Godfrey Lukongwa Binaisa QC (30 May 1920 – 5 August 2010) was a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n lawyer who was Attorney General of Uganda from 1962 to 1968 and later served as the fifth

president of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force. The in ...

from June 1979 to May 1980. At his death he was Uganda's only surviving former president.

Education and early career

Born in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Binaisa was initially a lawyer. He was educated at

King's College Budo King’s College Budo is a mixed, residential, secondary school in Central Uganda (Buganda). Location The school is located on Naggalabi Hill, in southern Wakiso District, off the Kampala-Masaka Road. This location lies approximately , by road, ...

and

Makerere College Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

. He then earned an LL.B. in law from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

in 1955 and was called to the Bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1956. He was appointed a

Queen's counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

(QC) and had a private law practice in Kampala. Binaisa was a member of the political parties

Uganda National Congress Uganda National Congress (UNC) was the first political party in Uganda. UNC formed Formed on Sunday 2 March 1952, Ignatius Kangave Musaazi was its first President, and Abubaker Kakyama Mayanja the party's first Secretary General. Apollo K. Kiro ...

and United Congress Party during the 1950s. He later joined

Uganda People's Congress The Uganda People's Congress (UPC; sw, Congress ya Watu wa Uganda) is a political party in Uganda. UPC was founded in 1960 by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence and later served two presidential terms under the party's banner ...

which in 1962 formed the first post-independence government of Uganda. He was appointed the Attorney General in 1962, a position in which he served until 1968, when he resigned over disagreements with President

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from British colonial rule in 1962. Following the nation's independence, he served as prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to ...

concerning constitutional matters, particularly the presidential powers of detention. In 1969 Binaisa went into private legal practice, and after

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

took power in 1971, he went into exile first to the United Kingdom where in London he was employed by the London office Graham and James, an international maritime law firm. Following that he came to the United States, where he served as a "paralegal" at the main office of Graham and James in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. After his presidency ended he returned to London for a time and then ultimately practised law in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of t ...

. While in the US, he became a member of Uganda Freedom Union, one of several anti-Amin groups in exile.

The presidency

Following the overthrow of Idi Amin in 1979, Binaisa returned to Uganda. After Idi Amin,

Yusuf Lule Yusuf Kironde Lule (10 April 1912 – 21 January 1985) was a Ugandan professor and civil servant who served as the fourth president of Uganda between 13 April and 20 June 1979. Early life Yusuf Lule was born on 10 April 1912 in Kampala."Lule, ...

served as the interim president for 68 days. On 20 June 1979, Binaisa was appointed

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force. The in ...

by the National Consultative Commission, which was then the supreme governing body of the

Uganda National Liberation Front The Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of Idi Amin with an accompanying military wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). UNLA fought alongside Tanzanian forces in ...

(UNLF), a coalition of former Ugandan exiles who had helped remove Idi Amin. When Binaisa removed the army

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

, Brigadier

Oyite Ojok David Oyite Ojok (15 April 1940 – 2 December 1983) was a Ugandan military commander who held one of the leadership positions in the coalition between Uganda National Liberation Army and Tanzania People's Defence Force which removed strongman ...

, he was himself removed from office on 12 May 1980 by the Military Commission, a powerful organ of the UNLF headed by

Paulo Muwanga Paulo Frobisher Muwanga Seddugge Muyanja (4 April 1924 – 1 April 1991) was a Ugandan politician who served briefly as ''de facto'' president, and later as prime minister, of Uganda. Career Paulo Frobisher Muwanga Seddugge Muyanja was born in ...

, and whose deputy was

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

(then leader of

Uganda Patriotic Movement The Uganda Patriotic Movement is a defunct political party in Uganda. It was founded by Yoweri Museveni and participated in the December 1980 general elections, which were won by Milton Obote's Uganda People's Congress. The election results were ...

and the current president of Uganda (1986-to date)). The country was then led by the

Presidential Commission of Uganda The Presidential Commission of Uganda held the office of President of Uganda between 22 May and 15 December 1980. It was composed as follows: Leaders and member Interim Government of Presidential Commission of Uganda See also *Uganda *Uganda si ...

(set up a few days after the coup) with among others Paulo Muwanga,

, Oyite Ojok and

Tito Okello Tito Lutwa Okello (1914 – 3 June 1996) was a Ugandan military officer and politician. He was the eighth president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986. Background Tito Okello was born into an ethnic Acholi family in circa 1914 ...

. The Presidential Commission ruled Uganda until the December 1980

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Binaisa had joined, and was made vice president of the Uganda Patriotic Movement. The elections were won by Milton Obote's Uganda Peoples Congress, however, the results were disputed, leading Museveni to launch a guerrilla rebellion, which subsequently led him to gain the presidency in 1986. The development of the "

Movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

" political system previously used by Museveni's government has often been attributed to Binaisa. Calling the ideology "Umbrella", Binaisa used the system to consolidate his position during his own presidency, seeking to unite all Ugandans in the same political fold. Throughout the early 1980s and 1990s, Binaisa lived in New York practicing law and later returned to Uganda, where he led a quiet life in retirement. He was the only former president of Uganda being looked after by the state under provisions of the

Constitution of Uganda The Constitution of Uganda is the supreme law of Uganda. The fourth and current constitution was promulgated on 8 October 1995. It sanctions a republican form of government with a powerful President. First constitution (1962–1966) The first co ...

Wedding

Binaisa married Tomoko Yamamoto on 26 July 2004 in a

Unification Church The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

Blessing Ceremony. They met through the internet. The marriage ended in July 2005.

Death

Binaisa died in his sleep on 5 August 2010. He was 90 years old and had suffered a stroke or heart attack earlier in the year. Someone tried to rouse him for a morning shower but he had died in the night. Binaisa was granted a state funeral.

References

External links

Uganda Mourns Godfrey BinaisaProfile from MyUganda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Binaisa, Godfrey 1920 births 2010 deaths Presidents of Uganda Foreign Ministers of Uganda 20th-century King's Counsel Alumni of King's College London Uganda People's Congress politicians Uganda National Liberation Front politicians Uganda National Congress politicians Attorneys General of Uganda Ugandan expatriates in the United States People educated at King's College Budo Ugandan expatriates in the United Kingdom