Obote orders attack on Kabaka Mutesa II
ON May 24, 1966, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, ordered the invasion of Lubiri (Buganda’s palace) on grounds that the Kabaka, Sir Edward Muteesa II, was planning a rebellion. The kingdom had passed a resolution asking the central government to move away from
OBOTE’S SPEECH
ON May 24, 1966, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, ordered the invasion of Lubiri (Buganda’s palace) on grounds that the Kabaka, Sir Edward Muteesa II, was planning a rebellion. The kingdom had passed a resolution asking the central government to move away from the “soil†of Buganda, which Obote described as “rebellion against the authority and oneness of Uganda.â€
Obote suspended the 1962 Constitution and declared himself president. Below is the statement Obote delivered to Parliament the next day, in defence of his actions.
Members are already aware of the State of Emergency declared by Government on Monday, May 23, 1966. It is my duty, Mr. Speaker, to inform the House that there has been an open declaration of rebellion by the Buganda Lukiiko and by Sir Edward Mutesa. Last Friday (May 20, 1966), the Lukiiko passed a resolution to the effect that the Government of Uganda should remove itself from the soil of Buganda.
On receiving news of this resolution, Government acted promptly and published a considered view in which it was made absolutely clear not only to Lukiiko but to everyone inside and outside Uganda that this country shall remain one; under one administration, one Parliament of which honourable members now assembled are the elected representatives; and that Buganda remains an integral part of Uganda. That view went to express the point that Government would consider fully the resolution passed by the Lukiiko and take necessary action.
The resolution passed had been proposed previously in the Lukiiko and opinion inside that body was overwhelmingly against passing such a resolution. Government is, however, now in possession of documentary — and I stress that word “documentary†— evidence that Sir Edward Mutesa was already decided by the 12th of April, 1966, to mount a full scale rebellion against the authority and the oneness of Uganda.
The method by which this rebellion was to be executed was three fold: First, Sir Edward carried out abortive appeals to African states to assure him of diplomatic recognition and moral support as the head of a state, which does not exist (laughter), called Buganda. He sent emissaries to seek diplomatic recognition and moral support for the province of Buganda, which, in his view, would then secede from Uganda.
As all honourable members know, Buganda forms an integral part of the sovereign state of Uganda. These moves by themselves do constitute an act of treason, punishable under the laws passed by this Parliament.
I will soon be getting in touch with the countries, particularly in Africa, who were approached by Sir Edward Mutesa to assure them that, as in their own countries, government must be based on the will of the people and not the whims of one man who happens to occupy a position, because of the position or status his ancestors occupied in society in the past.
I want to remind every honourable member in this House that we do not sit here because of the positions of our fathers or mothers, or because of the positions of our grandfathers or great-grandfathers. (Hear, hear!). I want to make this absolutely clear to the African states who have been approached, particularly to our neighbours.
I will make the same point to countries outside Africa who were approached by the same Sir Edward Mutesa, who must have been living in the Stone Age where family was important in political considerations. This is the era of nationalism. If someone wants to sit in the Stone Age and refuses to move into the age of nationalism, when he runs into trouble, that trouble is not of our making; it is trouble personal to him.
Having said so much, I want to go to the second line, which Sir Edward wanted to pursue in promoting a rebellion. Attempts were made by those chiefs in the Lukiiko to get the whole Lukiiko to pass such a resolution, but it did not succeed.
Here again, the House must note the desperate desire of Sir Edward to commit the Lukiiko, to commit the people of Buganda, to a line of thinking which was purely his own and without any shred of evidence that it was supported by the people of Buganda as a whole.
I want this House to realise that Sir Edward has never addressed any political rally anywhere in Uganda since he was born in 1924 (laughter). Sitting in a palace surrounded by hangers-on, he was never in a position to know the current thoughts of the people, and I say this irrespective of whatever the Baganda may emotionally say about Kabakaship.
Yet Sir Edward thought he understood the people and he wanted Buganda to secede, Buganda to be a separate state and all of us to move away from Buganda. I want to say this for posterity: Uganda Government, Uganda Parliament, are here to stay (hear, hear). A UPC MP shouts, “We shall die here.†The second leg of the strategy was to get into the Lukiiko Chambers a gang of hooligans whose duty it was to shout down any member of the Lukiiko who dared to speak against the motion.
The hooligans were conducting the deliberations of the Lukiiko from the gallery (laughter). The hooligans, we now have information, were paid by the money which all of us, honestly, would have believed to have gone for either economic or social services in Buganda. Mr. Speaker, I have just heard the Hon. Mr. [Boniface] Byanyirna, the member for Ankole North East in this sovereign Parliament, remarking that the removal of the Government and the Parliament from Buganda could not possibly mean the removal of the opposition.
