The Uganda People's Congress (UPC; sw, Congress ya Watu wa Uganda) is a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
.
UPC was founded in 1960 by
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 ...
, who led the country to independence and later served two
presidential terms under the party's banner. Obote was still party leader when he died in October 2005, although he had previously announced his intention to step down.
The party won nine out of 289 elected seats in the
2006 general election.
In the presidential election of the same date, UPC candidate
Miria Obote
Miria Obote (née Kalule; born 16 July 1936) is a Ugandan politician who was first lady of Uganda, and widow of former Prime Minister and President Milton Obote. She was a candidate in the 2006 Ugandan general election.
Background and Education ...
won 0.8 percent of the vote.
On 14 May 2010, the party elected
Olara Otunnu
Olara A. Otunnu (born 6 September 1950) is a Ugandan politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was President of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), a political party, from 2010 to 2015 and stood as the party's candidate in the 2011 presidential elect ...
, a former United Nations undersecretary-general for children and armed conflict, to lead the party. He replaced Obote's widow Miria.
Background
The UPC dominated Ugandan politics from independence until 1971, when Milton Obote was overthrown 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 ...
.
The party returned to power under Obote in 1980 until he was overthrown again in 1985 by
Tito Okello
Tito Lutwa Okello (1914 – 3 June 1996) was a Ugandan military officer and politician. He was the eighth president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986.
Background
Tito Okello was born into an ethnic Acholi family in circa 1914 ...
. The history of the UPC is intertwined with the ethnic divide that has plagued Uganda since it was a British
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its int ...
.
Pre-Independence
![Flag of Uganda People's Congress (former)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Flag_of_Uganda_People%27s_Congress_%28former%29.png)
As independence approached in the 1940s–1950s, it was clear that 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 ...
(the largest ethnic group) wanted extensive autonomy in Uganda, and the
Buganda King's 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
I ...
("The King Only") emphasised this desire. However, this was not favoured by most Ugandans of other tribes and amongst some Buganda educated elite who formed an alternative party, 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 ...
, to aspire for national unity. Although unpopular in Buganda, the Democratic Party had widespread support in the rest of the Bantu-speaking South.
Into this void, there emerged an alternative – the
Uganda National Congress
Uganda National Congress (UNC) was the first political party in Uganda.
UNC formed
Formed on Sunday 2 March 1952, Ignatius Kangave Musaazi was its first President, and Abubaker Kakyama Mayanja the party's first Secretary General. Apollo K. Kiro ...
(UNC). Although led by a northerner (Milton Obote), the UNC appeared more modernist and accommodating and attracted many southerners particularly in the east. The UNC formed an alliance with
Uganda People's Union
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sout ...
(UPU) and emerged as the UPC.
The three parties (Kabaka Yekka, UPC, and the Democratic Party) contested the first pre-independence election.
As expected, Kabaka Yekka won most of the seats in Buganda and the UPC won most seats in the north and east. However the Democratic Party (DP) led by
Benedicto Kiwanuka emerged as the largest single party. Kiwanuka was on the verge of becoming the first prime minister of independent Uganda when he was thwarted by a surprising alliance between the UPC and Kabaka Yekka.
The
Kabaka was afraid that DP would remove the monarchy in favour of a more modern-looking Uganda. As for the UPC, Milton Obote, realising he had lost the election, saw the alliance as the way to power. In return, Obote offered the Kabaka a ceremonial role in the new administration and the retention of all royal powers. The UPC/KY alliance thus formed Uganda's first government with Milton Obote as prime minister.
First government
The alliance between the UPC and Kabaka Yekka did not last long. After four years in power, Milton Obote ordered a military attack on the Kabaka's palace in 1966.
John Mikloth Magoola Luwuliza-Kirunda
John Mikloth Magoola Luwuliza-Kirunda (5 August 1940 – 8 August 2005) was a prominent Ugandan physician who served numerous roles in the Idi Amin government, serving both as Ministers of Internal Affairs of Uganda and Organizing Secretary of t ...
came in as organizing secretary in 1966. The attack was led by an army officer called
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 ...
