cal corrupti onan d res tri cti on s onfreedomofas s oci ati onan tagon i s ed both ci vi l s ervan tsan d Dr Obote' spoli ti cal oppon en ts ,n otably adheren tsof the pros cri bed Dem ocrati c Party led by Ben Ki wan uka. The breakdown i nlaw an d order wasan other gen eral problem , but parti cularly acute i nBugan da. The Bagan da, too, s uffered m os tfrom deten ti on wi thout tri al. Lack of freedom of expres s i onwasfelt throughout Ugan da, but es peci ally i nthe academ i c com m un i ty an d by profes s i on alpeople. Dr Obote' sm an i pulati onof the arm y ali en ated s i gn i fi can t elem en ts i nthe offi cer corps . Other groups , whos e gri evan cesthe s oldi ersdi d n ot li s t, i n cludedAfri canbus i n es s m en , di s en chan tedat the con ti n ui n g dom i n ati on of com m erce by the As i ancom - m un i ty; theAs i an sthem s elves , whos aw thei r future bei n g eroded; capi tali s tsofall colours , alarm edat the m ove totheleft; radi calswho regarded Obote as a lukewarms oci ali s t; an d Bagan da tradi ti on ali s ts who yearn ed for the res torati on of thei r Ki n gdom . The com bi n ed hos ti li ty of thes e groupswass uch that the coup en coun teredli ttle oppos i ti on . Obote' spower bas ehad growns o n arrowthat the gen eral reacti on to hi sfall wason e of rejoi ci n g an d what res i s tan cethere wascam e fromGen eral Servi ce pers on n el an d Lan giarm y offi cers .To m os t Ugan dan s ,m oreover, i t wasi m m ateri al that Am i nhad acted fromm oti ves of ri valry ratherthanfroman y deep des i reto ri ghtpas t wron gs . But that thi swass o wass hownboth by Am i n ' sm agn an i m i ty towardsObote' scolleaguesan d by the abs en ceof reform i s tele- m en tsfromthe coup. Speaki n g on Radi o Ugan da onthe even i n g of Jan uary25, Am i ns ai d hi sgovern m en t would be ' purely acaretakeradm i n i s trati on ' tohold the fort un ti lelecti on s couldbe arran ged. Con s i s ten twi th i tsi n teri mn ature, there would be n o Pres i den tbut on ly 48 ' I-- TRANSITION 40 a Mi li tary Head of State. Whatever reform swere n eeded, Am i ni m pli ed, wouldhavetoawai ttheform ati on of the n ext ci vi li anregi m e. Inan other s peech the followi n g day hes ai d he hoped s om eofObote' sform er m i n i s tersm i ght joi ni nwhatever i n teri mgovern m en t he m i ght form . Atthi ss tage Am i nhad n oclear i dea ofwhat s upport hecould expect from theci vi ls ervi ceorofhowthe coun try wouldtake the coup on cethe i n i ti als hockwasover.Then extweeks howedhi m thatthebulkofthe ci vi ls ervi cewas behi n d hi m , an dthatthe coun try asawholewaswell-di s pos ed tothe chan ge ofrule.The n eedtous etheex-m i n i s ters fell away, an dacabi n et com pos edm ai n ly oftechn ocrats was s worn i n on Fe- bruary 5.Mean whi le Am i n cam e un der s tron g pres s ure from s everal s ources- the group ofs oldi erswhohad helped hi mi nthe coup, certai nprom i n en t ci vi li an s , an d perhapsals oextern alelem en ts(the Bri ti s han dthe Is raeli s were alreadybegi n n i n g toli n e up behi n dhi sem bryon i c regi m e)-to look beyon d hi sori gi n alobjec- ti veof m erelyrem ovi n g Obotefrompower. OnFebruary 21, the s am e s oldi erswho had proclai m ed the coup an n oun ced that the n ew govern m en t n o lon ger i n ten ded to act i na caretaker capaci ty, but would rem ai ni n offi ce forfi ve years . (The followi n g day Am i n hi m s elf s ai d ' m uch les sthanfi ve years 'm i ght s uffi ce. Subs equen t govern m en t s tatem en tss ugges ted that i t wasthi n ki n g i nterm softwo years . Inpracti ce, however, an d as s um i n g that the regi m e i sallowed to rem ai ni npower, the s oldi ers , fi ve yearss eem sa m ore reali s ti c m i n i m um ). Mean whi le s tepswere takentoform ali s e the s us pen s i onof poli ti cal acti vi ti esan n oun ced three daysafter the coup, an d Am i nagreed totaketheti tleofPres i den t. Atthes am eti m e the fi rs t reform i s t elem en tsappeared. Then , asn ow, they were very vague: ' We wan t tocleanup thi scoun try i nalli tsas pects ' , Am i nexplai n ed. Whatwasn oteworthy was thati thadtaken fourweeks even for s o m uch to em erge. Lon g beforethedeci s i on was taken toexten dthe govern m en t' s term , the Bugan daproblemwas rai s ed. Theom i s s i on of an y di rect referen ce to Bugan da i n the s oldi ers 'proclam ati onwasun ders tan dablei nvi ew of the arm y' srolei n i tss ubjugati oni n 1966.But i twaspre- ci s ely forthatreas on thatAm i n feltcon s trai n edto con s oli date hi spos i ti onwi th the Bagan da whi le thei r deli - ri umat Obote' soverthrow wass ti ll at a hi gh pi tch. He kn ewthattheeas ewi thwhi chthe coup hadbeeneffected waspartly due to the fact that the i n habi tan tsof Ugan da' sheartlan dhadbeen