EXILE POLITICS AND RESISTANCE TO DICTATORSHIP: THE UGANDAN ANTI-AMIN ORGANIZATIONS IN ZAMBIA, 1972-79

The contemporary debate on democracy and change in Africa appearsto have largely concentrated on the current and future roleof the political parties and the relative merits and demeritsof multi-partly politics vis-a-vis single party rule duringthe 1980s and 1990s. In the case of Uganda, not enough attentionhas been paid to the historical background to the present. Inparticular, a major lacuna has been the role played by organizationsoutside the country for most of the 1970s in the struggle toremove the Idi Amin regime (1971–79) from power. Thispaper seeks to make a contribution towards filling this gapand thus add to our knowledge of the post colonial history ofUganda. It considers critically the part played by such organizationsin the anti-Amin resistance movement which culminated in theformation of the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) inMarch 1979 and the establishment of the first post Amin governmentin Uganda a month later. While recognizing the proliferationof similar exile bodies elsewhere, this paper concentrates onZambia-based groups, the Uganda Liberation Group (Z) and theUganda National Movement.