1971 Ugandan coup d'état

Overthrow of president Milton Obote 1971 Ugandan coup d'état the Cold War 1971 1 25 yes Uganda Overthrow of Milton Obote Establishment of the Second Republic of Uganda under Idi Amin Uganda 23px Ugandan government Loyal state institutions Uganda 23px Ugandan putschists Rebel military faction Rebel police faction Supported by:IsraelDowden Richard 16 August 2003 Revealed: How Israel helped Amin to take power https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/revealed-how-israel-helped-amin-to-take-power-100683.html The Independent 22 October 2023 27 October 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231027164827/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/revealed-how-israel-helped-amin-to-take-power-100683.html live Milton Obote(President of Uganda)Basil Kiiza BataringayaOduka Rashid Oduka Ali 14 October 2012 Mwenda Andrew M. Saving president Obote https://www.independent.co.ug/saving-president-obote https://web.archive.org/web/20210411043740/https://www.independent.co.ug/saving-president-obote live 11 April 2021 3 June 2021 The Independent (Uganda) The Independent Publications, Uganda English Kampala, Uganda(Minister of Internal Affairs)Ahmad Oduka(Senior superintendent of police)Suleiman Hussein Idi Amin(Commander of the army)Erinayo Wilson Oryema(Inspector general of police)Juma ButabikaIsaac MaliyamunguWatuwa Timbiti 12 February 2015 Luwum murder: What witnesses said https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1320718/luwum-murder-witnesses live https://web.archive.org/web/20190330121227/https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1320718/luwum-murder-witnesses 30 March 2019 18 December 2018 New Vision Unknown 5,700 soldiers; 5,500 policemen Many Acohli and Lango soldiers murderedCooper Fontanellaz 2015 6 Unknown A military coup d'état overthrew the president of Uganda, Milton Obote, on 25 January 1971. It took place while Obote was attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Singapore, and was staged by Idi Amin, the commander of the Uganda Army at the time.Hebditch David How to Stage a Military Coup: From Planning to Execution Ken Connor Greenhill Books 2005 1-85367-640-3 London 128 For various reasons, relations between Obote and Amin—his army commander—had become insidiously strained. Amin's plot (allegedly under Israeli auspices) was primarily driven by a concern to retain power over the military, hence guaranteeing his own personal survival. After the coup's success, Amin installed himself as president; ruling—until 1979—by decree over an impoverished nation. He is often referred to as one of the most brutal dictators in modern political history. Background Gold Scandal Mengo Crisis Uganda Army (1962–1971) A rift had developed between Amin and Obote, exacerbated by the support Amin had built within the army by recruiting from the West Nile region, 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 overall control of the armed forces, reducing Amin from his position as the military's overall head to that of commanding the army.2 February 1971 General Idi Amin overthrows Ugandan government http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-history-amin.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20070225004054/http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-history-amin.htm 25 February 2007 8 August 2009 British Council The Obote government pursued a policy of African nationalism, which antagonized the British and the Israeli governments, both of which maintained a strong presence in Uganda. Obote supported various independence movements in Southern Africa and opposed British weapons sales to the Apartheid South African government, attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971 in order to address this issue.Mutibwa Phares Uganda since Independence, A Story of Unfulfilled Hopes Africa World Press 1992 0-86543-357-7 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. 73–76 The British government was also opposed to Obote's Move to the Left, a series of socialist-orientated policies that hindered the operations of international corporations; in addition, the British government feared that these initiatives would provoke the departure of the Asian community in Uganda, who were British subjects and would likely emigrate to the United Kingdom, a possibility the UK government was unprepared for.Avirgan Honey 1983 9 Israel initially maintained close relations with Obote's government, and used Uganda as a means to channel support to Anyanya rebels in southern Sudan with the hope of distracting Sudan from supporting Palestine in the Arab–Israeli conflict. In 1969 Jaafar Nimeiry came to power in Sudan via a coup and pledged to end the war in the country. Obote summarily ordered the end of all aid to the Anyanya, troubling the Israeli government.Avirgan Honey 1983 9 Causes Having learned that Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, Amin launched a coup on 25 January 1971, while Obote was attending a Commonwealth summit meeting in Singapore. Army and military police forces loyal to Amin moved to secure strategic positions in and around Kampala and Entebbe.Cooper Fontanellaz 2015 11 The putschists sealed off Entebbe International Airport to prevent Obote's return, and tanks and soldiers patrolled the streets of Kampala and Entebbe. Here, some soldiers loyal to President