s o oppos ed toObote' sregi m e asto welcom e an y chan ge. But he als o kn ew that hi s ownpart i nleadi n g theattackon theKabaka' spalace i nMen go i nMay1966, an d the s ubs equen t beha- vi ourofthe arm y i nBugan da, wouldm akehi sregi m e s us pect tothe Bagan da on cethefi rs ten thus i as m di ed down . Accordi n gly, athi s fi rs t pres scon feren ceonJan uary 26, hean n oun ced he would bri n g back from i tsres ti n g place i n Bri tai nthe body ofSi rEdwardMutes a for a cerem on i als tatefun eral.Itwas as hrewd m ove, for on e of the bi tteres t Bagan da gri evan ceshad beenObote' srefus altoalloweven m em ori als ervi cestobeheldi nUgan da at the ti m e of the Kabaka' sdeath. Whi le Am i n ' san n oun cem en t had the des i red effect, i t ram i fi ed beyon d i tsi m m edi ate objecti ve.Man y Bagan da beganto beli eve that the res torati onof thei r ki n gdoman d the i n s ti tuti onofa n ew Kabaka m i ght be i m m i n en t.To curb m oun ti n g Bagan da hys teri a the s oldi ersan n oun ced, i nthei r s tatem en t of February 21, that' there canbe n o returntofeudal ki n gsan d ki n gdom sbecaus e Ugan da i sm archi n g forward n ot backwards ' .The blow wass often - ed whenlater that day Am i n(n ot the s oldi ers ) an n oun ced that the State of Em ergen cy, operati ve i nBugan da s i n ce May 1966 an d i nthe res t of Ugan da s i n ce Decem ber 1969, wasbei n g revoked.Thereafter the govern m en t s tres s ed the i m portan ce ofthefun eral as a ges ture ofn ati on al recon ci li ati on , an da s tron gpropagan dacam pai gnalon g thes eli n es was m oun ted through thelocal pres s . At the en d of March Si r Edward' sbody wasduly return ed an d buri ed i naccordan ce wi th Bagan da cus tomafter fi ve daysofs tate m ourn i n g; the exerci s e wass ki lfully s tage- m an aged, the arm y behaved well, an d n on e of the di s tur- ban ces whi chhadbeenwi delypredi cted m ateri ali s ed. But before i t wasover, the s cen e wass et for the n ext act of the Bagan da' ss truggle for thei r ki n gdom . Si r Edward' s16-year olds on ,Pri n ce Ron ald Mutebi , wasi n s talled asSs abataka (chi ef ofthe Bagan da clanelders ) atacere- m on y at Bam un an i ka, Si rEdward' sfam i lyhom e, the n i ght after the buri al had takenplace.Tradi ti on ally the fun cti on sofSs abataka an d Kabaka are com bi n ed. When Ron aldMutebi (thegovern m en t n o lon ger recogn i s ed hi sti tle) return ed to Ugan da fourm on thslater forhi s s um m er holi days , the govern m en t' si n s i s t- en cethathi s vi s i twas' purely pri vate'di dn ot preven t s om e 30,000 Bagan da gatheri n g at the ai rport an d li n i n g theroute alon g whi chhe pas s ed. Theadulati onthey s howered on hi m tes ti fi estoObote' s lackofs ucces si ndem ythi fyi n g the Kabakas hi p. Three dayslater, Am i nm et Bagan da eldersi ncon feren ce i nKam pala, an d wastold blun tly that the Bagan da wan ted the ki n gdomback.It wasclearly a ques ti onhe had beenexpecti n g- Pri n ce Mutebiwasat hi ss i de an d arran gem en tshad beenm ade totelevi s e the proceedi n gs . But he fluffed hi san s - wer.Onthe on e han d he s ai d, qui te jus ti fi ably, that the Bagan da s hould reali s e the govern m en t had other n o les spres s i n g problem soni tshan ds , an d there wasli ttle tobe gai n ed by m aki n g the ki n gdoma burn i n g i s s ue.But ontheother he i n vi ted the Bagan da tos ubm i t am em oran - dumon the ques ti onwhi ch he wouldcon s i der wi ththe cabi n et an d the defen ce coun ci l. By s o doi n g he n ot on ly reopen ed am atter whi ch,offi ci ally at leas t, hadbeenclos ed, butas s um ed pers on al res pon s i bi li ty for whatever deci s i onm i ghteven tually be taken -s om ethi n g whi ch un ti l thenhe had beencareful toavoi d. The n ext day Am i n tri ed to recoup bydeclari n g that the ques ti onwastoo i m portan t to be deci ded by hi m s elf alon e, an d thatacon feren ceof delegatesfrom alldi s - tri cts wouldbecalledtodi s cus s i t.Butthe Bagan da retai n ed the i m pres s i onthatthean s wer lay i n Am i n ' shan ds .Hi swi lli n gn es stohave the i s s ue di s cus s ed i n di - cated he had n orooted objecti ontoa res torati on , thei r argum en t wen t. It i spos s i ble to m ake a cas e for allowi n g the i n s ti tuti onofan em as culatedKabakaan dtheform ati on ofani m poten t Luki i ko (the Bagan da ' parli am en t'of elders )- thes es eemtobe the Bagan da' sm i n i m umdem an ds -asthe pri ce of defus i n g thei r un derlyi n g des i re for the form al res torati onof Bugan da' sdi s ti n cti ve cultural i den ti ty. A pos s i blecoun terwei ght tothe res urgen ce ofcultural arrogan ce whi ch would followons uch a m ove m i ght be, asDr.Mazruihass ugges ted, the elevati onofSwahi liasUgan da' ss econ d n ati