THE story of Dr. Apollo Milton Obote’s narrow escape reads like a script out of a movie. The only difference is the plot of escape from Kampala to Nairobi involved real people, not fictitious characters.
Several rumours have been doing the rounds over the years, especially one alleging that Obote, who died in a South African hospital on Monday, was smuggled out of the country in a coffin during his daring escape after being ousted in a military coup.
But according to one of his trusted bodyguards, who spoke to Sunday Vision on condition of anonymity, nothing could be further from the truth.
“We never took that man in a coffin. We took him in broad daylight,” says the bodyguard, who stayed for many years with Obote in exile before returning to Uganda.
Early reports
The drama of Obote’s escape started unfolding early on the morning of July 26, 1987. Obote reported for work as usual at his office on the fourth floor of Parliament Building, where he continued to receive news of a mutinous section of the army led by Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Tito Okello Lutwa.
The force had overrun Lira town on July 25 and was advancing on Kampala to capture power. But in spite of the imminent danger, he still had hope that some sections of the army still loyal to him would squash the coup. His Chief of Staff, Brig. Smith Opon Acak, was put in charge.
Crisis meeting
A flurry of activity filled the President’s Office at Parliament till late in the evening. At about 10:00pm the Minister of State for Security, Chris Rwakasisi; the Minister of Public Service and Cabinet Affairs, Wilson Okwenje; Brig. Acak, Col. John Ogole, Maj. Olwol, Lt. Col. John Opor and Col. Orotha met to map out a strategy to contain the Okello troops.
Col. Ogole was assigned to set up ambushes along the Kampala-Karuma road to beat off the mutineers. Shortly after midnight Obote retreated to Nile Mansions (present-day Serena Kampala Hotel) to sleep.
More defections
At 2:30am, he was woken up and informed that the soldiers who had been deployed to squash the coup had thrown in their lot with the plotters.
Obote summoned his bodyguards. “Let’s go,” he said. Fearing for Obote’s life, his protection unit whisked him off to the residence of his personal doctor, Henry Opiote, where he held marathon meetings with Brig. Acak, the commander of the Special Forces, Ahmed Ogeny, Senior Superintendent of Police Okoth Ogola and Ogole, the commander of the 50th Brigade. Some ministers, including Rwakasisi, also attended.
It was decided that the President should be moved out of Kampala. When it was suggested that he leave the country, Obote objected vehemently. Rwakasisi convinced him that it was important for him to stay alive. An agreement was reached that he be relocated to Jinja.
At 5:30pm, Obote was heading out of Kampala. Silently, his bodyguards — the Presidential Escort Unit, an elite outfit with a superb system of gathering information and analysing threats to the President — had different plans. The destination was Kenya via Busia.
Obote’s bodyguard says a contingency plan of travel was hatched, and was supposed to “draw as little attention as possible”. The highly trained bodyguards took control of the lead car since they had mapped out the route and destination.
His usual convoy was scaled down from 10 to four cars, including the big Mercedes Benz (model 600) in which Obote normally travelled, two smaller Benzes (model 380) and a Jeep, which was mounted with a large anti-aircraft gun.
Likewise, his usual team of nine bodyguards was reduced to six and it was agreed that they wouldn’t use the walkie-talkies so as not to alert the coup plotters of Obote’s whereabouts. The team visibly had fewer guns but there were extra weapons in the boots of the cars.
“We set off for Jinja at breakneck speed,” says the former bodyguard, who laughed heartily when asked whether Obote was worried that his escape would be detected.
The roadblocks
However, when the convoy arrived in Mukono, it was detained for 15 minutes at a roadblock manned by heavily armed soldiers who were under orders not to allow anyone through, especially not Obote. “Sisi yote takufa hapa, akuna anakimbiya,” they said in Swahili, meaning “All of us should die in the country”. Surprisingly, the soldiers did not bother to search the presidential convoy for Obote, who was huddled in the back seat of the big car with a bodyguard. The car’s windows were heavily tinted and the curtains had been drawn for added protection.
“We had all decided that we would fight and defend the President, if the soldiers attempted to search the car,” recalls the bodyguard.
After a lot of haggling, Opiote lied that the convoy was going to the border to pick up Obote’s wife Miria, who had been in Nairobi attending a conference for first ladies.
But they were let off the hook mostly because the soldiers were convinced Obote wouldn’t possibly have travelled at such an ungodly hour without his full presidential security detail.
