Coup Atlas Research Database
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50010081986ConspiracyMilitary coup

Uganda, 1986 — military coup conspiracy

Uganda (UGA)East Africa, AfricaOctober 8, 1986

Event Summary

This entry is coded 8 October 1986, corresponding to the second phase of the Kirimuttu affair against the Museveni government in Uganda, the early-October 1986 wave of high-profile treason arrests that grew out of the same investigation. Following the initial arrest of Buganda traditionalists at Bunamwaya in late August and early September 1986, the National Resistance Army arrested a series of prominent figures charged with plotting a coup between August and October 1986. Those detained included the former Vice President under Milton Obote's second government, Paulo Muwanga, arrested on 3 October 1986; the Commerce Minister Evaristo Nyanzi, picked up on 5 October 1986 at Entebbe airport as he prepared to board a flight; and the Federal Democratic Movement chairman and Environment Minister Dr Charles Lwanga, arrested on 4 October 1986.

Also arrested were former military officers, including Major Aloysius Ndibowa and Captain Davis Ntambi Ssozi, which underlies the military coup coding. The 8 October 1986 coding sits in this wave of treason arrests around Uganda's Independence Day on 9 October.

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 detained the alleged plotters; Museveni remained in power
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
former Vice President Paulo Muwanga (arrested 3 October)
Commerce Minister Evaristo Nyanzi and Dr Charles Lwanga
Major Aloysius Ndibowa and Captain Davis Ntambi Ssozi (former officers)

Sources

Among those arrested was the former vice president under Milton Obote II, Paulo Muwanga, arrested on 3 October 1986, and the Commerce Minister Evaristo Nyanzi, picked up on 5 October 1986 at Entebbe airport where he was to board a flight to Yugoslavia.
SOURCE REVIEWED Daily Monitor: NRA conducts mass arrests in Buganda to stop Kirimuttu coup open source ↗
Dr Charles Lwanga, chairperson of the Federal Democratic Movement of Uganda and Minister for Environment in the broad-based government, was arrested on 4 October 1986.
SOURCE REVIEWED Daily Monitor: NRA conducts mass arrests in Buganda to stop Kirimuttu coup open source ↗
Those arrested included former Uganda Army officers Major Aloysius Ndibowa and Captain Davis Ntambi Ssozi of Fedemu, and the accused were charged with plotting a coup between August and October 1986.
SOURCE REVIEWED Daily Monitor: NRA conducts mass arrests in Buganda to stop Kirimuttu coup open source ↗
The 24 August 1986 arrest at Bunamwaya set the ground for subsequent arrests and trials on charges of treason of many others in the following weeks.
SOURCE REVIEWED Daily Monitor: NRA conducts mass arrests in Buganda to stop Kirimuttu coup open source ↗

Editorial Note

Coded 8 Oct 1986 sits in the early-October 1986 treason-arrest wave (Muwanga 3 Oct, Lwanga 4 Oct, Nyanzi 5 Oct), around Independence Day 9 Oct. Verified. Second of two Uganda records in this batch, the later phase of the Kirimuttu affair (coded a military coup reflecting the former officers among the accused).

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
50010081986

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Museveni's government detained the alleged plotters; Museveni remained in power.

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.

New York Times

“18 Ugandans charged with plotting a coup,” October 8, 1986

Washington Post

“Uganda says it foiled coup plot, arrested 26,” October 8, 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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