Age, Biography, and Wiki
Idi Amin was born in 1925 in Koboko, Uganda Protectorate, and passed away on August 16, 2003, at the age of 78. He served in the British colonial army before becoming a key figure in the Ugandan military. His presidency was marked by authoritarian rule, human rights abuses, and economic decline.
The provided information incorrectly states his birthdate as May 30, 1928. However, historical records confirm his birth year as 1925.
| Occupation | Politician |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 30 May 1928 |
| Age | 97 Years |
| Birth Place | Nakasero Hill, Kampala, Uganda Protectorate |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Date of death | 16 August, 2003 |
| Died Place | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Idi Amin was notably tall, standing at 6 ft 3 in (1.93 m).
During the 1970s, while Amin was at the height of his infamy, British comic actor John Bird starred on the album The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin, with lyrics based on Alan Coren's anti-Amin Punch columns. In 1975 the satirical single "Amazin' Man", from the album, was released on the Transatlantic label. The record stayed for 12 weeks in the Australian Singles Chart, peaking at number 26.
| Height | 93 m |
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Dating & Relationship Status
During his lifetime, Idi Amin had multiple spouses—at least six—and an estimated 43 children.
in his father's workplace, the Shimoni Police Barracks in Nakasero Hill, Kampala. He was given the name Idi after his birth on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. According to Fred Guweddeko, a researcher at Makerere University, Amin's birth name was Idi Awo-Ango Angoo. There is disagreement on the meaning of the name "Dada", with some arguing that it meant "sister" or "effeminate" in Kiswahili, but most sources agree that "Dada" was a clan within the Kakwa tribe which was observed over thirteen generations.
He was the third son of Amin Dada Nyabira Tomuresu (1889–1976), an ethnic Kakwa, and his second wife, Aisha Chumaru Aate (1904–1970), a Lugbara. His father was christened as a Roman Catholic and born with the name Andreas Nyabira Tomuresu. According to British journalist David Martin, Nyabira spent most of his life in South Sudan. He converted to Islam in 1910 after being conscripted as a bugler by the colonial British army under his uncle, the Kakwa tribal leader Sultan Ali Kenyi Dada as a six-year-old child soldier and was given the name Amin Dada. He joined the Protectorate Police Force in Kampala's Nsambia Police Barracks in 1913.
According to Amin's family, Aate had cured Irene Drusilla Namaganda, then Queen of Buganda and wife of Daudi Cwa II of Buganda, of her infertility. Aate's high-ranking role in the Allah Water movement allegedly gained the interest of the Bugandan royal family and her alleged connection to the family led to rumours of Amin's biological father being Daudi Chwa II. These rumours were reportedly spread by Nyabira's childless senior wife, who was spiteful of Aate bearing two children.
Amin's parents divorced when he was four, and most accounts suggest that he moved in with his mother's family in 1944 in the rural farming town of Mawale Parish, Luweero District, in north-western Uganda. The divorce of his parents was reportedly due to the lasting rumours regarding Idi's paternity, which angered his mother. Despite this, his family insists that he moved with his father per Muslim tradition in Tanganyika Parish, Arua District, while his mother continued to practice healing in Buganda.
While living with his mother's relatives, Amin reportedly worked as a goat farmer from ages eight to ten. In 1938, he moved to the home of Sheikh Ahmed Hussein in the nearby town of Semuto and began memorizing the Quran through recitation until he was 12. In 1940, Amin moved to Bombo and lived with his maternal uncle, Yusuf Tanaboo. He attempted to register for primary school but was rejected, this was reportedly due to Amin's paternal Nubian heritage.
On 19 July 2003, Amin's fourth wife, Nalongo Madina, reported that he was in a coma and near death at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from kidney failure. She pleaded with the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, to allow him to return to Uganda for the remainder of his life. Museveni replied that Amin would have to. Amin's family eventually decided to disconnect life support and Amin consequently died at the hospital in Jeddah on 16 August 2003. He was buried in Ruwais Cemetery in Jeddah in a simple grave, without any fanfare.
