Popular Resistance Army

History

Museveni disputed the results of the 1980 Ugandan general election, claiming that Obote had only won through fraud. Believing that he could only topple Obote's government by waging a guerrilla war and fearful that pro-Obote elements were planning his murder, Museveni began to mobilize his supporter network in Kampala and the rest of the country from December 1980. In secret, he organized the PRA with his bodyguards and a small number of veterans who had served in the disbanded Front for National Salvation, Museveni's previous rebel group and private army.

As his group lacked foreign supporters, the PRA and an allied rebel group, the UNLF-AD, opted to risk a raid on a military base to capture weapons to start their insurgency. This plan resulted in the Battle of Kabamba; even though the PRA failed to capture a significant amount of guns, it also suffered almost no losses during the battle. Afterwards, it began a low-level insurgency, achieving some small victories like the Battle of Kakiri, but also suffering a number of setbacks such as the Battle of Kiboga.

In June 1981, a new rebel coalition was organised, with the PRA and Yusuf Lule's Uganda Freedom Fighters agreeing to unite as the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Museveni was made vice-chairman of the National Resistance Council, the group's political body, and Chairman of the High Command of the National Resistance Army (NRA), the Movement's armed organ.

References

Works cited

References

1. Kasfir, Nelson. (2005). "Guerrillas and Civilian Participation: The National Resistance Army in Uganda, 1981-86". The Journal of Modern African Studies.
2. Kasfir, Nelson. (2005). "Guerrillas and Civilian Participation: The National Resistance Army in Uganda, 1981-86". The Journal of Modern African Studies.
3. (6 February 2016). "NRA attack on Kabamba causes tension between rebel groups". Daily Monitor.