Idi Amin: The Butcher of Uganda

there have been a lot of crazed leaders throughout history many of which we've looked at on this very channel but few have been as depraved as the man who absolutely brutalized uganda throughout the 1970s with his pension for torture severed heads and by his own admission cannibalism he thoroughly deserved the description given to him by the man he replaced as ugandan president milton aboute the greatest brute that an african mother has brought to life in this week's biographics we enter the very bizarre world of idiom in in dada was born between 1925 and 1928 in caboco uganda his was the kakwa tribe of which his mother was the witch doctor he had very little formal education but was versed in the teachings of the quran from a very early age in fact he developed a reputation as the boy who could recite the quran in his early teens he won an award for this ability young eddie spent his days in the fields tending goats in his mid-teens he got his first job as a hat and coat person at the imperial hotel in lugazi it was there that he came to the notice of a british army officer he had grown into a tall strapping young man he spoke the kiswahili language and he had little education meaning he would readily follow orders these were all seen as desirable traits and the officer pulled some strings to allow him to enter the british colonial army in 1946 eddie began his military career as the laundry worker in the magamaga barracks in junior after a year of this he advanced to the 21st king's african rifle corps at geely shortly thereafter his unit was relocated to somalia he proved to be a keen eager soldier his courage boldness and cruelty were traits that marked him as a standout private after hunting down shifter animal raiders in somalia he was sent to fort hall where he began training for the scottish military band by the age of 20 eddie had grown into a young bear moth at six foot four he weighed in at 240 pounds and he was as strong as an ox he excelled at boxing becoming the ugandan light heavyweight boxing champion as well as an accomplished swimmer [Music] over the next two years idiyamindada established himself as an ideal soldier one report described him as an incredible person who is certainly not mad very shrewd very cunning and a born leader another report commented on his physical and mental ability stating a splendid and good rugby player but virtually bone from the neck up and needs things explained in words of one letter in 1952 armin's brigade was dispatched to kenya to fight against the mao mao rebellion here he undertook foot patrols in the jungle to root out the rebels his initiative was rewarded by promotion first to corporal and then to sergeant by the end of 1853 he had earned the highest rank that a black officer could attain in the british colonial army and that was the effendi this was the equivalent of a warrant officer hunting down the mao mao it wasn't the only thing that amin did while in kenya during those two years he also fathered two children a boy and a girl they were to be the first of 35 children born by five wives in 1954 almonds brigade returned to their base at ginger in uganda when queen elizabeth taught he was in the scottish army band winning the distinction of being named best in parade in 1957 he led a movement among the native soldiers to get increased salaries the initiative failed and the army brass expressed displeasure at this upstart move from their star soldier disappointment came when he twice failed the military intelligence test as a result he was transferred from the field to the king's african rifle core band then in 1959 he passed the army field exercise exam and was permitted once more to serve in the field of combat he was posted to the border between kenya and uganda and here there was a bitter rivalry between the ugandan caramel gong and the kenyan turkana nomads he arrived in the wake of a crushing british defeat at the hands of the takana and performed so well that a british officer described amin as having restored the prestige of the forces of law and order in the region of karemoya in fact amin now promoted to lieutenant was responsible for negotiating a peace agreement with the takana leader edward mutea amman's means of achieving his ends were unorthodox to say the least he threatened to cut off the penis of every takana man who was found to be rustling cattle and this wasn't just bluffing he followed through on this threat and much more in fact the bloody manner in which he crushed the rebellion brought a level of ferociousness to the area that was simply unprecedented in 1962 uganda won independence from great britain suddenly the nation had its own army whereas previously the native brigades had been treated as second-class soldiers by the british and were doing the bidding of their colonial overlords now they were free of those shackles a large number of british officers remained in uganda to oversee the emergence of the ugandan army as early as 1964 men began making moves to gain military strength within the ugandan army his actions in putting down the takana rebellion brought him to the attention of uganda's first prime minister milton ubote and he promoted the hulking young fighter to the position of deputy commander of the army he was also put in command of the first battalion of the ugandan army in 1965 armin led his battalion into the congo to support nationalists and resist the foreign supported government there the mission was unsuccessful with the ugandan forces being repelled by the congolese mercenaries later that year amin became entangled in a scandal involving the smuggling of golden ivory president frederick matassa ii demanded his investigation obote responded by making our men general and chief of staff and tasked him with the strong handling of the situation he then had five ministers arrested and named himself as president amin was dispatched with an army force to the place of president matasa alin personally fired a 12-millimeter gun that was mounted on his jeep to blow holes in the president's palace walls mutasa however had gone into hiding and managed to flee to england in 1969. obote was pleased with the strongman tactics of his right-hand man idiamin in 1967 he gave him supreme command over the army that same year he enrolled at university and took english classes he would eventually receive a doctoral degree from the university in 1969 idioman's leadership of the ugandan army was challenged the ugandan people's congress were attempting to bring about reforms they had major