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Shaban Opolot - Wikipedia

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Shaban Opolot

Uganda Army Chief of Staff
In office 1964 – 23 February 1966
President	Mutesa II of Buganda
Succeeded by	Idi Amin
Chief of Defence Staff
In office 23 February 1966 – ?
High Commissioner to Ghana
In office 1973–1975
President	Idi Amin

Personal details
Born	1924 Namusi Nakaloke, Uganda Protectorate
Died	6 March 2005(2005-03-06) (aged 80–81) Mbale District, Uganda
Military service
Allegiance	British Empire Uganda
Branch/service	King's African Rifles Uganda Army (UA)
Years of service	1945–1960s
Rank	Brigadier

Shaban Opolot (1924 – 6 March 2005) was a Ugandan military officer. He served as Uganda Army Commander from 1964 to 1966.

Early life

Shaban Opolot was born in 1924^[1] in Namusi Nakaloke, Uganda. He could speak multiple languages, including Luganda.^[2] He was a Muslim of Teso ethnicity.^[3]

Military career

In 1945 Opolot enlisted in the King's African Rifles in Mbale. He was assigned to the Infantry Training Centre in Jinja for training. Upon its completion, he was posted to the 7th Battalion in Nairobi. The unit saw service in Mauritius. In 1949, Opolot was promoted to the rank of warrant officer. Three years later he went to the United Kingdom for further military training.^[2] In August 1961, he was commissioned as a lieutenant.^[4]

Following a mutiny in 1964, Opolot was appointed Uganda Army Commander^[2] and chief of staff. Opolot was supportive of Mutesa II of Buganda who served as Ugandan President at the time. In January and February 1966, Opolot ordered troop movements in support of Mutesa during the Mengo Crisis that pitted the President against Prime Minister Milton Obote. The commander's orders proved abortive as the army was mostly loyal to his deputy Idi Amin, an ally of Obote.^[5] On 23 February 1966, Obote made Opolot Chief of Defence Staff, effectively removing him from control of the army.^[6] He was later imprisoned by the Obote government.^[7] By the end of his military career, he had risen to brigadier.^[7]

Later life

Obote was overthrown during the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état. The new Ugandan President, Idi Amin, released Opolot from prison.^[7] From 1973 to 1975 Opolot served as Uganda's High Commissioner to Ghana. Upon his return to Uganda, he retired to the east of the country. Opolot died on 6 March 2005 at the age of 86 after a long battle with prostate cancer^[2] in Mbale District.^[8] He was buried the next day in Kireka Village, Nakaloke Sub-County, Mbale District.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "The Story of Brig Shaban Opolot Uganda's First Army Commander". The 6th of February: The Magazine of the National Resistance Army (NRA). Vol. 18. 2005. p. 25.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kato, Joshua (23 March 2012). "Shaban Opolot rejected plans to attack the Lubiri in 1966". New Vision. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
^ Parsons 2003, p. 72.
^ Leopold 2021, p. 96.
^ Kasozi 1994, p. 101.
^ Kasozi 1994, p. 83.
^ ^a ^b ^c Isaac Mufumba (15 April 2019). "The killings that turned Amin into a tyrant". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
^ Kalyegira, Timothy (6 March 2005). "Uganda: Brig. Opolot Remembered". monitor.co.ug. Retrieved 4 October 2021.

Works cited

Kasozi, A. (1994). Social Origins of Violence in Uganda, 1964-1985. McGill-Queen's Press. ISBN 9780773564879.
Leopold, Mark (2021). Idi Amin : The Story of Africa's Icon of Evil. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-26088-5.
Parsons, Timothy (2003). The 1964 Army Mutinies and the Making of Modern East Africa. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780325070681.

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