Biography idi amin dada uganda capitals

This article is part of a series about Idi Amin. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern world history. Amin was born to a Kakwa father and Lugbara mother. He rose to the rank of lieutenant , taking part in British actions against Somali rebels and then the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya.

Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in , and Amin remained in the army , rising to the position of deputy army commander in and being appointed commander two years later. As Amin's rule progressed into the late s, there was increased unrest against his persecution of certain ethnic groups and political dissidents, along with Uganda's very poor international standing due to Amin's support for PFLP-EO and RZ hijackers in , leading to Israel's Operation Entebbe.

He then attempted to annex Tanzania 's Kagera Region in Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere ordered his troops to invade Uganda in response. Tanzanian Army and rebel forces successfully captured Kampala in and ousted Amin from power. Amin went into exile, first in Libya, then Iraq , and finally in Saudi Arabia , where he lived until his death in Amin's rule was characterized by rampant human rights abuses , including political repression , ethnic persecution , extrajudicial killings , as well as nepotism , corruption, and gross economic mismanagement.

International observers and human rights groups estimate that between , [ 12 ] and , people were killed under his regime. Virtually all retellings of Amin's early life are contradictory, as he did not write an autobiography and never authorized a written account of his life. In a book published in by Little, Brown and written by a British advisor in Uganda using the pseudonym David Gwyn, Amin was born in Buganda with his age given as forty-eight, placing his birth year in The most comprehensive biography of Amin comes from his family based on oral tradition, which has some authority but its details ultimately cannot be confirmed.

Family tradition and Saudi authorities in Jeddah puts his birth date as 10 Dhu al-Hijja in the Islamic calendar. The same year, he joined the Protectorate Police Force in the Nsambia Police Barracks prior to being transferred to the Shimoni Police Barracks in , where Amin was born according to his family. He was transferred to the Kololo Police Barracks and retired from the police force in and worked at the Office of the Resident District Commissioner in Arua District.

His mother, Aisha Aate, was born to a Kakwa mother and Lugbara father. By all accounts, Aate was a traditional healer, herbalist, and a midwife. The movement was repressed by British colonial authorities, who had judged it as rebellion. Aate's high-ranking role in the Allah Water movement allegedly gained the interest of the Bugandan royal family and her alleged connection to the family led to rumours of Amin's biological father being Daudi Chwa II.

According to Amin's family, Idi Amin was given the title Awon'go lit. Idi was reportedly chosen to take a 'paternity test' as an infant by tribal elders, which involved abandoning him for four days in a forest near Mount Liru in Koboko where they returned to find Amin still alive. The elders attributed this apparent miracle to Nakan, a sacred seven-headed snake in Kakwa folk religion.

Amin's parents divorced when he was four, and most accounts suggest that he moved in with his mother's family in in the rural farming town of Mawale Parish, Luweero District , in north-western Uganda. While living with his mother's relatives, Amin reportedly worked as a goat farmer from ages eight to ten. The same year, Amin was injured while participating in Nubian riots against discrimination at Makerere University in Wandegeya.

In , he moved to the Kiyindi Parish in Bwaise Parish and worked different odd jobs, this included work as a doorman and concierge assistant at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala. Amin joined the King's African Rifles KAR in as an assistant cook, while at the same time receiving military training until That year, his unit was deployed to northern Kenya to fight against Somali rebels.

In , his brigade was deployed against the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. He was promoted to corporal the same year, then to sergeant in Amin returned to Uganda the same year and received a short-service commission as a lieutenant on 15 July , becoming one of the first two Ugandans to become commissioned officers. This included his direct and hands-on leadership style which would eventually contribute to his popularity among certain parts of Ugandan society.

In , following Uganda's independence from the United Kingdom , Amin was promoted to captain and then, in , to major. He was appointed Deputy Commander of the Army in and, the following year, to Commander of the Army. Amin was an athlete during his time in both the British and Uganda Army. Amin was also a formidable rugby forward, [ 27 ] [ 28 ] although one officer said of him: "Idi Amin is a splendid type and a good rugby player, but virtually bone from the neck up, and needs things explained in words of one letter".

