Benedicto Kagimu Mugumba Kiwanuka (8 May 1922 – 22 September 1972) was the first

prime minister of Uganda The prime minister of Uganda chairs the Cabinet of Uganda, although the president is the effective head of government. Robinah Nabbanja has been the prime minister since 21 June 2021. The post of Prime Minister was created for the first time in ...

, a leader of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, and one of the persons that led the country in the transition between colonial British rule and independence. He was murdered by

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

's regime in 1972.

Biography

A member of the

Baganda The Ganda people, or Baganda (endonym: ''Baganda''; singular ''Muganda''), are a Bantu ethnic group native to Buganda, a subnational kingdom within Uganda. Traditionally composed of 52 clans (although since a 1993 survey, only 46 are official ...

ethnic group, Kiwanuka was born in Kisabwa to Kaketo-Namugera (father) and was a member of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Following a law course in Lesotho in 1960–62, he travelled to London to study for the Bar at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in February 1956. As a result of the September 1961 Uganda Constitutional Conference held in London, Uganda achieved internal self-government on 1 March 1962. Kiwanuka became Uganda's first Chief Minister in the new

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. New elections, however, were held in April 1962, with Kiwanuka's party losing to the alliance of

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from British colonial rule in 1962. Following the nation's independence, he served as prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to ...

Uganda People's Congress The Uganda People's Congress (UPC; sw, Congress ya Watu wa Uganda) is a political party in Uganda. UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner ...

and the Buganda traditionalist party,

Kabaka Yekka Kabaka Yekka, commonly abbreviated as KY, was a monarchist political movement and party in Uganda. ''Kabaka Yekka'' means 'king only' in the Ganda language, Kabaka being the title of the King in the kingdom of Buganda. History Formation In ...

. In addition, Kiwanuka's Catholicism made him unpopular with his fellow Buganda, a mainly

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

people. Uganda achieved independence on 9 October 1962, with Obote as the first prime minister of a fully independent Uganda. Kiwanuka was imprisoned in 1969 by Obote's government, but was one of 55 political detainees released by Idi Amin immediately after the coup that brought Amin to power. Amin appointed him as

chief justice of Uganda The Supreme Court of Uganda is the highest court, judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 130 of the Constitution of Uganda, 1995 Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court with original jurisdiction in only one type of ...

on 27 June 1971. Kiwanuka soon came into confrontation with Amin's disregard for the rule of law. In the immediate aftermath of Obote's

1972 invasion of Uganda The 1972 invasion of Uganda was an armed attempt by Ugandan insurgents, supported by Tanzania, to overthrow the regime of Idi Amin. Under the orders of former Ugandan President Milton Obote, insurgents launched an invasion of southern Uganda with ...

, Kiwanuka was arrested at gunpoint by Amin's men as he presided over a session of the High Court.David Martin, ''General Amin'', London: Faber and Faber, 1974, p. 211 As well as countermanding from the bench some of Amin's more draconian orders, Kiwanuka had also secretly agreed to support Obote's return to power, with the proviso that Kiwanuka would be involved in constitutional reform.Martin, ''General Amin'', p. 212 Kiwanuka was killed on 22 September at Makindye Military Prison. Western accounts described a prolonged execution which, according to eyewitnesses, involved Kiwanuka's ears, nose, lips, and arms being severed, a disembowelling, and castration before he was finally immolated. Other sources claimed that, rather than being tortured, Kiwanuka was personally shot by Amin. Kiwanuka's death was not acknowledged as an execution, with Amin instead publicly blaming it on Obote's supporters and even launching a police investigation. Kiwanuka's killing was the first of a series directed against leading figures in the Baganda and

Ankole Ankole (Nkore language, Runyankore: ''Nkore''), was a traditional Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom in Uganda and lasted from the 15th century until 1967. The kingdom was located in south-western Uganda, east of Lake Edward. History Ankole Realm, K ...

tribes, aimed at curbing their power. Kiwanuka's grandson,

Mathias Kiwanuka Mathias Kagimu Kiwanuka (born March 8, 1983) is a former American football defensive end. He was originally drafted 32nd overall in the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football at Boston College. He earned two Super Bowl rings with the Giants ...

, played defensive end for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team, and was the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

' first round pick in the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

, eventually winning two championships with the team. In 2018, a monument was dedicated to him at the request of Ugandan president

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiwanuka, Benedicto 1922 births 1972 deaths Alumni of University College London Assassinated Ugandan politicians British colonial army soldiers Democratic Party (Uganda) politicians Members of Gray's Inn People murdered in Uganda Prime Ministers of Uganda Ugandan judges Ugandan Roman Catholics 20th-century Ugandan lawyers Chief justices of Uganda