Eriya Kategaya (4 July 1945 – 2 March 2013) was a
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
n
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. At the time of his death he was Uganda's
First Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and
Minister for East African Community Affairs. He was also an ''ex officio'' Member of the
Ugandan Parliament, on account of being a cabinet minister.
Background
He was born on 4 July 1943 in Karagwe Itojo,
Ntungamo District
Ntungamo District is a district in Western Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it named after its 'chief town', Ntungamo, the location of the district headquarters. Ntungamo was elevated to a district on 5th May 1993.
Overview
In the past, Ntun ...
, in
Western Uganda
The Western Region of Uganda is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the Western region's population was .
Districts
As of 2010, the Western Region contained 26 districts:
Geography
The Western Region ...
. Eriya Kategaya was a longtime associate of 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 ...
, starting from their school days in
Ntare School
Ntare School is a residential all-boys' secondary school located in Mbarara, Mbarara District, south western Uganda. It was founded in 1956 by a Scottish educator named William Crichton.
Location
The school is approximately , by road, north o ...
. They studied together at
Mbarara High School
Mbarara High School (MHS), is a boys-only boarding middle and high school located in the city of Mbarara, in Mbarara District in Western Uganda.
Location
The school is located in the Western Ugandan city of Mbarara, approximately , by road, sou ...
and later at
Ntare School
Ntare School is a residential all-boys' secondary school located in Mbarara, Mbarara District, south western Uganda. It was founded in 1956 by a Scottish educator named William Crichton.
Location
The school is approximately , by road, north o ...
from 1961 to 1966. Kategaya and Museveni also attended the
University of Dar es Salaam
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in 1 ...
at the same time.
Education
Kategaya held a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
(
LLB
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...
), degree from the
University of Dar-es-Salaam
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) is a public university in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. The university became an affiliate of the University of East Africa (UEA) in 1 ...
. At the time of his graduation the university was part of the
University of East Africa
The University of East Africa was established on 29 June 1963"Universities: East Africa", ''A Historical Companion To Postcolonial Thought In English'' (Columbia University Press, 2005) Prem Poddar and David Johnson, eds., p. 489. and served Keny ...
.
Military and political training
Kategaya was part of Museveni's
Front for National Salvation
The Front for National Salvation (FRONASA) was a Ugandan rebel group led by Yoweri Museveni. The group factually emerged in 1971, although it was formally founded in 1973. FRONASA, along with other militant groups such as Kikosi Maalum (led by Mil ...
(FRONASA), a group of Ugandan exiles in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
who eventually helped topple
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 ...
in 1979 with the help of the
Tanzania People's Defence Force
The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) ( sw, Jeshi la Ulinzi la Wananchi wa Tanzania) is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force ...
. In 1980, he was a founder of the Uganda Patriotic Movement, headed by Museveni to contest in the elections. When Museveni launched the guerrilla struggle against the
Milton Obote II administration (1981 - 1985), Kategaya served in the 'External Wing' of the rebel
National Resistance Movement
The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986.
History
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...
(NRM) and
National Resistance Army
The National Resistance Army (NRA), the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Ugandan Bush War or Luwero War, against the government of Milton Obote, and l ...
(NRA). The NRM transformed into the National Resistance Movement political party, while the NRA became the
Uganda People's Defence Force
The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...
(UPDF). He was a Brigadier General in the National Resistance Army from 1987 holding army number RO-002 although he never served in any military position as he was all the time serving in other government offices as a senior cabinet minister.
Political career
When the NRM and NRA eventually took power in January 1986, Kategaya was one of the groups' top leadership and considered by most as the ''Number Two'' after Museveni. Between 1986 and 2001, Kategaya served in various capacities as National Political Commissar for the NRM and Minister in Museveni's governments.
During Museveni's second term as elected President (2001 - 2006), Kategaya, then serving as Internal Affairs Minister, famously fell out with the President when he opposed moves to have the Constitution amended to remove presidential term limits. In May 2003, he was dropped from his ministerial position during a Cabinet reshuffle, along with other ministers who opposed the removal of term limits. Kategaya continued to speak out against amending the term limits provision until eventually the heavily pro-Museveni Parliament pushed the amendment through.
From the time he was dropped from the Cabinet, Kategaya returned to practice as a private lawyer with J.B.Byamugisha Advocates, a law firm based in
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
.
In December 2004, he participated in the formation of the
Forum for Democratic Change
The Forum for Democratic Change ( sw, Jukwaa la Mabadiliko ya Kidemokrasia; FDC), founded on 16 December 2004, is the main opposition party in Uganda. The FDC was founded as an umbrella body called Reform Agenda, mostly for disenchanted former m ...
(FDC) an anti-Museveni coalition which went on to become the main opposition group in Uganda after the 2006 general elections. Kategaya, however, maintained a low profile and rarely participated in FDC affairs.
Following Museveni and NRM's win in the 2006 general elections, rumours began spreading that Kategaya was in reconciliation talks with Museveni. The rumours proved well-founded when Museveni nominated his old ally for approval by the Parliament as a Cabinet Minister. Subsequently, he was appointed to the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for
East African Community Affairs. Kategaya has been instrumental in the continued growth of the East African Community.
In the cabinet reshuffle of 27 May 2011, Eriya Kategaya maintained all his cabinet posts.
Eriya Kategaya died on 2 March 2013 in Nairobi, where he had been hospitalised for a while.
See also
*
Cabinet of Uganda
There are 32 Cabinet ministers and 50 Ministers of State in the Cabinet of Uganda (2021 to 2026).
According to Section 111 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, as amended in 2005, "There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, t ...
*
Parliament of Uganda
The parliament of Uganda is the country's legislative body. Unicameral, the most significant of the Ugandan parliament's functions is to pass laws that will provide good governance in the country. The government ministers are bound to answer t ...
*
Ntungamo District
Ntungamo District is a district in Western Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it named after its 'chief town', Ntungamo, the location of the district headquarters. Ntungamo was elevated to a district on 5th May 1993.
Overview
In the past, Ntun ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kategaya, Eriya
1945 births
2013 deaths
Foreign Ministers of Uganda
Interior ministers of Uganda
20th-century Ugandan lawyers
Forum for Democratic Change politicians
People educated at Ntare School
University of Dar es Salaam alumni
People from Ntungamo District
Members of the Parliament of Uganda
People educated at Mbarara High School
21st-century Ugandan lawyers