Uganda-Tanzania War
Encyclopedia
The Uganda–Tanzania War (usually referred to in Uganda
as the Liberation War) was fought between Uganda and Tanzania
in 1978–1979, and led to the overthrow of Idi Amin
's regime. Idi Amin's forces included thousands of troops sent by Muammar Gaddafi
, and some Palestinian
support.
and Uganda
had been strained for several years before the war started. After Amin seized power in a military coup in 1971
, the Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere
offered sanctuary to Uganda's ousted president, Milton Obote
. Obote was joined by 20,000 refugees fleeing Amin's attempts to wipe out opposition. A year later, a group of exiles based in Tanzania attempted, unsuccessfully, to invade Uganda and remove Amin. Amin blamed Nyerere for backing and arming his enemies. The relationship between Uganda and Tanzania remained strained for many years.
In early October 1978, dissident troops ambushed Amin at the presidential lodge in Kampala
, but he escaped with his family in a helicopter. This was during a period when the number of Amin's close associates had shrunk significantly, and he faced increasing dissent from within Uganda. When General Mustafa Adrisi
, Amin's Vice President, was injured in a suspicious car accident, troops loyal to Adrisi (and other soldiers who were disgruntled for other reasons) mutinied
. Amin sent troops against the mutineers (which included members of the elite Simba Battalion), some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border. The rebellion spilled over into Tanzania, where Tanzania-based anti-Amin exiles joined the fighting against Amin's troops.
Uganda declared a state of war against Tanzania, and sent troops to invade and annex
part of the Kagera
region of Tanzania, which Amin claimed belonged to Uganda.
and counterattacked. In a few weeks, the Tanzanian army was expanded from less than 40,000 troops to over 100,000 including members of the police
, prison services
, national service
, and the militia
. The Tanzanians were joined by several anti-Amin groups consisting of Ugandan exiles, who at a conference in Moshi
(Moshi Conference) had united as the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). These included Kikosi Maalum
commanded by Tito Okello
and David Oyite Ojok, FRONASA commanded by Yoweri Museveni
, and Save Uganda Movement commanded by Akena p'Ojok
, William Omaria, and Ateker Ejalu.
The Tanzanian Army acquired a Russian BM Katyusha rocket launcher (known in Uganda as saba saba), with which they started to fire on targets in Uganda. The Ugandan Army retreated steadily. Libya
's Muammar Gaddafi
sent 2,500 troops to aid Amin, equipped with T-54 and T-55
tanks, BTR APCs, BM-21 Katyusha MRLs, artillery, MiG-21s, and a Tu-22 bomber. However the Libyans soon found themselves on the front line, while Ugandan Army units were using supply trucks to carry their newly plundered wealth in the opposite direction.
The Libyan troops were a mix of regular Libyan Army units, People's Militia, and sub-Saharan Africans of the Islamic Legion
, a further force created by Libya for this type of expeditionary mission. The Tanzanians, joined by UNLA dissidents, moved north for Kampala but halted at the vast deep-water swamp north of Lukaya
. The Tanzanians decided to send the 201st Brigade directly across the causeway over the swamp while the better-quality 208th Brigade skirted the western edge of the swamp as an alternative in case the causeway was blocked or destroyed. A planned attack by a brigade-sized Libyan force with fifteen T-55s, a dozen APCs, and BM-21 MRLs, intended to reach Masaka
, instead collided with the Tanzanian force at Lukaya on 10 March and sent the 201st Brigade reeling backwards in disarray. However, a Tanzanian counter-attack on the night of 11–12 March from two directions, involving a reorganised 201st Brigade attacking from the south and the 208th Brigade from the north-west, was successful, with many Libyan units, including the militia, breaking and retreating at a run. Libyan casualties were reported at 200 plus another 200 allied Ugandans.
Tanzanian and UNLA forces met little resistance after the Battle of Lukuya and carried on west toward Kampala, first taking the Entebbe airfield after some fighting, and then taking Kampala itself on 10 April 1979. Few Ugandan or Libyan units gave much resistance, and Pollack says the greatest problem for the Tanzanian troops was their own lack of maps of the city. Amin fled, first to Libya and later to Saudi Arabia. The Libyan forces retreated to Jinja
and then were repatriated finally through Kenya and Ethiopia. The Tanzanian army remained in Uganda to maintain peace while the UNLF (the political wing of the UNLA) organized elections to return the country to civilian rule.
