ABSTRACT
The colonial policy of indirect rule practiced in Uganda entrenched the country’s basic ethnic and regional divisions, just as the growth of subnationalism later directed attention to regional and local political issues. Central government was seen as an alien authority; outside Buganda, it was also considered a vehicle for the political dominance of the Baganda. The Democratic party’s main rival in 1961 was the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC). Established in 1960 after a series of splits and mergers from the Uganda National Congress, the UPC was headed by Milton Obote, at the time the Langi representative to the Legislative Council. The policy of recruitment from Acholi areas was continued under Obote such that, by the late 1960s, the Ugandan armed forces included a large Nilotic component. Idi Amin was especially unable to get along with the force commander Akena Adoko, and suspected him of being behind efforts to discredit him within the armed forces.