Sir, this is not the time, I had not worked out how I could answer a point of this kind, but I will think about it. I will answer it when I get to Ankole North East (laughter). In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the Hon. Mr. Byanyima and assure the voters in Ankole North East, that Mr. Byanyima was never elected to sit at Bulange (laughter). If, of course, the Hon. Mr. Byanyima wants to represent Ankole’s interests in the Bulange, we would be happy for him to go there and to be conducted by the hooligans from the gallery (laughter).
It is my hope that every honourable member here assembled shall support the Government fully in actions it has taken to deal with rebellion and acts of lawlessness, and to ensure stability and tranquillity in the country. It is the determination of the Government to deal rigorously with all incidents of lawlessness, violence, intimidation and incitement to violence.
It is for this purpose that arrangements have now been made and will continue to be examined and brought up-to-date to enable the security forces to suppress all lawless activities and to bring the situation back to normal. In this context, the security forces have been empowered to control the situation within the power of the Emergency Regulations and these include arrest without a warrant. It is within the context of the Emergency Regulations that the security forces yesterday brought under their control all the palaces of the Kabaka.
All the palaces as from yesterday are now under the effective occupation of the security forces. Arms, ammunition and weapons of various makes and calibre were captured in these palaces. I am now fully satisfied, as well as my colleagues in Government, that persons in Mengo, including Sir Edward Mutesa as their leader, have for a long time, even before the beginning of this year - I stress that - before the beginning of 1966, been planning for an insurrection and for the control of Uganda as a whole.
It is for this reason that we are now, as a Government, fully determined to bring under control all the rebellious elements that have brought this misery to innocent people. I have given you a full statement; it is up to you to give the necessary support. You have a big responsibility; all of us have a big responsibility.
How the Kabaka escaped Idi Amin’s raid on the palace
By Ben Okiror
Sir Edward Mutesa’s escape from the palace during the raid, marked the beginning of a strenuous journey to London, via Congo, Burundi and Belgium. In his own narrative, contained in chapter one of his book, Desecration of my Kingdom, Mutesa said he had anticipated the attack on his palace since there were some telling signs immediately before it happened. “We had been suspecting such a move for weeks, and I myself had been surprised when nothing happened the previous evening,†he wrote. “Low-flying Tiger jets had passed over us all the week before, presumably taking photographs on which the Army could base tactical decisions.†Mutesa also described how some of his subjects had assembled round the palace a day before but dispersed when the Police fired at them. Moreover, his three most loyal and powerful chiefs were also arrested that same day, a move, he said, was meant to stop them from coming to his aid. Inside his room, Mutesa quickly dressed up in a shirt, trousers, a pullover and boots. He strapped on a belt with a heavy automatic (pistol) in a holster, grabbed a carbine (gun) and dashed into the dark garden to look for the commander of his guard. After collecting a few men, he moved with them towards the western part of his palace, with an aim of defending one of the four gates – Nalongo Gate, but were not able to do it. Before reaching there, they saw three people peeping into a half-opened doorway and they shot one dead, causing the others to take off. After watching in rage, his rooms being ransacked and hearing the screaming of an old woman being burnt, Mutesa was overwhelmed with emotion and returned to the garden alone. While there, he shot one looter and retreated. By then, the captain of his guard, one Major Kibirige had been killed. When the firing of small arms and mortars showed no sign of dying down, 20 of them, including his brother, Prince Henry Kimera, pulled back from the trees to the cattle kraal. As they were there, it started raining heavily. In order to avoid being encircled, they decided they were not strong enough, and moved out into the rain to go a little to the north. On why they did not escape then, Mutesa said they were surrounded, and had not thought the attack would be that serious. Moreover, they had hoped to hold out until evening so they could escape in the dark. “At first, I had thought it was to be merely a skirmish,†he wrote. “My two watches and signet ring rested on my dressing table, from which I had confidently expected to retrieve them later. We saw now that it was more serious than that, but still hoped that in the face of such prolonged and successful resistance, the troops might call off the threat.†When it stopped raining, they saw a procession of women, including his wife, sister, cousins and maids; they were moving towards the Nalongo Gate, the only one they were defending. Although he tried to plead with them to stop, they did not hear him and continued out of sight. Although there was a sound of gunfire shortly afterward that made them think the women were killed, they later learnt that all were allowed to pass but later put in prison. Long after rain stopped and realising that their ammunition was low and the troops were not about to pull out, Mutesa finally began to plan an escape. As the bandmaster and another group of the guard were firing to the north, nine of them moved to the south and began shooting endlessly at the three trucks that were on the road outside the wall. After a little resistance, all the trucks eventually moved away. After wasting 10 minutes trying to open a hatch in the wall, through which commoners’ bodies would be passed when they died inside the palace, they decided to scale the 12ft wall. Unfortunately, he landed unevenly and dislodged a bone in his back.
