d and corruption within the Nigerian army, in addition to the lack of a realistic check to its power lead it towards the actions it took which inevitably halted the democratic transition in Nigeria (Stamets 1). Uganda faced even more severe problems with its government and military in reference to its attempt at democratizing. After 15 years of lawlessness and fighting under the tyranny of Idi Amin, Mr. Museveni took over the Ugandan government in a military backed coup. The military was in a fragile state in the early nineties, making an attempt at democracy potentially dangerous (Fitzgerald 1). Uganda faces many challenges in military reform before it can make an attempt at democratizing. Corruption along all levels and reports of severe human rights abuse plagues the military. Reports from Uganda indicate that anywhere between 500 and 1000 civilians were being held captive in military bases without adequate health care or food (Musoke 2). The Ugandan army also faced a major issue with AIDS amongst many of its leading officers who had contracted the disease in the eighties. This lead to a loss of trained manpower in the army as many of them began to die from the virus (Fitzgerald 4). Uganda’s military was becoming increasingly unstable and corrupt in a time where military backing was needed the most. “The role of the military is still considerable. It sits on all the groups responsible for policy, legislation and the drafting of the constitution…Considerable challenges lie ahead that could place severe strain on the ad hoc political system” (Fitzgerald 4). Similar to the case of South Africa, the Ugandan army needed an enormous amount of reforms if the political structure was going to change to one of democracy and civilian rule. Despite South Africa’s attempt at effective policy changes to make the transition to a multi-racial democracy, adequate social changes were not in place to prevent other problem...
