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🔴 Claim

The BBC published a graphic (see screenshot above) on its Facebook page with a timeline of Uganda’s former presidents since independence, as part of its coverage of Uganda’s January 15, 2026 general election. The graphic shows Paulo Muwanga, who died in April 1991, and Bazilio Olara-Okello, who passed on in January 1990 in Sudan, as some of the former presidents.

🔴 What OJ-UGANDA checked

• Whether there is any official Ugandan government record of both men serving as presidents—and when they held that position.

🔴 What we found

• The State House website, which maintains the official list of Uganda’s former presidents, does not include the names of Mr Muwanga or Mr Olara-Okello.
• Paulo Muwanga was the chairman of the Military Commission that governed Uganda after a combined force of Ugandan exiles and Tanzanian troops ousted dictator Idi Amin in April 1979. As head of the commission, Mr Muwanga exercised executive authority, but he did not hold the constitutional title of president. He could therefore be described as a de facto head of government, not a formally recognised president. The BBC did not make this distinction.
• Paulo Muwanga later became Vice President and Minister of Defence after the December 1980 election that returned Milton Obote to power. Mr Obote died in October 2005.
• Bazilio Olara-Okello led the coup that ousted Mr Obote in July 1985. However, following the coup, General Tito Okello Lutwa, not Bazilio Olara-Okello, became president, holding the position until his overthrow in January 1986 by a rebel army led by Yoweri Museveni.

🔴 Verdict

• The claim is false.

🔴 Conclusion

While academics, historians, researchers and Western news organisations sometimes refer to Mr Muwanga as Uganda’s former president, his name does not appear in official government records, nor does Mr Olara-Okello’s.

Mislabelling who held presidential office distorts Uganda’s constitutional history and blurs the line between lawful authority and rule by force.

The BBC misinformed its audience by presenting a contested historical interpretation as settled fact. This stemmed from a failure to distinguish between de facto authority and constitutionally recognised presidential office using official Ugandan records.

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🔴 We fact-check claims, speeches and trending topics with cold, hard evidence. If it is misleading and fact-checkable, we will bring it to your attention. Remember: We started this website to serve as a source of credible information, a trusted alternative to social media noise. We are the fruit and veg of discerning information consumers. Do not read junk.

CORRECTION: Mr Obote died in October 2005, not November 2005, as an earlier version of this fact-check stated.