When Binaisa sacked Museveni as Defence minister and crisis hit the nation

The Late Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa is remembered to have served this country as President, albeit for a very brief and unhappy time in office (June 1979- May1980).

Binaisa had risen to the ranks and his closeness to Obote earned him a call to cabinet as Attorney General, but he would later resign after Obote deviated in style of leadership. He then moved to exile after he was placed on an assassination hit list.

With Obote gone and Amin also disposed through a coup with support of Tanzanian forces, a body made of mostly Obote loyalists dubbed the National Consultative Council (NCC) wooed, flattered and ‘vibed’ Binaisa into accepting honours as sitting president of Uganda.

But Binaisa’s reign at State House was only in the books, for he never stopped clashing with trouble and this would later accelerate his quick dash from power. He was powerless and didn’t have control about anything, not even his own life.

In his quest to show might, Binaisa pulled a move, which could have cost him the presidency- Sacking then Defence Minister Yoweri Museveni.

Until to day, President Museveni brags that he removed Binaisa from power because he ‘let political schemers manipulate his short lived presidency.”

According to Museveni, after the quick removal of Yusuf Lule, calls for a successor were placed and several men on table suggested names. “I proposed Binaisa. I had met Binaisa in the 1970s at Kilimanjaro Hotel when allied forces based in Tanzania were plotting to overthrow dictator Idi Amin. Binaisa impressed me as an articulate and humorous person,” Museveni maintains.

Binaisa now had to compete for the position with Edward Rugumayo and Paulo Muwanga but the latter scored a mere three votes while the former was convinced by the Museveni’s to withdraw from the race, leaving Binaisa to sprint to State House.

Besides, Binaisa was already a darling of the west, with diplomats lavishing him with praise for his experience, wit and human understanding.

That was all, Binaisa took the rest of the months of his reign trying to prove he was president, the height of this futile effort coming during the OAU summit in Liberia in July 1979 when he found no seat reserved for Uganda’s president, only to inquire and he was told Uganda was allegedly not independent but still in the shadows of Tanzania that had their armed forced still deployed here.

An angry Binaisa sought OAU intervention for the withdraw of Tanzania forces but he was late as army chief Oyite Ojok had sneaked to Tanzania for support on ‘building a Ugandan army’

However, Binaisa returned to Uganda determined to build an army in which he would take all the power to himself as commander in chief and in this way following several consultations from certain sections of his ‘allies’ and the NCC, Binaisa was advised to sack Yoweri Museveni from his position.

The NCC which was full of Obote’s loyalists were afraid of Museveni, they thought he would use the loop in systems to overthrow the sitting government.

Museveni sacked, trouble starts

So on November 18 1979, Museveni became the first victim of Binaisa’s quest for power, he was sacked as Defence Minister. An angry Museveni went and camped in South Western Ankole where his supporters called for the downfall of Binaisa.

By then, Museveni was a very powerful minister, with general backing from the western constituency.

Binaisa was soon rejected in western Uganda and westerners led by Chris Rwakasisi declared he was not a president to westerners anymore.

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In a press briefing after sacking Museveni, Binaisa said that he had the powers as president to reshuffle a minister and he struggled to convince journalists that there was no crisis in the country.

He was tasked by a European journalist to explain if he sacked Museveni because he was too powerful and could soon overthrow him but Binaisa dismissed the question as ‘speculative’ and refused to answer it.

At a rally later, Binaisa while attempting to send Museveni a message during a speech at a rally in Kampala said “the forthcoming elections would be under the UNLF and whoever directly or indirectly decides to organise other things would be wasting their own time.”

Indeed, it was Binaisa wasting time, in his capacity as defence minister/ CIC he still could not meet people under his docket. The Political factions of DP and UPC disowned him and said would no longer call him President, while Tanzanian President and his officials told him point blank that he was ‘not anything in Uganda.”

On fools’ day, April 1^st 1980, Binaisa was out of government, but the strategists held the door closed for him to ensure Oyite- Ojok does not open it and let himself in.

On May 10 1980, Binaisa was arrested and detained at State House, he wasn’t allowed to move past the State House compound for his own ‘safety’.

He summed up his situation as the “most tragic nightmare to him and the 14 million Ugandans. “

Binaisa made an appeal to all states outside Uganda to stop Nyerere from stopping ‘rebels from taking over the legitimate President of Uganda.”

According to Museveni, Binaisa’s problem started when he resorted to treachery, dishonesty and lies but most importantly he annoyed him by sacking him on radio.

“Buli omu yali ali mu kibalo (everyone was scheming). DP and UPC were moving around with a calculator instead of seeking consensus and we move as a team. I wondered; How could my friend who I brought sack me as minister on radio? That’s how I fell out with Binaisa.”

Museveni later when in power called back Binaisa from USA and reunited with him.

While eulogising the late President in 2010, Museveni said “I had forgotten he sacked me. I am glad he died when we had reconciled and we are here to celebrate his life. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”