GEORGE MUBIRU: Busoga Betrayal of Solidarity 1981-1986

What the report says

Watchdog Uganda’s article, written by George Mubiru, revisits Busoga’s political landscape in the early 1980s and argues that local leaders’ infighting weakened the sub-region during a period of national crisis. The piece focuses on 1981 to 1986, when Uganda was shaken by civil conflict and the second Milton Obote administration, while Busoga’s elites were, in the author’s view, divided by rivalries tied to the Kyabazingaship and party politics.

The article names several prominent figures in Busoga politics, including Dr. John Luwuliza-Kirunda, Professor Yoweri Kyesimira, Mathias Ngobi, Kirunda Kivejinja, Dr. David Kazungu, Frank Nabwiso and Fred Mukisa. Mubiru presents Luwuliza-Kirunda as the dominant force in the region, describing him as a powerful UPC minister and security official who used state influence to reinforce party control. He is also linked in the article to the creation of a JIK political forum covering Jinja, Iganga and Kamuli.

The piece says Busoga voters backed the Democratic Party in the 1980 elections, but that some MPs later crossed to the UPC under pressure. It singles out Kyesimira as one of the few who resisted, while others are described as either aligned with the regime, opposed to it, or forced into exile. The broader point is that Busoga lost a unified political voice at a critical moment. As a matter of general historical context, Uganda’s early 1980s were marked by intense national instability, which made regional political cohesion especially important.