Talk:Uganda Army (1971–1980)

Malire Battalion

@Applodion: There seems to be a conflict in sources about the identity of the Malire Battalion/Regiment. Some are reporting it as an alternative name for the Suicide Regiment, but Avirgan & Honey write that it was its own unit, and after the March 1974 uprising at the Malire Barracks in Kampala it was moved to Bombo where Amin could keep an eye on it. According to Mzirai, the unit was still headquartered there during the Uganda-Tanzania War. -Indy beetle (talk) 01:17, 21 February 2020 (UTC)

@Indy beetle: This explains why one of the sources called the unit "Bondo Battalion" - it is probably a misspelling. In addition, I suspect that it might be a similar case as with the so-called "Paratroop Unit" and other units which are called both "battalion" and "regiment" - some acted as sub-units of the others! As in, the Malire Regiment/Battalion might have been subordinate to the Suicide Battalion/Regiment or the other way around. Anyway, if the sources mention that they were not the same, we have to split them in the list. Can you add the references from Avirgan & Honey and Mzirai?
Honestly, this is so confusing; at least this table helps a little bit in sorting out all these units. Applodion (talk) 09:43, 21 February 2020 (UTC)

Good resource

• Becoming "Amin's Soldiers" -Indy beetle (talk) 01:26, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

Satus of the UAAF

@Applodion: My understanding is that the UAAF per the Armed Forces Act of 1964 was indeed a part of the Uganda Army and not a separate service.-Indy beetle (talk) 20:00, 6 March 2020 (UTC)

Lowman source

@Applodion: I'm happy to have found Lowman's thesis, which reexamines a lot of the perceptions and historiography of Amin's regime, especially what was going on in the army. However, it does create conflicts with other sources (as does every new source we find on Ugandan history, it seems) regarding some of what we see as the basic facts. For example, Lowman presents an argument that Amin's coup was not a premeditated act plotted by its chief beneficiary, but was actually a desperate act of self-preservation on the part of Amin's friends in the army who panicked when they heard he would be arrested and, fearing for their own fate, ousted Obote's government and essentially gave Amin no choice but to take power. Our article on Isaac Maliyamunga presents the old narrative, but Lowman's new argument obviously contradicts this. I think we will need to both closely examine Lowman's material and see how we can incorporate it across the array of Amin-era Uganda articles. -Indy beetle (talk) 23:32, 8 July 2020 (UTC)

@Indy beetle: The article is indeed great, and I agree in regard to the discrepancies (I actually audibly groaned when I read Lowman's claim about Juma Butabika having survived the war - as if his fate wasn't already unclear enough). In general, there seem to exist numerous narratives disagreeing about the most basic things in regard to the coup (and other Amin-related events); we have to remember that those involved in the coup have also made differing claims about their roles, such as the case of both Moses Galla and Maliyamungu claiming to have captured the armoury in Kampala. As long as no concentrated effort by historians sorts out this mess, the best we probably can do is to just list all narratives - including Lowman's -, while putting the most unlikely ones into notes. I also wanted to ask whether we should use Rice's The Teeth may smile; I remember that you once said that the book is more akin to a novel, but Lowman used it as source. Having read a bit of the book, it seems to be based on reliable sources (as far as these exist). Applodion (talk) 23:47, 8 July 2020 (UTC)

@Applodion: I didn't notice the claim about Butabika's fate. This never get's easier, does it? XD I once initially used Rice's book as a source for stuff, but then after seeing it being characterized as a novel (I'm not sure where, I think in a review) I removed all those references. Upon seeing that he had written those academic pieces about Gowon's travails I realised he was actually a serious writer—journalist by profession, I think. It is definitely written as a narrative meant to entertain its reader, but it was well reviewed (CS Monitor Review, Foreign Affairs review by Nicholas van de Walle, an academic with Africa specialtyNYT review) and is, far as I know, factually accurate. I think we can use it. -Indy beetle (talk) 04:45, 9 July 2020 (UTC)

Potential sources

• [1] -Indy beetle (talk) 22:09, 1 November 2020 (UTC)