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General Idi Amin Dada Oumee ( May 17, 1928? - August 16, 2003) was the military dictator of Uganda from January 25, 1971, to April 13, 1979. Idi Amin was born in the Kakwa tribe, near Koboko in the West Nile Arua district. The year is not known, due to a lack of birth records (sources suggest anything from 1923 to 1928). Some sources suggest he may have celebrated his birthday on January 1. He was brought up by his mother, who was thought to be a witch doctor, and received little formal education.
Amin ordered the persecution of AcholiThe Acholi are an ethnolinguistic group of the upper Nile valley dwelling on the east bank of the Bahr-el-Jebel, about a hundred miles north of Lake Albert. The Acholi in Uganda live predominantly in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, a region known, LangoThe Lango are a tribe in Uganda belong to the Nilo-Hamitic ethnic group of East Africa. They inhabit the central area of Uganda north of Lake Kyoga., and other tribes. There are reports of the tortures and murders of 100,000 to 300,000 Ugandans during Amin's presidency.
1 Early career
Amin joined the King's African RiflesThe King's African Rifles was a British colonial regiment in East Africa until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and security functions as noted by its wearing of a grey-blue shirt with its khaki uniforms. Six battalions were formed in of the BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly colonial army as a private in 1946Events January January 4 Theodore Schurch becomes the last person to be executed for offences committed under the Treachery Act of 1940 January 7 Allied recognize Austrian republic with 1937 borders the country is divided into four occupation zones Januar, rising to the rank of lieutenant after seeing action during the Mau MauThe Mau Mau Uprising was an insurgency by Kenyan rebels against the British colonial administration from 1952 to 1960. While the Uprising failed, it created a rift between the white settler community in Kenya and Home Office in London that set the stage f revolt in KenyaKenya (pronounced KEN-ya; the pronunciation KEEN-ya is archaic) is a country of eastern Africa, bordering Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and the Indian Ocean. Nairobi is its capital and largest city. Republic of Kenya ( In Detail) (Full size). He was considered a skilled, but somewhat overeager, soldier, and developed a reputation for cruelty. He rose through the ranks, reaching sergeant-major before being made an effendi, the highest rank possible for a Black African in the British army. Amin was also an accomplished sportsman, besides being a champion swimmer he held Uganda's light heavyweight boxing championship from 1951Events January events January 9 United Nations headquarters officially opens ( New York City). January 15 Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald," wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in We to 1960.
After independence in 1962, Milton Obote, Uganda's first prime minister, rewarded his loyalty by promoting him to captain in 1963 and deputy commander of the army in 1964. In 1965 Obote and Amin were implicated in a deal to smuggle gold, coffee, and ivory out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A parliamentary investigation demanded by President Frederick Walugembe Mutesa II (also the Kabaka (King) of Buganda, popularly known as King Freddie), put Obote on the defensive; he promoted Amin to general and made him Chief-of-Staff, had five ministers arrested, suspended the 1962 constitution, and declared himself as the new president. King Freddie was forced into exile in Britain in 1969, and died the same year.
Amin began recruiting members of his own tribe into the army, and relations with Obote began to sour. Obote first responded by putting Amin under house arrest, and when this failed, Amin was given a non-executive position in the army.
