Kingdoms and British Protectorate
In the area of what is now Uganda, various kingdoms ruled until the 19th century, among which Buganda (“Ganda-Land”) held a supremacy from the 17th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, Arab merchants as well as Europeans came to the country. While Islam could not gain a foothold, the Christian missionaries were more successful. The ruling king (“Kabaka”) Mutesa I (1857 to 1884) let explorers such as the British Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1875), who was looking for the sources of the Nile, as well as Anglican and Catholic missionaries Country. At the end of the 19th century, the five major kingdoms of Buganda, Toro, Ankole, Busoga and Bunyora were merged to form the British protectorate of Uganda. The incumbent Kabaka Mwanga II.remained as ruler in office and dignity, Bugander also received more privileges than members of the other tribes. The southern part of the country, the area of the Buganda, was trained by the British as the economic and cultural center of East Africa, while the economically less attractive north of today’s Uganda was neglected.
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Independence
After the end of World War II, the British colonial power tried to build a government in Uganda with the participation of all kingdoms, but this failed. The desire for independence led to the formation of various parties over the next two decades, of which the UCP (Uganda People’s Congress) prevailed in the 1961 elections. According to AbbreviationFinder, the party leader Milton Apollo Obote became prime minister (1961 to 1971). Uganda became independent within the British Commonwealth. In 1963 the country was declared a republic with King Mutesa II as President. From 1966 Obote also took over this office and deposed the king. A new constitution from 1967 banned all opposition parties and abolished the kingdoms.The goal was a centralistically governed unitary state based on the socialist model.
The reign of Idi Amin
In 1971, Milton Apollo Obote was overthrown in the absence of his general and army chief Idi Amin. Under his military rule, which lasted until 1979, more than 250,000 people were killed in Uganda. Idi Amin banned all political activities and overruled the constitution. In 1972, under the pretext of economic independence, he expelled all Asians living in Uganda, who owned a large part of the company, from the country. This meant a serious slump for the Ugandan economy due to the loss of capital.
Recent developments
In 1979 Idi Amin had to flee when the UNLF (Uganda National Liberation Front), founded by exiled Ugandans, took over the capital Kampala with the help of Tanzanian troops. Milton Apollo Obote, who had returned from exile, came to power again. His means of suppressing opposition parties and dissenters were no less bloody than that of his predecessor Idi Amin. Even Obote’s successor, Tito Okello (1985), failed to bring the situation in the country under control.
In 1986 the guerrilla organization “National Resistance Army” under the leadership of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took over power, Museveni became the new president. The “National Resistance Movement” (NRM) has been declared a unitary party. Despite the ban on political parties, Museveni included their representatives in the government, which led to a calming of the domestic situation over the next few years. From 1993, the five dissolved kingdoms were rebuilt, with the monarchs gaining no political power. This re-establishment of the monarchy was a recognition of and a return to traditional African structures and brought Museveni a lot of prestige among the people.
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In 1995, a new constitution entered into force, which continued to prohibit the free operation of political parties (except the ruling party NRM), but gave parliament further powers and contains a catalog of fundamental rights. With the reintroduction of the multi-party system in 2005, a “real” opposition was elected to parliament for the first time in 2006. A provision to limit the term of office of the head of state to two electoral terms was repealed in 2005. Although the situation has largely stabilized domestically and the country is economically stronger, Uganda remains highly indebted and a large part of the population continues to suffer from poverty and a lack of medical care.
Since 2009 in particular the impoverished north, the scene of serious ethnic conflicts, has been rebuilt, where until 2008 the Lord’s Resistance Army, the liberation army under the rebel leader Joseph Kony, has raged.