There is a frequently repeated urban myth that he was selected as a replacement by the East Africa rugby union team for their tour match against the British Lions. The deal, as later alleged by General Nicholas Olenga, an associate of the former Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba , was part of an arrangement to help troops opposed to the Congolese government trade ivory and gold for arms supplies secretly smuggled to them by Amin.

In , the Ugandan Parliament demanded an investigation. Obote imposed a new constitution abolishing the ceremonial presidency held by Kabaka King Mutesa II of Buganda and declared himself executive president. He promoted Amin to colonel and army commander. Amin led an attack on the Kabaka's palace and forced Mutesa into exile to the United Kingdom, where he remained until his death in The South Sudanese had been residents in Uganda since the early 20th century, having come from South Sudan to serve the colonial army.

Many African ethnic groups in northern Uganda inhabit both Uganda and South Sudan; allegations persist that Amin's army consisted mainly of South Sudanese soldiers. Eventually a rift developed between Amin and Obote, exacerbated by the support Amin had built within the Uganda Army by recruiting from the West Nile region , his involvement in operations to support the rebellion in southern Sudan and an attempt on Obote's life in In October , Obote took control of the armed forces, reducing Amin from his months-old post of commander of all the armed forces to that of the commander of the Uganda Army.

Having learned that Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, Amin seized power in a military coup with the assistance of Israeli government agents [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] on 25 January , while Obote was attending that year's Commonwealth summit meeting in Singapore. Soldiers surrounded Obote's residence and blocked major roads.

A broadcast on Radio Uganda accused Obote's government of corruption and preferential treatment of the Lango region. Cheering crowds were reported in the streets of Kampala after the radio broadcast. He promised to release all political prisoners. Amin held a state funeral in April for Edward Mutesa, former king kabaka of Buganda and president, who had died in exile.

He suspended certain provisions of the Ugandan constitution , and soon instituted an Advisory Defense Council composed of military officers with himself as the chairman. Amin placed military tribunals above the system of civil law , appointed soldiers to top posts in government and government-owned corporations , and informed the newly inducted civilian cabinet ministers that they would be subject to military courtesy.

SRB headquarters at the Kampala suburb of Nakasero became the scene of torture and capital punishment over the next few years. Obote took refuge in Tanzania, having been offered sanctuary there by the Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere. Obote was soon joined by 20, Ugandan refugees fleeing Amin. The exiles attempted but failed to regain Uganda in , through a poorly organised coup attempt.

Amin retaliated against the attempted invasion by Ugandan exiles in by purging the Uganda Army of Obote supporters, predominantly those from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups. In this atmosphere of violence, many other people were killed for criminal motives or simply at will. Bodies were often dumped into the River Nile. The killings, motivated by ethnic, political, and financial factors, continued throughout Amin's eight years in control.

The International Commission of Jurists estimated the death toll at no fewer than 80, and more likely around , An estimate compiled by exile organizations with the help of Amnesty International puts the number killed at , Like many other warrior societies, the Kakwa , Amin's tribe, are known to have practiced blood rituals on slain enemies.

These involve cutting a piece of flesh from the body to subdue the dead man's spirit or tasting the victim's blood to render the spirit harmless. Such rituals still exist among the Kakwa. Amin's practices do not stop at tasting blood: on several occasions he has boasted to me and others that he has eaten human flesh. Among the most prominent people killed were Benedicto Kiwanuka , a former prime minister and chief justice ; Janani Luwum , the Anglican archbishop ; Joseph Mubiru, the former governor of the central bank of Uganda ; Frank Kalimuzo, the vice-chancellor of Makerere University ; Byron Kawadwa, a prominent playwright; and two of Amin's own cabinet ministers, Erinayo Wilson Oryema and Charles Oboth Ofumbi.

Amin recruited his followers from his own ethnic group, the Kakwas, along with South Sudanese, and Nubians. By , these three groups formed 60 per cent of the 22 top generals and 75 per cent of the cabinet. Similarly, Muslims formed 80 per cent and This helps explain why Amin survived eight attempted coups. Amin's military was largely a mercenary force.