on al lan guage. But evena li m i ted 49 TRANSITION40 con ces s i on ofthi s ki n dwouldbea retrograde s tep, i nthat i t would m ake m ore di ffi cult the even tual de-es cala- ti onof the i n ter-tri bal ten s i on sto whi ch the Bagan da are party. Why Am i nlai d hi m s elf opento the i n evi table Bagan da attack atati m ewhenfeeli n gswere run n i n g hi gh over Pri n ce Ron ald' sreturni s n otclear. Certai n ly i thasbe- com eon eofhi sfavoured techn i questous e con feren cesofthi ski n d asa s afety-valve for the ai ri n g of gri evan ces ; s om eti m esthe con feren ce i sthe en d i ni ts elf an d n o other s tepsaretaken .Buti n thi s cas ehe m i ght havebeenexpected to put offacon fron tati onun ti l em oti on shad cooled,parti cularly s i n ce an ychan ge i n thes tatusquo couldn ot m ean i n gfully be i m plem en ted un ti lthere- s um pti onof poli ti cal acti vi ty i n 18 m on thsti m e. On e li n e of s peculati oni s thathefelthi m s elfun der pres s ure becaus eofthe deteri orati n grelati on s hi p between the Bagan da an d the arm y. As he puti t, the Bagan da had beguns ayi n g ' bad thi n gs 'abouthi stroops . 1 The Bagan da-arm yrelati on s hi p owes m uchtothe ki lli n gsan d gratui tousvi olen cewhi chs ucceededthe Kabaka' sfli ght i n 1966.Onthe on e han d thes e gave the Bagan da s peci al reas on sfor hos ti li ty tothe m i li tary, but oh theother they en abled themto percei ve whatother Ugan dan s fai ledtos ee-thetruen ature ofthe arm y' sroleun der Obote' sregi m e. It wasObote asm uch asthe arm y thatthe Bagan da blam ed for the brutali ty of 1966, an d i t wasagai nObotewhomthey blam edfor looti n g, ci vi li anharas s m en t, an d the other hazardswhi ch follow- ed from the arm y' slack of di s ci pli n e. Other Ugan dan s , lacki n g Bagan da experi en ce, fai led tom ake s uch a di rect con n ecti onbetweenarm y an d govern m en t un ti l the i den - ti ty of the two wases tabli s hed by the coup. On ly thendi d arm yi n di s ci pli n e becom ea poten ti al s ourceofan ti - govern m en t feeli n g at a n ati on al level, an d the s tate of the arm y gen erally am atterof param oun t i m portan ce. Duri n g the takeover i ts elf the arm y behaved well. Very few ci vi li an sdi ed, an d m an y of thos e at ci vi li an s 'han ds . Non -vi cti m i s ati on was theoffi ci al poli cy, an don cethe i n i ti al fi ghti n g wasover evenLan gioffi cerss uffered les sthanm i ght have beenexpected. The s oldi ers '18 poi n tsappeared tofocus atten ti on m oreon the pers on sof Obote an d Aken a Adokoan d Akorokoro Coun ty, thanthe Lan gipeople. Tri bali s mwasn otani m portan t ele- m en t i nthe early s tagesof the coup. Am i n hi m s elfs truckthefi rs t jarri n g n otewhen he explai n ed, at the pres scon feren ce onJan uary26, how the coup had com e about.Obotehad gi venorders that all troops except thos efromLan go an dAcholi s houldbe di s arm ed, he s ai d.The coup had beeneffected to preven t thi staki n g place. Such a s tatem en t m i ght have beenexpected to provoke i m m edi ate m as ski lli n gsof Lan gian d Acholi offi cers .It di dn otfortworeas on s : fi rs tly, Am i nput forward thi svi ew of the coup on ly on ce at that ti m e-lateran d earli er s tatem en ts , far froms ugges ti n g Acholi -Lan gicollabora- ti on , referred to thei r m utual en m i ty; s econ dly, atten ti onwass oonafterwardsdi s tracted fromthe i n tern al pos i ti onby rum oursof anextern al threat i nthe s hape of ani n va- s i onby troopsfromTan zan i a or the Sudan .But whi le n o pogrom followed, hi s clai m ali en atedtheAcholi an d created i nthema s en s e of i n s ecuri ty. At the s am e i t rei n - forced Lan gifearsthat thei r dayswere n um bered. TheLan gi wereawkwardlyplacedfrom thes tart. Lan gioffi cershadledthes hort-li ved oppos i ti ontothe coup. Obote' sattem ptsto pack theoffi cer corpswi th Lan gihad created wi des pread res en tm en t am on g other tri bes -i twasto thi sthat the s oldi ers 'proclam ati onrefer- red wheni t s poke oftri bal m an i pulati oni n the arm y. An dthe very factthatAm i n n arrowed res pon s i bi li ty forthem i s takes ofthe pas t on toObotean dAken a Adoko, whi le s eem i n g toabs olve fromblam e theother prom i n en t fi guresi n theUPC govern m en t, expos ed the Lan gito the pen alti esof collecti ve gui lt. Thi slas t factor m i ght n ot have beeni m portan t had Obote accepted hi soverthrow qui etly. But hi sattem ptsfromDar esSalaamtoun derm i n e Ugan da' si n tern ati on al s tan di n g an dthe s us pi ci onthat he m i ght als o be plan n i n g tous e Ugan danguerri llasfor anattack onthe n ew govern m en t, s teadi ly i n creas ed an ti -Lan gifeeli n g. Aton e s tage Am i nopen ly warn ed that Obote wasreckles s ly en dan geri n g