1985

27 July

A military junta seizes control of Kampala, the capital of Uganda, overthrowing and murdering President Milton Obote as he attempted to flee with the national treasury into Zambia. The non-aligned and well-respected President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania agrees to act as host for an UN-sponsored summit, attended by defacto head of state, General Tito Okello, rebel leader Yoweri Museveni and leader of the Democratic Party, Paul Ssemogerere. The talks will be held in September.

20 September

Under an agreement of the UN Security Council and based on negotiations in Tanzania, international peacekeepers will be deployed to Uganda to oversee the disarmament of militias. Yoweri Museveni, leader of the rebel National Resistance Army, vows to fight on, but will slowly be pushed back and will eventually flee with his supporters into Tanzania.

2 December

The fourteen-member National Consultative Council is established in Kampala, Uganda. General Tito Okello will chair the NCC, with Paul Ssemogerere as secretary. They are charged with governing the country until the UN-backed forces can conclude the Bush War. With international assistance, General Okello has confidently predicted that Yoweri Museveni will be forced to surrender.

1986

3 February

Major General Tito Okello, provisional head of state of Uganda, states that his nation is “returning from the brink” after the unparalleled failure of the National Resistance Army attack on Kampala. He thanks the United Nations Security Council for its intervention and projects a complete victory within weeks.

28 February

The National Resistance Army of Uganda loses its leadership in a decisive strike by the UN-backed Ugandan armed forces. With the defeat, command of the UN peacekeeping forces in Uganda is transferred back to the National Consultative Council, whose next tasks are to establish law and order and to discuss political representation for the diverse ethnic and religious communities within the country.

7 July

It appears as though Uganda may be facing impossible odds in reaching a compromise that suits all factions. Analysts begin to predict that the country may not survive in its current status, despite the formation of a new judicial system and the expansion of the National Consultative Council. The Secretary General indicated that recent US-Soviet cooperation through the United Nations was the direction of the future, citing the success in preventing the post-Amin government of General Tito Okello from collapsing into civil war.

30 August

Uganda’s National Consultative Committee, led by General Tito Okello, is warned that the Tutsi refugees in his country have become a test to national stability and are conspiring for an invasion of Rwanda. He proposes that the Tutsi should become naturalised citizens of Uganda and recognises a “right of return” for Tutsi residents who wish to return home.

16 September

Six members of the Ugandan National Consultative Committee quit, refusing to submit to the wishes of the Bantu-speaking majority in the south. Nonetheless, the nation remains at peace due to the disarmament program, which is now approaching its first anniversary. The cooperation of General Tito Okello with the UN forces means that he is the first Ugandan leader to resume authority, as Chief of General Staff.

1987

27 July

On the second anniversary of the coup d’etat which deposed Milton Obote, general elections are held for a National Constituent Assembly in Uganda. Many of the central and southern regions refuse to participate in the election and afterwards claim that General Tito Okello has interfered fraudulently in the outcome. Others suggest that it has more to do with the fact that Okello is from the Acholi tribes of the north, whereas the majority of Ugandas come from the Ganda tribes of the south.

23 November

The UN mission in Uganda reports an uprising in the south of that country directed at overthrowing the Okello administration and driven by resentment at the perceived exclusion of Bugandans from the government. They state that the uprising is well organised and advancing quickly on Kampala, possibly a resurgence of the “defeated” National Resistance Army of Yoweri Museveni.

25 November

A leaked memo from the US State Department indicates that elements of the government of Kenya, including President Daniel arap Moi, are providing key support for the outnumbered forces of the Ugandan government. Nonetheless, the memo suggests that the Okello government will not be able to hold on to the capital and predicts the country will fall into civil war.

1988

5 January

The head of Uganda’s National Consultative Committee, General Tito Okello, meets with President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya at the border town of Malaba. Okello is losing the battle for control of his nation to Bugandan rebel groups and there are rumours that the United Nations may be preparing to abandon their mission in Kampala. Kenya offers assistance to protect the UN officers, but recommends that the government and its supporters should rebase themselves to the north of the country.

12 January

The United Nations abandons Kampala as troops from the south move into the city. The nominal leader of the resistance, Dr Sampson Kisekka, will hold power in the capital, but declares the restoration of the monarchy with Muwendi Mutebi II being installed as king. The Ugandan government, led by Tito Okello, flees north to Gulu, with the core of the army and with direct support from Kenya and Sudanese rebels.

4 March

King Muwenda Mutebi of Buganda invokes his 1966 declaration of independence for his kingdom and demands international recognition for his new government under rebel military commander, Yoweri Museveni. In the UN, representatives vote in favour of a resolution condemning the invasion and ordering the Museveni government to negotiate with the northern government of Tito Okello. Believing he can achieve a full military victory, Museveni declines. In response, the USS Enterprise leaves the Persian Gulf headed towards Kenya.

1989

15 January

Ugandan government troops capture the township of Amuria. They will continue to progress over the next month against the rebels in the south, taking Katakwi and Kabermaido as well. President Tito Okello thanks Kenya for its ongoing support and calls on rebel leader Yoweri Museveni to end the civil war.

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