Half the soldiers were South Sudanese and 26 per cent Congolese, with only 24 per cent being Ugandan, mostly Muslim and Kakwa. We are determined to make the ordinary Ugandan master of his own destiny and, above all, to see that he enjoys the wealth of his country. Our deliberate policy is to transfer the economic control of Uganda into the hands of Ugandans, for the first time in our country's history.

In August , Amin declared what he called an "economic war", a set of policies that included the expropriation of properties owned by Asians and Europeans. Uganda's 80, Asians were mostly from the Indian subcontinent and born in the country, their ancestors having come to Uganda in search of prosperity when India was still a British colony.

On 4 August , Amin issued a decree ordering the expulsion of the 50, Asians who were British passport holders. This was later amended to include all 60, Asians who were not Ugandan citizens. Around 30, Ugandan Asians emigrated to the UK. Without the experienced owners and proprietors, businesses were mismanaged and many industries collapsed from lack of operational expertise and maintenance.

This proved disastrous for the already declining Ugandan economy. The economy all but collapsed. Idi Amin murdered an estimated Yemeni Hadrami Arab merchants. In , Emmanuel Blayo Wakhweya , Amin's finance minister and longest-serving cabinet member at the time, defected to London. On 25 June , the Defense Council declared Amin president for life.

During the late s, Obote's move to the left , which included his Common Man's Charter and the nationalisation of 80 British companies, had made the West worried that he would pose a threat to Western capitalist interests in Africa and make Uganda an ally of the Soviet Union. Amin, who had served with the King's African Rifles and taken part in Britain's suppression of the Mau Mau uprising prior to Ugandan independence, was known by the British as "intensely loyal to Britain".

This made him an obvious choice as Obote's successor. Although some have claimed that Amin was being groomed for power as early as , the plotting by the British and other Western powers began in earnest in , after Obote had begun his nationalization programme. Throughout the first year of his presidency, Amin received key military and financial support from the United Kingdom and Israel.

In July he visited both countries and asked for advanced military equipment, but the states refused to provide hardware unless the Ugandan government paid for it. Amin decided to seek foreign support elsewhere and in February he visited Libya. Over the following months Amin successively removed Israeli military advisers from his government, expelled all other Israeli technicians, and finally broke diplomatic relations.

Following the expulsion of Ugandan Asians in , most of whom were of Indian descent, India severed diplomatic relations with Uganda. The same year, as part of his "economic war", Amin broke diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom and nationalized all British-owned businesses. The Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev grew increasingly interested in Uganda as a strategic counterbalance to perceived Chinese influence in Tanzania and Western influence in Kenya.

It dispatched a military mission to Uganda in November While it could not supply the financial level available from the Western powers, the Soviet Union opted to provide Amin with military hardware in exchange for his support. Amin also sent several thousand Ugandans to Eastern Bloc countries for military, intelligence, and technical training, especially Czechoslovakia.

During the Ugandan invasion of Tanzania in , East Germany attempted to remove evidence of its involvement with these agencies. In December , Amin launched a sarcastic 'Save Britain Fund' during the — recession to "save and assist our former colonial masters from economic catastrophe", while offering emergency food supplies and urging Ugandans to donate.

The hijackers were joined there by three more. Soon after, non-Jewish hostages who did not hold Israeli passports were released and flown to safety, while 83 Jews and Israeli citizens, as well as 20 others who refused to abandon them among whom were the captain and crew of the hijacked Air France jet , continued to be held hostage. Three hostages died during the operation and 10 were wounded; 7 hijackers, about 45 Ugandan soldiers, and 1 Israeli soldier, Yoni Netanyahu the commander of the unit , were killed.

A fourth hostage, year-old Dora Bloch , an elderly Jewish Englishwoman who had been taken to Mulago Hospital in Kampala before the rescue operation, was subsequently murdered in reprisal. The incident further soured Uganda's international relations, leading the United Kingdom to close its High Commission in Uganda. Uganda under Amin embarked on a large military build-up, which raised concerns in Kenya.

Early in June , Kenyan officials impounded a large convoy of Soviet-made arms en route to Uganda at the port of Mombasa. Tension between Uganda and Kenya reached its climax in February , when Amin announced that he would investigate the possibility that parts of southern Sudan and western and central Kenya, up to within 32 kilometres 20 mi of Nairobi , were historically a part of colonial Uganda.