The convoy once again ran into another group of soldiers at the bridge in Jinja, but was left to go on without further incident until they got to Busia.
The convoy drove into Jinja town, avoiding Kyabazinga Way, which is close to Gadaffi Garrison. In Jinja, Obote protested when he learnt that he was not being driven to the Presidential Lodge, but was heading out of the country.
By the time they reached Busia, the news had already spread that Obote had escaped from Kampala and all army units had been put on alert to look out for him. An Acholi officer, working with the National Security Agency, had locked the gates at the border crossing, one with a padlock and the other with a sisal rope, which was quickly loosened to allow Obote and the bodyguards safe passage to the Kenyan side.
Safely across
According to the bodyguard’s testimony, all weaponry and ammunition, which they had carried with them during the escape, was left on the Ugandan side of the border. It was deemed wrong to cross dressed in military fatigues and some of the escorts had to take off their shirts.
“We never took any guns of Uganda with us, we left everything behind. Some people crossed without shoes,” says the bodyguard who also claims that Obote did not carry any money with him at the time of escape.
Obote stayed for a few days at the dingy Teachers Hotel in Busia before finally leaving for Kakamega. His bodyguard says Opiote and one of the bodyguards raised $600 between them to buy fuel for the cars.
Later Obote and his entourage were transferred from the Kakamega Golf Course Hotel to the State Lodge. By then, Obote was still holding out in the hope that his loyalist forces might still pull it off. But all his hopes went up in smoke when he received word that Brig. Smith Opon Acak, James Odong Oduka, Maj. Olwol, Col. Ogole and two Air Force pilots, Lt. Okello and Maj. Peter Nyakairu had landed at Embakasi Military Base with two helicopters.
“When Obote heard this, he knew the game was over,” says the bodyguard, who could not say whether Obote had been heartbroken at being ousted twice in a military coup. Obote reportedly consoled his despirited men, saying, “We have lost a government, but there is nothing to do. It happens.”
Seeking sanctuary
The following day Obote met with Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi at Nakuru State House. Moi considered giving him a place to live but Obote opted to go to his friend, former Kenyan Attorney General Kitili Mwenda, in Nairobi.
Both Moi and Ethiopian President Haile Mengistu Mariam are said to have offered him sanctuary, but Obote opted for Zambia arguing that he wanted to stay out of the region. He left for Zambia with about 150 people 10 days after the coup.
Before he left Nairobi for Zambia, another battle had been going on to re-unite the family, as two of the children — Benjamin Opeto and Tony Akaki — had been left behind in Uganda when Obote escaped.
Opiote had been left at State House Entebbe and Akaki was at Namasagali College, where he studied. The Indian High Commission and the headmaster of Namasagali, Fr. Damian Grimes, assisted in re-uniting the two boys with the rest of the family.
Obote’s security
That Obote was able to slip through two army roadblocks undetected was not only down to sheer luck, but a combination of good intelligence, proper planning and training of his elite Presidential Protection Unit.
Before his escape, Obote had survived several daring assassination attempts, some orchestrated by very senior officials in government. The bodyguard recalls an incident in 1984, during Labour Day Celebrations in Jinja, where Obote was officiating. One of the women dancers entertaining the guests moved close to Obote and, when apprehended, was found with a knife in the folds of her clothing.
In the same year there were other incidents. Someone sent the President a book which, when x-rayed, was found to contain explosives. Another present of a Kenwood food processor was laced with radioactive material. Then a soldier was caught with a stick grenade in a paper bag, which he had planned to haul at Obote during a function at Fairway Hotel.
The unit uncovered a plot to down Obote’s plane on return from Italy. A Pakistani assassin had camped for days in a swampy location in Entebbe and was planning to shoot down Obote’s plane as it came in to land at Entebbe. He was locked up in Luzira.
According to Obote’s bodyguard, although security for the president would often be shared amongst all the security agencies, the elite Presidential Protection Unit would always take the lion’s share of responsibility.
The bulk of the team had received their training in North Korea, Italy and India and were skilled in the art and craft of VIP protection. The unit also had a state-of-the-art German-made Telefunken telecommunication system, which had telephones and a fax machine to enable the President to stay in constant touch in any part of the country.
“We were the ones who were keeping the pot, as we used to call him then,” the bodyguard recalls.