The Tanzanian Government struck and distributed a campaign medal
, known as the Nishani ya Vita. The obverse bears the inscriptions Vita-1978-1979 (top) and Tanzania (bottom). The reverse
is plain.
had been installed as president by Tanzania. In June 1979, following a dispute over the extent of presidential powers, the National Consultative Commission (NCC), which was then the supreme governing body of the UNLF, replaced Lule with Godfrey Binaisa
. Binaisa was himself removed on 12 May 1980 by the Military Commission, a powerful organ of the UNLF headed by the Paulo Muwanga
, and whose deputy was Yoweri Museveni
(then leader of Uganda Patriotic Movement
). The country was then led by the Presidential Commission of Uganda
with among others Paulo Muwanga
, Yoweri Museveni
, Oyite Ojok and Tito Okello
. The Presidential Commission governed Uganda until the December 1980 general elections which were won by Milton Obote
's Uganda Peoples Congress. The elections were bitterly disputed. Yoweri Museveni alleged electoral fraud
and declared an armed rebellion against the government of Obote, plunging the country into the civil war which came to be known as the Ugandan Bush War
.
which brought France-Albert René
to power) as a breach of respect for national sovereignty. As a result, the government in Dar es Salaam
had to foot the bill for the invasion and subsequent peacekeeping role from its own coffers, further driving the country into poverty; Tanzania would not fully recover from the cost of the war until Uganda paid back Tanzania's debt in 2007.
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
as the Liberation War) was fought between Uganda and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
in 1978–1979, and led to the overthrow of Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
's regime. Idi Amin's forces included thousands of troops sent by Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, and some Palestinian
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
support.
Events leading to the war
Relations between TanzaniaTanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
had been strained for several years before the war started. After Amin seized power in a military coup in 1971
1971 Ugandan coup d'état
The 1971 Ugandan coup d'état was a military coup d'état executed by the Ugandan military, led by General Idi Amin, against the government of President Milton Obote on January 25, 1971...
, the Tanzanian leader Julius Nyerere
Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....
offered sanctuary to Uganda's ousted president, Milton Obote
Milton Obote
Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...
. Obote was joined by 20,000 refugees fleeing Amin's attempts to wipe out opposition. A year later, a group of exiles based in Tanzania attempted, unsuccessfully, to invade Uganda and remove Amin. Amin blamed Nyerere for backing and arming his enemies. The relationship between Uganda and Tanzania remained strained for many years.
In early October 1978, dissident troops ambushed Amin at the presidential lodge in Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, but he escaped with his family in a helicopter. This was during a period when the number of Amin's close associates had shrunk significantly, and he faced increasing dissent from within Uganda. When General Mustafa Adrisi
Mustafa Adrisi
General Mustafa Adrisi was Vice President of Uganda , and one of president Idi Amin's closest associates. In 1978, after Adrisi was injured in a suspicious auto accident, troops loyal to him mutinied. Amin sent troops against the mutineers, some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border,...
, Amin's Vice President, was injured in a suspicious car accident, troops loyal to Adrisi (and other soldiers who were disgruntled for other reasons) mutinied
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
. Amin sent troops against the mutineers (which included members of the elite Simba Battalion), some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border. The rebellion spilled over into Tanzania, where Tanzania-based anti-Amin exiles joined the fighting against Amin's troops.
Uganda declared a state of war against Tanzania, and sent troops to invade and annex
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
part of the Kagera
Kagera Region
Kagera Region is located in the northwestern corner of Tanzania. Bukoba, Kagera Region's capital, is a fast growing town situated on the shore of Lake Victoria. Bukoba lies only 1 degree south of the Equator and is Tanzania's second largest port on the lake. The region neighbors Uganda, Rwanda and...
region of Tanzania, which Amin claimed belonged to Uganda.
