Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XVII, Part 2, Sub-Saharan Africa

181. Telegram From the Embassy in Uganda to the Department of State¹

Kampala, December 23, 1980, 0650Z

3155. Subject: Relations With New Government. Ref: State 336011.²

1. (C)–Entire text.

2. Requested appointment with President Obote morning December 22 and was received by him in the President’s office at noon for 20 minute talk. Obote was attended by Minister of State Chris Rwakasisi and Ephraom Kamuntu (former Minister of Tourism and Wildlife).

3. Said I wished to reiterate points made in President Carter’s message to President Obote and then read points listed in last portion para 3 reftel.³ Reminded Obote that we had tried to stay neutral during elections between the several parties; Obote said yes you did and you were successful. Continued that I would be less than frank, however, if I did not now tell him that many of those most knowledgeable about African affairs in the U.S. believed that an Obote government would be the strongest government in Uganda and, therefore, have the best chance of leading Ugandans to a better life.

4. Obote said he was very grateful for President Carter’s letter and for my comments. He wanted me to know, however, that he was somewhat appalled by the problems facing Uganda. He had spent a full day at the Ministry of Finance and things are in terrible shape. He was also distressed by the civil service. There are many in the civil service, Obote continued, who are corrupt, but whom he will have to retain in government for a while. It will take time to train men to staff a reformed civil service. I interrupted to offer U.S. assistance in training civil servants in various areas, either in Uganda or in the U.S. Offered to have AID Director Buck sit down with Obote’s Minister of Planning Sam Odaka to see how we might be of help. Obote was very grateful for this offer and concurred in my arranging such a meeting.

5. Commented that Uganda had received quite good final report from the Commonwealth observers. Obote said he wanted me know that he felt some of the allegations against Military Commission Chairman Paulo Muwanga in the foreign press were unfair. When Muwanga found incompetence in the staging of the elections in Kampala that bordered on subversion, he over-reacted by issuing his edict taking from the Electoral Commission the authority to report vote tallys. Obote said he told Muwanga he had made an error and although that edict was not rescinded, it was not enforced and the next day Muwanga publicly turned back to the Electoral Commission the authority to collate and report the returns. Secondly, Electoral Commission had erred in announcing on its own the extension of the period of voting to December 11. Electoral Commission did not have the legal authority to do so and, therefore, Muwanga’s edict, although ill advised, did legalize the Commission’s extension. Thirdly, Ssekono’s order to polling stations to not begin counting the votes until after the polls were closed on December 11 was apparently not received by all election officials. Therefore, some early counting did begin and some polls apparently did not open or were late in opening on December 11. This led to partial returns beginning to come to Kampala while the election was still in progress in some constituencies. Obote could not explain how DP could have announced the number of seats it claimed to have won around noon on December 11 before the polls had even closed officially. There were also several other discrepancies he could not explain but which he was looking into. For example, in the Masaka area there were 80,000 more ballots delivered by Ssekono to the constituencies there than there were people officially registered. UPC intended to look into cases where it felt its candidates had been badly treated and it would accept the decision of the courts whether it went for UPC or against UPC. He hoped the other parties would do the same. Obote concluded his remarks on the election by saying when he had been at the Embassy November 5 and viewed our schematic diagram of how the various parties had fared, he thought of such a diagram for Uganda today. UPC had done well in the north, the east, and some part of the west, but not well at all in the south. This was a problem that would have to be faced by UPC if there was to be a unified Uganda, and he intended to work on it.

6. Told Obote that DP and UPM officials had sought US out to complain of election malpractices. Stressed to Obote that we urged these officials, as Obote himself had outlined in his inaugural speech, to follow legal procedures to seek redress where they felt their candidates had a case. We emphasized that if a party seeks judicial review on a constituency by constituency basis that it was not then consistent to refuse to accept the election in toto. We had urged, therefore, that DP and UPM candidates who had won take their seats in the National Assembly and we were pleased to see that they were apparently going to do so.

7. Obote ended the meeting by saying he would be looking to friends to help Uganda in the months ahead. He was grateful for the rapid pledges of support from the EEC, Commonwealth nations, and others. He said he wanted me to know that he and his government would do the best job that they could.

8. Addendum. Have made a request for appointment with Muwanga but have not yet had it confirmed. Did not discuss, therefore, with Obote Muwanga’s request for assistance for an expanded militia.

9. Comment. As the foregoing suggests, this meeting with Obote was very cordial. Ephraim Kamuntu is a friend and neighbor and it was encouraging to me that he was sitting at Obote’s right hand. (Kamuntu had telephoned the house last night to discuss a social get together and inter alia expressed the hope that I would continue on as Ambassador under our new President. Said I hoped I would too.) The rapidity with which Obote received me was also encouraging. Believed the election brouhaha is now behind us and we are well embarked on a good relationship with the new regime.

Beyer

1. Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800608–0580. Confidential; Immediate. Sent for information to Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Khartoum, London, Bonn, Paris, and USUN.
2. In telegram 336011 to Kampala, December 20, the Department instructed the Ambassador to seek an early appointment with Obote. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800605–0636)
3. Paragraph 3 of telegram 336011 reads: “We wish new administration well as it takes up its responsibilities, we trust the new government will seek to unite all Ugandans in task of overcoming Amin’s legacy of economic, political and social devastation, and we hope to cooperate, within the constraints of our very limited resources, with the new government’s efforts to revitalize the economy and return Uganda to the rule of law.” For Carter’s message, see Document 180.