Background
Ethnicity:
He was from the royal clan of Ankole, the Bathinda.
Grace Ibingira was born on May 23, 1932 in Ankole, a region in the south-western part of Uganda.
Ethnicity:
He was from the royal clan of Ankole, the Bathinda.
Grace Ibingira was born on May 23, 1932 in Ankole, a region in the south-western part of Uganda.
Grace educated at Mbarara and King’s College. He studied law at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth, Wales, United Kingdom, where he graduated with honors. Then he was going to London University in London, United Kingdom to do postgraduate work. He was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in London, United Kingdom in 1959.
Grace returned home and went into the legal practice and was appointed a member of the Uganda Legislative Council in 1961, standing as a Uganda Peoples’ Congress member, in the first national elections and winning his seat. He was appointed Minister of Justice in the government that Obote formed when he came to power in April 1962 and in 1964 was made a Minister of State. In April the same year, he became secretary-general of the Uganda Peoples’ Congress after a tough fight with the outgoing secretary-general, John Kakonge.
In the months that followed the rivalry in the party persisted and violent clashes between the so-called supporters of the two men frequently occurred. But he maintained his position as a minister and at the party. When the gold smuggling accusations were made in the Legislative Council by Daudi Ocheng, implicating Obote, Grace Ibingira was one of those ministers who called for a judicial commission to be set up to investigate.
Obote returned from up country, where he had been on tour and had him arrested with four other ministers on February 22, 1966. He was then held in detention for the remainder of the Obote regime, until he was finally released by the army on January 28, 1971. In July he was appointed Ambassador and permanent representative of his country to the United Nations.
Grace was a fine-featured, handsome lawyer from Ankole. In 1964 it seemed that Obote was leaning in his direction when he won a tough fight for the secretary-general’s office.
He was thought to have the personality and following to unite a divided party, but the internecine quarrels continued. One of the five famed detained ministers, he was released and given the important diplomatic job for which he was well equipped at the United Nations by General Amin.