Born in 1925, Idi Amin became an Army officer in Uganda, trained and promoted by the British. In 1971, he led a coup against Ugandan Prime Minister Milton Obote, who had previously appointed Amin commander-in-chief of the army.
Amin installed himself as president and dissolved the parliament. He then instigated a systematic reign of terror in Uganda, expelling all Asian citizens and persecuting tribes other than his own, the Kakwa.
Just over half the 80,000 Asians in Uganda held British-issued passports, which had been offered as an alternative at independence. The passports did not mean much; they were ‘overseas passports’ which did not necessarily allow settlement in Britain – it was like having associate membership of an exclusive club.
The Daily Express, having run a banner headline screaming ‘NO NEED TO LET THEM IN!’ then commissioned a poll on the subject which showed almost two-to-one Britons were in favour of doing just that. The British still understood a humanitarian emergency when they saw one.
It is estimated that between 100,000 and 300,000 people were tortured and killed in Uganda during Idi Amin’s rule.
Border disputes strained relationships with Tanzania and Kenya, and in 1978, he attacked Tanzania while Tanzanian troops invaded Uganda.
Amin escaped overseas and eventually found refuge in Saudi Arabia, where he lived until his death on 16 August 2003, at the age of 78.
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