the s afety ofhi sfellow tri bes m enby the s tan d he had taken . By March Lan gioffi cerswere des erti n g i nappreci able n um bers .Toales s erexten tAcholi were goi n gtoo, partly becaus e of Am i n ' searly s tatem en t i m pli cati n g themi nthe alleged di s arm am en t plan , an d partly becaus e of a gen eral ups urge i n i n ter-tri bal ten s i on wi thi n the arm y. The hi gh proporti onof Acholitroopsi nthe arm ed forcesan dthei r am bi guous relati on s hi p wi ththe Lan gihad beena s ource of fri cti onlon g before the coup. Now how- ever i twasleadi n g toi n term i tten t ki lli n gs . As ten s i oni n creas ed betweenUgan da an d Tan zan i a an d the Sudan ; an dthethreatof guerri lla i n curs i on swas taken m ore s eri ous ly,troopsfromother tri besbegantolookonthe Lan gian d Acholi -an dthelatter i nparti cular, becaus e of thei r reputati onasgoodfi ghters-as a poten ti al fi fth colum n .The as s um pti onthat they were des erti n g to joi nthe guerri lla caus e led tom ore ki lli n gs , i n turnleadi n g to m ore des erti on s .Whi le the arm y asa whole i n creas ed i n s i zeas ares ult ofarecrui tm en t cam pai gnlaun ched i m m edi ately after the coup, the offi cer corpscon tracted. Di s ci pli n e beganto break downn ot on ly wi thi nthe arm y, butbetween the arm y an dtheci vi li anpopulati on . Ci vi li anharas s m en t, looti n g, rape an dm urder occurred all too frequen tly aroun d garri s ontown s . Am i n ' s fai lure toact deci s i vely i n thi sdeteri orati n g s i tuati oni sn ot eas y to explai n . Hi si n acti onan d the re- s urrecti onof the tri bal accoun t of the coup m ay go s om e way towardsexplai n i n gwhy thefi rs t large-s cale tri bal fi ghti n g wi thi n the arm y broke outatati m ewhen the putati ve guerri lla threat, an d hen ce the pres s ure ofs us - pi ci ononAcholian d Lan gitroops , had alm os t com plete- ly receded. Altern ati vely i tcan be argued thatthe very reces s i onof the extern al threat cleared the way for i n ter- n als tri fe.Inan yeven t, on Jun e 8Am i n declared that guerri lla i n fi ltrati onwas n o lon ger a problem . Afew dayslater he an n oun ced that Ugan dantroopshad beenwi thdrawnfrompatrolli n g the Tan zan i anborder.An d onJun e 24 a reported 150offi cers an d m enof the Mbara- ra-bas ed Si m babattali on were ki lledi navi olen t tri bal clas h.Mos tof the dead were Acholi . TheMbarara fi ghti n g wasqui ckly followed by the res urrecti onof the extern al threat.Am i nan n oun ced onJuly 3 he waspos tpon i n g a plan n ed State Vi s i t toMalawibecaus e of guerri lla acti vi ty alon g the Ugan da-Tan zan i anborder, whi ch, i twasclai m ed, had cos t670 li vesi nthe previ ousfi vem on ths .Thi s was thefi rs tm en ti on of govern m en t troops bei n g ki lled i nthat part of Ugan da. Four days later, he an n oun ced theclos ure of Ugan da' sborderswi th Rwan da an d Tan zan i a.Then , on July11, 50 TRANSITION 40 Kam pala he left the coun try for the fi rs t ti m e s i n ce the coup to pay a weeklon g pri vate vi s i t toBri tai nan d Is rael. Hoursafter hi sdeparture trouble broke out at Moroto. By m i dn i ght there wasfi ghti n g at Ji n ja an d Magam aga, whi chlater s pread toMas i n di an d Moyo. At Ji n ja i t con ti n ued un ti l July 14; els ewhere i t wasles sdrawnout. Followi n g thes e clas hesthere wasa s i gn i fi can t i m pro- vem en t i nthe arm y' sm orale. Why? Two pos s i ble li n esof thought s ugges t them s elves .Ei ther i t wasbecaus e the vas t m ajori ty of Lan gian dAcholi offi cershad by n ow des erted or beeneli m i n ated, an d the i m m edi ate caus e for tri bal facti on ali s m hadthus been rem oved.Ori twasbecaus eofs om eacti on Am i n hadtaken .Si n cethe Mbarara i n ci den t, Am i n hass poken frequen tly ofthe n eed to i m prove di s ci pli n e an ds oldi er-ci vi li ancoopera- ti on , an di n s om es peecheshasals oreferred di rectly to tri bali s m .But whi le he appearsto com m an d the pers on al loyalty ofthe m ajori ty ofhi stroops , the effecti ven es sof thes e verbal appealsi sdi ffi cult to judge. Eveni f them os t obvi ous s ource oftri bal fri cti onhasn ow beenrem oved, i t would be fooli s h to preten d that the poten ti al forfurther tri bal flare-upsn o lon ger exi s ts . Am i ni sprobably ri ght i nregardi n g the i m provem en t of di s ci pli n e asthe m os t practi cal way of con tai n i n g i t an d atthes am eti m e curbi n g n on -tri bal arm y lawles s n es s . The latter could becom e a m ore pres s i n g problemasan d whenUgan da' sextern al relati on si m prove. Hei s als o ri ght i naccordi n g thi s tas kthe hi ghes tpri ori ty i n hi si m m edi ate program m e: as anexam ple oftheharmanun con trolled arm y cando, the even tsofthe early 1960si nn ei ghbouri