Uganda and Ugandan News

 Country Profile

Uganda,officially the Republic of Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa.Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.

Uganda is divided into Districts, spread across 4 administrative regions.Each district is divided into sub-districts, counties,sub-counties, parishes and villages.There are now over 100 districts.Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative towns.

Capital                                  Kampala

Currency                              Ugandan Shilling

Official Language                 English and Swahili 

Population                           36 Million(2011 Estimate)

History

Uganda gained independence from Britain on Oct 09,1962.The first post-independence election, held in 1962, was won by an alliance between the Ugandan People's Congress (UPC) and Kabaka Yekka (KY). UPC and KY formed the first post-independence government with Milton Obote as executive Prime Minister,

 

 the Buganda Kabaka (King) Edward Muteesa II  holding the largely ceremonial position of President and William Wilberforce Nadiope

 

the Kyabazinga (paramount chief) of  Busoga, as Vice President.

In 1966, following a power struggle between the Obote-led government and King Muteesa, the UPC-dominated Parliament changed the constitution and removed the ceremonial president and vice president

In 1971 after a military coup Milton Obote was deposed from power and the Dictator Idi Amin seized control of the country. Amin ruled Uganda with the military for the next eight years and carried out mass killings within the country to maintain his rule. An estimated 300,000 Ugandans lost their lives at the hands of his regime

 

Idi Amin's reign was ended after the Uganda-Tanzania War  in 1979 in which Tanzanian forces aided by Ugandan exiles invaded Uganda. Tanzania invades Uganda, unifying the various anti-Amin forces under the Uganda National Liberation Front and forcing Idi Amin to flee the country; Yusufu Lule installed as president, but is quickly replaced by Godfrey Binaisa.

Yusuf Lule

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Godfrey Binaisa

 

 

 

 

 

In 1980 Godfrey Binaisa was overthrown by the army and Milton Obote becomes president after elections

In 1985 Milon Obote was deposed once more  by General Tito Okello . 

 

Okello ruled for six months until he was deposed after the so-called 'bush war' by the National Resistance Army'  (NRA) operating under the leadership of the current president,Yoweri Musaveni.

 

Yoweri Museveni has been in power since 1986.Yoweri Museveni  has been credited with restoring relative stability and economic growth to Uganda following years of civil war and repression under Milton Obote and Idi Amin before him.Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement ran Uganda as a one-party state until a referendum brought back multi-party politics in 2005. He won presidential elections in 1996, and again in 2001, 2006 and 2011

 

 

Politics and Govt

Uganda is a Presidential Republic where the President of Uganda is both the Head of State and Head of Govt. and of a Multiparty system.The President appoints a Vice President and a Prime Minister who aid him in governing.The cabinet is appointed by the president from among the elected legislators

The President  is elected by a popular vote to a five-year term.

The Current President of Uganda is Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in office since January 1986 and

 

 

 the current Prime Minister of Uganda is Amama Mbabazi in office from May 24,2011(the 10th Prime Minister in Uganda's history)

Executive Power is exercised by the Govt. Legislative Power is vested in both the Govt and the National Assembly. 

 

2011 Presidential Elections 

On Sunday, 20 February 2011, the Uganda Electoral Commission declared the 24-year reigning president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the winning candidate of the 2011 elections that were held on the 18th of February 2011. The opposition were, however, not satisfied with the results, condemning them as full of sham and rigging. According to the results released, Museveni won with 68% of the votes, easily topping his nearest challenger Kizza Besigye( formerly Museveni's physician)who got 26% of the votes.

Yoweri Museveni won a fresh term in office in presidential elections in February 2011, having amended the constitution before the 2006 election to remove the previous limit on the number of terms a president could serve.

 

 

 

20-old Ugandan becomes one of youngest MPs in African history - Wednesday 26 September 2012

 

20-year-old Proscovia Oromait sworn in as MP in her late father's seat.The second of eight siblings, Oromait became interested in politics at the age of 12. She was a high achiever as class monitor, a prefect and journalism club president at her school.
In July 2012, as she turned 20, her father died. Her response was to run for his vacant parliamentary seat herself. Usuk, in eastern Uganda, is an impoverished rural constituency of some 100,000 people, with only one functional secondary school.
Some 45% of the Ugandan population is under 25 years old. Oromait, who is single, admits that entering parliament will mean a different life. "I feel sad that I'm losing my youth. I'm going to be with a group of people who are mature in mind. I won't feel strange when I go into parliament.