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?

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?                           

President Amin with his troops in Kampala

                                                                    

Today, 11^th 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

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