{{short description|Sudanese-Ugandan military officer}} {{Infobox military person |name = Taban Lupayi |image = |image_upright = |alt = |caption = |birth_name = |nickname = |birth_date = |birth_place = Southern Sudan |death_date = |death_place = |burial_place = |burial_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}}--> |allegiance = {{flag|Uganda}} |branch = Uganda Army |service_years = ? – 1979 |rank = [[Brigadier]] |unit = |commands = Marine Regiment |battles = {{tree list}} *[[Arube uprising]] *[[Uganda–Tanzania War]] {{tree list/end}} |awards = |spouse = <!--Add spouse if reliably sourced--> |children = |relations = }} '''Taban Lupayi''',{{sfn|Omara-Otunnu|1987|p=140}}<ref name= "betrayed">{{cite web |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/How-Amin-s-commander-betrayed-Ugandan-fighters-to-Tanzanians/689844-1747480-fubx8g/index.html |title=How Amin's commander betrayed Ugandan fighters to Tanzanians |first=Jaffar Rembo |last=Amin |website=Daily Monitor |date=14 April 2013 |access-date=3 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219051029/https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/How-Amin-s-commander-betrayed-Ugandan-fighters-to-Tanzanians/689844-1747480-fubx8g/index.html |archive-date=19 December 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> often just called '''Taban''',{{efn|Also known as Flassan Taban,{{sfn|Decalo|2019|loc=The Collapse of a Dictator}} Taban Lupavi,{{sfn|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2015|p=23}} Taban Lupayigana,<ref name="senior">{{cite web |url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/Senior-officers-Arube-Aseni-attempt-overthrow-Amin-/689844-2774966-rgkt7r/index.html |title=Senior officers Arube, Aseni attempt to overthrow Amin – Part I |first=Faustin |last=Mugabe |work=Daily Monitor |date=5 July 2015 |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330122141/https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/Senior-officers-Arube-Aseni-attempt-overthrow-Amin-/689844-2774966-rgkt7r/index.html |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Taban Lopayi{{sfn|Harrell-Bond|1982|p=6}} }} was a high-ranking Sudanese-born Ugandan military officer during the [[Second Republic of Uganda|dictatorship of]] [[Idi Amin]]. He rose to commander of the Marine Regiment and deputy [[chief of staff]] of the [[Uganda Army (1971–1980)|Uganda Army]] following the [[1971 Ugandan coup d'état]], and became a member of Amin's inner circle. Taban deserted his post during the [[Uganda–Tanzania War]] in 1979, fleeing to southern Sudan.
== Biography == === Early life and rise to power === An ethnic [[Nubians (Uganda)|Nubian]]{{sfn|Avirgan|Honey|1983|p=50}} and/or [[Pojulu people|Pojulu]],<ref name= "betrayed" /> Taban was a [[Muslim]]{{sfn|Avirgan|Honey|1983|p=50}} and nephew of [[Idi Amin]].{{sfn|Decalo|2019|loc=The Collapse of a Dictator}} He was born in southern Sudan.<ref name="senior" />{{sfn|Harrell-Bond|1982|p=6}}{{sfn|Smith|1980|p=131}} In his early life, he worked as a [[houseboy]] and had very little education.{{sfn|Harrell-Bond|1982|p=6}} ''[[Africa Confidential]]'' claimed that Taban was illiterate.{{sfn|Africa Confidential|1984|p=72}} He eventually joined the [[Uganda Army (1962–1971)|Uganda Army]], and served as a [[Private (rank)|private]] during the [[President of Uganda|presidency]] of [[Milton Obote]].{{sfn|Smith|1980|p=131}} When tensions rose between Obote and army commander [[Idi Amin]], the latter organized a bodyguard of trusted soldiers, including Taban.{{sfn|Rwehururu|2002|p=28}}
Following the [[1971 Ugandan coup d'état]] which allowed Amin to seize the presidency, Taban was promoted to officer in the [[Uganda Army (1971–1980)|Uganda Army]]. His rise was the result of his connections to Amin and his lowly background, as the new president feared that better-educated officers could eventually overthrow him and wanted to check their influence.{{sfn|Harrell-Bond|1982|p=6}} According to researcher Samuel Decalo, Taban was a "particularly nasty and rowdy commander".{{sfn|Decalo|2019|loc=The Collapse of a Dictator}} Taban became part of the Libyan-trained{{sfn|Decalo|2019|loc=The Collapse of a Dictator}} Marine Regiment. He was promoted to [[Major (rank)|major]] and second-in-command of the unit in January 1974.<ref>{{cite news|title= Uganda: Military Appointments |volume=Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa. No. 4490| newspaper = BBC| page = 5| date = January 1974| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=oQksAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> Later that year,{{sfn|Rwehururu|2002|p=51}} he became its chief commander, holding this position until 1979.