Politics 20 June 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Britain Defends Obote Government Amidst Horrific Human Rights Accusations
In June 1985, the British government publicly defended Milton Obote's regime, distinguishing it from Idi Amin's rule, following a damning Amnesty International report detailing widespread atrocities by the Uganda National Liberation Army. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/magazines/people-power/when-london-drew-a-line-between-obote-and-amin-5501946
Forty-one years ago, on June 19, 1985, the British government issued a statement in London that drew a sharp distinction between the rule of President Milton Obote and his predecessor, Idi Amin. The statement declared that Obote’s governance up to that point was “unacceptable” and, by implication, worse than Amin’s brutal eight-year regime, during which an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 Ugandans were killed.
This British defense came just eight days after Amnesty International released a comprehensive 64-page report. The global human rights watchdog detailed numerous atrocities allegedly committed by the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) against civilians. These acts occurred during the conflict in the Luweero Triangle and other regions against the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebels and other opposition groups.
The Amnesty report, compiled over four-and-a-half years, accused the UNLA of widespread torture, rape, murder, and extortion. It specifically highlighted the systematic mistreatment of detainees, many of whom were unlawfully imprisoned in military barracks for political reasons, including suspected supporters of the National Resistance Movement/Army (NRM/A) and opposition parties like the Democratic Party (DP).
Detainees were allegedly subjected to horrific torture methods, including severe beatings with various objects, food and water deprivation, and even burning. The report documented instances of women, including pregnant ones, being raped in detention, leading to miscarriages. Many individuals were reported to have “disappeared” while in custody, with fears of their deaths. Military installations like Makindye Military Police Barracks and Lubiri and Kireka barracks were identified as sites where torture was routine.
Furthermore, the report detailed unlawful detentions in military barracks, intelligence headquarters, and secret prisons, often without basic amenities. It also spoke of mass graves near military installations, with former detainees recounting being forced to load bodies for burial. The report concluded by urging the Ugandan government to investigate these allegations, locate the disappeared, ensure no confessions obtained through torture were used in legal proceedings, compensate victims, and prosecute perpetrators of human rights abuses.