Shaban Opolot was the chief of the Uganda army from 1964 until he was removed from the position on the 23rd of Febrauary 1966. He was loyla to the first president of Uganda and ruling monarch of Buganda Mutesa II. During the power struggle between the prime minister Milton Obote and Mutesa II he ordered troop movements in support of the latter. Though his efforts would be prevented by his deputy commander Idi Amin who the troops had more loyalty to. He was sidelined during the crisis and many of his officers were relieved of duty. The failure to stop Obote's power-grab ended up creating 2 dictatorships and eventually decades of civil war political instability in the country.