Coup Atlas Research Database
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50001061987ConspiracyDissident coup

Uganda, 1987 — dissident coup conspiracy

Uganda (UGA)East Africa, AfricaJanuary 6, 1987

Event Summary

This entry is coded 6 January 1987, during the outbreak of multiple armed insurgencies against the new National Resistance Movement government of Yoweri Museveni in northern and eastern Uganda, less than a year after his National Resistance Army captured Kampala in January 1986. By late 1986 and early 1987 several anti-NRM rebellions were under way, led largely by former Uganda National Liberation Army officers and Obote and Okello loyalists displaced by the NRA takeover, including the Uganda People's Democratic Army in Acholiland and Alice Auma's Holy Spirit Movement. The Holy Spirit Movement went on the offensive at the turn of the year, overrunning Pajule on 25 December 1986 and, after heavy fighting, capturing the government position at Camp Kilak on 14 January 1987 before being badly defeated by an NRA counter-attack on 18 January 1987.

The 6 January 1987 coding sits in this period of armed anti-Museveni conspiracy and insurgency in early 1987, as the northern and eastern rebellions escalated against the NRM government.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Museveni's NRA contained the insurgencies and he remained in power into the following decades
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
President Yoweri Museveni (target)
the Uganda People's Democratic Army and former UNLA officers
Alice Auma's Holy Spirit Movement

Sources

From 1986 to 1994 a variety of rebel groups waged a civil war against Museveni's government, the most important being the Uganda People's Democratic Army, the Uganda People's Army, Alice Auma's Holy Spirit Movement, and Joseph Kony's army.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: War in Uganda (1986-1994) open source ↗
The Holy Spirit Movement overran Pajule on 25 December 1986 and, after heavy fighting and despite substantial losses, took Camp Kilak on 14 January 1987, before NRA commander Fred Rwigyema's counter-attack inflicted a major defeat on it on 18 January.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: War in Uganda (1986-1994) open source ↗
The NRA captured Kampala in January 1986 and established a new government with Museveni as president, but numerous anti-NRA rebel factions and militias remained active and continued to fight his government.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Ugandan Bush War open source ↗
By 1987 several insurgencies had emerged in the north in response to the abuses of Museveni's army, which was accused of shooting people on suspicion of belonging to rebel groups.
SOURCE REVIEWED New York Review of Books: The Truth About Museveni's Crimes open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot is precisely dated 6 Jan 1987 in the sources located this session; the coding sits in the early-1987 anti-NRM insurgency (UPDA, Holy Spirit Movement, the Camp Kilak fighting of 14-18 Jan). Context with strong framing. Third Uganda record in the run, after the two Sep and Oct 1986 Kirimuttu-affair entries.

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
50001061987

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Museveni's NRA contained the insurgencies and he remained in power into the following decades.

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.

Globe and Mail

“Raid on ’subversive’ meeting foils Uganda coup,” January 8, 1987

Afro-American

“Four face coup charges in Ugandan court,” January 24, 1987

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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