Born in
Kitgum around 1943, He eventually fled into exile. There, he joined the Ugandan opposition against
Ugandan President Idi Amin. He subsequently fought as part of the
Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) in the
Uganda–Tanzania War of 1978–1979. He served as part of the UNLA contingent that took part in the
Eastern Uganda campaign of 1979, during which he and his men discovered a
mass grave in
Soroti where civilians murdered by pro-Amin
Uganda Army soldiers had been buried. After the coup, Obonyo was promoted to
colonel and appointed commander of the
Entebbe Air Base. As the UNLA's military situation declined in the ongoing
Ugandan Bush War, with
National Resistance Army rebels gaining ground, Obonyo oversaw the move of a large amount of military equipment from the capital
Kampala to northern Uganda. In January 1986, he served as one of the UNLA commanders who oversaw the defense of Kampala against the NRA under
Yoweri Museveni. He was responsible for the garrison troops guarding the
Kampala–Entebbe Road. The UNLA ultimately lost the
Battle of Kampala, but Obonyo escaped to northern Uganda, specifically
Gulu. There, he and other UNLA commanders attempted to rally their troops and stem the NRA advance. Eventually, Tito Okello also arrived at Gulu, but the former president was widely blamed for the defeat of the UNLA. Obonyo even proposed to execute Okello "for the sufferings he had brought upon the Acoli". However, Bazilio Olara-Okello intervened on his former superior's behalf and allowed the ex-president to escape into exile. Obonyo was also involved in a plan to kill Museveni as the latter was sworn in as the new Ugandan President on 29 January 1986. Alongside Olara-Okello, he planned for a UNLA
military helicopter to attack the ceremony to assassinate the NRA leader and his lieutenants. The plan failed as the helicopter opted to surrender rather than attempt to carry out the mission. The UNLA holdouts were fully
defeated by the NRA by March 1986, ending the Ugandan Bush War. Soon after, Obonyo joined other UNLA officers to organize the
Uganda People's Democratic Army (UPDA) rebel group in exile, becoming part of its high command. ==References==