Idi Amin Dada
Idi Amin ruled Uganda for eight years and is credited with several hundred thousand deaths. Born around 1925 in the north-west, a Kakwa and a Muslim with little formal schooling, he joined the King's African Rifles as an assistant cook in 1946 and rose through the ranks under the British, serving against the Mau Mau in Kenya. He was a formidable soldier and Uganda's heavyweight boxing champion for nine years. British officers noted his brutality in Kenya and promoted him anyway, because there were almost no African officers and independence was coming. He was one of two Ugandans holding a commission at independence in 1962, and became army commander under Milton Obote. He seized power in January 1971 while Obote was abroad, and was initially welcomed at home and recognised quickly by Britain and Israel. The killing began within months, directed first at Acholi and Langi soldiers of Obote's ethnic base, then at judges, clergy, academics, civil servants and anyone reported as an enemy. The Chief Justice was taken from his court; the Anglican archbishop was killed in 1977. In August 1972 he expelled the Asian community — some 60,000 people, most of them Ugandan citizens — giving them ninety days and confiscating their businesses. The economy, which they largely ran, collapsed. He styled himself Conqueror of the British Empire and Life President. He invaded Tanzania in 1978. Tanzanian forces and Ugandan exiles took Kampala in April 1979. He died in Saudi exile in 2003. Estimates of the dead under his rule run from 100,000 to 500,000.
- Lived: 1925 CE – 2003 CE
- Nationality: Ugandan
- Roles: dictator, military_leader, head_of_state