Sunday Vision will carry a minute by minute account of the battle at Lubiri
ON May 24, 1966, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda, Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, ordered the invasion of Lubiri (Buganda’s palace) on grounds that the Kabaka, Sir Edward Muteesa II, was planning a rebellion. The kingdom had passed a resolution asking the central government to move away from the “soil†of Buganda, which Obote described as “rebellion against the authority and oneness of Uganda.â€
Obote suspended the 1962 Constitution and declared himself president. Below is the statement Obote delivered to Parliament the next day, in defence of his actions.
Members are already aware of the State of Emergency declared by Government on Monday, May 23, 1966. It is my duty, Mr. Speaker, to inform the House that there has been an open declaration of rebellion by the Buganda Lukiiko and by Sir Edward Mutesa. Last Friday (May 20, 1966), the Lukiiko passed a resolution to the effect that the Government of Uganda should remove itself from the soil of Buganda.
On receiving news of this resolution, Government acted promptly and published a considered view in which it was made absolutely clear not only to Lukiiko but to everyone inside and outside Uganda that this country shall remain one; under one administration, one Parliament of which honourable members now assembled are the elected representatives; and that Buganda remains an integral part of Uganda. That view went to express the point that Government would consider fully the resolution passed by the Lukiiko and take necessary action.
The resolution passed had been proposed previously in the Lukiiko and opinion inside that body was overwhelmingly against passing such a resolution. Government is, however, now in possession of documentary — and I stress that word “documentary†— evidence that Sir Edward Mutesa was already decided by the 12th of April, 1966, to mount a full scale rebellion against the authority and the oneness of Uganda.
The method by which this rebellion was to be executed was three fold: First, Sir Edward carried out abortive appeals to African states to assure him of diplomatic recognition and moral support as the head of a state, which does not exist (laughter), called Buganda. He sent emissaries to seek diplomatic recognition and moral support for the province of Buganda, which, in his view, would then secede from Uganda.
As all honourable members know, Buganda forms an integral part of the sovereign state of Uganda. These moves by themselves do constitute an act of treason, punishable under the laws passed by this Parliament.
I will soon be getting in touch with the countries, particularly in Africa, who were approached by Sir Edward Mutesa to assure them that, as in their own countries, government must be based on the will of the people and not the whims of one man who happens to occupy a position, because of the position or status his ancestors occupied in society in the past.
I want to remind every honourable member in this House that we do not sit here because of the positions of our fathers or mothers, or because of the positions of our grandfathers or great-grandfathers. (Hear, hear!). I want to make this absolutely clear to the African states who have been approached, particularly to our neighbours.
I will make the same point to countries outside Africa who were approached by the same Sir Edward Mutesa, who must have been living in the Stone Age where family was important in political considerations. This is the era of nationalism. If someone wants to sit in the Stone Age and refuses to move into the age of nationalism, when he runs into trouble, that trouble is not of our making; it is trouble personal to him.
Having said so much, I want to go to the second line, which Sir Edward wanted to pursue in promoting a rebellion. Attempts were made by those chiefs in the Lukiiko to get the whole Lukiiko to pass such a resolution, but it did not succeed.
Here again, the House must note the desperate desire of Sir Edward to commit the Lukiiko, to commit the people of Buganda, to a line of thinking which was purely his own and without any shred of evidence that it was supported by the people of Buganda as a whole.
I want this House to realise that Sir Edward has never addressed any political rally anywhere in Uganda since he was born in 1924 (laughter). Sitting in a palace surrounded by hangers-on, he was never in a position to know the current thoughts of the people, and I say this irrespective of whatever the Baganda may emotionally say about Kabakaship.
Yet Sir Edward thought he understood the people and he wanted Buganda to secede, Buganda to be a separate state and all of us to move away from Buganda. I want to say this for posterity: Uganda Government, Uganda Parliament, are here to stay (hear, hear). A UPC MP shouts, “We shall die here.†The second leg of the strategy was to get into the Lukiiko Chambers a gang of hooligans whose duty it was to shout down any member of the Lukiiko who dared to speak against the motion.
The hooligans were conducting the deliberations of the Lukiiko from the gallery (laughter). The hooligans, we now have information, were paid by the money which all of us, honestly, would have believed to have gone for either economic or social services in Buganda. Mr. Speaker, I have just heard the Hon. Mr. [Boniface] Byanyirna, the member for Ankole North East in this sovereign Parliament, remarking that the removal of the Government and the Parliament from Buganda could not possibly mean the removal of the opposition.
