Ugandans call itthe 1979 Liberation War while Tanzanians call it the Kagera War. Its seeds weresown as early as 1972 soon after the coup that brought Amin to power.
The relation between Ugandaand Tanzania started going badbecause Tanzaniaplayed host to more than 20,000 Ugandan exiles, according to documents in theTPDF museum.
The first attempt by Ugandaexiles to overthrow Amin was on September 17, 1972 when a convoy of 77 trucksfull of armed Ugandan exiles crossed into Ugandafrom Tanzaniawith the sole purpose of capturing Masaka and Mbarara towns. The mission failedwhen Amins air force intercepted the mission.
Inretaliation, Uganda jetfighters hit Bukoba and Mwanza towns in Tanzania. The two incidents wereresolved by the October 1972 Mogadishu Agreement, where the two countriesagreed to withdraw their forces 10km away from their respective borders.
However, according to the document TPDF
An OperationHistory, Amins ambition was to annex some northern parts of Tanzania for Ugandato have access to the sea through the port of Tanga.From the Ugandan perspective, this does not appear to have been the case.
On October 27, 1978 Ugandan forces carried out a surprise invasion of theTanzanian territory, annexing the Kagera Salient (area north of Kagera River).
Thearea had been defended by the 202 Brigade commanded by Brig Gen Yusuf Himid.Within two days of the invasion, Ugandan troops occupied 1,850 sqkm ofTanzanian soil, after bombing Bukoba and Kyaka towns and blowing up the Kagera Bridgewhich connected the salient to the rest of Tanzania. Amin went ahead andannounced that the Kagera Salient was now part of Ugandan territory.
Tanzania reacts
Tanzanian President Julius Nyereres first reaction was to seek a diplomaticsolution to the conflict through the Organisation of the African Union (OAU)now African Union. When the OAU failed to act, President Nyerere on November 2,1978 declared war on Ugandacalling on the TPDF to defend the national sovereignty and integrity.
The world must understand our reason for wanting to hit Amin hard. Sababu zakumpiga Amin tunazo, nia tunayo, na uwezo tunao meaning We have the reasonsto hit Amin, we have the ability to hit him and we have the determination tohit him), said Nyerere at the Diamond Jubilee Hall in Dar es Salaam as heformally declared war on Uganda.
Preparationfor the war
Maj Gen Abdallah Twalipo was TPDFs Chief of Defence Forces but the responsibilityto respond to Amins invasion fell on Brig Gen Tumainieli Kiwelu who had toreorganise the army from different parts of the country. By then, TPDF had onlyone army division with four infantry brigades in different parts of thecountry.
Brigade101st, nicknamed Nyuki (Bee) was based in Zanzibar,302nd in Dar s Salaam, 202nd Faru in Tabora and 401 Tembo in Songea. The youthwho had participated in National Service training were transformed into areserve force; trained militias were prepared for battle, police and prisonspersonnel were mobilised, while the ordinary civilians offered food andlivestock, private companies surrendered their vehicles to transport troops andhardware.
At the same time the Uganda exiles living in Tanzania also united to form theUganda National Liberation Army, which included groups like FRONASA of YoweriMuseveni, Save Uganda Movement of Akena pOjok, Ateker Ejalu and William Omariaand Kikosi Maalum (Special Unit) led by Lt Col David Oyite Ojok and Col TitoOkello. They established a joint training camp of close to 1,200 recruits atTarime near Musoma on the shores of Lake Victoria.
FromBrig Gen Kiwules reorganisation, a 20th division was created with differentbrigades like Brigade 206th under Brig Gen Silas Mayunga later taken over byBrig Gen Roland Makunda, 207th under Brig Gen Butler Walden and 208th underBrig Gen Mwita Marwa.
As the war progressed more brigades were formed, including 201st under Brig GenImran Kombe, 205th under Brig Gen Herman Lupogo later taken over by Brig GenMuhidin Kimario, Brigade Minziro under Brig Gen Takadiri Kitete and BrigadeKagera under Brig Gen Ramadhan Haji.
The overall commander of the operation was Brig Gen David Msuguri who waspromoted to the rank of Maj Gen as Brig Gen Kiwelu went back to theheadquarters as Chief of Staff. Within weeks, the TPDF had mobilised itsnumbers from 40,000 to 100,000.