Published on: Sunday, 16th October, 2005
Written by SHEILA C. KULUBYA
Several rumours have been doing the rounds over the years, especially one alleging that Obote, who died in a South African hospital on Monday, was smuggled out of the country in a coffin during his daring escape after being ousted in a military coup.
But according to one of his trusted bodyguards, who spoke to Sunday Vision on condition of anonymity, nothing could be further from the truth.
“We never took that man in a coffin. We took him in broad daylight,” says the bodyguard, who stayed for many years with Obote in exile before returning to Uganda.
Early reports
The drama of Obote’s escape started unfolding early on the morning of July 26, 1987. Obote reported for work as usual at his office on the fourth floor of Parliament Building, where he continued to receive news of a mutinous section of the army led by Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Tito Okello Lutwa.
The force had overrun Lira town on July 25 and was advancing on Kampala to capture power. But in spite of the imminent danger, he still had hope that some sections of the army still loyal to him would squash the coup. His Chief of Staff, Brig. Smith Opon Acak, was put in charge.
Crisis meeting
A flurry of activity filled the President’s Office at Parliament till late in the evening. At about 10:00pm the Minister of State for Security, Chris Rwakasisi; the Minister of Public Service and Cabinet Affairs, Wilson Okwenje; Brig. Acak, Col. John Ogole, Maj. Olwol, Lt. Col. John Opor and Col. Orotha met to map out a strategy to contain the Okello troops.
Col. Ogole was assigned to set up ambushes along the Kampala-Karuma road to beat off the mutineers. Shortly after midnight Obote retreated to Nile Mansions (present-day Serena Kampala Hotel) to sleep.
More defections
At 2:30am, he was woken up and informed that the soldiers who had been deployed to squash the coup had thrown in their lot with the plotters.
Obote summoned his bodyguards. “Let’s go,” he said. Fearing for Obote’s life, his protection unit whisked him off to the residence of his personal doctor, Henry Opiote, where he held marathon meetings with Brig. Acak, the commander of the Special Forces, Ahmed Ogeny, Senior Superintendent of Police Okoth Ogola and Ogole, the commander of the 50th Brigade. Some ministers, including Rwakasisi, also attended.
It was decided that the President should be moved out of Kampala. When it was suggested that he leave the country, Obote objected vehemently. Rwakasisi convinced him that it was important for him to stay alive. An agreement was reached that he be relocated to Jinja.
At 5:30pm, Obote was heading out of Kampala. Silently, his bodyguards — the Presidential Escort Unit, an elite outfit with a superb system of gathering information and analysing threats to the President — had different plans. The destination was Kenya via Busia.
Obote’s bodyguard says a contingency plan of travel was hatched, and was supposed to “draw as little attention as possible”. The highly trained bodyguards took control of the lead car since they had mapped out the route and destination.
His usual convoy was scaled down from 10 to four cars, including the big Mercedes Benz (model 600) in which Obote normally travelled, two smaller Benzes (model 380) and a Jeep, which was mounted with a large anti-aircraft gun.
Likewise, his usual team of nine bodyguards was reduced to six and it was agreed that they wouldn’t use the walkie-talkies so as not to alert the coup plotters of Obote’s whereabouts. The team visibly had fewer guns but there were extra weapons in the boots of the cars.
“We set off for Jinja at breakneck speed,” says the former bodyguard, who laughed heartily when asked whether Obote was worried that his escape would be detected.
The roadblocks
However, when the convoy arrived in Mukono, it was detained for 15 minutes at a roadblock manned by heavily armed soldiers who were under orders not to allow anyone through, especially not Obote. “Sisi yote takufa hapa, akuna anakimbiya,” they said in Swahili, meaning “All of us should die in the country”. Surprisingly, the soldiers did not bother to search the presidential convoy for Obote, who was huddled in the back seat of the big car with a bodyguard. The car’s windows were heavily tinted and the curtains had been drawn for added protection.
“We had all decided that we would fight and defend the President, if the soldiers attempted to search the car,” recalls the bodyguard.
After a lot of haggling, Opiote lied that the convoy was going to the border to pick up Obote’s wife Miria, who had been in Nairobi attending a conference for first ladies.
But they were let off the hook mostly because the soldiers were convinced Obote wouldn’t possibly have travelled at such an ungodly hour without his full presidential security detail.
The convoy once again ran into another group of soldiers at the bridge in Jinja, but was left to go on without further incident until they got to Busia.
