Felix Onama

A Madi, Onama was born in the West Nile District. He was educated at St Mary's College, Kisubi, and Makerere University.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQVzAAAAMAAJ|title=Historical Dictionary of Uganda|last=Pirouet|first=Louise|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=1995|isbn=978-0810829206|page=305}}

He served as leader of the Ugandan People's Congress (UPC) in the neglected West Nile District, holding political views described as "near reactionary", compared with radical parts of the party.{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/uganda/9.htm |title=Independence: The Early Years |access-date=17 August 2010}} Taken from "Rita M. Byrnes, ed. Uganda: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1990." He also served as general manager for the West Nile Co-operative Union, handling cotton ginning, from 1960 until 1962.{{cite book |title=Cooperatives & development: agricultural politics in Ghana and Uganda |author1=M. Crawford Young |author-link=M. Crawford Young |author2=Neal P. Sherman |author3=Tim H. Rose |page=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-dpM-fwjiIC&pg=PA61 |year=1981 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=United States|isbn=978-0299087104 }}

He served as Minister of Works and Labour (1962–63), Minister of Internal Affairs (1963–65) and then as Defence Minister from 1966,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qYcaAAAAIAAJ&q="Kenyi+Onama"|title=The New Africans: a guide to the contemporary history of emergent Africa and its leaders|publisher=Reuters ltd|year=1967|author=Sidney Taylor}} giving him responsibility for both the police and the military.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAn-070zzxkC&pg=PA74|title=Wrong place, right time: policing the end of empire|year=1996|page=74|author=Michael J. Macoun|isbn=978-1860640193}}

Onama believed he had close ties with the military, so when in January 1964, there was a mutiny at the military barracks at Jinja, Uganda's second city and home to a burgeoning military, he was sent by Obote to Jinja to negotiate with the mutineers. Onama was held hostage, beaten and had his shirt torn. Under duress, he agreed to many of their demands, including significant pay increases for the army, and the rapid promotion of many officers.{{cite web|author=M. Louise Pirouet |author-link=Louise Pirouet |title=Obote, (Apolo) Milton (1925–2005) |work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/96666 |access-date= 17 August 2010}}

In 1965–66, Onama was embroiled in the "Gold Scandal" that hit Uganda. Daudi Ochieng, from the Kabaka Yekka party, alleged that some members of the government including Felix Onama, the Prime Minister Obote and Idi Amin, had benefited financially from the sale of gold and elephant tusks from the Congo due to Uganda Army's operations in that country, all of which was contested by Onama.{{cite web|url=http://www.federo.com/index.php?id=144|title=The 1966 Crisis|publisher=Federo|author=J. Kasangwawo|access-date=17 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821070649/http://www.federo.com/index.php?id=144|archive-date=21 August 2010|url-status=dead}}

Following the tightening of party discipline which followed the gold crisis, Onama emerged as the leader of the 'conservative' faction of the UPC, favouring state support for existing businessmen, rather than the state capitalism increasingly espoused by Obote.{{cite book|last=Jørgensen|first=Jan Jelmert|title=Uganda: a modern history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09MNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA288|year=1981|page=231|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0856646430}} In 1968, he was elected secretary-general of the Ugandan People's Congress for a seven-year term, although this was ultimately curtailed by the coup of 1971. By 1970 he was a large scale landowner, and owned a bus line, which was nationalised alongside foreign businesses under the terms of the Nakivubo Pronouncement.{{cite magazine |date=3 December 1970 |title=Uganda Nationalizes 60% of All Business Profits |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA48 |magazine=Jet |publisher=Johnson |page=48}}

Amin, who had taken power in the coup, did not trust Onama and briefly placed him under house arrest in 1972. Onama would later be one of the leaders of the Uganda National Rescue Front.{{cite book |title=Political terrorism: a new guide to actors... |author1=Alex Peter Schmid |author-link=Alex Peter Schmid |author2=Albert J. Jongman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NgDks1hUjhMC&pg=PA680 |year=2005 |page=680|isbn=978-1412815666 }}

Onama married Semmy, sister of Milton Obote.

{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onama, Kenyi Felix}}

Category:1920s births

Category:Defense ministers of Uganda

Category:Government ministers of Uganda

Category:People of the Ugandan Bush War

Category:Ugandan people taken hostage

Category:Year of death missing