n gCon go-Ki n s has a aretoorecen t tobe i gn ored. Pres en t i n di cati on sare thatAm i n i stackli n g i n di s ci - pli n e onthree fron ts : by reorgan i s i n g the pres en t m i li tary s tructure;byi m provi n gexi s ti n garm y barracks -s ub- s tan dardan dovercrowdedfor m an yyears -an dby bui ldi n g four n ew on esto accom m odate the expan s i onof the arm y s i n ce the coup; an d by laun chi n g, m ai n ly wi th Bri ti s h help, am as s i ve trai n i n g program m e to. bui ld up afres h aneffecti ve offi cer corps . There i s li ttle poi n t i ntryi n g to s peculate at thi ss tage how s ucces s ful thes e m ea- s ureswi ll be, orhow lon g they wi ll take tohave effect. Butthe Con goexperi en ce i sagai nn oti rrelevan t: 51 TRANSITION40 although the Ugan dan arm y i svery far from the an archy of the Con goles earm y i n1963, i t hastakenei ght yearsfor orderto be res toredto the Con go' s m i li tarym achi n e, an d evenn ow i t i sclos ely watched by Gen eralMobutu. It m ay take m uch les sti m e thanthat i nUgan da, but there wi ll be n o overn i ght tran s form ati on .An d i nthe m ean ti m e there i s the problemof m on ey: the cri ti cal s tate of the Ugan dan econ om y. Inthei rfi rs t proclam ati on , the s oldi ers werecon cern ed on ly wi th thos e econ om i c gri evan ceswhi chwereheld by the ordi n ary m an . They con dem n ed Dr.Obote' secon om i c poli ci esfor bri n gi n ghi gherun em ploym en t an d hards hi psto wage-earn ers , an d deplored the hi gh level an d di vers i ty of taxati on , the low pri cespai d for cas h crops , an d the hi gh rateof i n flati on .Inthei rs econ ds tate- m en t, onFebruary21,they rei terateds om e ofthes e com plai n tsan d as kedthe govern m en t to put the econ om y ' ona s oun d bas i s .'InApri l the Ban k of Ugan da called for the tai lori n g of publi c an d pri vate expen di ture to avai lable res ources an d a poli cy s tatem en tonpri vate s ector i n ves tm en tan d the role ofn on -ci ti zen s(i .e. the As i anCom m un i ty). Afri can sen gaged i n com m erce reques tedgovern m en t as s i s tan ceto m axi m i s ethei rrole at the expen s e of As i antraders . The IMF advi s eda dras ti c an di m m edi atereducti on i ngovern m en texpen di ture. The govern m en t' sfi rs tm oveswere, un ders tan dably, to try to rem oves om e of the s ources of popular econ om i c di s con ten tto whi chthe s oldi ers had alluded. Pri ce con - trols were i m pos ed ona wi de ran ge of bas i c com m odi ti es , an d the export ofcertai nfood cropswasban n ed to allevi ate s hortages .However, thes e m eas ures were vi ti a- ted by hoardi n g an d the developm en t ofa blackm arket. Later the i rri tati n g but relati velyun i m portan tdevelop- m en ttax wass crapped. OnMay 1, the an n i vers ary of Obote' s an n oun cem en t ofthe 60/40 n ati on ali s ati onform ula, Gen eral Am i nan n oun cedwhat purported to be Ugan da' sn ew econ o- m i c poli cy. Pri vatei n ves tm en twouldbe welcom ed except i n afew key s ectorswhere the govern m en tthought i t es s en ti alto m ai n tai n a m on opoly, an d the 60/40 form ula would be replacedby a 49/51 arran gem en t whi chwould be appli ed, n ot to the 80-odd com pan i esli s ted by Obote, but toa s elect group of18 con cern s . At the ti m e the m ove washai led asa s i gnof flexi bi li ty; what wasn ot poi n ted outwasthatthe econ om y, whi le n o lon ger m ovi n g i nthe di recti on i nwhi ch Obote had poi n tedi t, had becom eai m les s . The old poli cy wasbei n g di s m an - tled butn o n ew thi n ki n g had replaced i t. Inthe cas e of the As i ancom m un i ty, therewasn o old poli cy to di s m an tle-as i tuati on whi ch m i ght have beenexpected to m ake the form ulati on of a n ew poli cy that m uch m ore urgen t. Yet n o clari fi cati on of the pos i ti onof n on -ci ti zen s hasbeenforthcom i n gthough Am i nhasordereda n ew cen s us of As i an s . In s teads everal govern - m en t m i n i s ters have attackedAs i an sasexploi tersof the i n di gen ouspopulati on . Thes e attackshave n oten - couraged As i an i n ves tm en t.Nei therhaveAfri can tradershad m orethanverbalcom fortan d en couragem en t. The en couragem en t of pri vate i n ves tm en twasreferred toat len gth i nthe budget s peech ofFi n an ce Mi n i s ter Em m an uel Wakhweya i nJun e. But the budget i ts elfn ot on ly con tai n edn o n ew i n cen ti ves to pri vate i n ves tm en t -i n vi ew ofthe govern m en t' s li m i ted opti on son re- Ourn am ei sGhan aPanElectri cLi m i ted Butyoucan callus GPEL for s hort. Weareelectri cals peci ali s tsWeofferyoueverythi n gelectri c - Hi gh quali tyequi pm en t Otvari ous un i ts .m odels an ds i zesA com prehen s i veran ge. Fluores cen t Fi tti n gs an dTubesFloodli ghts Swi