OperationChakaza
With his new responsibility to liberate Kagera Salient, Maj Gen Msuguri sawthis as a personal battle with Amin, with whom he had served in the KingsAfrican Rifle (KAR) during the colonial times. Msuguris thoughts soon afterthe appointment as documented in TPDF: An Operation History was: I knew I wasgoing to win the war. I knew him, he was a recruit at Kahawa Camp in Nakuru Kenya in 1949,and I was a corporal. Amin was a sportsman and a naughty soldier. Above all heput his personal agenda before that of the military.
The first TPDF operation was codenamed Operation Chakaza.
Therewere no serious clashes when Operation Chakaza started and on December 4, 1978the Tanzanian side of Mutukula had been recaptured by the Tanzanian forces andby early January 1979, all Ugandaforces had been expelled from Tanzanian soil.
Theadvance to the Ugandan border was planned along two axis; the main axis wasalong Kyaka- Mutukula road and the western axis was from Kyaka to Kakunyu Themain axis was to take Masaka and proceed to Kampala and eastern Uganda whilethe second was to take Mbarara and seal off the Rwanda, Zaire (now DR Congoborder) and move on to the Uganda-Sudan border.
With the fall of Mutukula, Amins forces regrouped at Sanje, 30km from Mutukulaand gave the Tanzanian forces a hard time for two weeks. The rainy season madeit hard for the TPDF making the movement of their equipment like the heavytrucks and amoured personnel carriers (APC)s almost impossible.
Fallof Masaka
Brigades 201, 205 and 208 were tasked with capturing Masaka and moved close to100km fighting small battles along the way. At Kasasa, they met their firstreal test when Amins soldiers backed by the air force put up a real fight.TPDF deployed rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), 14.5mm anti-aircraft guns andSAM-7 missiles, shooting down two jet fighters, destroying two battle tanks andkilling 24 Amin soldiers while TPDF lost two soldiers and 20 were wounded.
The next town was Kyotera where Maj Gen Msuguri assigned two brigades havinggot information that Amins forces had deployed heavily in the town.
Resistance
Brigade 201 blocked the road from Rakai to Lyantonde, while brigade 207 akaAmphibious, moved towards Bikira. When they entered Kyotera, Amins troops hadalready moved to Kalisizo. Plans for the assault on Kaliszo were drawn only tofind the place deserted. TPDF took Kalisizo on February 20, 1979
withoutfiring a shot. Amins troops had relocated to Kabuwoko hills.
Whenthey took Kalisizo, TPDF knew Masaka was next but expected stiff resistanceknowing that it would be heavily defended. TPDF knew the notoriousRevolutionary Suicide Specialist Mechanised Regiment (RSSMR) units whichinvaded Tanzaniato be based in Masaka.
Before the final assault on Masaka there were small fights around Kabuwoko andKakondo hills, brigade 208 on its way to take Kiziba fell into an ambush ofUgandan troops withdrawing from Kalisizo.
UsingBM-21 multiple rocket launcher, TPDF dislodged Amins men from their basesenabling brigade 208 to take Kiziba town. After Kizibas fall, they planned afinal assault on Masaka Town.
The40-barrel BM-21 multi-rocket launcher was nicknamed Saba-Saba by Ugandans.According to some of the Tanzanian field commanders, the word Saba-Saba was aUgandan creation. Retired Maj Gen Ben Msuya says he first heard of the wordwhen he entered Uganda.
I was told that Ugandans were told that Tanzanians are firing from Saba-Sabain Dar es Salaam, Maj Gen Msuya told thiswriter in Dar es Salaamin early April.
Saba-Saba is a trade show ground in Dar es Salaam and has no connection with the military.
Retired Col Isaac Mtemihonda, a former battalion commander, also said he firstheard the BM-21 multi-rocket launcher being referred to as Saba-Saba while in Uganda.
He says within the TPDF, the BM-21 was known as Baba Mtakatifu (Holy Father).
Brigades201, 205 and 208 positioned themselves on the outskirts of Masaka Town andBrigade 207 under Brig Gen Butler Walden aka Black Mamba, attacked Masaka witha tank squadron from Mutukula side. At Kasijagirwa camp, the Uganda Army put upa stiff fight but they were eventually overpowered by TPDFs 130mm guns andBM-21 multiple rocket launchers. Chanzo SUNDAY MONITOR UGANDA NEWSPAPER
The relation between Ugandaand Tanzania started going badbecause Tanzaniaplayed host to more than 20,000 Ugandan exiles, according to documents in theTPDF museum.
