Uganda

Republic of Uganda

The nation today known as the Republic of Uganda was originally inhabited by hunter-gatherer tribes, and later by Bantu-speaking people migrating from central and western Africa. In the 16th century the Bunyoro kingdom rose to prominence, and was later succeeded by the Buganda kingdom. Arab traders first reached present day Uganda via the Indian Ocean in the 1830s, followed shortly thereafter by British explorers seeking the source of the Nile river. In 1888 most of the country was placed under a charter by the British East Africa Company, after which it was made a British protectorate in 1894.

Uganda achieved independence from Britain in October 1962, but remained a member of the British Commonwealth. At this same time, the old 4th Battalion, King's African Rifles (based at Jinja) was renamed the Ugandan Rifles, and shortly thereafter took root as the base of a new Ugandan Army. Traditional kingdoms were abolished in 1967 and the nation was declared a republic. In 1971, president Milton Obote was deposed by Army General Idi Amin in a coup d'etat, who then declared himself president. Suspending the constitution and setting up military tribunals in place of civil law, Amin created a military government that used violence, torture, intimidation and outright murder to persecute political rivals, intellectuals, professionals, and foreign nationals, often for no reasons whatsoever. Between 80,000 and 300,000 people were killed during his eight-year reign, and as many as 80,000 foreign nationals were expelled from the country. In 1978, Amin attempted to annex the Kagera province of Tanzania, leading to war between the two countries (Vita vya Kagera, or the Kagera War). Although supported by Libya and some members of the PLO, Ugandan forces were ultimately defeated by a coalition of Tanzanian Defence Forces and the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), a militia of exiled Ugandans. Amin fled into exile in 1979 as new democratic elections were organized by the UNLF, and the country was left largely without a standing army after 1980.

A reconstituted government under the Uganda National Liberation Front saw former president Milton Obote reelected, but the nation did not remain stable for long. Loyalists to Amin rose up in the West Nile region in 1980, leaving the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) to wage a bush war against former members of the Ugandan Army. In February 1981, former UNLF leader Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Army (NRA) led a new uprising against the government. The subsequent Bush War (often called the Luwero War, or the Resistance War) lasted from October 1981 until March 1986. Late in the conflict, president Milton Obote was deposed by Tito Okello, but the war continued until the old UNLF government ultimately crumbled. Museveni then was installed as president and has remained in this position into the present era. The remnants of the NRA were then reorganized into the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), which included a number of former members of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). The UPDF today consists of the Ground Forces, Ugandan Air Force, the Special Forces Command, and the Ugandan Reserve Forces.

Since 1987, a guerilla campaign against the government of Uganda has been waged by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) based Central and East Africa. The LRA are a Christian extremist movement operating in Sudan, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in addition to Uganda. Although their stated goals are establishment of a Christian state in Uganda and "overcoming internal oppression," the LRA have been accused of multiple human rights violations, including child slavery, child abduction, and genocide.

Ugandan Camouflage Patterns

• The oldest documented camouflage design in use with Ugandan forces is a variation of British DPM that was in service when Idi Amin was still a young officer in the fledgling Ugandan Army. As few if any color photographs survive from this period we can only presume that the pattern resembled that being produced for the British Army itself during this time period, probably some version of the 1960 or 1968 DPM.

• Another early camouflage design was a variation of the French tenue du leopard pattern seen here worn by General Idi Amin in 1974. At which point this replaced DPM is unknown as there were still soldiers wearing the latter as late as 1978.

• At some point early in the Bush War period, a copy of the Portuguese m63 "vertical lizard" design having brown & dark green stripes on a bright yellowish-khaki background began to see service with the Ugandan Army. Several variations have been documented from a number of manufacturers, with surplus stocks also finding their way into the hands of insurgent forces in Angola and South West Africa. Photographic evidence suggests the pattern saw heavy use with the NRA as well as Ugandan government forces.

• During the 1980s, another variation of DPM camouflage was worn by some units of the Ugandan forces. Of undetermined origin, it has not been well-documented, but the re-introduction of DPM for use by the Special Forces Command in the mid-2000s suggests that there has been a continuum over many decades, with differences in manufacturer and color palette. It is also possible DPM was worn by an early incarnation of the Special Forces such as the High Command Unit.

• In the late 1980s, the Uganda People's Defense Force wore a unique tricolor "blotch" pattern, incorporating dark green and brown shapes on a lime green background. A variation with medium green and lighter brown has also been documented.

• Several variations of the m81 woodland camouflage design have been worn into the present period, both locally-produced and imported from sources in Asia. These are gradually being replaced by more modern designs.

• Since at least 2007, some UPDF units - including the Special Forces Command (formerly Special Forces Group) - have worn a "leopard print" design similar to that once worn in Zaire and Chad, but with a darker color scheme.