tchgearFan sRadi ogram sRecord Players Gas an dElectri cCookersRefri gerators DeepFreezers .Kettles WaterHeatersAi r Con di ti on ers Wecan ' tm en ti on them all But wecans upplythem all Sowhen youcom etoGPEL yougeteverythi n g electri c;un deron eroof.fromon es peci ali s t. Ghan aPanElectri cLi m i ted An ddon ' t forgetours plen di ds ervi ce Wei n s tal,repai r an ds ervi ce. Youwi ll agreethen . It pays tocom etoGPEL For everythi n gelectri c I (ANAPANELETICLIMTEDI curren taccoun t that wastobe expected-but actually 52 I_--__ TRANSITION40 i n cludedtwo di s i n cen ti ves .The i n troducti on of a wi th- holdi n g tax onprofi tsrem i ttedovers eas m ade Ugan da a con s i derably les sattracti ve i n ves tm en t area, whi le the i n troducti on ofas i m i lar taxon bus i n es scon s ultan cy s ervi ces m ean tthat en terpri s eswhi chwi s hedto m akeus e of s uchs ervi ces wouldhaveto pay con s i derably m ore for them . The budget wasdi s appoi n ti n g i nother ways . Whi le Wakhweyas poke of aus teri ty an d ' dras ti ccuts 'i nm i n i s - teri al votes , the total draft recurren tan d developm en t expen di ture es ti m ates were both hi gher thanthos e ap- proved i n1970,largely due to i n creas eddefen ce expen di - ture. The 50 per cen t i n creas ei nrecurren tdefen ceex- pen di ture doesn o m ore thanreflectthe i n creas ei nthe s i zeof the arm ed forces , butthe s am ecan n otbe s ai dof the threefoldi n creas e i n the defen ce developm en tbudget. At a ti m e whenthe govern m en t haspledged i tsdeterm i - n ati onon ly to putm on ey i n to di rectly producti ve develo p m en t projects , thi sn on -producti ve i temaccoun tsfor 28 per cen t ofall projecteddevelopm en t expen di ture. Gen eralAm i nhass ai d that m os t of the defen ce developm en tbudget wi llbe s pen t locally oni m provi n g an d expan di n g barracks .Si n ce thi sappearsto be a prerequi s i te for curbi n gi n di s ci pli n e an d rai s i n g arm y m orale, there canbe n o quarrel wi th i t; a s table m i li tary s i tuati on i sas i n e qua n onfor econ om i c pro- gres s , an d to achi evei t the tem porary s acri fi ceof ortho- dox developm en ti s jus ti fi able. ButAm i n hasals o s pokenof re-equi ppi n g the arm y wi th m odernweapon ry, an d hass en t m i li tary m i s s i on s to s everal Europeancoun tri esto i n ves ti gatepos s i ble s ourcesof s upply. Des i rable though thi sm ay be froma m i li tarys tan dpoi n t, i t can n ot be jus ti fi ed i n term sof Ugan da' spres en t forei gnex- chan gepos i ti on . By Jun e of thi syear, Ugan da' s forei gnres erves had fallen to about half thei rlevel of n i n e m on thsprevi ous ly, an d were s uffi ci en tto cover les sthanthree m on thsi m - ports . Wi tha s m allervi s i bletrade s urplusforecas ti nthe com i n gm on ths ,con ti n ui n ghi ghgovern m en texpen di ture an d a hi gh level of publi c s ector con tractor-fi n an ci n g, the res erves s eemcertai ntoweaken .Ifthe govern m en t' spres en tpoli ci es con ti n ue, m eas ures of s uch s everi tym ay ulti m ately have to be res ortedto that forei gni n ves tm en t wi ll be further di s couraged. The lack of a coheren tecon om i c poli cy an d the pro- blem s as s oci atedwi th the Ugan daarm y are n ot the on ly obs tacles i nthe way of econ om i c progres s . Ci vi li an law- les s n es s an d the hi gh i n ci den ceof arm ed robbery(kon - doi s m ) are als o developm en t-i n hi bi ti n g. The prevalen ce of kon doi s m wason e of the 18 poi n tsm en ti on edi nthe s oldi ers 'proclam ati on , an d i t hasbeenanareai nwhi ch Am i n ' sgovern m en t hasm ades om e progres s . A ruthles scam pai gnlaun ched by the arm y i nApri l hasreduced vi olen t cri m e i nci ty cen tresan d wealthy s uburbsto m an ageableproporti on sfor the fi rs tti m ei ns everal years-buti nthe poor s uburbs an d i nm uchof rural Bugan da, parti cularly i nareasadjacen t to Kam pala, les si um pes s i onhasbeen m ade. Am on g the peculi arlyUgan dancaus esof the cri m e explos i oni nthe las t yearsof Obote' sregi m e werelack of con fi den cei nthe poli ceforce, whi chwascorrupt, un der- m an n edan d un der-equi pped;len gthydelaysi njudi ci al proces s ; the exam ple of arm yi n di s ci pli n e; the exam ple of corrupti on bypoli ti cal an d bus i n es sleaders ; an d the poli ti cal an d s oci al frus trati on an d deraci n ati on of the Let' sgo DUTCH! The way theDutch do; whi chm ean sdri n ki n g Dutch an d bei n g parti cular abouti t, whi chm ean sdri n ki n g- BOLS Becaus eBolspeoplearevery parti culartoo An dhavebeen foralm os t400yearsSo en joy B 0L S productsan d you' llwan tto goDutch, agai n , an d agai n . 