MYTHS OR TRUTHS; Is It True That Tanzanians Spared President Idi Amin In
1979 And He Also Spared Jomo Kenyatta From Capture In The 50s?
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| President Amin with his troops in Kampala |
Today, 11th April marks
exactly 39 years since the then boisterous Ugandan president Idi Amin was
kicked out of power by Tanzanian forces.
There are several theories advanced
that the then Ugandan leader was the last to leave Kampala.
Not only that, but it’s also
rumored that on that day president Amin bumped into a company of Tanzanian
troops who had staged a roadblock but simply rolled his windows down , exposed
his face for them to see who he was and waved at them, and they allowed him to
continue with his journey!
My, my, my. If this is true then
Amin was either a true military genius or very reckless with his actions.
We have had so many accounts about
war, but never have we had a situation where an enemy combatant gives way to
another without any conditionality.
Like in the case of the NRA entry
into Kampala in 1986, the UNLA was allowed safe passage towards Jinja road and
Bombo road, only on an indirect conditionality that their safe passage out
would allow them (NRA) to easily capture power without any resistance
Now for the case of Amin, I don’t
think there is any Tanzanian soldier who would miss the opportunity to capture
him. He was such a big war prize. Anyone who got him would easily get quick
promotion to senior rank.
When the Americans dethroned Iraqi
despot Saddam Hussein there were unverified rumors that he (a dethroned Saddam)used
to drive on the streets of Bagdad and wave to the Americans who had staged
roadblocks!
Well, when the Americans finally
smocked him out of the hole he had entrenched himself, the head of the American
occupation in Iraqi Paul Bremer gleefully boastfully announced that ‘’ladies
and gentlemen, we got him’’
I mean, the euphoria that follows
the capture of such a big prize of a man cannot be missed by any human being.
Actually for the case of Gen Idi
Amin, it’s believed OR again rumored that he had trained with some of the
commanders of the Tanzanian army in the British army!
So they always gave him safe
passage. But where could Amin have trained with Tanzanian solders?
By the time Amin joined the kings
African rifles, Tanzania was firmly in the hands of the Germans. How then and
when did he get the opportunity to train with them?
There are a myriad of myths
surrounding the life of President Idi Amin.
Did Amin Save Jomo Kenyatta
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| president Amin with kenya's Jomo kenyatta |
Actually, this rumor which
lionizes Amin is the same they spread that when Amin was deployed by the
Britons to fight the Mau-Mau rebellion, he got a chance to capture rebel leader
Jomo Kenyatta!
It’s believed or rather rumored
that Jomo Kenyatta was travelling at the back of a lorry when they bumped into
a road block mounted by KAR troops led by Idi Amin.
But when Amin checked and saw Kenyatta
at the back of the lorry, he simply winked at him and allowed the lorry carry
the Mau Mau leader to continue with his journey.
If this was true, why did Jomo
Kenyatta himself not mention it during his time in power?
How could Kenyatta die with such a
secret which saved his life?.
What explains the tense relations
that existed between Uganda government led by Amin and Kenya led by Kenyatta in
the 70s?
SURVIVING ASSASSINATION
There is
another rumor that when idi amin was attacked by an assassin while coming from
Kibuli training school, he tactfully managed to pick and eventually throw back
a grenade that had been thrown at him!
Although his
driver was shot dead, Amin managed to drive the jeep to Mulago hospital where
his driver passed on after bleeding too much from gunshot wounds.
It’s true that
president main survived this attack at Kibuli but throwing back a grenade to
the assassins doesn’t add up.
There is
another rumor about how he used to conduct himself at the war front particularly
when he was fighting the Turkana cattle rustlers.
He reportedly
gathered the prisoners of war and asked them to surrender the guns or if not,
they surrender their penises on the table!
Before the
prisoners could either handover the guns a fuming and impatient Amin would then
pick his bayonetted knife (which was always on his waist)and start cutting off
the private parts of those who had refused to surrender their guns!
Actually When
the Britons got wind of Amin’s actions (of unilaterally circumcising POWs) they
got SO terrified that they withdrew him from the mission!.
But this rumor (of
chopping whoopers of POWs) comes very close to the truth because when Uganda
was about to get independence, a British official warned the then Ugandan Prime
Minister Obote about Amin’s brutality.
THE REAL FACTS
It was reported
that by 1960 the Britons actually wanted to expel Amin from the army but
because there was a shortage of personnel to takeover power after independence
they spared him.
He then rose
from lowest rank as a humble cook, Sargent, second lieutenant , colonel , major
general and eventually a self-styled field marshal.
I happen to
have been privileged to interview two people who knew Amin of the 50s and 60s ,
Dr james Rwanyarare of UPC and the late Dr Ssebuliba who contested on the DP
ticket in the 1980 elections but was cheated by UPC.
DR Sebuliba said that Amin was a very humble
guy who spoke very slowly but was very good at rugby and boxing. He also says
that they used to wonder how he commanded his troops because he was not one
with a natural ability to make noise hence th tag gentle giant.
Dr Rwanyarare
actually said that Obote never believed that Amin could overthrow him because he
was a very loyal chap. He actually says that when allegations of money theft and
Congo gold surfaced, Amin went to Obote’s office and openly wept asking the
president to save him.
What Obote did by
arresting the five minsters who wanted Amin arrested was to pay back in spirit
of loyalty.
Actually , Dr Rwanyarare
says , Obote always quietly believed that it was the Britons who orchestrated the
1971 coup not necessarily Amin. Why? Because
Amin was too naïve to pull it off on his own!
The interesting
bit is that in the movie titled ‘’The
Rise And Fall Of Idi Amin” he is depicted as a man who could shout our
orders, move with very fast strides, skidding in the process and with an
insatiable proclivity for killing people!
The
Author Fred Daka Kamwada Is A Ugandan Blogger And Journalist