.
The Kabaka escaped to London and Obote declared himself President of Uganda. This action more than anything else began the decline of the UPC as a popular party in Uganda. As his unpopularity grew Obote increasingly turned to his Northern home support rather than trying to strengthen the party in the South. The 1969 elections were cancelled and Obote became dictatorial. His government was overthrown in 1971 by Idi Amin.
Return to power
The UPC returned in 1979 after Idi Amin was overthrown.
Obote as leader of the UPC was closely aligned to the Military Junta that had replaced Idi Amin and rather than strengthen the support of the party in the South of Uganda took up a more military approach. The army (traditionally dominated by Northerners) was a brutal machine that carried out numerous atrocities particularly in the South. This polarised the North/South divide with the UPC being perceived more as a Northern party than ever before. Southerners turned to the Democratic Party and a smaller party called the Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM) led by a former UPC member,
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 ...
.
In the elections of 1980, there was overwhelming suspicion that the UPC had rigged the result with the help of the Military Junta. This perception was further enhanced when Obote appointed the head of the Military Junta, Paulo Muwanga as his Vice President when the UPC was declared the winner of the elections. A civil war broke out in Uganda when Yoweri Museveni rejected the result and went to the bush to fight the government.
Yoweri Museveni's eventual success was due to the North/South divide that the UPC had helped foster in Uganda. Southerners more than ever before realised that they had to take up arms to protect their rights. In the past most Southerners had despised military careers. When Museveni came to power in 1986, his army was dominated by Southerners particularly from the west.
2006 election
On November 28, 2005, Obote's widow
Miria was elected party president. Miria Obote was UPC's presidential candidate in the
2006 general electionbr>
The UPC returned to contest the election in 2006, when Museveni restored multi-party elections; however Obote died in exile a few months before. The UPC's traditional heartland in the North appeared uninterested in the UPC without Obote, but still opposed Museveni. This time they turned to Museveni's main opponent Kizza Besyigye (from the South) who led 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 ...
(FDC).
The UPC had failed even to capitalise on its self-created dilemma (appearing to be a Northern party) by not appointing a popular Northern politician to lead the party – instead they opted for Obote's widow (Miria), a Southerner. After the elections, the party suffered many high level defections to Museveni's ruling National Resistance Movement and to the FDC. Miria's election is a source of resentment, and many Ugandans still associate the party with the military excesses of the past. In the
23 February 2006 parliamentary election, the party won nine out of 319 seats in the National Assembly.
New leader
The UPC's poor performance in the 2006 elections forced the party to review its place in Ugandan politics. Uganda's political landscape is changing from regional based parties to personality driven politics. The party needed to find a leader with a recognised calibre in politics. The party chose Dr.
Olara Otunnu
Olara A. Otunnu (born 6 September 1950) is a Ugandan politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was President of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), a political party, from 2010 to 2015 and stood as the party's candidate in the 2011 presidential elect ...
, a former UN under secretary general for children and armed conflict. The election however revealed internal conflicts in the party that are likely to affect its performance at the 2011 elections. Otunnu served under Tito Okello as Foreign Minister and is seen by some as part of the putsch that overthrew the last UPC government in 1985.
Otunnu's main rival at the party elections was
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 ...
's son Jimmy Akena, the Member of Parliament for Lira Municipality showing the Obote family still cherishes the party that Obote created.
Otunnu was later voted out by the UPC fraternity, hence leading to the rise of Jimmy Akena son of the founding father of UPC. Akena became President of the Uganda People's Congress on 2 July 2015.
Electoral history
Presidential elections
Parliament of Uganda elections
See also
*
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 ...
References
External links
UPC website – www.upcparty.net
{{Authority control
1955 establishments in the British Empire
African and Black nationalist parties in Africa
African socialist political parties
Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa
Parties of one-party systems
Political parties established in 1955
Political parties in Uganda
Socialism in Uganda
Socialist parties in Africa