Idi Amin was a soldier in Uganda's army, having no more than a fourth grade education, he was intellectually challenged as a politician or a bureaucrat. He however managed to ascend to the rank of commander in chief of the Ugandan military with the assistance of the president, Milton Obote. It was from Obote that Amin took over power in a coup d'etat in 1971. The two were initially friends but fell out later.
It isn't known how many people were killed during Amin's rule. The numbers range from 80,000 at the low end to about 300,000. Idi Amin was indiscriminate in his killing. He killed political leaders, members of his own government, clergy, the chancellor of the university. Urged by his friend Moammar Gadhaffi, he expelled about 80,000 Asians from Uganda in the 70's as well. Many of them had only 72 hours to pack whatever little belongings they could pack and leave the country. Many of them had British passports and so ended up in Britain.
Insanity.
Idi Amin is an anomaly, mostly because he doesn't epitomise the intellectual African crook. Like Zimbabwe's Mugabe for instance. This is a solder who in his eight year reign did things that can only be described as absurd and which lead one to wonder where the people of sound mind were. It's like being led by an idiot and following the idiot's orders. He was the self styled, self declared leader who had the title "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular." Now, one wonders, standing around, his ministers and other officials, on hearing this, if any one of them raised an eyebrow. He wasn't a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) and he didn't acquire any Distinguished Service Order (DSO). This is a man who titled himself the last king of Scotland. Who allegedly sent the queen of England a telex with the message: "Dear Liz, if you want to know a real man, come to Kampala." There are also rumours that he dismembered one of his wives and that he was a cannibal. He was a polygamist and it's rumoured that he killed the boyfriends of one of his wives in order to marry her. Idi is said to have fathered close to 40 children and even when he was in exile in Saudi Arabia, he was still marrying and fathering more children.
Is it then the African condition that we should take our leaders, good and bad, follow them without questioning their sanity. Here's a clear case of someone who should not even have had control of the army. In civilised society, where expansion of territory is now complete, and armies are there for defence, a military general needs skills both as a competent soldier as well as diplomacy. While Idi was a competent soldier, it is clear that he was closer to being an animal than a human being.
Idi Amin was eventually overthrown. He spent a little time in the protection of his friend Gadhaffi and then under the hospitality of the Saudi Arabian government in Jeddah. At some time in the late 80's he tried to return to Uganda, but was repelled from Zaire. It's hard to imagine that he had supporters in Uganda, given all the news.
It's not clear if Idi Amin amassed any wealth for himself. His personality suggests that he surrounded himself with people of similar characteristics. He wasn't an intellectual and he would not have known how to plan for the long term. It's amazing that at one point, he was elected as the head of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The fact that he had diplomatic ties with African countries isn't difficult to understand given the continent's appetite for despotism. However, only Libya was open as an asylum at his time of need. Relations with Tanzania had broken down to war and Kenya had a permanent army at the Kenya-Uganda border.
Lessons learned.
The Ugandan economy suffered greatly during Idi's reign. After he expelled the Asians from the country, the industries that they ran fell into mismanagement and eventually collapsed. The Ugandan shilling lost all it's value and Kampala fell into disrepair. Many of Idi's top officials also escaped for fear of their lives. Some went into neighbouring Kenya and others ended up in Britain. Control of the army gave Idi strength. An army is trained not to think, but to follow orders. Many of the soldiers in the U.S. or British army do the same. They are commanded to go to war and they follow orders. In much the same case, Uganda's army was commanded to follow Idi's orders. Where they failed was in turning their might on their own people. The police force of a country keep law and order. An army is supposed to look for external threats. In Africa, there are very few cases where an army general transitions into a successful president. It almost never happens. The qualifications simply aren't there. Can you blame the African people for not reacting to the oppression? Perhaps the common person, too far away from where the decisions are being made, cannot do anything. However, the cluster of authority, those close to Amin, those who carried out his orders, in fact supported and advised him must be blamed. Amin didn't act alone. He was supported in his insanity,
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