Bazilio Olara-Okello
Bazilio Olara-Okello (
1929 –
January 9 1990) was a
Ugandan
Brigadier in the military coalition between
Tanzania People's Defence Force and
Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) during the
Uganda-Tanzania War that overthrew
Idi Amin in 1979.
During the civil between the UNLA (which was now the national army) and
Yoweri Museveni's
National Resistance Army, president
Milton Obote alienated much of the
Acholi-dominated officer corps, including Olara-Okello and General
Tito Okello, by appointing his fellow ethnic
Lango, Brigadier Smith Opon Acak, as army Chief of Staff. On July 27, 1985, an army brigade of the UNLA commanded by Olara-Okello, and composed mostly of
Acholi troops, staged a
coup d'état against
Milton Obote's government and seized power. The
National Assembly was dissolved and a Military Council was established. Between the 27th and 29th of July 1985, Olara-Okello was Chairman of the Military Council, and
de facto head of state.
On July 29, General
Tito Okello replaced Olara-Okello as Chairman of the Military Council, and Olara-Okello was promoted to
Lieutenant General and named chief of the armed forces. He commanded the army until
Yoweri Museveni's
National Resistance Army seized power on January 29, 1986. Olara-Okello fled to exile in
Sudan, where he lived until he died in Ormduruman Hospital in
Khartoum on January 9, 1990,
*
"A Country Study: Uganda",
Library of Congress
*"Uganda's New Rulers Reportedly Detain 1,000", The New York Times'', August 8, 1985
*
Uganda since 1979, part of the
History of Uganda series.
*
Nairobi Agreement, 1985*
Politics of Uganda*
Political parties of Uganda