In July 1975, Amin staged a £2million wedding to 19-year-old Sarah Kyolaba, a go-go dancer with the Revolutionary Suicide Mechanised Regiment Band, nicknamed "Suicide Sarah". The wedding was held during the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit meeting in Kampala, and the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat, served as Amin's best man. Before she met Amin, Sarah was living with a boyfriend, Jesse Gitta; he vanished and it is not clear if he was beheaded, or detained after fleeing to Kenya. The couple had four children and enjoyed rally race driving Amin's Citroën SM, with Sarah as navigator. Sarah was a hairdresser in Tottenham when she died in 2015.
By 1993, Amin was living with the last nine of his children and one wife, Mama a Chumaru, the mother of the youngest four of his children. According to the Daily Monitor, Amin married again a few months before his death in 2003.
In early 2007, the award-winning film The Last King of Scotland prompted one of his sons, Jaffar Amin (born in 1967), to speak out in his father's defence. Jaffar Amin said he was writing a book to rehabilitate his father's reputation. Jaffar is the tenth of Amin's 40 official children by seven official wives.
Gender historian Alicia Decker wrote that the In the immediate aftermath of his deposition, war correspondent Al J Venter stated that Ugandans still spoke about Amin. His reputation in Uganda has been viewed over the decades following his rule in more complex ways than in the international community. Some Ugandans have praised him as a "patriot" and supported his decision to expel Asians from the country. At the time of his death, he was particularly well-regarded in north-western Uganda. One of Amin's sons, Jaffar Remo, criticized the negative public perception of his father and called for a commission to investigate the veracity of the abuses committed under his rule.
| Parents | |
| Husband | At least 6, including: Malyamu (m. 1966-1974) Kay (m. 1966-1974) Nora (m. 1967-1974) Madina (m. 1972) Sarah Kyolaba (m. 1975) |
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Net Worth and Salary
Idi Amin's net worth at the peak of his power was estimated to be at least $100 million. This wealth was amassed through plunder, corruption, and the exploitation of Uganda's resources during his decade-long rule.
On 4 August 1972, Amin issued a decree ordering the expulsion of the 50,000 Asians who were British passport holders. This was later amended to include all 60,000 Asians who were not Ugandan citizens. Around 30,000 Ugandan Asians emigrated to the UK. Others went to Commonwealth countries such as Australia, South Africa, Canada, and Fiji, or to India, Kenya, Pakistan, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States. Amin expropriated businesses and properties belonging to the Asians and the Europeans and handed them over to his supporters. Without the experienced owners and proprietors, businesses were mismanaged and many industries collapsed from lack of operational expertise and maintenance. This proved disastrous for the already declining Ugandan economy. At the time, Asians accounted for 90% of the country's tax revenue; with their removal, Amin's administration lost a large chunk of government revenue. The economy all but collapsed.
Career, Business, and Investments
Amin's career was marked by military service and political ambition. He participated in the Mau Mau Uprising and the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état, which brought him to power. His presidency included policies like the "economic war," which led to the expulsion of Asian and European business owners, resulting in severe economic decline for Uganda.
In 1946, he joined the King's African Rifles (KAR) of the British Colonial Army as a cook. He rose to the rank of lieutenant, taking part in British actions against Somali rebels and then the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, and Amin remained in the army, rising to the position of deputy army commander in 1964 and being appointed commander two years later. He became aware that Ugandan president Milton Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds, so he launched the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état and declared himself president.
In December 1973, Amin launched a sarcastic 'Save Britain Fund' during the 1973–1975 recession to, while offering emergency food supplies and urging Ugandans to donate. In 1974, he offered to host and mediate negotiations to end the conflict in Northern Ireland, believing that Uganda's position as a former British colony made it apt to do so.
In January 1979, Nyerere mobilized the Tanzania People's Defence Force and counterattacked, joined by several groups of Ugandan exiles who had united as the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). Amin's army retreated steadily, despite military help from Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The President reportedly made several trips abroad to other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the war, attempting to enlist more foreign support. He made few public appearances in the final months of his rule, but spoke frequently on radio and television. Following a major defeat in the Battle of Lukaya, parts of the Uganda Army command reportedly urged Amin to step down. He angrily refused and declared: He consequently fired chief of staff Yusuf Gowon. However, Amin was forced to flee the Ugandan capital by helicopter on 11 April 1979, when Kampala was captured. After a short-lived attempt to rally some remnants of the Uganda Army in eastern Uganda which reportedly included Amin proclaiming the city of Jinja his country's new capital, he fled into exile. By the time of his removal from power, Amin had become deeply unpopular in Uganda. The symbols of his rule, his pictures, and buildings associated with him were subject to vandalism during and after the war.
