January 1986 — The National Resistance Army seizes power and installs Yoweri Museveni as president. Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) government establishes a form of democracy in which political party activity is restricted and competition for political office is based on individual merit.
May 1993 — President Museveni restores the traditional kingdoms of Uganda but gives kings no political power.
May 1995 — The new constitution legalizes political parties but preserves the ban on political activity. Political parties are allowed to exist, but they can't field candidates, solicit funds or campaign.
May 1997 — Uganda troops help depose Mobutu Sese Seko, the president of Zaire. The following year, Ugandan troops side with rebels seeking to overthrow Laurent Kabila, Mobutu's successor as leader of the newly-renamed Democratic Republic of Congo.
May 1998 — Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania announce plans to form a political, economic and social union, which comes to fruition three years later in the form of the East African Community.
June 1998 — Kampala mayor Nasser Ntege Sebaggala is arrested in New York on several counts of fraud and lying to customs officials after arriving in the country with over US$10,000 in undeclared traveler's checks. He is convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison in 1999 but is paroled by the end of the year.
December 1998 — Over 100 members of Parliament sign a petition urging President Museveni to fire Finance Minister Sam Kutesa, whom they accuse of corruption in the privatization of the state-owned airline. The accusations come from a controversial parliamentary report on the privatization process tabled earlier in the month which accused several officials of improprieties and leads to the resignations of Privatization Minister Matthew Rukikaire and President Museveni's brother, Maj. Gen. Salim Saleh, both of whom were criticized in the report for their handling of other privatization transactions.
October 1999 — Criminal Investigation Department Director Chris Bakiza resigns amid an investigation into corruption, fraud and incompetence in the police. Bakiza is alleged to have received a bribe to block a probe into a 1997 murder.
June 2000 — In a national referendum, voters overwhelmingly support the continuation of the NRM's "no-party" system of governance.
March 2001 — President Museveni wins another term in office. His main challenger, physician and army Col. Kizza Besigye, temporarily flees the country after unsuccessfully challenging the result in court.
March 2002 — It is reported that a month-long judicial investigation into the national tax authority has uncovered massive corruption and inefficiency in tax collection and vehicle licensing. The investigation was launched after taxes collected by the Uganda Revenue Authority fell dramatically in the preceding two fiscal years.
June 2002 — The World Bank suspends approximately US$370 million in loans for a proposed dam due to allegations that the American company overseeing the project paid bribes to Ugandan officials.
October 2003 — Pursuant to a new law, President Museveni and his cabinet ministers publish detailed disclosures of their assets. The law requires public officials to disclose their financial information every two years. Museveni declares assets of an annual income of US$24,000, a farm worth approximately US$30,000 and bank accounts holding no more than US$2,500.
June 2004 — Uganda and Denmark sign a four-year, US$4.9 million anti-corruption pact designed to strengthen the corruption fighting capacity of government programs, civil society groups and the media. The program also aims to increase public awareness and spur civic participation in combating corruption.
July 2004 — At a function marking the opening of an Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU) office in Kampala, ACCU chairman Wafula Oguttu warns donors to channel aid through NGOs rather than the government.
July 2005 — Despite President Museveni's pledge in 2001 to leave after serving two terms, Parliament abolishes the constitutional limit on presidential terms, allowing Museveni to run in 2006. Voters in a referendum approve the return of multi-party democracy.
October 2005 — The International Criminal Court in The Hague issues arrest warrants for five Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commanders including their leader Joseph Kony. They are accused of abducting and forcing children to fight for them against the government, slaughtering innocent civilians at camps, displacing many civilians, capturing, raping and forcing women into marriage and slavery.
August 2005 — The Switzerland-based Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria suspends aid after uncovering evidence of gross mismanagement of the US$45 million it had already disbursed to the health ministry.
February 2006 — President Museveni is declared the winner of the country's first multi-party election in 25 years. Observers praise the election as an improvement on the 2001 poll but note the incumbent government had intimidated the opposition and monopolized media coverage and other public resources in the run-up. Of particular concern is the arrest on treason and rape charges of Museveni's main rival, Kizza Besigye, prior to the election.
May 2006 — Days before his inauguration, President Museveni acknowledges there is corruption in the NRM. His extraordinary admission comes at a time when several prominent NRM officials stand accused of misappropriating international aid to be used to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Aug. 29, 2006 — The ceasefire between Ugandan government and the LRA comes into force. Against the wishes of the International Crime Court, Ugandan government offers amnesty to LRA leaders in exchange for peace talks. Thousands have died during the 20- year conflict and more than 1 million people have fled their homes.
November 2006 — The government rejects a U.N. report accusing the army of using indiscriminate and excessive force in its campaign to disarm tribal warriors in the lawless northeastern region of Karmoja.
February 2007 — The Broadcasting Council (BC), an official media regulator, switches off Nation Television Uganda's (NTV) transmitter and confiscates its receivers. BC officials allege that the station is being put off air indefinitely for 'noncompliance of the industry's technical standards'. NTV is part of The Nation Media Group, East and Central Africa's largest and most influential media company. The Monitor's Web, The Nation Media Group owned newspaper, and its affiliated radio station KFM were blocked last year because sources said they reported a presidential vote tally more favorable to the opposition candidates.
BC rejects an appeal by NTV and rules that the station remains off air indefinitely.
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