The first attempt by Ugandaexiles to overthrow Amin was on September 17, 1972 when a convoy of 77 trucksfull of armed Ugandan exiles crossed into Ugandafrom Tanzaniawith the sole purpose of capturing Masaka and Mbarara towns. The mission failedwhen Amins air force intercepted the mission.
Inretaliation, Uganda jetfighters hit Bukoba and Mwanza towns in Tanzania. The two incidents wereresolved by the October 1972 Mogadishu Agreement, where the two countriesagreed to withdraw their forces 10km away from their respective borders.
However, according to the document TPDF
An OperationHistory, Amins ambition was to annex some northern parts of Tanzania for Ugandato have access to the sea through the port of Tanga.From the Ugandan perspective, this does not appear to have been the case.
On October 27, 1978 Ugandan forces carried out a surprise invasion of theTanzanian territory, annexing the Kagera Salient (area north of Kagera River).
Thearea had been defended by the 202 Brigade commanded by Brig Gen Yusuf Himid.Within two days of the invasion, Ugandan troops occupied 1,850 sqkm ofTanzanian soil, after bombing Bukoba and Kyaka towns and blowing up the Kagera Bridgewhich connected the salient to the rest of Tanzania. Amin went ahead andannounced that the Kagera Salient was now part of Ugandan territory.
Tanzania reacts
Tanzanian President Julius Nyereres first reaction was to seek a diplomaticsolution to the conflict through the Organisation of the African Union (OAU)now African Union. When the OAU failed to act, President Nyerere on November 2,1978 declared war on Ugandacalling on the TPDF to defend the national sovereignty and integrity.
The world must understand our reason for wanting to hit Amin hard. Sababu zakumpiga Amin tunazo, nia tunayo, na uwezo tunao meaning We have the reasonsto hit Amin, we have the ability to hit him and we have the determination tohit him), said Nyerere at the Diamond Jubilee Hall in Dar es Salaam as heformally declared war on Uganda.
Preparationfor the war
Maj Gen Abdallah Twalipo was TPDFs Chief of Defence Forces but the responsibilityto respond to Amins invasion fell on Brig Gen Tumainieli Kiwelu who had toreorganise the army from different parts of the country. By then, TPDF had onlyone army division with four infantry brigades in different parts of thecountry.
Brigade101st, nicknamed Nyuki (Bee) was based in Zanzibar,302nd in Dar s Salaam, 202nd Faru in Tabora and 401 Tembo in Songea. The youthwho had participated in National Service training were transformed into areserve force; trained militias were prepared for battle, police and prisonspersonnel were mobilised, while the ordinary civilians offered food andlivestock, private companies surrendered their vehicles to transport troops andhardware.
At the same time the Uganda exiles living in Tanzania also united to form theUganda National Liberation Army, which included groups like FRONASA of YoweriMuseveni, Save Uganda Movement of Akena pOjok, Ateker Ejalu and William Omariaand Kikosi Maalum (Special Unit) led by Lt Col David Oyite Ojok and Col TitoOkello. They established a joint training camp of close to 1,200 recruits atTarime near Musoma on the shores of Lake Victoria.
FromBrig Gen Kiwules reorganisation, a 20th division was created with differentbrigades like Brigade 206th under Brig Gen Silas Mayunga later taken over byBrig Gen Roland Makunda, 207th under Brig Gen Butler Walden and 208th underBrig Gen Mwita Marwa.
As the war progressed more brigades were formed, including 201st under Brig GenImran Kombe, 205th under Brig Gen Herman Lupogo later taken over by Brig GenMuhidin Kimario, Brigade Minziro under Brig Gen Takadiri Kitete and BrigadeKagera under Brig Gen Ramadhan Haji.
The overall commander of the operation was Brig Gen David Msuguri who waspromoted to the rank of Maj Gen as Brig Gen Kiwelu went back to theheadquarters as Chief of Staff. Within weeks, the TPDF had mobilised itsnumbers from 40,000 to 100,000.
