Uganda attained internal self-rule in 1961 and independence in 1962. At that time, Uganda was a confident country
At the time, a bottle of beer cost one shilling.
Sir Michael Blundell, a British-born farmer and politician in Kenya, was named chairman of the board of EABL in 1964 and in 1965 also became chairman of the board of UBL.
Blundell although British felt strongly that the future of colonial Africa should be put in the hands of indigenous Africans. A young dentist called Dr. Martin Aliker was thus named a member of the board of directors of UBL on the recommendation of his mentor Michael Blundell.
Another Ugandan, Besweri Mulyanti, a county chief from Kaggo in Buganda, was also on the UBL board. Aliker was a doctor but had been interested in business since his university days at Makerere. He was also self-employed, a condition for one to join the UBL board.
Aliker would go on in later years to become one of the largest Ugandan shareholders of the company and become a perennial personality on the boards of various companies through the years.
In 1966, Dr. Aliker was appointed to the board of East African Breweries in Nairobi, to represent Uganda.
By 1967, Uganda Breweries was one of the largest companies in Uganda. It had a market capitalisation of £600,000 and had about 800 shareholders.
However, just when the outlook was positive for Uganda Breweries and Uganda, a major political move was made that would affect the company for years to come.
In 1969, the government of President Milton Obote announced an emphatic change in political direction toward socialism when a pamphlet; The Common Man’s Charter was published.
The Common Man’s Charter called attention to the idea that while African economies were growing the ordinary people often did not benefit from any of this ‘so called’ growth.