The war
Nyerere mobilized the Tanzania People's Defence ForceTanzania People's Defence Force
The Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force was set up in September 1964. From its inception, it was ingrained in the troops that they were a people’s force under civilian control. They were always reminded of their difference from the colonial armed forces...
and counterattacked. In a few weeks, the Tanzanian army was expanded from less than 40,000 troops to over 100,000 including members of the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, prison services
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
, national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, and the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. The Tanzanians were joined by several anti-Amin groups consisting of Ugandan exiles, who at a conference in Moshi
Moshi
Moshi is a Tanzanian town with a population of 144,739 in Kilimanjaro Region. The town is situated on the lower slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, a volcanic mountain that is the highest mountain in Africa....
(Moshi Conference) had united as the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). These included Kikosi Maalum
Kikosi Maalum
Kikosi Maalum was a militia of Ugandan exiles formed in Tanzania to fight against the regime of Idi Amin. Led by Milton Obote, Kikosi Maalum and FRONASA, as well as several smaller groups including Save Uganda Movement and Uganda Freedom Union, formed the Uganda National Liberation Front and its...
commanded by Tito Okello
Tito Okello
General Tito Lutwa Okello , was a Ugandan Military officer and politician. He was the President of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986.-Background:Tito Okello was born in 1914 in Kitgum District...
and David Oyite Ojok, FRONASA commanded by Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
, and Save Uganda Movement commanded by Akena p'Ojok
Akena p'Ojok
Akena p'Ojok is a former influential Ugandan politician who held various government positions in the 1980s, including Minister of Power, Posts and Telecommunications...
, William Omaria, and Ateker Ejalu.
The Tanzanian Army acquired a Russian BM Katyusha rocket launcher (known in Uganda as saba saba), with which they started to fire on targets in Uganda. The Ugandan Army retreated steadily. Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
's Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
sent 2,500 troops to aid Amin, equipped with T-54 and T-55
T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of...
tanks, BTR APCs, BM-21 Katyusha MRLs, artillery, MiG-21s, and a Tu-22 bomber. However the Libyans soon found themselves on the front line, while Ugandan Army units were using supply trucks to carry their newly plundered wealth in the opposite direction.
The Libyan troops were a mix of regular Libyan Army units, People's Militia, and sub-Saharan Africans of the Islamic Legion
Islamic Legion
The Islamic Legion was a Libyan-sponsored pan-Arab paramilitary force, created in 1972...
, a further force created by Libya for this type of expeditionary mission. The Tanzanians, joined by UNLA dissidents, moved north for Kampala but halted at the vast deep-water swamp north of Lukaya
Lukaya
Lukaya is a town in Kalungu District, in Central Uganda. It is one of the municipalities in Kalungu District.-Location:Lukaya lies on the Masaka-Kampala Highway, close to the shores of Lake Victoria and just south of the Equator. The town is approximately , by road, northeast of Masaka, the largest...
. The Tanzanians decided to send the 201st Brigade directly across the causeway over the swamp while the better-quality 208th Brigade skirted the western edge of the swamp as an alternative in case the causeway was blocked or destroyed. A planned attack by a brigade-sized Libyan force with fifteen T-55s, a dozen APCs, and BM-21 MRLs, intended to reach Masaka
Masaka
Masaka is a town in Central Uganda, lying west of Lake Victoria. It is the chief town of Masaka District. Besides being the headquarters of Masaka District, the town is the regional headquarters and largest metropolitan area in Lyantonde District, Sembabule District, Lwengo District, Bukomansimbi...
, instead collided with the Tanzanian force at Lukaya on 10 March and sent the 201st Brigade reeling backwards in disarray. However, a Tanzanian counter-attack on the night of 11–12 March from two directions, involving a reorganised 201st Brigade attacking from the south and the 208th Brigade from the north-west, was successful, with many Libyan units, including the militia, breaking and retreating at a run. Libyan casualties were reported at 200 plus another 200 allied Ugandans.
Tanzanian and UNLA forces met little resistance after the Battle of Lukuya and carried on west toward Kampala, first taking the Entebbe airfield after some fighting, and then taking Kampala itself on 10 April 1979. Few Ugandan or Libyan units gave much resistance, and Pollack says the greatest problem for the Tanzanian troops was their own lack of maps of the city. Amin fled, first to Libya and later to Saudi Arabia. The Libyan forces retreated to Jinja
Jinja, Uganda
Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...
and then were repatriated finally through Kenya and Ethiopia. The Tanzanian army remained in Uganda to maintain peace while the UNLF (the political wing of the UNLA) organized elections to return the country to civilian rule.
