Shaban Opolot
Uganda Army Chief of Staff
In office
1964  23 February 1966
PresidentMutesa II of Buganda
Succeeded byIdi Amin
Chief of Defence Staff
In office
23 February 1966  ?
High Commissioner to Ghana
In office
1973–1975
PresidentIdi Amin
Personal details
Born1924
Namusi Nakaloke, Uganda Protectorate
Died6 March 2005(2005-03-06) (aged 80–81)
Mbale District, Uganda
Military service
Allegiance British Empire
 Uganda
Branch/serviceKing's African Rifles
Uganda Army (UA)
Years of service1945–1960s
RankBrigadier

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]

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.[4] On 23 February 1966, Obote made Opolot Chief of Defence Staff, effectively removing him from control of the army.[5] He was later imprisoned by the Obote government.[6] By the end of his military career, he had risen to brigadier.[6]

Later life

Obote was overthrown during the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état. The new Ugandan President, Idi Amin, released Opolot from prison.[6] 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.[7] He was buried the next day in Kireka Village, Nakaloke Sub-County, Mbale District.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Kato, Joshua (23 March 2012). "Shaban Opolot rejected plans to attack the Lubiri in 1966". New Vision. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  3. Parsons, Timothy (2003). The 1964 Army Mutinies and the Making of Modern East Africa. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780325070681.
  4. Kasozi 1994, p. 101.
  5. Kasozi 1994, p. 83.
  6. 1 2 3 Isaac Mufumba (15 April 2019). "The killings that turned Amin into a tyrant". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  7. Kalyegira, Timothy (6 March 2005). "Uganda: Brig. Opolot Remembered". monitor.co.ug. Retrieved 4 October 2021.

Works cited

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