IDI AMEEN CHASED MUSLIM INDIAN GIRL ,
THAT FAMILY ESCAPED THAT NIGHT -
DISAPPOINTED - ORDERED TO LEAVE ALL INDIANS
In 1971, General Idi Amin overthrew the elected government of Milton Obote and declared himself president of Uganda, launching a ruthless eight-year regime in which an estimated 300,000 civilians were massacred. His expulsion of all Indian and Pakistani citizens in 1972—along with increasing military expenditures—brought about the country’s economic decline, the impact of which lasted decades.
In 1979 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: EARLY LIFE AND MILITARY CAREER
Idi Amin Dada was born c. 1925 in Koboko, in northwestern Uganda, to a Kakwa father and Lugbara mother, who separated shortly afterwards. In 1946, after receiving only a rudimentary education, Amin joined the King’s African Rifles (KAR), a regiment of the British colonial army,
and quickly rose through the ranks. He was deployed to Somalia in 1949 to fight the Shifta rebels and later fought with the British during the suppression of the Mau Mau Rebellion in Kenya (1952-56). In 1959 he attained the rank of effendi—the highest position for a black African soldier within the KAR—and, by 1966, he had been appointed commander of the armed forces.
AMIN COMMANDEERS CONTROL OF UGANDA’S GOVERNMENT
After more than 70 years under British rule, Uganda gained its independence on October 9, 1962, and Milton Obote became the nation’s first prime minister. By 1964, Obote had forged an alliance with Amin, who helped expand the size and power of the Ugandan Army.
In February 1966, following accusations that the pair was responsible for smuggling gold and ivory from Congo that were subsequently traded for arms, Obote suspended the constitution and proclaimed himself executive president. Shortly thereafter, Obote sent Amin to dethrone King Mutesa II, also known as “King Freddie,” who ruled the powerful kingdom of Buganda in south-central Uganda.
A few years and two failed—but unidentified—assassination attempts later, Obote began to question Amin’s loyalty and ordered his arrest while en route to Singapore for a Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference. During his absence, Amin took the offensive and staged a coup on January 25, 1971, seizing control of the government and forcing Obote into exile.
AMIN’S REGIME OF TERROR
Persecution of ethnic and political groups[edit]
Amin retaliated against the attempted invasion by Ugandan exiles in 1972, by purging the army of Obote supporters, predominantly those from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups.[32] In July 1971,
Lango and Acholi soldiers were massacred in the Jinja and Mbarara barracks,[33] and, by early 1972, some 5,000 Acholi and Lango soldiers, and at least twice as many civilians, had disappeared.[34] The victims soon came to include members of other ethnic groups, religious leaders, journalists, artists, senior bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, students and intellectuals, criminal suspects, and foreign nationals. 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.[35]
The killings, motivated by ethnic, political, and financial factors, continued throughout Amin's eight-year reign.[34] The exact number of people killed is unknown. The International Commission of Jurists estimated the death toll at no fewer than 80,000 and more likely around 300,000. An estimate compiled by exile organizations with the help of Amnesty International puts the number killed at 500,000.[3] 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, Er
Once in power, Amin began mass executions upon the Acholi and Lango, Christian tribes that had been loyal to Obote and therefore perceived as a threat. He also began terrorizing the general public through the various internal security forces he organized, such as the State Research Bureau (SRB) and Public Safety Unity (PSU), whose main purpose was to eliminate those who opposed his regime.
idi ameen eat human flesh |
In 1972, Amin expelled Uganda’s Asian population, which numbered between 50,000 and 70,000, resulting in a collapse of the economy as manufacturing, agriculture and commerce came to a screeching halt without the appropriate resources to support them.
When the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked an Air France flight from Israel to Paris on June 27, 1976, Idi Amin welcomed the terrorists and supplied them with troops and weapons, but was humiliated when Israeli commandos subsequently rescued the hostages in a surprise raid on the Entebbe airport.
In the aftermath, Amin ordered the execution of several airport personnel, hundreds of Kenyans whom were believed to have conspired with Israel and an elderly British hostage who had previously been escorted to a nearby hospital.