{{sfn|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2015|p=23}} In March 1974, dissident soldiers attempted to overthrow Amin in the [[Arube uprising]]; Taban was one of the Amin loyalists whom the rebels intended to kill or arrest.<ref name="senior" /> Under his leadership, the Marines played a major role in defeating the coup attempt.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/Three-gunshots-that-ended-the-coup-against-Amin/689844-2807990-vd5755/index.html | title = Three gunshots that ended the coup against Amin | last = Mugabe| first = Faustin| date = 26 July 2015 | newspaper = Daily Monitor| access-date = 14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111111534/https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/PeoplePower/Three-gunshots-that-ended-the-coup-against-Amin/689844-2807990-vd5755/index.html |archive-date=11 January 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
At some point, Taban became a member of the Defense Council which factually governed Uganda under Amin.{{sfn|Decalo|2019|loc=The Collapse of a Dictator}} Like many high-ranking officers, Taban was engaged in smuggling on [[Lake Victoria]]. He consequently clashed with the [[Anti-Smuggling Unit]] (ASU), threatening and possibly murdering ASU agents to maintain his criminal activities.{{sfn|Lowman|2020|pp=150–151}} Over time, he developed a rivalry with [[Vice President of Uganda|Vice President]] [[Mustafa Adrisi]]; the two were even engaged in a shootout at some point. Adrisi was removed from power by Amin in April 1978.{{sfn|Decalo|2019|loc=The Collapse of a Dictator}} Taban was promoted from [[lieutenant colonel]] to [[brigadier]] in the following month.{{sfn|Omara-Otunnu|1987|p=140}} He eventually became deputy [[chief of staff]] as well.{{sfn|Africa Confidential|1984|p=72}} By late 1978, Taban was one of the few remaining members of Amin's inner circle after repeated purges.{{sfn|Avirgan|Honey|1983|p=50}}
=== Uganda–Tanzania War and exile === Tensions between Uganda and the neighboring country of [[Tanzania]] were high during Amin's rule. Taban was among the Uganda Army officers who called for a preemptive attack.{{sfn|Mambo|Schofield|2007|p=311}} In late 1978, the [[Uganda–Tanzania War]] broke out under unclear circumstances.{{sfn|Lowman|2020|pp=176–177}} After an initial Ugandan [[Invasion of Kagera|invasion of Tanzanian territory]] was defeated,{{sfn|Avirgan|Honey|1983|pp=67–69}} the [[Tanzania People's Defence Force]] (TPDF) launched a counter-invasion and [[Battle of Mutukula|overran]] the border town of [[Mutukula, Uganda|Mutukula]] on 21–22 January 1979.{{sfn|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2015|p=29}} Although the garrison had been promised immediate reinforcements, these never arrived. Shortly after the battle, Taban and Lieutenant Colonel [[Godwin Sule]] arrived with a helicopter at nearby Sanje, to where the Mutukula garrison had retreated. They informed the local commander, [[Bernard Rwehururu]], that the reinforcements had halted in [[Lukaya, Uganda|Lukaya]], {{convert|120|km|mi}} to the north. This information was received badly by the local troops; Sule sensed that the soldiers could possibly revolt and instructed Taban to order the reinforcements to advance so that they could relieve Rwehururu's men. Regardless, the troops remained restitive. A warrant officer informed Taban that some angry infantrymen might be tempted to shoot the officers, causing Sule and Taban to quickly leave in their helicopter.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/15042002/Features/Magazine3.html|title=Fighting for Amin|newspaper=The East African|date=8 April 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308114206/http://www.nationaudio.com/News/EastAfrican/15042002/Features/Magazine3.html|archive-date=8 March 2008|access-date=13 May 2019}}</ref> At some point in January, Taban attended a party for the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] military advisers to Uganda, using the occasion to praise their [[Foreign support of Uganda in the Uganda–Tanzania War|aid to the Ugandan military]].{{sfn|Translations|1979|pp=159–160}}
The Marines were among the last elements of the Uganda Army that stayed loyal to Amin in the Uganda–Tanzania War's later sages. According to Amin's son Jaffar Rembo, however, Taban and many of the Sudanese soldiers in the Marine Regiment fled the frontlines around the time of the [[Battle of Lukaya]]. Jaffar accused Taban and other high-ranking Ugandan commanders of having been bribed by the Tanzanians to mishandle the army.<ref name= "betrayed" /> Taban initially fled north from Kampala to [[Arua]]{{sfn|Singh|2012|p=162}} before ultimately escaping to Sudan and settling down in [[Yei, South Sudan|Yei]]. A [[Drum (South African magazine)|''Drum'']] reporter later encountered him there by chance, describing him as a "very frightened man".{{sfn|Seftel|2010|p=239}} In 1983, ''[[Africa Confidential]]'' reported that Taban was still living in "oblivion" in Yei, hoping for Amin's eventual return to power in Uganda.{{sfn|Africa Confidential|1984|p=72}}
