MILTON OBOTE: 11th Anniversary of his Death

Milton Obote was born at Akokoro village in Apac district in northern Uganda. He was the son of a tribal chief of the Lango ethnic group. He began his education in 1940 at the Protestant Missionary School in Lira, and later attended Gulu Junior Secondary School, Busoga College and eventually university at Makerere University. Having intended to study law, a subject not taught at the university, Obote took a general arts course, including English and geography. At Makerere, Obote honed his natural oratorical skills; he may have been expelled for participating in a student strike, or alternatively left after a place to study law abroad was not funded by the protectorate government. He worked in Buganda in southern Uganda before moving to Kenya, where he worked as a construction worker at an engineering firm.
While in Kenya, Obote became involved in the national independence movement. Upon returning to Uganda in 1956, he joined the political party Uganda National Congress (UNC), and was elected to the colonial Legislative Council in 1957. In 1959, the UNC split into two factions, with one faction under the leadership of Obote merging with Uganda People's Union to form the Uganda People's Congress (UPC).

Dr. Milton Obote

Personal details

Born	28 December 1925 Apac District, Uganda
Died	10 October 2005 (aged 79) Johannesburg, South Africa
Political party	Uganda People's Congress
Spouse(s)	Miria Obote
Children	5

Dr Milton Obote Speaks To Drum - This Interview with Dr Obote was held before the recent crisis. We were already producing the magazine when the news came through that five cabinet ministers had been detained and the constitution suspended. This makes it all the more interesting to learn what Dr Obote was thinking beforehand. Throughouit the interview he talked as leader of a united U.P.C. party. And in doing so he revealed his attitude of mind, his way of thinking before the events which sent Uganda teering on the brink of disaster. (Photograph by Drum Photographer BAHA)

 

 

 

MAY1965 - Obote, Master Of Political Skill - Dr Obote takes a Bride. In 1964 Milton Obote married Miria Kalule. After the ceremony they drove past cheering crowds at Lugogo Stadium. He has not made his political omlette without breaking any eggs. Some people may have lost in the process and others gained, but event by event year by year, he has been winning his way. (Photograph by Akhtar Hussein Akhtar Hussein)