Battle of Kabamba

The Battle of Kabamba (6 February 1981), also known as the First Battle of Kabamba, was the result of an attempt by Popular Resistance Army (PRA) rebels to capture an armoury at the Kabamba Military Barracks, defended by the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) and Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). The battle marked the PRA's entry in the Ugandan Bush War.

The raid was planned by the PRA and another rebel group, the UNLF-AD, to seize weapons in order to start an insurgency against the government of Ugandan President Milton Obote who had assumed power after the disputed December 1980 general election. Despite being prepared through substantial intelligence gathering, the raid faced problems from the start. A part of the rebel strike team, including PRA leader Yoweri Museveni, got delayed. As a result of this delay and a lack of communications, the UNLF-AD militants withdrew, leaving the 34 to 41 PRA fighters to carry out the attack alone. Upon arriving at the Kabamba Military Barracks, the group was not able to deceive or silently subdue two sentries, causing a shootout and alerting the camp. A single Tanzanian soldier consequently took up position at the camp's armoury and defended it, preventing the PRA from capturing it. However, the rebels suffered only very light casualties and were able to withdraw in good order with some loot, meaning that the operation was not a complete failure.