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Works cited === {{refbegin}} * {{cite book| last1 = Avirgan| first1 = Tony| last2 = Honey| first2 = Martha| title = War in Uganda: The Legacy of Idi Amin| location= Dar es Salaam|publisher = Tanzania Publishing House| date = 1983| isbn = 978-9976-1-0056-3}} * {{cite book |last1 = Cooper |first1 = Tom |last2 = Fontanellaz |first2 = Adrien |title= Wars and Insurgencies of Uganda 1971–1994 |date= 2015 |publisher= Helion & Company Limited |location= [[Solihull]] |isbn= 978-1-910294-55-0 }} * {{cite book| last = Decalo| first = Samuel| title = Psychoses Of Power: African Personal Dictatorships| publisher = Routledge| date = 2019| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RKKqDwAAQBAJ | isbn = 9781000308501}} * {{cite journal| last = Harrell-Bond| first = Barbara| title = Ugandan Refugees in the Sudan. Part I: The long journey| journal = UFSI Reports| issue = 48| date = 1982|url = http://www.icwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BHB-26.pdf|url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160320172915/www.icwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/BHB-26.pdf |archive-date= 20 March 2016}} * {{cite thesis |last= Lowman|first= Thomas James|date= 2020|title= Beyond Idi Amin: Causes and Drivers of Political Violence in Uganda, 1971-1979|type= PhD|publisher= Durham University|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13439/1/Tom_Lowman_-_Thesis_Corrected_Draft.pdf?DDD17+ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707094954/http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13439/1/Tom_Lowman_-_Thesis_Corrected_Draft.pdf?DDD17+ |archive-date=2020-07-07 |access-date=25 February 2022}} * {{cite journal| last1 = Mambo| first1 = Andrew| last2 = Schofield| first2 = Julian| title = Military Diversion in the 1978 Uganda–Tanzania War| journal = Journal of Political and Military Sociology| volume = 35| issue = 2| pages = 299–321| date = 2007| issn = 0047-2697}} * {{cite book |last = Omara-Otunnu |first = Amii |title= Politics and the Military in Uganda, 1890–1985 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=I9evCwAAQBAJ |year = 1987 |publisher= [[Palgrave Macmillan]] |location= London |isbn= 978-1-349-18738-6 }} * {{cite book| last = Rwehururu| first = Bernard| title = Cross to the Gun| publisher = Monitor| date = 2002| location = Kampala| oclc = 50243051}} * {{cite book| editor-last = Seftel| editor-first = Adam| title = Uganda: The Bloodstained Pearl of Africa and Its Struggle for Peace. From the Pages of Drum| publisher = Fountain Publishers| date = 2010| orig-year=1st pub. 1994| location = Kampala| isbn = 978-9970-02-036-2}} * {{cite book |last=Singh |first=Madanjeet |title=Culture of the Sepulchre: Idi Amin's Monster Regime |publisher=Penguin Books India |date=2012 |location=New Delhi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7YGkcrJZJsC |isbn=978-0-670-08573-6 }} *{{cite book |last = Smith |first = George Ivan |author-link = George Ivan Smith |title= Ghosts of Kampala |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=D14MAQAAIAAJ |date= 1980 |publisher= Weidenfeld & Nicolson |location= London |isbn= 978-0060140274 }} * {{cite book | chapter= Soviet Assistance, Cooperation Reported | title = Translations on Sub-Saharan Africa, No. 2072| publisher = United States Joint Publications Research Service| date = 7 March 1979| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DlxEAQAAIAAJ| pages= 158–160 | ref = {{harvid|Translations|1979}} }} * {{cite book | chapter= Various Difficulties said leading to anarchy | title = Sub-Saharan Africa Report | work = Africa Confidential| publisher = Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS)| date = 18 January 1984| url = https://archive.org/details/jprs-report_jprs-ssa-84-008/page/n1/mode/2up| pages= 67–72 | ref = {{harvid|Africa Confidential|1984}} }} {{refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lupayi, Taban}} [[Category:Ugandan military personnel]] [[Category:Military personnel of the Uganda–Tanzania War]] [[Category:Ugandan people of South Sudanese descent]] [[Category:Immigrants to Uganda]] [[Category:Sudanese emigrants]] [[Category:Sudanese Muslims]] [[Category:20th-century military personnel]]