Obote and members of the General Service Unit resisted the coup forces while some fighting also took place at the Kampala police college. Fierce fighting was reported in Jinja, about 50 mi km flip from Kampala. Obote's residence was surrounded and, major roads were blocked. A nighttime curfew was imposed by the coup forces. Overall, the Obote loyalists were too disorganized to offer an effective resistance, and they were quickly overwhelmed.Cooper Fontanellaz 2015 11 At 4:30 p.m. it was announced that the Army and the police under Amin's leadership had control of the entire country. Some historians have claimed that the British government may have been involved in orchestrating the coup. Obote was a supporter of independence movements in Southern Africa and chose to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971 to oppose British weapons sales to the Apartheid South African government.Mutibwa Phares Uganda since Independence A Story of Unfulfilled Hopes Africa World Press 1992 0-86543-357-7 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.A. 76 The decision was taken at the meeting to allow the British government to proceed with the arms sale, but the issue threatened to split apart the Commonwealth.23 January 1971 1971: Britain allowed to sell arms to S Africa https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/23/newsid_2795000/2795585.stm 25 February 2021 BBC 16 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200816222904/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/23/newsid_2795000/2795585.stm live However, recent scholarship has cast a great deal of doubt upon claims of British involvement; evidence is scant, with accusations implicating the British government relying upon dubious interrogation testimony and the (at times) implicative mere behaviour of the Foreign Office after the fact.Aldrich 2020 1112–1113 Uganda radio broadcasts accused the Obote government of corruption and said the army believed Obote's policies result in violence and accused him of giving preferential treatment to certain regions of the country. The broadcast was reportedly met with cheering crowds in the capital.1971 1971: Idi Amin ousts Uganda president BBC https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/25/newsid_2506000/2506423.stm 4 June 2018 10 June 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180610110441/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/25/newsid_2506000/2506423.stm live After having seized control of the government, Amin moved to purge the military of political rivals, and orchestrated the murder of Langi soldiers (Obote's tribe) and their Acholi cousins. By 1972, about 5,000 of them had been killed.Cooper Fontanellaz 2015 6 Aftermath As he consolidated his power as military dictator, Amin ordered numerous purges against suspected opponents, resulting in an estimated 300,000 Ugandans murderedLeopold Mark Introduction 2021-01-05 Idi Amin 1–23 http://dx.doi.org/10.12987/yale/9780300154399.003.0001 2024-06-26 Yale University Press 10.12987/yale/9780300154399.003.0001 978-0-300-15439-9 subscription over eight years of Amin's rule. Thousands consequently fled to Tanzania, where they joined Obote's dissidents. With the approval of President of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, these Ugandan exiles formed a small guerilla army, and invaded Uganda in 1972. The popular uprising against Amin they had hoped for failed to materialize, however, and the invasion was defeated. Nevertheless, the conflict resulted in a sharp deterioration of relations between Uganda and Tanzania, which ultimately contributed to the Uganda–Tanzania War and the fall of Amin's regime in 1979.Cooper Fontanellaz 2015 6–7, 11 In popular culture The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1981) opens with the coup.Canby Vincent 1982-03-19 Amin's Rise and Fall https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/19/movies/amin-s-rise-and-fall.html 2025-08-14 The New York Times en 2021-11-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20211111163741/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/19/movies/amin-s-rise-and-fall.html live Vincent Canby The coup is portrayed in the film Last King of Scotland (2006).Tunzelmann Alex von 2009-06-11 The Last King of Scotland: getting away scot-free with genocide https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jun/10/last-king-of-scotland-history 2025-08-14 The Guardian en-GB 0261-3077 2020-01-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20200114210008/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jun/10/last-king-of-scotland-history live See also Second Republic of Uganda References Works cited Avirgan Tony Tony Avirgan Honey Martha Martha Honey War in Uganda: The Legacy of Idi Amin 1983 Tanzania Publishing House 978-9976-1-0056-3 Dar es Salaam Cooper Tom Fontanellaz Adrien Wars and Insurgencies of Uganda 1971–1994 2015 Helion & Company Limited 978-1-910294-55-0 Solihull Aldrich Harriet 2020 Uganda, Southern Sudan and the Idi Amin Coup. The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 48 6 1109–1139 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03086534.2020.1765530 10.1080/03086534.2020.1765530 subscription Coup Category:1970s coups d'état Category:Cold War in Africa Category:1971 conflicts Category:Idi Amin Category:January 1971 in Africa 1971 Category:Milton Obote