The convoy drove into Jinja town, avoiding Kyabazinga Way, which is close to Gadaffi Garrison. In Jinja, Obote protested when he learnt that he was not being driven to the Presidential Lodge, but was heading out of the country.
By the time they reached Busia, the news had already spread that Obote had escaped from Kampala and all army units had been put on alert to look out for him. An Acholi officer, working with the National Security Agency, had locked the gates at the border crossing, one with a padlock and the other with a sisal rope, which was quickly loosened to allow Obote and the bodyguards safe passage to the Kenyan side.
Safely across
According to the bodyguard’s testimony, all weaponry and ammunition, which they had carried with them during the escape, was left on the Ugandan side of the border. It was deemed wrong to cross dressed in military fatigues and some of the escorts had to take off their shirts.
“We never took any guns of Uganda with us, we left everything behind. Some people crossed without shoes,” says the bodyguard who also claims that Obote did not carry any money with him at the time of escape.
Obote stayed for a few days at the dingy Teachers Hotel in Busia before finally leaving for Kakamega. His bodyguard says Opiote and one of the bodyguards raised $600 between them to buy fuel for the cars.
Later Obote and his entourage were transferred from the Kakamega Golf Course Hotel to the State Lodge. By then, Obote was still holding out in the hope that his loyalist forces might still pull it off. But all his hopes went up in smoke when he received word that Brig. Smith Opon Acak, James Odong Oduka, Maj. Olwol, Col. Ogole and two Air Force pilots, Lt. Okello and Maj. Peter Nyakairu had landed at Embakasi Military Base with two helicopters.
“When Obote heard this, he knew the game was over,” says the bodyguard, who could not say whether Obote had been heartbroken at being ousted twice in a military coup. Obote reportedly consoled his despirited men, saying, “We have lost a government, but there is nothing to do. It happens.”
Seeking sanctuary
The following day Obote met with Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi at Nakuru State House. Moi considered giving him a place to live but Obote opted to go to his friend, former Kenyan Attorney General Kitili Mwenda, in Nairobi.
Both Moi and Ethiopian President Haile Mengistu Mariam are said to have offered him sanctuary, but Obote opted for Zambia arguing that he wanted to stay out of the region. He left for Zambia with about 150 people 10 days after the coup.
Before he left Nairobi for Zambia, another battle had been going on to re-unite the family, as two of the children — Benjamin Opeto and Tony Akaki — had been left behind in Uganda when Obote escaped.
Opiote had been left at State House Entebbe and Akaki was at Namasagali College, where he studied. The Indian High Commission and the headmaster of Namasagali, Fr. Damian Grimes, assisted in re-uniting the two boys with the rest of the family.
Obote’s security
That Obote was able to slip through two army roadblocks undetected was not only down to sheer luck, but a combination of good intelligence, proper planning and training of his elite Presidential Protection Unit.
Before his escape, Obote had survived several daring assassination attempts, some orchestrated by very senior officials in government. The bodyguard recalls an incident in 1984, during Labour Day Celebrations in Jinja, where Obote was officiating. One of the women dancers entertaining the guests moved close to Obote and, when apprehended, was found with a knife in the folds of her clothing.
In the same year there were other incidents. Someone sent the President a book which, when x-rayed, was found to contain explosives. Another present of a Kenwood food processor was laced with radioactive material. Then a soldier was caught with a stick grenade in a paper bag, which he had planned to haul at Obote during a function at Fairway Hotel.
The unit uncovered a plot to down Obote’s plane on return from Italy. A Pakistani assassin had camped for days in a swampy location in Entebbe and was planning to shoot down Obote’s plane as it came in to land at Entebbe. He was locked up in Luzira.
According to Obote’s bodyguard, although security for the president would often be shared amongst all the security agencies, the elite Presidential Protection Unit would always take the lion’s share of responsibility.
The bulk of the team had received their training in North Korea, Italy and India and were skilled in the art and craft of VIP protection. The unit also had a state-of-the-art German-made Telefunken telecommunication system, which had telephones and a fax machine to enable the President to stay in constant touch in any part of the country.
“We were the ones who were keeping the pot, as we used to call him then,” the bodyguard recalls.
Published on: Sunday, 16th October, 2005
Written by SHEILA C. KULUBYA
The are some serious errors to mention one the officer James odongo oduka had been dead since 1983 died of throat cancer, by the time of the coup he was out of the picture!!!
ReplyDelete3 children were left in Uganda, not 2
ReplyDelete