• The Ugandan Air Force wear a variation of the woodland design featuring black, medium brown, and medium green shapes on a pale blue background.

• The Field Force Police (FFP) of the Uganda National Police (Poliisi ya Uganda) wear a DPM variant with a blue-purple colorway as seen below. Officers serving with regular units of the UNP wear a standardized khaki service uniform.

• The Ugandan Mobile Police Patrol Unit (MPPU) is a special unit of the National Police assigned to deal with border crimes, and established in 1989. Personnel assigned to this unit wear an interesting camouflage "waves" design with a blue-grey colorway.

• What appears to be a variation of the above Riot Police pattern with a tan/khaki colorway has also been observed in use by the Ugandan Police Field Forces. The design is certainly restricted to a specific sub-unit of the service, but as yet it has not been determined precisely what unit that might be.

• In 2014 it was announced that the UPDF would replaced its old woodland camouflage design with two new pixelated patterns. A greener design (incorporating black, mid-brown and foliage green on a sandy-colored background) will be the predominant pattern issued throughout most of the country, but a browner design (based on USMC MARPAT Temperate camouflage) will be issued to personnel in the drier regions of Uganda like Karamoja. One of the reasons cited for this change is that the now-defeated M23 rebels were known to wear woodland camouflage uniforms nearly identical to those of the Defence Force.

• The Uganda People's Defence Air Force (UPDAF) has also introduced its own pixelated camouflage design, incorporating black, dark reddish-brown, olive green and grey shapes.

• Circa 2014, members of the Ugandan Special Forces Command (including the Commander, Brigadier Muhoozi Kainerugaba) appeared in crisp DPM pattern camouflage uniforms in British styling. This would be the standard working uniform for that unit until 2019-2020.

• A special unit of the Ugandan Police, the Police Presidential Guard (PPG), introduced a camouflage design based on the US Navy's NWU-1 "blueberries" pattern in 2015-16. Although more than a single variation has been documented, some with a lighter color palette and some with darker, the basic design is essentially the same as the US Navy, with the addition of a shade of brown.

• The UPDF Marine Brigade is tasked specifically with operating in and around the twenty percent of the nation that is covered in water, including Lake Kyoga, parts of Lakes Victoria (Nalubaale), Albert (Mwitanzige), and Edward (Rwitanzigye), as well as several smaller lakes and a number of major rivers. Members of the Brigade are issued a unique pixelated camouflage pattern incorporating blackish-purple and olive green on a pale green background. The design has been in service since at least 2019.

• The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is a governmental organization charged with protecting and preserving the flora and fauna within the nation's ten national parks. Personnel wear a Multicam-like design with a slightly more arid color palette.

• Circa 2020, the Ugandan Special Forces Command began to wear Multicam pattern camouflage uniforms, which soon replaced the earlier adopted DPM pattern and are now the standard uniform of that branch.

• In October 2024, it was announced that the Uganda Prisons Service would begin issuing a camouflage uniform to members of the Safety and Security Unit, whose primary duties are guarding high-security facilities, escorting high-risk criminals, and providing protection to senior officers. The camouflage design incorporates shades of orange, maroon, brown, and beige, and will not replace the standard dark orange pattern worn by the majority of Prisons Service personnel.

Foreign Camouflage in Service with Ugandan Forces

• Although initially considered friendly to Western nations like Britain, Idi Amin quickly went to other nations for assistance when he was turned down by requests for advanced military equipment from Israel and the UK. Amin's friendship with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi has been well documented, but by 1973 the Soviet Union had dispatched a military training mission to assist the Ugandan Army, and the Soviets soon became the country's largest supplier of war materiel. This was followed shortly thereafter by aid from East Germany and Czechoslovakia, the latter whom apparently supplied a quantity of mlok pattern camouflage uniforms to the Ugandan Army. These first appeared during a military parade in 1975 and were still being worn by at least one unit in 1978 during Amin's last few months of presidency.

Camouflage of Insurgent and Terrorist Forces

• The NRA were initially outfitted with stolen uniforms and equipment from the Ugandan government, including significant quantities of "vertical lizard" pattern camouflage uniforms.

• Taken in 1987, this photograph illustrates the use of a leaf type camouflage pattern by child soldiers of the NRA, of undetermined origins, that appeared around this time. There is no evidence to suggest the use of this design was incorporated into the UPDF later.

• Also dating to 1987, several photographs illustrate NRA personnel wearing this unusual camouflage design with a very bright colorway, also of undetermined origins. There may be more than one version, possibly locally-manufactured.

• Members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) received significant assistance military assistance from the government of Sudan from 2009-2012, including quantities of the Chinese-made camouflage design seen here. LRA members have also worn older Ugandan camouflage uniforms, including various types of woodland.