This site is about Idi Amin Dada and his rise to power in Uganda and fall from grace and demise in Saudi Arabia.
The owner of this site does not agree with Amin's actions and this site is meant as a portal to information only.
Idi Amin Dada was President and militant dictator of Uganda from 1971 thru 1979. Amin gained power during a military coup at the beginning of 1971.
Amin's time in power was chaotic and violent. Ethnic persecution, killings, and abuse of basic human rights were common. It is believed that Amin was directly responsible for the deaths of 100,000 to 500,000 people.
The dictator died in 2003 in Saudi Arabia after leaving Uganda. His regime fell after Tanzania and Uganda went to war of Tanzania's Kagera Province.
It is believed that Amin was born around 1925 in Koboko or Kampada. He was raised by the family of his mother after his father abandoned him. A young Amin enrolled in an Islamic school in 1941. He dropped out of school after the fourth grade and worked small jobs until a British Colonial Army officer recruited him.
Amin was an assistant cook when he joined the British Colonial Army in 1946 as part of the King's African Rifles. For the next several years he worked his way up the ranks. In 1949 his unit fought the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya. Amin received a promotion to lieutenant in 1961 and was only the second Ugandan to make that accomplishment. Shortly thereafter he was charged with ending the cattle rustling between groups in Uganda and Kenya. By 1964 he was the Deputy Commander of the army.
While in the army, Amin was a distinguished athlete. From 1951 to 1960 he was an active swimmer, as well as, a member of the Nile RFC rugby team.
During 1965 Idi Amin was implicated in an arrangement to smuggle ivory and gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo into Uganda. In 1966 Parliament held an investigation. Prime Minister Milton Obote ended up removing the ceremonial president and placed himself as executive president and Amin was promoted to army commander.
The new commander started his recruiting of various ethnic groups from the West Nile area. These groups were considered foreigners by the Ugandan people. It is alleged that the army that Amin recruited was made up of, mainly, soldiers from Sudan.
In 1970 Obote and Amin were in severe disagreement and Obote placed himself in control of all armed forces. By 1971 Obote had made plans to arrest Amin for misuse of army funds. Amin used his support within the army to seize power in a military coup. At the time of the coup, Obote was at a Commonwealth meeting in Singapore. Amin's troops took control of Entebbe International Airport, major roads, and Obote's home. There were reports of crowds of people cheering in Kampala after an announcement accusing Obote of corruption was made on the radio. Amin stated that the new military government would only be in place until new elections could be held and that all political prisoners would be released.
Idi Amin made himself President within one week of the coup, as well as Commander-in-Chief of the Ugandan Armed Forces. Some provisions of the constitution were suspended and military tribunals were put in place above the civil law system. Kampla's presidential lodge was renamed "The Command Post." The State Research Bureau replaced the General Service Unit and became the site of executions and torture over the years.
Obote took sanctuary in Tanzania after Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere, extended an offer of refuge. Around 20,000 refugees fleeing Uganda soon joined Obote in Tanzania. During 1972 the refugees tried to regain control of Uganda but failed.
Amin's retaliation began with the massacre of 5000 soldiers from the ethnic groups Acholi and Lango, as well as, at least 10,000 civilians that vanished. The violence spread to other ethnic groups soon thereafter and included judges, lawyers, religious leaders, students, journalist, and foreign nationals.
The rest of Amin's eight years in power was marked by continued killings. The precise number of deaths is uncertain. Estimates by the International Commission of Jurists are between 80,000 and 300,000, while Amnesty International estimated 500,000 dead.
An "Economic War" was declared by Amin in August of 1972. This included policies that expropriated Asian and European owned properties. Most of the 80,000 Asians living in Uganda were born there when the country was a British colony. The many Asian owned businesses in Uganda played a major role in stabilizing the economy. These businesses were given to Amin's supporters and quickly collapsed. This was bad news for an economy already on the decline.
Amin's economic war prompted India to break diplomatic ties with Uganda. Amin followed by cutting ties to Britain and 85 businesses that were owned by British citizens were nationalized. Next, Uganda's arms supplier-Israel-ended relations with Amin, prompting him to turn to Libya and the Soviet Union for help. Amin became very critical of Israel and planned a war against the country. He stated that Hitler "was right to burn six million Jews."
The United States closed their Kampala embassy in 1973.
In February of 1976, after a massive build-up of the Ugandan military, tension between Kenya and Amin increased. An announcement by Amin told the world that eh was looking into the possibility that southern Sudan and central Kenya were originally part of Uganda. Troops with armored personnel carriers from the Kenyan army gathered at the Uganda-Kenya border and Amin eventually backed down.
As the Soviet Union continued to supply arms to Amin's forces, the world was about to be introduced to Amin's Uganda. During June of 1976, a hijacked Air France airliner was allowed to land at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. There were 259 hostages on board. Of the hostages, 156 did not hold Israeli passports and were released and flown to safety. Eighty three Jews and citizens from Israel were held and 20 other passengers refused to leave them behind. Israel was forced to launch a rescue mission. Most of the hostages were freed but 3 lost their lives along with six hijackers, one Israeli soldier, and 45 Ugandan soldiers. Britain subsequently closed the High Commission in Uganda.
Amin came to be more outspoken and erratic over time. After Britain broke off diplomatic ties with Uganda, Amin stated that he had defeated the British and gave himself the label of Conqueror of the British Empire. Lake Edward was renamed Lake Idi Amin Dada. Rumor also spread about Amin being a cannibal.
A 1977 Time magazine article described him as a "killer and clown, big-hearted buffoon and strutting martinet." Foreign media was criticized often for focusing more on Amin's excessive tastes rather than the civil crimes being committed within his borders.
Close associates continued to disappear and by 1978 there was increasing resistance from within the country. After several of Amin's ministers and soldiers fled to Tanzania, Idi Amin accused Tanzanian government of declaring war against Uganda. Ugandan troops invaded Tanzania and annexed part of the country.
Ugandan exiles had created the Uganda National Liberation Army and joined the Tanzania People's Defense Force in a counter attack. On April 11, 1979 Kampala fell and Amin was forced to flee the country. He ended up in Saudi Arabia. He was conviced that Uganda needed him and attempted a return in 1989 but failed to reach Uganda before being forced to return to Saudi Arabia.
Idi Amin Dada died in Saudi Arabia on August 16, 2003 after being denied a request to return to Uganda to die. The Uganda President told one of Amin's wives that Amin would have to "answer for his sins the moment he was brought back."
Idi Amin married at least 6 women and divorced three of them. It is uncertain how many children he had. Most estimates are between 30 and 45.