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Uganda Veterans
Before 1962 Uganda had a history of helping veterans
reenter
civilian society, but postindependence governments
discontinued
these programs. Following World War II, the government had
paid
veterans pensions and granted them a one-year exemption
from poll
taxes. It also had created a committee to help veterans
readjust
to civilian life. The Civil Reabsorption and
Rehabilitation
Committee provided teacher training programs and
instruction in a
variety of trades. The government also helped veterans
start
small businesses by providing subsidies for initial
purchases of
merchandise. In addition, volunteer members of the Uganda
War
Memorial Committee and the British Legion helped pay
school fees
for children of veterans. Old soldiers' homes provided
nursing
facilities for some aged and disabled veterans.
Veterans did not play an organized role in Uganda's
independence movement or in the country's social and
political
life after independence, and veterans lost most of their
former
privileges. Economic development needs, political
instability,
and continuing insurgencies in northern and eastern Uganda
prevented the organization of veterans groups in the late
1980s,
but President Museveni promised to improve veterans'
benefits
once stability had been restored.
Data as of December 1990
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