concerns with the tactics that the commander-in-chief was using to exert his control he had established a pattern of brutalizing his enemies fermenting massacres against communities that appeared rebellious and executing opposition leaders recognizing the shifting winds amin began to take courses in socialism [Music] amin's brutality however it could not be quelled when he was accused by brigadier general accoya of complicity in an assassination attempt on president beauty amin arranged for akoya to be assassinated meanwhile tensions had developed between abode and a men idi had focused on recruiting soldiers from his own tribe in order to build up his personal following then it was proven that he had indeed been behind the attempt on a boater's life at the same time it was revealed that he had misappropriated 40 million shillings from the military operations fund in 1970 ibote had amin fired from his position as commander-in-chief of the army and instructed his attorneys to prepare a prosecution against him to avoid arrest ammon fled to kampala from there he waited for his opportunity to strike back at a beauty that opportunity came on january the 25th 1971. on that date president obote was attending a commonwealth summit meeting in singapore with the aid of rwandan rebels he staged a bloody coup proclaiming himself both prime minister and president obote heard about this on the flight home from singapore and diverted its flight to tanzania over the last couple of years ibote's relationship with the western powers had been increasingly turbulent as a result the change of government was actually welcomed by western governments indeed ibote was also so unpopular at home that the majority of ugandans celebrated his overthrowing the western powers they had high hopes for this new ugandan regime they felt that our men would be able to check russian influence in the region what they knew of idiamin they liked he was a sportsman a national champion boxer and a man who had failed the army intelligence exam yet gone on to receive a university doctorate what they didn't realize was that amin was a dictator of unprecedented ruthlessness [Music] amen's rule began with the number of concessions political prisoners were released the secret police was disbanded and he promised the people that free and open elections would be held but it didn't take long for his true nature to show itself he extended his period of caretaker governance from 18 months to five years his reasoning was that he needed time in order to reform the government in a way that would truly benefit the nation amen began to award himself an increasingly bizarre succession of titles including lord of all beasts of the earth and fishers of the sea in august 1972 he set his sights on reforming the economy in doing so he identified a scapegoat for the country's financial woes and that was the asians his solution was drastic all asians even those holding british passports were expelled from uganda he later revealed that he had been given the message to expel the asians in a vision from god himself the 70 000 affected people were given 90 days to leave the country or face arrest imprisonment or worse what's more is they could only take what possessions and money they could carry with them all property left behind would be shared among amin's cronies having rid the country of the asian problem amin set out ridding the country of anyone who was associated with the former regime assassinations became routine and extended to those even just associated with the old british regime then british businesses and property began to be confiscated by the government british and jewish residents were expelled great britain and israel responded by cutting off all diplomatic relations with uganda those countries also stopped supplying garments to the region [Music] amin now to find a new supply of arms he found it in libya in order to achieve that agreement amin promised that country's own dictator muammar gaddafi that he would convert the nation to islam the ugandan dictator also turned to russia for military support giving them the assurance that he would serve as a stalwart of resistance against the western powers he also gave his support to the palestinian struggle against israel back home amin made sweeping changes within the structure of the army 36 leading officers were told to report to makindy prison for special training and subversion techniques but when they got there they found themselves being thrown into prison cells all 36 were then bayoneted to death former army chief of staff brigadier suleiman hussein was arrested and taken to another place of confinement there the men who were formerly under his command beat him to death with their rifle butts that wasn't all that happened to him his head was cut off and sent to our men at his new house in kampala it had the grizzly trophy placed in the freezer compartment of his refrigerator top army officers at the two main barracks in the country were told that they were to line up on the parade ground in order to salute an incoming motorcade of tanks on both occasions as the tanks came close they ran off course and knocked down the startled officers those that weren't crushed to death were shot by waiting riflemen at yet another barracks the office corps were assembled in a room and told that their president was on route to deliver a lecture but as amin's entourage entered the barracks grenades were thrown into the room and all of the officers were killed within a few months nearly every trained army officer in uganda had been eliminated they were replaced by members of a mins kakwa tribe men who had been tending goats in the fields became high-ranking generals overnight amin was largely able to keep the slaughter that was occurring in the army from the people as well as the international community but when the murderous rampage was extended to the people in general the mask of civility was ripped off in the name of protecting the order of his regime more than half a million ugandans were killed no one was immune with the murdetol taking in chief justices doctors lawyers diplomats teachers and journalists foreigners were also murdered now just before we get into even more madness and i promise it gets worse like feeding heads to crocodiles worse and while you probably don't have 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infamous occasion in 1962 amen was hosting a state dinner at his palace and halfway through the meal he left the table only to return with the frozen head of brigadier suleiman hussein