Tag Archives: External Involvement in Uganda’s Politics

Uganda became an
independent nation on October 9,
1962. The pre-independence political process involved many
Ugandans representing different interest groups. The colonial administration
worked closely with the Protestant Church throughout
the colonial period, giving the latter political leverage as most
administrators came from that church.

The Catholics who had been marginalized
organized themselves into a political party – the Democratic Party (DP) with
the intention of wrestling political power from Protestants who later formed
their own political party – the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) that formed an
alliance with the Kabaka Yekka (KY) of Buganda kingdom
Protestants to deny DP gaining political power.

It is believed that the colonial
administration and the Church of England played a role in handing power over to
the UPC/KY alliance under the leadership of Milton Obote. The British
government decided that Milton Obote was the best man to lead the country, and
steered power into his hands (Walter Oyugi et al, 1988 and Trevor Lloyd, 2001).

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