Throughout his oppressive rule, Amin was estimated to have been responsible for the deaths of roughly 300,000 civilians.
"economic war"
In August 1972, 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 80,000 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.[40] Many owned businesses, including large-scale enterprises, which formed the backbone of the Ugandan economy.
On 4 August 1972, Amin issued a decree ordering the expulsion of the 60,000 Asians who were not Ugandan citizens (most of them held British passports). This was later amended to include all 80,000 Asians, except for professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers. A plurality of the Asians (mostly from India) with British passports, around 30,000, emigrated to the UK. Others went to Commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa, Canada, Fiji, or to India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States
AMIN LOSES CONTROL AND ENTERS EXILE
Over time, the number of Amin’s intimate allies dwindled and formerly loyal troops began to mutiny. When some fled across the border into Tanzania, Amin accused Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere of instigating the unrest and retaliated by annexing the Kagera Salient, a strip of territory north of the Kagera River, in November 1978.
Two weeks later, Nyerere mobilized a counter-offensive to recapture the land, and drove the Ugandan Army out with the help of Ugandan exiles. The battle raged into Uganda, and on April 11, 1979, Amin was forced to flee when Kampala was captured. Although he originally sought refuge in Libya, he later moved to Saudi Arabia, where he lived comfortably until his death of multiple organ failure in 2003.
REASON FOR EXPULSION
We once again go deep into Dr Arnold Spero Bisase’s book Guardian Angel Volume One: The Beginning to find out what actually made former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin to expel Asian British passport holders from Uganda.
The story, if true, goes like this, and I knew the narrator and his family well as they were my friends and patients at my Practice in Kampala. He told me that Idi Amin was once invited to an Asian function in 1972. He and many dignitaries, some local and some international, attended this rather lavish occasion; our Asian friends can really lay it on when they have someone eminent to impress, like The President of Uganda. The many well to do businessmen from their community paid their respects, and as per custom their families followed in their wake.
Mr Sherali Bandari Jaffer |
He was now the one narrating this story to me. Among the ladies following him was his beautiful youngest daughter. One look at her and Idi Amin instantly fancied her; his gaze fixed on her until she sat down amongst the ladies enclosure. At the conclusion of the event, Idi Amin sent his bodyguard to tell Mr Jaffer that the President wanted his daughter and was therefore proposing for her hand in marriage. At that stage Amin had already four wives, so it would have necessitated getting rid of (sack) one of them in accordance with Muslim tradition.
jaffer family escaped to nairobi |
There was pandemonium. Sherali Bandari Jaffer was scared witless. He and the entire family scurried away to get home. But by the next morning Idi Amin had tracked down the home of Mr Jaffer and sent him his driver carrying the official confirmation of the “request”. Mr Jaffer told the President’s driver that he had to consult other members of his family before giving his response but promised to do so soon. According to my friend Jaffer, this was the longest day of his life. That night, under the cover of darkness, he arranged with one of their relative to smuggle the entire family out of the country, bribing all their way to Nairobi. Mr Jaffer, rather like the rest of us, thought that this “request” would remain harmless and dissipate itself out. Besides, he still had his investments in the country. So he stayed behind to take care of their businesses. The family had already confirmed their safe arrival on the ‘phone’. Like a beast on heat, Idi Amin could not wait to get his chance and sent for the answer. Mr Jaffer gave the excuse of this being a family and community decision not to accept and that the girls were already away (in Nairobi of course).
Jalal Jaffer: What Happened to the Canada That Saved My Family From a Brutal Dictator |
Amin was so incensed by this snub that he vowed to punish, and he quoted “these people who showed flagrant discrimination against him (me)” The next day All Non-Citizen Asians were given 90 days to get out of Uganda. But the reason Idi Amin gave now was that: ‘Because God spoke to him (me)in the night and told him (me) that they had to leave as they were responsible for exploiting the indigenous citizens of the country’!! Take that! And it is exactly as I got it from Mr Jaffer. And so began the Exodus of unimaginable proportions and suffering for the victims of this man’s obsession for the skirt.
nd Fiji, or to India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States.[
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