Mengo Crisis
It was driven by conflict between Prime Minister Milton Obote and the Kabaka of Buganda, Mutesa II, culminating in a military assault upon the latter's residence that drove him into exile.
The UPC aimed to erode the power and influence of the "Mengo Establishment", a group of traditionalist Baganda that led the sub-national kingdom of Buganda.
[1] The Mengo establishment was plagued by rivalries and infighting, but most of its members, as Protestant Christians, were united by their dislike of the Democratic Party (DP), which was dominated by Catholics.
[3] Despite this, the UPC gave Grace Ibingira, a conservative member of its ranks, the responsibility of making contact with the Baganda to establish an alliance to unseat the DP.
[9] Meanwhile, Mutesa increasingly feared that the UPC would deny his kingdom its traditional autonomy and concluded that in order to retain power he would have to garner influence in national politics.
He proceeded to instruct Baganda members of Parliament to join the UPC with the goal of bolstering Ibingira's position and unseating Obote, thus allowing for a reorientation of the UPC-KY alliance that would be more favorable to Buganda.
[11] As his working relationship with Mutesa improved, Ibingira amassed a coalition of non-Baganda southerners, dubbed the "Bantu Group".
[14] In December 1964 Ibingira, under the cover of checking on his ranch in Ankole, traveled to the United States to raise funds to support anti-socialist causes.
[16] The 1962 constitution granted Buganda a federal autonomy, but it did not provide a resolution to a territorial dispute surrounding the counties of Buyaga and Bugangaizi.
[18] Mutesa and Obote held opposing stances on the issue; the former wished for the territories to remain with Buganda, while the latter wanted them to be returned to Bunyoro.
On 9 November Michael Kintu, the Kattikiro (Prime Minister) of Buganda, resigned and was replaced by Jehoash Mayanja Nkangi.
[18] When Obote presented the necessary documents officiating the transfer of jurisdiction for Mutesa to sign as President, the latter refused, declaring, "I can never give away Buganda land.
[18] In late 1964[19] the Ugandan government offered covert aid to Christophe Gbenye, who was leading a rebellion in the eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which shared a border with Uganda.
[24] By September, no action had been taken, and in a closed session of Parliament Ochieng introduced a motion that would urge the government to act on the accusations.
[24] In January 1966 Ochieng, frustrated by the wait in the publishing of a report on the investigation, decided to reintroduce his motion urging the government to take action.
The group decided that the matter involved sensitive information pertaining to national security, so all UPC MPs would reject Ochieng's motion to avoid an open debate in Parliament on the investigation's findings.
[26] According to lawyer and intelligence officer Akena Adoko, the meeting and decision was taken at Ibingira's initiative on advice from Mutesa, who reportedly told him, "Let us join forces right now.
During the speech in which he presented the motion, Ochieng also accused Obote, Onama, and Minister of Planning and Community Development Adoko Nekyon of being complicit in Amin's alleged activities.
[31] Kakonge stated that the sudden reversal of the UPC parliamentary group's decision by the cabinet was unusual and must have been the product of a careful strategy.
[32] The rest of the UPC MPs had been informed of the cabinet's decision to accept the motion only when the debate opened—unaware that many ministers had not participated in the discussion—and followed the direction of their government.
[35][b] Though the threat posed by Ibingira to his leadership was eliminated, Obote decided to consolidate his position by deprecating his ex-rival's allies, specifically Mutesa.
[41] On 24 February 1966, Obote announced the suspension of Mutesa from his duties as president, citing his reaction to the lost counties referendum, his ordering of troop movements without ministerial consultation, and his seeking of foreign military support.
[43] The Lukiiko passed a resolution on 20 May demanding that Uganda's national government leave Buganda within the next ten days owing to its lack of compliance with the original constitution.
[45] When an army unit was dispatched to the Lubiri Palace to investigate an alleged weapons stockpile, Mutesa shot at the soldiers.
[48] On 23 May, the Uganda Army cordoned off the Lubiri Palace and arrested three Bugandan chiefs who had strongly supported the Lukiko's 20 May resolution.
[44] President Julius Nyerere of neighbouring Tanzania, who supported Obote and disliked Mutesa, stationed a large force at the border to prevent the Baganda from regrouping there and launching a counter-attack.
Amin promoted the narrative of a Muslim boy from the poor outskirts of the country taking on the Christian leader of Uganda's dominant tribe.
Sir Egbert Udo Udoma, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, granted it to them in his decision for Uganda v Commissioner of Prisons, Ex Parte Matovu.
[55] The former cabinet ministers that had been arrested were transferred to Karamoja as per a colonial law, the Deportation Ordinance, that allowed for the detention and removal of "undesirable" persons.
The ministers were released and then immediately rearrested outside the courthouse in Buganda under the colonial Emergency Regulations, and the government passed the Deportation Act to cover its actions.
