The Save Uganda Movement (abbreviated SUM) was a militant Ugandan opposition group which fought against the government of President Idi Amin from 1973 to 1979.

Described as "specialists in sabotage"[1] by journalist John Darnton, SUM attempted to overthrow Amin by waging a guerrilla campaign of bombings, raids, and assassinations.

Unlike much of the Ugandan opposition at the time, SUM had no firm ideology and was decentralized, consisting of different groups with similar aims, the principal one being the ouster of Idi Amin.

SUM cooperated with the forces loyal to ex-President Milton Obote during the Uganda–Tanzania War (1978–1979) and eventually joined the Uganda National Liberation Front which formed the country's post-Amin governments.

[4] Unlike other militant Ugandan factions, like Kikosi Maalum or the Front for National Salvation (FRONASA), SUM was not loyal to one specific leader[5] and was instead split into groups led by Akena p'Ojok, William Omaria, and Ateker Ejalu.

[10][11] SUM members claimed that the group began training guerrillas from mid-1973, teaching them how to use guns and explosives in three-month long courses before they infiltrated Uganda disguised as regular civilians.

[13] The overall extent or impact of SUM's early operations is difficult to gauge due to the group's exaggerated claims and the presence of few reliable sources in Amin-ruled Uganda.

[3][12] After the killing of archbishop Janani Luwum by Ugandan security forces in 1977, Tanzania agreed to train and arm SUM fighters near Arusha.

The small group entered Uganda in early 1978, and attempted to kill ranking Ugandan officials to cause tensions within Amin's government.

[16] At an early point of the war, Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere invited Ugandan opposition groups to a conference at Dar es Salaam to discuss their strategy to overthrow Amin.

Nyerere asked several Ugandan exiles, including Ejalu, to send volunteers to the camp to raise an anti-Amin army.

[8][19] Over the next few months its operatives, moving across Lake Victoria from Kenya, destroyed a Kampala fuel depot, severed electricity lines, and attacked military outposts.

However, Obote's faction launched the attack earlier than planned without informing SUM,[22] resulting in the Battle of Tororo in early March 1979 and a defeat for the rebels.

[20] In course of the Uganda–Tanzania War's later stages, the different Ugandan opposition groups greatly expanded their militias through mass recruitment in territories occupied by the Tanzanians.

[31] After NRA leader Yoweri Museveni seized power in 1986, Ejalu fled to Kenya and reportedly attempted to revive SUM.