OperationChakaza
With his new responsibility to liberate Kagera Salient, Maj Gen Msuguri sawthis as a personal battle with Amin, with whom he had served in the KingsAfrican Rifle (KAR) during the colonial times. Msuguris thoughts soon afterthe appointment as documented in TPDF: An Operation History was: I knew I wasgoing to win the war. I knew him, he was a recruit at Kahawa Camp in Nakuru Kenya in 1949,and I was a corporal. Amin was a sportsman and a naughty soldier. Above all heput his personal agenda before that of the military.
The first TPDF operation was codenamed Operation Chakaza.
Therewere no serious clashes when Operation Chakaza started and on December 4, 1978the Tanzanian side of Mutukula had been recaptured by the Tanzanian forces andby early January 1979, all Ugandaforces had been expelled from Tanzanian soil.
Theadvance to the Ugandan border was planned along two axis; the main axis wasalong Kyaka- Mutukula road and the western axis was from Kyaka to Kakunyu Themain axis was to take Masaka and proceed to Kampala and eastern Uganda whilethe second was to take Mbarara and seal off the Rwanda, Zaire (now DR Congoborder) and move on to the Uganda-Sudan border.
With the fall of Mutukula, Amins forces regrouped at Sanje, 30km from Mutukulaand gave the Tanzanian forces a hard time for two weeks. The rainy season madeit hard for the TPDF making the movement of their equipment like the heavytrucks and amoured personnel carriers (APC)s almost impossible.
Fallof Masaka
Brigades 201, 205 and 208 were tasked with capturing Masaka and moved close to100km fighting small battles along the way. At Kasasa, they met their firstreal test when Amins soldiers backed by the air force put up a real fight.TPDF deployed rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), 14.5mm anti-aircraft guns andSAM-7 missiles, shooting down two jet fighters, destroying two battle tanks andkilling 24 Amin soldiers while TPDF lost two soldiers and 20 were wounded.
The next town was Kyotera where Maj Gen Msuguri assigned two brigades havinggot information that Amins forces had deployed heavily in the town.
Resistance
Brigade 201 blocked the road from Rakai to Lyantonde, while brigade 207 akaAmphibious, moved towards Bikira. When they entered Kyotera, Amins troops hadalready moved to Kalisizo. Plans for the assault on Kaliszo were drawn only tofind the place deserted. TPDF took Kalisizo on February 20, 1979
withoutfiring a shot. Amins troops had relocated to Kabuwoko hills.
Whenthey took Kalisizo, TPDF knew Masaka was next but expected stiff resistanceknowing that it would be heavily defended. TPDF knew the notoriousRevolutionary Suicide Specialist Mechanised Regiment (RSSMR) units whichinvaded Tanzaniato be based in Masaka.
Before the final assault on Masaka there were small fights around Kabuwoko andKakondo hills, brigade 208 on its way to take Kiziba fell into an ambush ofUgandan troops withdrawing from Kalisizo.
UsingBM-21 multiple rocket launcher, TPDF dislodged Amins men from their basesenabling brigade 208 to take Kiziba town. After Kizibas fall, they planned afinal assault on Masaka Town.
The40-barrel BM-21 multi-rocket launcher was nicknamed Saba-Saba by Ugandans.According to some of the Tanzanian field commanders, the word Saba-Saba was aUgandan creation. Retired Maj Gen Ben Msuya says he first heard of the wordwhen he entered Uganda.
I was told that Ugandans were told that Tanzanians are firing from Saba-Sabain Dar es Salaam, Maj Gen Msuya told thiswriter in Dar es Salaamin early April.
Saba-Saba is a trade show ground in Dar es Salaam and has no connection with the military.
Retired Col Isaac Mtemihonda, a former battalion commander, also said he firstheard the BM-21 multi-rocket launcher being referred to as Saba-Saba while in Uganda.
He says within the TPDF, the BM-21 was known as Baba Mtakatifu (Holy Father).
Brigades201, 205 and 208 positioned themselves on the outskirts of Masaka Town andBrigade 207 under Brig Gen Butler Walden aka Black Mamba, attacked Masaka witha tank squadron from Mutukula side. At Kasijagirwa camp, the Uganda Army put upa stiff fight but they were eventually overpowered by TPDFs 130mm guns andBM-21 multiple rocket launchers. Chanzo SUNDAY MONITOR UGANDA NEWSPAPER