in his hands his aghast guests didn't know where to look as he proceeded to direct a barrage of abuse at the head and then throw cutlery at it the new and expanded army it needed funds and amin got them by diverting much-needed tax income away from things like education infrastructure and health and put it into the armed forces army courts were given greater prominence than civil courts parliament it was dissolved and all ministers were threatened with arrest the more amen ratcheted up the terror the more paranoid he appeared to become he surrounded himself with a security detail which numbered as many as eighteen thousand these men doubled as a ruthless death squad murdering raping and pillaging at will on average between 40 and 50 bodies were thrown into lake victoria every single day in 1972 ousted president beauty based in tanzania began making plans to retake power gathering his force he made some incursions across the border i'm in retaliated by bombing tanzanian towns just across the border this effectively put an end to herbote's ambitions for power while the murderous chaos was taking place within his borders amen was not shy about acting on the international stage he offered to broke a piece in northern ireland and encouraged the scottish to break away from the commonwealth and told african countries that they should unite to oppose south africa he became the chair of the organization of african unity oau advocating that the continent completely severe relations with the west he even went as far as to declare that he not queen elizabeth was the head of the commonwealth in accordance with this belief he then awarded himself the victoria cross [Music] in establishing links with russia and libya amin offered his support to the palestinian liberation organization or plo when members of the plo hijacked a plane on route from tel aviv to paris in june of 1976 amen invited them to land the plane at antebe airport with 256 hostages to bargain with the two plo hijackers demanded the release of 53 plo prisoners held by the israelis early on one of the hostages an elderly person by the name of dora bloch choked on some food and was transported to kampala hospital amin threw himself into the drama he quickly got himself to the airport and in front of the hostages images of him berating the passengers were shown all around the world 156 passengers all of those who did not hold israeli passports were soon released leaving 100 hostages ironically here the entebbe airport had actually been designed by israeli engineers back in tel aviv they were able to pull out the plans for the airport and identify exactly where the hostages were being held the israelis then devised a plan to rescue the hostages in the early morning hours of july the 3rd a team of israeli paratroopers raided the airport in the ensuing fire fight three of the hostages were killed with another 10 being injured seven of the hijackers along with some 45 ugandan soldiers who fought in support of the hijackers were also killed as was one of the rescuers overall though the rescue it was a stunning success amin was furious with the turn of events with no one else to vent anger on he ordered a couple of his thugs to the kampala hospital they burst into the room that dora block was in and they dragged the old woman away she was never seen again if the world didn't realize that the ugandan dictator was stark raving mad his stated intention to build a memorial to adolf hitler left them with no doubt following the raid on antebe armin's grip on power was beginning to weaken by now the economy was a disaster an attempted coup was staged in 1977 though unsuccessful it ratcheted up almonds power levels to an all-time high all of those suspected in being involved in the plot were executed with entire army units just being wiped out then in an attempt to galvanize the people he spread the lie that the tanzanians were about to invade he mounted a series of pre-emptive strikes against the supposed invasion however he refused to provide air support for the ground attacks this led to the needless deaths of thousands of his troops the tanzanians pushed the invaders back and then surged into northern uganda armin had intended for the war with tanzania to be a distraction from the problems at home but the plan it had backfired as the troops surged into the country locals joined them in a spontaneous effort to reclaim their country with the ever-growing tanzanian and local forces closing on kampala amin made an urgent broadcast urging the army to make a stand at jinya but by now the army too had abandoned him and the call it was simply ignored seeing the writing on the wall amin along with his five wives and 35 children fled to libya where they were given sanctuary by muammar gaddafi amin left his country with an inflation rate in excess of 200 percent a national debt of 340 million dollars and the corpses of between 300 and 500 thousand of his own people as the people struggled to recover under the reinstated presidency of milton beaute harmon and his family lived in relative luxury under gadhafi's largesse however the two despots had a falling out in 1981 and amin left libya for saudi arabia life with the saudis was a big come down for armin and his family they now existed on handouts provided by the saudi government he attempted to come back to uganda in 1988 with a small group of armed followers but nothing came of it the end for the mad dictator came on august the 16th 2003. he had fallen into a coma the month before with his kidneys failing and no signs of recovery his family decided to turn off his life support he died with the quiet dignity that he denied so many of his victims on hearing about the death of his former army chief milton aboute called him in the greatest brute that an african mother has brought to life so sure hope you found that video interesting if you did please do give us a thumbs up below and don't forget to subscribe brand new videos just like this every day of the week also thanks to dashlane please do check them out below and as always thank you for watching you

Channel: Biographics

Views: 3,280,768

Keywords: idi amin, idi amin biography, biography of idi amin, who was idi amin, what happened to idi amin, the last king of scotland, who was the last king of scotland, idi amin dictator, idi amin death, worst african dictator, idi amin life story, biography of amin, ugandan history, history of uganda, biographics, simon whistler

Id: GrxQYbk2LBI

Length: 21min 32sec (1292 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 25 2018