The Tanzanian Government struck and distributed a campaign medal
Campaign medal
A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of the military who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater...
, known as the Nishani ya Vita. The obverse bears the inscriptions Vita-1978-1979 (top) and Tanzania (bottom). The reverse
Reverse
Reverse may refer to:*The reverse side of currency or a flag; see Obverse and reverse*A change in the direction of:**the movement of a motor or other prime mover; see Transmission **an engineering design: see Reverse engineering...
is plain.
Uganda
The period following the ousting of Amin proved to be a time of intense competition and fighting for power among different groups made up of political and ethnic rivals. Yusuf LuleYusuf Lule
Yusuf Kironde Lule was provisional president of Uganda between 13 April and 20 June 1979. His name is sometimes spelled Yusufu.-Early years:...
had been installed as president by Tanzania. In June 1979, following a dispute over the extent of presidential powers, the National Consultative Commission (NCC), which was then the supreme governing body of the UNLF, replaced Lule with Godfrey Binaisa
Godfrey Binaisa
Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa QC was a Ugandan lawyer who was Attorney General of Uganda from 1962 to 1968 and later served as President of Uganda from June 1979 to May 1980. At his death he was Uganda's only surviving former president....
. Binaisa was himself removed on 12 May 1980 by the Military Commission, a powerful organ of the UNLF headed by the Paulo Muwanga
Paulo Muwanga
Paulo Muwanga was the chairman of the governing Military Commission, and the de-facto President of Uganda for a few days in May 1980 until the establishment of the Presidential Commission of Uganda. The Presidential Commission, with Muwanga as chairman, held the office of President of Uganda...
, and whose deputy was Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
(then leader of Uganda Patriotic Movement
Uganda Patriotic Movement
The Uganda Patriotic Movement is a defunct political party in Uganda. It was founded by Yoweri Museveni and participated in the December 1980 general elections, which were won by Milton Obote's Uganda People's Congress...
). The country was then led by the Presidential Commission of Uganda
Presidential Commission of Uganda
The Presidential Commission of Uganda held the office of President of Uganda between 22 May and 15 December 1980. It was composed as follows:* Saulo Musoke* Polycarp Nyamuchoncho* Yoweri Hunter Wacha-Olwol-See also:*Uganda...
with among others Paulo Muwanga
Paulo Muwanga
Paulo Muwanga was the chairman of the governing Military Commission, and the de-facto President of Uganda for a few days in May 1980 until the establishment of the Presidential Commission of Uganda. The Presidential Commission, with Muwanga as chairman, held the office of President of Uganda...
, Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
, Oyite Ojok and Tito Okello
Tito Okello
General Tito Lutwa Okello , was a Ugandan Military officer and politician. He was the President of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986.-Background:Tito Okello was born in 1914 in Kitgum District...
. The Presidential Commission governed Uganda until the December 1980 general elections which were won by Milton Obote
Milton Obote
Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...
's Uganda Peoples Congress. The elections were bitterly disputed. Yoweri Museveni alleged electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
and declared an armed rebellion against the government of Obote, plunging the country into the civil war which came to be known as the Ugandan Bush War
Ugandan Bush War
The Ugandan Bush War refers to the guerrilla war waged between 1981 and 1986 in Uganda by the National Resistance Army against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.-Events leading to the war:Following the Uganda-Tanzania War that removed Idi Amin in 1979, a...
.
Tanzania
Tanzania, on the other hand, received no help from other countries in the Organization of African Unity, which had denounced Tanzania's invasion (and for its role as a backer of the 1977 coup in the SeychellesSeychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
which brought France-Albert René
France-Albert René
France-Albert René was the long-time socialist President of Seychelles from 1977 to 2004. He is known by government officials and party members as "the Boss". His name is often given as simply Albert René or F.A...
to power) as a breach of respect for national sovereignty. As a result, the government in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
had to foot the bill for the invasion and subsequent peacekeeping role from its own coffers, further driving the country into poverty; Tanzania would not fully recover from the cost of the war until Uganda paid back Tanzania's debt in 2007.
Further reading
- Mambo, Andrew; Julian Schofield (2007-12-01). "Military Diversion in the 1978 Uganda-Tanzania War". Journal of Political and Military Sociology.