Milton Obote was born in a small village called Akokoro in 1925 to Stanley Opeto. a village chief, and Puliska Opeto, a simple housewife. Obote was the third child of 11 children.
How Milton Obote went from casual labourer to Father of the Nation
In the manner of a championship boxer, Milton Obote is the only President to have sat in State House on two different tenures; first in the 60’s just after Independence and then from 1981-85 after the fall of Idi Amin. As the Father of the Nation, he was the one who the British handed the National Flag on Independence Day on October 9th, 1962.
In primary school, he attended Ibuje Primary School in Lira and later moved to Jinja and joined Busoga College, Mwiri for his secondary school education. He later qualified to join Makerere College (now Makerere University) to study Economics and Politics.
However, he did not finish his education at Makerere University, reportedly being expelled from the University after leading a strike. On leaving Makerere, he tried to go for various scholarships in both the US and the UK, but somehow his efforts were frustrated by the British.
With no educational qualifications and thus no good job prospects, Obote decided to work as a casual laborer for Mowlem, a top construction firm at the time.
For some reason, he was transferred to Kenya and it is here that his political acumen was realised. He soon joined Kenya’s agitation for political independence and his political party of choice was the Kenya African Union.
Obote was recognised as a man of undoubted ability and was quickly promoted from casual laborer to an office worker. He also matured as a trade unionist in Kenya, advocating for workers’ rights and at the same time stumping on behalf self-determination for Kenya.
Obote returned to Uganda in 1955 when the country was agitating for independence.
At the time, there was a maelstrom of party activity which included the Uganda National Congress (UNC) of Ignatius Kangave Musaazi, the Democratic Party (DP) of Bendicto Kiwanuka among others. He chose to join the UNC and soon rose to the level of Deputy Chairman of the party.
The British constituted the Legislative Council (LEGCO) and Obote was nominated as a member of the LEGCO by the Lango District Council in 1957.
By 1960, Obote walked out of the UNC and formed his own political party, the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC).
In 1962, Obote’s UPC then formed an alliance with Kabakka Yekka (KY) and won the independence elections. Subsequently, Obote became the executive Prime Minister of Uganda while Sir Edward Muteesa became the ceremonial President of Uganda.
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