The Kenyan Government responded with a stern statement that Kenya would not part with "a single inch of territory". Amin backed down after the Kenyan army deployed troops and armoured personnel carriers along the Kenya—Uganda border. After the killings of Bishop Luwum and ministers Oryema and Oboth Ofumbi in , several of Amin's ministers defected or fled into exile.

While he was there, Amin stripped him of his positions as Minister of Defense and Minister of Home Affairs and denounced him for retiring senior prison officials without his knowledge. Amin then proceeded to purge several high-ranking officials from his government [ 87 ] and took personal control of several ministerial portfolios. The shakeup caused political unrest and especially angered Adrisi's followers, who believed that the car accident was a failed assassination attempt.

In November , troops loyal to Adrisi mutinied. Amin sent troops against the mutineers, some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border. He angrily refused and declared: "If you don't want to fight, I'll do it myself. The symbols of his rule, his pictures, and buildings associated with him were subject to vandalism during and after the war.

Amin's regime was characterized by mass killings and cannibalism allegations, and he ruled with an iron fist until Amin's downfall came when Palestinian terrorists hijacked a plane and held hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. With the help of international forces, the hostages were rescued, and Amin's regime was weakened. Milton Obote returned to power, and Amin fled to Saudi Arabia, where he lived a life of luxury until his death.

Today, Uganda is still recovering from the devastating impact of Amin's rule and continues to face economic and social challenges. The legacy of Idi Amin remains a dark chapter in Uganda's history, symbolizing the horrors of authoritarianism and the consequences of tribal conflicts. Idi Amin President of Uganda from to , creator of one of the most brutal authoritarian regimes in Africa Date of Birth: Contact About Privacy.

Part of the cause for this was different political affiliations. Obote had moved to the left of the political spectrum, which worried many Western governments that their capitalist interests would be in danger. As a former member of the British Colonial Army, Idi Amin represented an opportunity for Western powers to install a leader loyal to western doctrines.

As such, western nations, particularly the United Kingdom, began to support Idi Amin over his potential rival. In , Idi Amin had been promoted to commander of all the armed forces, but in October of that year, Obote rescinded this command and took control himself. In January of the following year, suspecting that Obote would arrest him for corruption, Idi Amin launched a coup and took control of the government while Obote was in Singapore.

Amin promised that his government would hold free and fair elections to select a new leader as soon as possible when the situation had normalized. As soon as he had seized power, Idi Amin acted swiftly to consolidate his position.

Biography idi amin dada uganda capitals

He entrenched the military as the ruling force in Uganda and surrounded himself with people he could trust. Shortly after he seized power, Idi Amin began to receive military and financial support from Great Britain and Israel. When he asked Israel for advanced military equipment, however, he was refused. As a result, Idi Amin denounced Zionism and sought trade with Libya.

In , Ugandan exiles launched a poorly coordinated attempt to overthrow Idi Amin, and as a result, Amin launched a purge of Obote supporters from the armed forces. This purge expanded to include people from all walks of life and all sectors of Ugandan society. People of the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups were primarily targeted in the initial purges.

People were murdered at will, and their bodies were dumped wherever it was convenient. Among the important sectors targeted were those with any significant influence. This included bureaucrats, journalists, lawyers, doctors, politicians, judges, religious leaders, and even students. It is difficult to determine how many people were killed, but it is estimated that it could be as much as , Amin filled the government with ethnic and religious affiliates, mainly from the Kakwa ethnic group and people from South Sudan.

Most of his government was made up of Muslims. Along with the preferential treatment of certain ethnic groups and religions, Idi Amin persecuted others. In his reign of terror came to an end as Ugandan exiles and Tanzanians took control of the capital of Kampala, forcing Amin to flee. Never brought to justice for his heinous crimes, Amin lived out the remainder of his life in Saudi Arabia.

Idi Amin Dada was born c. He was deployed to Somalia in to fight the Shifta rebels and later fought with the British during the suppression of the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya In he attained the rank of effendi—the highest position for a black African soldier within the KAR—and, by , he had been appointed commander of the armed forces.

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