Today--24 May--is the anniversary of Milton Obote's 1966 assault on the palace of the Buganda kingdom.

Obote kept the place closed to journalists until 2 June. The early reports were therefore speculative: this reporter, for example, darkly predicts Uganda's descent into chaos.

Obote estimated that 20 people at died in the palace, and 20 people had died elsewhere in Buganda.

When the BBC reported that 2,000 people had died, Obote called the High Commissioner into his office and berated the British for publishing false information.

It is very difficult to say how many people died during the 24 May assault. Here are notes from a policeman who trained the Kabaka's police force. He estimated that several hundred--not 2,000--people died.

Obote's rationale for the attack was that the Kabaka had invited an outside power to intervene in Uganda.

Obote's rationale was based in fact. Here's a American note on a conversation with the British High Commissioner, who Muteesa had approached early in 1966 for military aid.