Arube uprising

Arube uprising
Date 23–24 March 1974 Location Kampala; minor spillovers into other parts of Uganda Result Government victory Purge in the Uganda Army Several concessions are made to coup sympathizers, including the appointment of Mustafa Adrisi as army chief of staff
Belligerents
Ugandan government	Putschists
Commanders and leaders
Idi Amin Taban Lupayi	Charles Arube † Elly Aseni (POW)
Units involved
Presidential Guard Marine Regiment Military Police Public Safety Unit	Malire Battalion mutineers
Strength
Several units	Much of Kampala's garrison
Casualties and losses
at least 100 soldiers killed[1]

The Arube uprising,^[2] also known as Arube mutiny^[3] and Arube Coup,^[4] was a military coup d'état attempt organized on 23–24 March 1974 by discontented elements of the Uganda Army to overthrow Ugandan President Idi Amin. Led by Brigadier Charles Arube, the coupists aimed not only for a government takeover, but also to remove many influential foreign-born soldiers from the Ugandan military. Although the rebels initially succeeded in capturing much of Uganda's capital Kampala, Arube was killed by Amin as he attempted to capture him, resulting in the gradual collapse of the coup. With the aid of loyal troops from outside the capital, the President was able to put down the coup after two days of heavy fighting.

After the coup, the Ugandan government claimed that Arube had committed suicide, and initiated a limited purge of suspected dissidents in the army. Most coup supporters and sympathizers were treated leniently, however, as their cause was popular in the military. Amin consequently made several concessions, including releasing surviving coup leaders, appointing Mustafa Adrisi as the new army chief, and reorganizing the unpopular Military Police to avoid another uprising. Nevertheless, unrest continued in the Uganda Army during the remainder of his rule, and he faced several more coup attempts as well as mutinies until his overthrow in 1979.