Uganda, once called the ‘Pearl of Africa’, is situated in the geographical heart of Africa. The country borders on Kenya, Sudan, Congo and Rwanda. It has 24 million inhabitants. About one third of the population is Catholic, one third is Protestant and one third is Muslim.
In 1962, Uganda was declared independent of Great-Britain. Since then, the country has known bloody terror and wars under Milton Obote and Idi Amin. Especially the illiterate Amin, who had his opponents murdered and performed rituals on their bodies, gave Uganda a bad reputation. The number of victims of Amin’s nine-year reign of terror is estimated at 300,000.
But Idi Amin’s departure in 1979 did not mean the end of violence. His successor, Milton Obote, who had to deal with armed resistance, reacted with massive purges, during which an estimated 500,000 people lost their lives. Uganda only knew stability when Yoweri Museveni took power in 1986.
President Museveni, who was re-elected for five years in 2001, assured the reconstruction of the country, an economic growth of 7 percent a year, free primary education and a good system of basic health service. Museveni’s most remarkable accomplishments are his successful campaign against AIDS, his plea for women’s liberation and his radical system of decentralization. Uganda became one of the first countries to enjoy the debt cancellation by the Worldbank and the IMF. It is also one of the only countries in Africa where poverty is systematically being reduced.
But there is also critisism on Museveni’s policy. The generally spread corruption, his military intervention in Congo and his attempts to be elected for a third term by means of a constitutional amendment, were heavily criticized domestically and abroad. The donors are not satisfied with Museveni’s attacks on unfair worldtrade and protectionism in the West.
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