John Babiiha (17 April 1913 - March 1982) was a Ugandan politician, rancher and farmer. He was Uganda's first Republican

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

under the

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 ...

which was led by

Apollo 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 ...

. He also served as the Minister of Animal Resources under Milton Obote. He is believed to have founded the Uganda People's Congress Party in 1959 with Obote,

Sam Odaka Samuel Ngude Odaka (1929 – 4 August 2015) was a Ugandan diplomat, politician and member of the Uganda People's Congress political party. He served as the Foreign Minister of Uganda from 1964 to 1971 during the first tenure of President Milton ...

and Felix Rwambarari.

Background and education

Babiiha was born on 17 April 1913 in Toro, the capital of the Kingdom 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 ...

. Babiiha studied at St Joseph's College,

Mbarara Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, Nyakay ...

and St Mary's College, Kisubi. He later on got a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

Makerere University College Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

, where he attained a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

in veterinary science.

Career

Babiiha started work as a veterinary officer from 1939 until 1946, when he joined the

Toro kingdom Tooro is a Bantu kingdom located within the borders of Uganda. The current Omukama of Toro is King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV took to the throne of Tooro kingdom in 1995 at the age of just three ...

government, as

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

and then assistant

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

to the

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Babiiha 1954 he was nominated by the Toro parliament to the

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 ...

Legislative Council. He stood for Parliament for Toro Central in the first

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s in 1958, as leader of his own Uganda Peoples’ Union Party and again in the general election of March 1961, winning his seat both times. Babiiha then merged his party with others to join the Uganda Peoples’ Congress 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 ...

in 1960; he then became national chairman of the party. Obote gave him a place in his first cabinet in October 1962, at the time of

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, as Minister of Animal Husbandry,

Game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

and

Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

. Babiiha also served as Uganda's first

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

after the abolition of

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

institution Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

s in 1967.

Political life

Babiiha temporarily assumed control of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and declared a

national state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

on 19 December 1969, when the

party president and the then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Uganda

got injured in an attempted assassination.

Death

After the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

in 1971, Babiiha retired immediately to his

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

s. His only public function in the two years which followed was when

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 ...

, President of

, sent him on a world goodwill mission in January, 1973. Babiiha

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

in March 1982 and was buried at his home in Kibimba village,

Fort Portal Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom. Location Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampal ...

municipality.

References

External links