Sir, this is not the time, I had not worked out how I could answer a point of this kind, but I will think about it. I will answer it when I get to Ankole North East (laughter). In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the Hon. Mr. Byanyima and assure the voters in Ankole North East, that Mr. Byanyima was never elected to sit at Bulange (laughter). If, of course, the Hon. Mr. Byanyima wants to represent Ankole’s interests in the Bulange, we would be happy for him to go there and to be conducted by the hooligans from the gallery (laughter).
It is my hope that every honourable member here assembled shall support the Government fully in actions it has taken to deal with rebellion and acts of lawlessness, and to ensure stability and tranquillity in the country. It is the determination of the Government to deal rigorously with all incidents of lawlessness, violence, intimidation and incitement to violence.
It is for this purpose that arrangements have now been made and will continue to be examined and brought up-to-date to enable the security forces to suppress all lawless activities and to bring the situation back to normal. In this context, the security forces have been empowered to control the situation within the power of the Emergency Regulations and these include arrest without a warrant. It is within the context of the Emergency Regulations that the security forces yesterday brought under their control all the palaces of the Kabaka.
All the palaces as from yesterday are now under the effective occupation of the security forces. Arms, ammunition and weapons of various makes and calibre were captured in these palaces. I am now fully satisfied, as well as my colleagues in Government, that persons in Mengo, including Sir Edward Mutesa as their leader, have for a long time, even before the beginning of this year - I stress that - before the beginning of 1966, been planning for an insurrection and for the control of Uganda as a whole.
It is for this reason that we are now, as a Government, fully determined to bring under control all the rebellious elements that have brought this misery to innocent people. I have given you a full statement; it is up to you to give the necessary support. You have a big responsibility; all of us have a big responsibility.
How the Kabaka escaped Idi Amin’s raid on the palace
By Ben Okiror
Sir Edward Mutesa’s escape from the palace during the raid, marked the beginning of a strenuous journey to London, via Congo, Burundi and Belgium. In his own narrative, contained in chapter one of his book, Desecration of my Kingdom, Mutesa said he had anticipated the attack on his palace since there were some telling signs immediately before it happened. “We had been suspecting such a move for weeks, and I myself had been surprised when nothing happened the previous evening,†he wrote. “Low-flying Tiger jets had passed over us all the week before, presumably taking photographs on which the Army could base tactical decisions.†Mutesa also described how some of his subjects had assembled round the palace a day before but dispersed when the Police fired at them. Moreover, his three most loyal and powerful chiefs were also arrested that same day, a move, he said, was meant to stop them from coming to his aid. Inside his room, Mutesa quickly dressed up in a shirt, trousers, a pullover and boots. He strapped on a belt with a heavy automatic (pistol) in a holster, grabbed a carbine (gun) and dashed into the dark garden to look for the commander of his guard. After collecting a few men, he moved with them towards the western part of his palace, with an aim of defending one of the four gates – Nalongo Gate, but were not able to do it. Before reaching there, they saw three people peeping into a half-opened doorway and they shot one dead, causing the others to take off. After watching in rage, his rooms being ransacked and hearing the screaming of an old woman being burnt, Mutesa was overwhelmed with emotion and returned to the garden alone. While there, he shot one looter and retreated. By then, the captain of his guard, one Major Kibirige had been killed. When the firing of small arms and mortars showed no sign of dying down, 20 of them, including his brother, Prince Henry Kimera, pulled back from the trees to the cattle kraal. As they were there, it started raining heavily. In order to avoid being encircled, they decided they were not strong enough, and moved out into the rain to go a little to the north. On why they did not escape then, Mutesa said they were surrounded, and had not thought the attack would be that serious. Moreover, they had hoped to hold out until evening so they could escape in the dark. “At first, I had thought it was to be merely a skirmish,†he wrote. “My two watches and signet ring rested on my dressing table, from which I had confidently expected to retrieve them later. We saw now that it was more serious than that, but still hoped that in the face of such prolonged and successful resistance, the troops might call off the threat.†When it stopped raining, they saw a procession of women, including his wife, sister, cousins and maids; they were moving towards the Nalongo Gate, the only one they were defending. Although he tried to plead with them to stop, they did not hear him and continued out of sight. Although there was a sound of gunfire shortly afterward that made them think the women were killed, they later learnt that all were allowed to pass but later put in prison. Long after rain stopped and realising that their ammunition was low and the troops were not about to pull out, Mutesa finally began to plan an escape. As the bandmaster and another group of the guard were firing to the north, nine of them moved to the south and began shooting endlessly at the three trucks that were on the road outside the wall. After a little resistance, all the trucks eventually moved away. After wasting 10 minutes trying to open a hatch in the wall, through which commoners’ bodies would be passed when they died inside the palace, they decided to scale the 12ft wall. Unfortunately, he landed unevenly and dislodged a bone in his back.
Sunday Vision will carry a minute by minute account of the battle at Lubiri