See How President Museveni Survived Assassination At Parliamentary Building In Kampala

On Wednesday, January 29, 1986, while at the veranda of the Parliament Building taking Oaths as new President of the republic, President Yoweri Museveni survived death.The plot to assassinate Museveni had been sealed by the leaders of the military government under Tito Okello Lutwa, which the National Resistance Army (NRA) had four days earlier routed from power in Kampala.

The assassination plot was to be executed using a missile from a helicopter gunship killing the rebel leader and his top commanders altogether during the swearing in ceremony on the steps of the parliamentary building.The mission order was assigned to Flight Captain Stephen Ojiambo and his co-pilot Lt. Andama, a gunner from Acholi and the flight technician.

Thousands of soldiers, top National Resistance Movement (NRM) officials, local and foreign dignitaries, would have been murdered in a bomb explosion fired from an enemy helicopter piloted by a captain of the former Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA).Lt. Gen. Olala Okello, who had been made the Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) in the General Tito Okello Lutwa government following the July 27, 1985, coup against President Milton Obote was angry over the January 25, 1986, defeat by NRA fighters in Kampala.

Once he reached Gulu, he reorganized the remnants of the UNLA, especially those who were from Acholi sub-region, and assembled them in Gulu District in northern Uganda ready to fight one last win or lose battle against the advancing NRA soldiers.

From the Gulu airbase, an infuriated Okello, with the assistance of former Air Force Base Commander, Lt Col Henry Obonyo, planned the mission to assassinate Museveni and his lieutenants who had ousted them from power.The plan was that if Museveni was killed, the NRA would be demoralised and disintegrate and it would be easy to fight and defeat them.

And so, the assassination of the NRA chief commander was the best way to demoralise and disorganise the former rebels.The UNLA remnants forces had seven of 10 newly acquired helicopter gunships from Defense Systems Limited, a British company as well as the Clareville, a Swiss/Canadian firm which had been training and supporting the UNLA against the NRA rebels during the Luweero war.

This was revealed by an American flight engineer and a helicopter mechanic from New Zealand who were arrested at Entebbe military airfield by the NRA soldiers after the fall of Kampala.After the plot to assassinate Museveni was sealed, the mission order was assigned to Flight Captain Stephen Ojiambo who hailed from Busia in eastern Uganda, his co-pilot Lt Andama who hailed from Arua, a gunner from Acholi, and a flight technician. The names of the last two could not be easily established.

With 38 side-mounted rockets and heavy machine gun attached on the Bell Textron helicopter gunship, Captain Ojiambo and his crew set off from Gulu at the break of dawn ready to execute the mission once he reached within the target range above the Parliament Building unchallenged.

But after taking off from the airbase, Capt Ojiambo had a second thought about the assigned mission. He judged the magnitude of damage he was about to unleash on his countrymen and women all in attempt to kill one prime target Museveni, and suddenly changed his mind.

The crew decided to disobey their commanders’ order and opted to save thousands of innocent lives. The crowd at Parliament on that day was estimated to be more than 10,000!Later, the helicopter was flown from Nakasongola to Kololo airstrip and then to the Nile Mansions (now Serena Hotel) compound in Kampala.

When Hooper of BBC interviewed Ojiambo, he was staying on the fourth floor of the hotel. Ojiambo was later integrated into the national air force. At the time of his death in early 2000s, he was at the rank of major.Worth remembering is that shortly after the NRA had captured power, some security experts felt President Museveni was so disposed to a sniper bullet because his security ring often let him exposed, especially when interacting with the public and more so in Kampala.