Idi Amin's Story: How a Cannibal and Hitler Fan Became a Dictator, and What Came Out of It

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The African continent has given birth to many bloody dictators. But among them, Idi Amin, the President of Uganda, stood out for the cruelty and inhuman reprisals. The despot, who loved to take the life of the unwanted with his own hand, himself appreciated comfort and wealth. How it happened that such a person could become president, and why he did not suffer the well-deserved retribution - in our material.

Illiterate Idi Amin: from cookie seller to president

The son of the tribal sorceress Idi Amin grew up as a strong child. But it was not possible to teach the boy to read and write. The child did not even receive a full primary education, remaining illiterate for a long time. At the age of 18, Idi Amin, a cookie seller, enlisted in the British army, in which he gained valuable combat experience in the fight against Somali rebels. Later he participated in the brutal suppression of the famous uprising against the British "Mau Mau" in Kenya.

During his service, Idi Amin has established himself as an incredibly courageous and cruel soldier. For 9 years (1951-1960) he was the Ugandan heavyweight boxing champion. All these qualities allowed Amin to reach career heights unprecedented for an African in the colonial army. After 8 years of service, he became one of the few officers of the Royal Battalion who received the shoulder straps of a lieutenant, which at that time was available only to Europeans.

In 1962, Uganda became independent from Britain, and Idi Amin, now in the rank of captain, became close to the newly minted Prime Minister of Uganda, Milton Obote. In fact, having become his confidant, Amin rapidly climbed the career ladder. With the support of Amin and the Ugandan military, Obote carried out a coup, expelling the incumbent king Freddie. In 1966, Idi Amin was appointed commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and in 1968 he was already named Major General. Amin's tribe usually did the dirtiest jobs. Amin managed to reach the level of the second person in Uganda.

READ ALSO: Braised cobra and "sugar pork": shocking gastronomic addictions of 20th century dictators >>

With unlimited control over the Ugandan army, Idi Amin set about strengthening his influence in the ranks of the armed forces. Over time, Obote saw in his companion a threat to his own power and decided to demote Amin, depriving him of the functions of the Ugandan commander-in-chief. In the coming days, the arrest of Idi Amin was being prepared for plundering the treasury. But attempts to eliminate the rival led only to the fact that during Milton's overseas business trip, Obote Amin seized power by force and in February 1971 declared himself the Ugandan president.

Idi Amin's bandit regime and reprisals against thousands of unwanted

Taking the reins of Uganda into his own hands, Idi Amin sought the support of his allies, giving them the impression of a peaceful propagandist and reformer. However, it soon became clear that a terror machine had started operating in the country. As an aggressive supporter of Islam, the first thing Idi Amin did was attack the Christian population. Protecting the flock, Ugandan Archbishop Yanani Luvum personally appealed to the new president with an attempt to reason and stop the violence. As a result, Idi Amin shot him after the conversation.

The repression also touched upon the Indians who organized business in Uganda. All immigrants from India living in the country (about 55 thousand people) were ordered to leave Uganda. Idi Amin significantly enriched himself at the expense of the property of the exiled businessmen, and thanked the loyal officers of the Ugandan army that supported him. But the military, who opposed the dictator during the overthrow of Milton Obote, was much less fortunate. Thousands of people from the high command of the army were killed in a few months.

READ ALSO: 5 famous rulers who went down in history because of their weirdness >>

During the years of his presidency, Amin killed more than 300 thousand Ugandans. According to the most daring estimates, half a million residents of the country were subjected to repression. At the same time, the dictator did not hesitate to kill the unwanted with his own hand. One of the bloodiest massacres is the assassination of General Suleiman Hussein, whose head was kept for a long time in Idi Amin's freezer as a trophy. The gangster regime, without trial or investigation, destroyed anyone who could seem like a threat to the president's power and an exposer of his corrupt activities. Ruled by a bloody dictator, Uganda has slipped to the position of the poorest African state.

Fall of the regime and calm old age

At the end of 1978, Idi Amin decided to go to war with Tanzania, which dared to grant political asylum to the ousted Milton Obote. The attack on the country from the socialist bloc was the fatal mistake of Idi Amin, depriving Uganda of the remnants of foreign policy support. The Tanzanian army was manned by exiled Ugandan émigrés and members of the liberation movement outraged by Idi Amin's dictatorship.

Ideological and numerical superiority allowed the Tanzanian military to dislodge enemy troops and enter the borders of Uganda. On April 11, 1979, Idi Amin had to flee. The bloody dictator was threatened by a high tribunal. However, he successfully took refuge in Saudi Arabia, opened an impressive bank account in Jeddah, and happily lived to be 75 years old.

Monument to Hitler and undisguised cannibalism

Some time after the overthrow, it was confirmed that Idi Amin not only killed people with his own hands, but also periodically ate them. Sympathizing with Hitler's personality, Amin planned to erect a monument to the founder of the Third Reich in Uganda, but the intervening Soviet Union did not allow him to do so.

Amin had a weakness for all kinds of rewards. He had to lengthen his shape to fit dozens of medals bought from collectors. The dictator appropriated to himself many high-profile titles that have nothing to do with reality, including "Conqueror of the British Empire" and "King of Scotland." Once Idi Amin even suggested that the West move the UN headquarters to their country, arguing that Uganda is the "heart of the planet."

P / S

As one of the most inhuman rulers went down in history and Jean Bedel Bokassa - Emperor of the Central African Republic, famous for his addiction to … eating human flesh.