Coup Atlas Research Database
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50009021986ConspiracyDissident coup

Uganda, 1986 — dissident coup conspiracy

Uganda (UGA)East Africa, AfricaSeptember 2, 1986

Event Summary

This entry is coded 2 September 1986, corresponding to the initial phase of the Kirimuttu coup plot against the new National Resistance Movement government of Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, who had taken power in January 1986. On 2 to 3 September 1986 Ugandan security officials announced they had foiled a plot to overthrow Museveni's government, arresting 25 people who advocated a return to monarchy. The 25, a group of Buganda traditionalists calling themselves the Abataka ba Kirimuttu who sought the immediate restoration of the Buganda Kingdom and the secession of Buganda, had been arrested the previous week at Bunyamwaya (Bunamwaya) village on the outskirts of Kampala, where they were holding a meeting.

Police seized several documents, including one that appeared to be a post-coup announcement declaring allegiance to the Kingdom of Buganda. The plotters were reportedly angered that Museveni had not mentioned the crown prince Ronald Mutebi in his January 1986 swearing-in speech, and the affair came shortly after Mutebi had been allowed to return to Uganda. The 2 September 1986 coding matches the announcement of the foiled plot.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Museveni's government foiled the plot and remained in power; Museveni still leads Uganda
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Yoweri Museveni (target)
the Abataka ba Kirimuttu (Buganda traditionalists)
Prince Ronald Mutebi (Buganda crown prince)

Sources

On 3 September 1986 Ugandan security officials said they had foiled a plot to overthrow the government of Yoweri Museveni, arresting 25 people who reportedly advocated a return to monarchy.
SOURCE REVIEWED UPI Archives: Coup plot reportedly foiled in Uganda open source ↗
The 25 were arrested the previous week at Bunyamwaya village on the outskirts of Kampala, where police seized documents including one that appeared to be an announcement declaring that Buganda was removing the government and that all were beneath the Kingdom of Buganda.
SOURCE REVIEWED UPI Archives: Coup plot reportedly foiled in Uganda open source ↗
The group, going by the name Abataka ba Kirimuttu, were Buganda traditionalists keen on fighting for the immediate restoration of the Buganda Kingdom and the secession of Buganda from Uganda.
SOURCE REVIEWED Daily Monitor: NRA conducts mass arrests in Buganda to stop Kirimuttu coup open source ↗
The plotters were reportedly angered that Museveni had, in his January 1986 swearing-in speech, not mentioned the crown prince Ronald Muwenda Mutebi, and the affair came shortly after Mutebi had been allowed to return to Uganda.
SOURCE REVIEWED Daily Monitor: NRA conducts mass arrests in Buganda to stop Kirimuttu coup open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 2 Sep 1986 matches the announcement of the foiled Kirimuttu plot (arrests the prior week; Monitor dates the founding arrest to 24 Aug 1986). Verified. First of two Uganda records in this batch, the initial phase of the Kirimuttu affair.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
50009021986

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Museveni's government foiled the plot and remained in power; Museveni still leads Uganda.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

Chicago Tribune

“Coup attempt foiled in Uganda,” September 3, 1986

Ottawa Citizen

“Coup foiled in Uganda; 25 arrested,” September 3, 1986

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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