5 Oct 2009

I Knew Idi Amin

Idi Amin was one of Africa's most notorious leaders.

He began his career in the British Colonial Army and with virtually no education, rose from chef's assistant to the most powerful position in the country.

Through a combination of brute force and the encouragement of countries like Britain, he became the president of Uganda in 1971. His ruthlessness earned him the nickname, the Killer of Kampala, and over time the international support he once had, evaporated.
Amin's rule was marred by human rights abuses, political oppression, ethnic persecution and the expulsion of the country's entire Asian population. To his political opponents he was ruthless and unforgiving, and many of those who spoke up against him eventually turned up dead in the streets.

Amin's presidency came to an inglorious end in 1979. He was exiled to Saudi Arabia, where he died in 2003.

Al Jazeera