53 I TRANSTION40 Bagan da after the des tructi onof thei r tradi ti on al i n s ti tu- ti on si n 1966.Am i nhasprom i s ed to revi tali s e the poli ce force, an d aswi th the arm y Bri tai ni sexpected to provi de trai n i n g as s i s tan ce an d perhapsals o equi pm en t. Som e i m provem en t hasalready beenn oti ceable, an d i nrecen t weeksthere have beenpoli cem enonthe beat i nKam pala, where previ ous ly there were n on e.Lack of res ourcesm ay delay the tran s form ati onof the force i n to a fully effecti ve un i t; the poli cebudgetpubli s hed i n Jun ewass li ghtly lowerthan thatforlas t year. The rejuven ati onofthe judi ci ary, als o un derm an n edan d tai n ted by allegati on sof corrupti on , has beenput i n the charge oftheform er Pri m e Mi n i s ter an d ex-detai n ee, BenKi wan uka, whomAm i nappoi n tedActi n g Chi efJus ti ce-am ovewhi ch i n ci den tally won hi mwi des pread s upport am on g form er m em bersof Ki wan uka' sDem ocrati c Party. Corrupti onwasdi s cus s ed at len gth i nthe s oldi ers 'pro- clam ati on , n ots om uchbecaus ei t en couraged lawles s - n es sbut rather asanevi l i ni ts elf. Corrupti ons tem m i n g frompoli ti cal acti vi ti es an dfrom theGen eralServi ce Un i t wasen ded by the s us pen s i onof on e an d the di s s olu- ti on of the other. Shortly after the coup Am i nan n oun - ced the s us pen s i on softhechai rm enofthes tate-own ed Nati on al Tradi n gCorporati onan dCoffee Marketi n g Board an d the appoi n tm en tsof s eparate com m i s s i on sof i n qui ry to i n ves ti gate thes etwobodi es an d corrupti ongen erally. Thecom m i s s i on s wi lln ot begi nworkun ti l later thi syear, an d un ti l they do the prom i s ed ' cleanup'i sun li kely tom ateri ali s e.In them ean ti m e Am i n has ex- pan ded thedefi n i ti onof corrupti ontoi n clude s lacki n g: were thecom m i s s i on s totakeas i m i lar vi ew,Ugan da' spubli c s ervi ce-li kethos eofm os tothercoun tri es - would be deci m ated, Mores eri ous i s thecurren t un certai n ty wi thi n the Eas t Afri canCom m un i ty. Far fromrecti fyi n g the alleged i s olati on i s tten den ci es oftheObote regi m e, ofwhi ch thes oldi ers 'proclam ati on com plai n ed, Am i n has com - pleted Ugan da' si s olati onfromon e EAC partn er s tate by clos i n g the Ugan da-Tan zan i a border. But i tseffect hasbeentos low developm en t n ot on ly i nUgan da, but i nthe Eas t Afri canregi onasa whole. The res torati onof fun dam en tal freedom sto Ugan dan shas n otbeen a problemtoAm i n ' sregi m e i n thes am e s en s e as the arm y, Bugan da orthe econ om y an dalli tsram i fi cati on s .Yet the govern m en t hasdon e m ore i nthi sarea than i n alm os t an y other i n i ts fi rs t s i xm on ths of power.On ly i non e res pect hasi t fai led toli ve up toi tsori gi n al i n ten ti on s , an d that i si nthe m atter of deten ti onwi thout tri al. The s oldi ersli s ted three s ourcesof popular com plai n t: the con ti n uati onof the State of Em ergen cy; lack of free- domof expres s i onan d as s oci ati on ; an d ' the un warran ted deten ti on wi thouttri alan dfor lon gperi odsofa large n um ber of people, m an y of whomare totally i n n ocen t of an ycharges .'TheStateof Em ergen cy was li ftedfour weeksafter the coup, the m ajori ty of poli ti cal detai n eeshavi n g beenreleas ed m uch earli er. The regulati on sfor treati n g n ewdetai n ees haven ot been fulfi lledwi thi n threem on ths ofthe legi s lati oncom i n g i n toforce. Ques ti on ed on thi spoi n t, Am i n ' sreply was n ot reas s uri n g.Mi li tary detai n ees would s hortly becourtm arti alled ' i n thefi eld's om e wayaway VOLTALINESLIMITED Ghan a' ss econ d i n di gen ouss hi ppi n g com pan y offerss hi ppersa goldenopportun i ty to fi n d n ew m arkets , to i n creas e your export trade wi th a reli able an d effi ci en tli n er s ervi ce VOLTALINESOPERATE FROMWEST AFRICA TOUNITEDSTATES/CANADIAN PORTS, FROMWEST AFRICA TOTHECONTINENT OF EUROPE, ANDFROMWEST AFRICA TO JAPAN/FAR EASTERN PORTS ANDWEST AFRICA TOTHE MEDITERRANEAN PLEASECONTACTUS FORYOURBOOKINGS HEADOFFICE: Telephon e: 21166;Telex:2066Accra C 180/1, Wes tFarrar Aven ue,Adabraka, P.O.Box 2816, Accra 54 TRANSITION 40 fromKam pala, hes ai d.Hedi dn ot s ay what chargeswould be brought agai n s t themor what would happento n on -m i li tary detai n ees .An dhe could gi ve n oas s uran ce that the proceedi n gswould be opento the pres s .Shortly afterwards , a n ewdeten ti on decree waspubli s hed,per- m i tti n g the govern m en t tohold m i li tary detai n eesfora further threem on ths wi thouttheMi n i s terofIn tern al Affai rsbei n g requi red toi s s ueform al deten ti on ordersagai n s t themashe would otherwi s e have beencom pelled todo by the Maylegi s lati on . Offi ci alss ai dthes hort durati onof the n ew law' seffecti ven es swasani n di cati onthat s