SUMMARY
The armed conflict between Tanzania and Uganda concerned the so-called Kagera Salient, an 1800-square km strip of Tanzanian territory in the northwestern-most part of the country, bordering Uganda. While the territory had been claimed by Uganda many times before, it was not until in November 1978 that the country launched an invasion and declared the Salient to be an integral part of Uganda. After a Tanzanian counter-attack in mid-November the Ugandan forces were eventually pushed out of the region.
IN DEPTH
The Ugandan invasion of the Kagera Salient
The armed conflict between Tanzania and Uganda concerned the so-called Kagera Salient, an 1800-square km strip of Tanzanian territory in the northwestern-most part of the country, bordering Uganda. While the territory had been claimed by Uganda many times before, it was not until on 1 November 1978 that Ugandan President Idi Amin announced that the Salient had been annexed and was now an integral part of Uganda. However, by this date the dispute had already been ongoing for some weeks and it was originally closely tied to developments in Amin’s own army.
By 1978 Idi Amin had ruled Uganda for eight years and dissatisfaction with his rule was growing fast, also spreading to the army. In October fighting had erupted between Amin loyalists and mutinous troops in the southern part of the country. Amin, in order to cover up these troubles, subsequently claimed that neighbouring Tanzania had invaded Uganda on 11 October. Then followed a period of confusion, during which Amin issued daily briefs of the supposed fighting until he claimed that the Tanzanian force had been driven out on 25 October. Yet during all this time the only fighting that had taken place was that within Amins own army. After rebellious Ugandan troops fled across the border into Tanzania’s Kagera Salient in late October, Amin loyalists followed in pursuit. Due to the weak Tanzanian resistance the 3000 strong Ugandan force had by 29 October managed to occupy the entire Salient, having killed only a handful of Tanzanian soldiers. Subsequently, Amin on 1 November made the above-mentioned declaration.
The Tanzanian authorities, meanwhile, did not learn of the invasion until 24 hours after it was completed, due to the remoteness of the area and bad communications. After building up its forces in the area, Tanzania began launching counter-attacks in mid-November. The Ugandan troops managed to resist for some time, something that was made easier after they succeeded in destroying the bridge crossing the Kagera River. However, on 21 November 1978 the Tanzanians launched a two-pronged counter-offensive, with 6000 Tanzanian soldiers facing Amins troops, while 3000 Zanzibaris entered from the southern part of the Kagera River, putting the Ugandans on the defensive. In the final days of November, Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere claimed that the invading force had been driven out, something that was confirmed on 29 November by an OAU (Organisation of African Unity) envoy.
Aftermath of the fighting
Even after the last Ugandan troops had left the Kagera Salient there were contradictory reports of the situation in the region. Throughout December 1978 accusations and counter-accusations were made regarding events along Tanzania’s and Uganda’s common border. However, it seems clear that there was no more fighting in the disputed territory and that developments in the border area had more to do with the initiation of a new phase in the intrastate conflict fought over governmental power in Uganda (see the Uganda section in the database) than with the interstate conflict.
By militarily supporting the two Ugandan rebel groups, formed by Ugandan exiles during the 1970s, that invaded the country from the Salient in January 1979, Tanzania came to play a significant role in the Ugandan intrastate conflict. Subsequently, negotiations held between Tanzania and Uganda in early 1979 revolved both around the ongoing fighting (in the intrastate conflict) and issues connected to the past year’s interstate conflict. Negotiations were held in Nairobi between 21 and 27 February, including the Tanzanian and Ugandan Foreign Ministers and the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) mediation committee. Missions from the committee also flew to the Tanzanian capital Dar-es-Salaam and the Ugandan equivalent, Kampala to hold discussions with the two presidents. Tanzania demanded that Ugandan President Idi Amin renounce his claim to Tanzanian territory, that Uganda agree to pay compensation to Tanzania for loss of life and property during the occupation of Tanzanian territory and for Amin to guarantee that he would "cease using Tanzania as a scapegoat for his internal problems". With Uganda failing to agree to this, no progress was made and on 2 March the OAU committee admitted that it had failed.
The interstate tensions between Tanzania and Uganda came to a complete halt when the Tanzania-supported Ugandan rebel coalition UNLF (Uganda National Liberation Front) managed to topple Idi Amin and seize power in the country on 10 April 1979.
