1. Apollo Milton Obote was a Ugandan politician who served as the second prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and the second president of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and later from 1980 to 1985.
31 Facts About Milton Obote
1. 2.
Milton Obote was overthrown in a military coup d'etat by Idi Amin in 1971, settling in exile in Tanzania, but was re-elected in an election reported to be neither free nor fair in 1980, a year after Amin's 1979 overthrow.
3.
Apollo Milton Obote was born in the Akokoro village in the Apac district in northern Uganda, on 28 December 1925.
4.
Milton Obote was the third born of nine children of a tribal chief of the Oyima clan Lango ethnic group.
5.
Milton Obote began his education in 1940 at the Protestant Missionary School in Lira, and later attended Gulu Junior Secondary School, Busoga College, Mwiri and eventually university at Makerere University.
6.
Milton Obote worked in Buganda in southern Uganda before moving to Kenya, where he worked as a construction worker at an engineering firm.
7.
In 1959, the UNC split into two factions, with one faction under the leadership of Milton Obote merging with the Uganda People's Union to form the Uganda People's Congress.
8.
Milton Obote assumed the post on 25 April 1962, appointed by Sir Walter Coutts, then Governor-General of Uganda.
9.
Milton Obote responded with an armed attack upon Mutesa's palace, which ended with Mutesa fleeing to exile.
10.
In 1967, Milton Obote's power was cemented when the parliament passed a new constitution that abolished the federal structure of the independence constitution and created an executive presidency.
11.
On 24 May 1966, Milton Obote ordered an assault on the palace located at Mengo in Kampala, the residence of King Edward Muteesa II of Buganda.
12.
The Milton Obote government withdrew support for the rebels and arrested a German mercenary called Steiner and extradited him to Sudan for trial.
13.
In January 1971, Milton Obote was overthrown by the army while on a visit to Singapore to attend a Commonwealth conference, and Amin became president.
14.
Once he was informed of the coup, Milton Obote immediately flew to Nairobi to rally loyalist army elements in Uganda to oppose Amin's takeover.
15.
However, Kenyan authorities blocked his attempts to contact his followers, and the remaining pro-Milton Obote soldiers failed to organize a counteroffensive.
16.
Still, Milton Obote refused to give up, and moved to Tanzania where he received much more support.
17.
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere had close ties with Milton Obote and had supported his socialist orientation.
18.
The Tanzanian and Somali governments initially planned to help Milton Obote regain power by invading Uganda through the Kagera Salient.
19.
Meanwhile, thousands of Milton Obote supporters escaped to Sudan whose government offered them sanctuary and training camps.
20.
From late March 1971, Milton Obote built up a rebel army, and moved to Sudan.
21.
The 1972 invasion of Uganda by Milton Obote's rebel alliance was a military disaster, with much of the insurgent force destroyed.
22.
On his part, Milton Obote would accuse Museveni of having lied about controlling an underground network in southern Uganda.
23.
Milton Obote never forgave Museveni for this, creating a lasting rift.
24.
Milton Obote gave no more interviews, and rarely ventured abroad to meet other opposition figures.
25.
Milton Obote hoped to gradually undermine Amin's regime until being able to launch a general uprising with support by the exiles in Tanzania.
26.
Milton Obote remained deeply unpopular in much of Uganda, and even those opposed to Amin did not want to see him return to power.
27.
In 1983, the Milton Obote government launched Operation Bonanza, a military expedition that claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced a significant portion of the population.
28.
On 10 October 2005, Milton Obote died of kidney failure in a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa at the age of 79.
29.
Milton Obote was given a state funeral, attended by President Museveni, in the Ugandan capital Kampala in October 2005, to the surprise and appreciation of many Ugandans because he and Museveni had been bitter rivals.
30.
Milton Obote was survived by his wife and five children.
31.
On 28 November 2005, his wife Miria Milton Obote was elected UPC's president.