om e of the m i li tary detai n eesm i ght s oonbe releas ed. Scepti css aw i tas am ean s of preven ti n g theDeten ti onRevi ew Com m i ttee, whi chcan n ot begi nworkun ti l deten ti on ordershavebeeni s s ued, fromgai n i n g acces sto the m i li tary detai n ees . Wi th thi s on e excepti on ,however, Am i n ' sregi m e hass hown i ts elf un i quely toleran tofcri ti ci s man ddi s s en t. Am i nhi m s elf hasevengon e s o far asto s ay that a govern - m en t wi thout oppos i ti oni sa weak govern m en t. Hehastravelled wi dely,en couragi n g thos ewi thwhom hehascom ei n tocon tacttoai rthei r gri evan cesfran kly, an d m aki n g frequen t us eofelders 'con feren ces toas certai nthe problem sof parti cular tri besan d di s tri cts .The s am e techn i que was us edi n anattem pt toi ron out reli gi ousdi fferen ces wi thi nthe Mos leman d An gli cancom m un i ti esan d i n ter-reli gi ousdi vi s i on s betweenUgan da' ss everal fai ths :i twas n ot com pletelys ucces s ful, butatleas ta s tart was m ade. Tri bal di fferen ces , n otably thes erf-lord di s pute betweenthe Bwam ba/Bakon jo an dBatoro peo- pleshave beengi venthe s am e treatm en t.The argum en t throughout hasbeenthat i t i sbetter to provi de a s afety- valve for di s con ten t thanto s ti fle i t. It wasfor the lack of a s afety-valve, the govern m en t m ai n tai n ed, that Obote' sregi m e fell s o eas i ly; i t doesn ot wan t to go the s am e way. Part ofthe govern m en t' sdi ffi culty has beentofi n d a s ui tablem ean s of i n s ti tuti on ali s i n g theven ti lati on of gri evan ces . Wi th poli ti cal acti vi ti ess us pen ded, parli a- m en t an d di s tri ct coun ci lsdi s s olved, there are few forum savai lable forthedi s cus s i on oflocalorn ati on ali s s ues . Elders 'con feren ceswere foun d n ot to be en ti rely s ati s fac- tory becaus ethe parti ci pan tsweredrawn from too n arrow a s oci al s tratum . As thi s i swri tten , m oves areun der way to es tabli s h throughoutUgan davi llage,s ub-coun ty,coun ty,an d di s tri ctcom m i ttees whos e m em bers hi p wi llbes elected fromall age-groups , reli gi on s , tri besan d form er poli ti cal affi li ati on s .Thei r fun cti onwi ll be to i den ti fy an d di s cus slocal problem san d pres um ably (although thi shasn ot yet beenm ade clear) to forward themtogether wi th s ugges t- i on s forthei rs oluti on tos om e hi gherauthori ty, yet tobe an n oun ced.The res ult s hould be the n on -parti s ann on -poli ti calequi valen t ofthe apparatusofan ati on al poli ti cal party. Si m i lar m oveswere to have beenm ade to dem ocrati s e them ean s of ai ri n ggri evan ceswi thi n the arm y wi ththecreati on ofas o-called m i li taryjun ta, con s i s ti n g often s oldi ersofran ksran gi n g frompri vate tos en i or offi cer drawnfromeach arm y un i t.Thi sbody wastohave had s weepi n g powerstoadvi s e thedefen ce coun ci l an d als o the cabi n et. Evi den tly thi spropos al wascon s i deredtoo radi cal, however, fors i xweeksafter the jun ta wass ai d to have beenform ed i t wasan n oun ced that i thadn otbeen form edat all, thati ts n am ewas a m i s n om er an d that what wasi nfact happen i n g was that m i li tary com m i tteeswere bei n g form ed i n each di s tri ct. Thes ewouldadvi s ethedefen cecoun ci lonproblem srelati n g tothei r areas , an dwouldals ohaveli m i ted advi s ory powersi nregard to the cabi n et. Am i n has als obeenen couragi n g freer debatei n the Ugan da pres s , but s o far wi th li ttle s ucces s .Acom bi n a- ti onof ti m orous n es sonthe part of reportersan d pus i lla- n i m i ty on the part ofthos ewho occupy theedi tori al chai rs has res ulted i ndepres s i n gly li ttle cri ti ci s m , con - s tructi ve or otherwi s e, appeari n g i nUgan dann ews papers . To s om e exten t i t i sun ders tan dablethat thi ss hould be s o. TheObote regi m e s ofrown edoni n depen den topi n i onthat m os t Ugan danjourn ali s tsn ow fi n d i ts exerci s e di ffi - cult, even un n atural.Buti ti s n on etheles sregrettable. Wi th the bes t wi ll i nthe world, n o govern m en t i sgoi n g to con ti n ue i n vi ti n g cri ti ci s mi n defi n i tely. Accoun ti n g the m eri tsan d dem eri tsof govern m en tsi san i n vi di oustas k, evenby s uch a s i m ple cri teri onas' to s ave abad s i tuati onfromgetti n g wors e' . The foregoi n g hasbeenanattem pt to i den ti fy s om e of the areasi nwhi ch Am i n ' sregi m e hass ucceededan dothers i n whi chi thasfai led, an dto deli n eate the m ai nproblem si t n ow faces -the arm y an d the econ om y,m utuallyi n terlocki n gyet atodds -an d them ai n eraof poten ti alcon cern -Bugan da. Am ore con clus i ve evaluati onwi llhave toawai t the com pleti onofthes econ dan dm oredi ffi cult s i xm on ths .l 55