3 AUGUST 1985, Page 5

UGANDA'S HOPES

WHEN Dr Obote was first expelled from Uganda, his replacement, one General Amin, was hailed as the sort of moderate but strong leader who could put the coun- try to rights. When President Nyerere of Tanzania threw his country into the inva- sion of Uganda, the deposition of Amin and the restoration of Dr Obote, his action was universally praised as one of the few modern examples of a genuinely just war. In the subsequent years, murder continued and even increased; arbitrary power was unchecked; justice was not done; the eco- nomy continued to decline. Now Dr Obote has been driven out again, and some peo- ple have been making excited noises about a better future. Surely the one unreason- able expectation about Uganda is that things will get better.