Did Kabaka Muteesa II have a weapons cache in the palace in 1966? This question continues to be hotly disputed by historians and partisans. New evidence complicates this topic even further. 1/
In June 2012, responding to Peter Mulira, one writer in @DailyMonitor argued, “It had been reported that the Kabaka had amassed arms in the palace in readiness for war, and the troops were to search the palace.” bit.ly/3aMyKB9 2/
Following the 1966 crisis, both Obote & Muteesa were obliged to address the “weapons question” before international audiences. In a Telegraph article in July 1966, Kabaka Muteesa II noted: “I emphatically deny that we were piling up arms in the palace to make the ‘ultimatum’ 3/
into an armed rebellion. Nothing was further from my mind. There was no question of using force.” Read Full Article Here: bit.ly/2L3Is7d 4/
Obote, by contrast, in his “Letter to a London Friend,” responded: “In December, 1965, the then President [Kabaka] placed orders for heavy weapons with a Kampala firm. The arms were to come from Britain.” Read Full Letter Here: bit.ly/34NgVxT 5/
But what previously classified documents in the Colonial Office show is that for 2 years prior to Independence, the Kabaka attempted to modernize the weaponry of his bodyguard patrol. As the following documents show, this included a small number of pistols, 6 machine guns, /6
2,000 rounds of ammunition, bayonets, magazines, and more. For Muteesa, what president or political ruler does not have a modernized security force? The British government, though, rejected many of these requests, and their responses were deeply nativistic and paternalistic. /7
One Secret Letter from the Commonwealth Relations Office stated: “Our simple view is that restricting the Kabaka’s bodyguard to bows and arrows would be the most agreeable.” /8
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