As the years progressed, Amin's behavior became more erratic, unpredictable, and strident. After the United Kingdom broke off all diplomatic relations with his regime in 1977, Amin declared that he had defeated the British, and he conferred on himself the decoration of CBE (Conqueror of the British Empire). His full self-bestowed title ultimately became:, in addition to his officially stated claim of being the uncrowned king of Scotland. He never received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) or the Military Cross (MC). He conferred a doctorate of law on himself from Makerere University as well as the Victorious Cross (VC), a medal made to emulate the British Victoria Cross.
Social Network
Idi Amin does not have an active social media presence due to his passing in 2003. However, his legacy continues to be discussed and studied on various platforms.
Eventually a rift developed between Amin and Obote, exacerbated by the support Amin had built within the Uganda Army by recruiting from the West Nile region, his involvement in operations to support the rebellion in southern Sudan and an attempt on Obote's life in 1969. In October 1970, Obote took control of the armed forces, reducing Amin from his months-old post of commander of all the armed forces to that of the commander of the Uganda Army.
Amin renamed the presidential lodge in Kampala from Government House to "The Command Post". He disbanded the General Service Unit (GSU), an intelligence agency created by the previous government, and replaced it with the State Research Bureau (SRB). SRB headquarters at the Kampala suburb of Nakasero became the scene of torture and capital punishment over the next few years. Other agencies used to persecute dissenters included the military police and the Public Safety Unit (PSU).
In his 1997 book State of Blood: The Inside Story of Idi Amin, Henry Kyemba (who was a Ugandan minister for three years in Amin's cabinet) states that (Kyemba 109–10)
In November 1978, troops loyal to Adrisi mutinied. Amin sent troops against the mutineers, some of whom had fled across the Tanzanian border. Fighting consequently broke out along that border, and the Uganda Army invaded Tanzanian territory under unclear circumstances. According to several experts and politicians, Amin directly ordered the invasion in an attempt to distract the Ugandan military and public from the crisis at home. Other accounts suggest, however, that Amin had lost control of parts of the Uganda Army, so Amin's sanction for the invasion was a post-facto action to save face regarding troops who had acted without his orders. In any case, Amin accused Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere of initiating the war against Uganda after the hostilities had erupted, and proclaimed the annexation of a section of Kagera when the Ugandan invasion initially proved to be successful. However, as Tanzania began to prepare a counter-offensive, Amin reportedly realized his precarious situation, and attempted to defuse the conflict without losing face. The Ugandan President publicly suggested that he and Nyerere participate in a boxing match which, in lieu of military action, would determine the outcome of the conflict. Nyerere ignored the message.
Education
There is limited information available regarding Idi Amin's formal education. His career was largely shaped by his military service and political rise rather than formal academic achievements.
According to Amin's family, Idi Amin was given the title Awon'go (lit. 'noise'), in reference to rumours about his alleged paternity. Idi was reportedly chosen to take a 'paternity test' as an infant by tribal elders, which involved abandoning him for four days in a forest near Mount Liru in Koboko where they returned to find Amin still alive. The elders attributed this apparent miracle to Nakan, a sacred seven-headed snake in Kakwa folk religion. His brother and sister died in 1932, when Idi was four years old.
The same year, Amin was injured while participating in Nubian riots against discrimination at Makerere University in Wandegeya. He was enrolled in the Garaya madrasa in Bombo and continued memorizing the Quran under Mohammed Al Rajab until 1944, and reportedly won honours in recitation in 1943. Amin was conscripted by the colonial army alongside fifteen other students before being discharged for being underage.
In 1959, Amin was made Effendi Class 2 (Warrant Officer), the highest possible rank for a black soldier in the KAR. Amin returned to Uganda the same year and received a short-service commission as a lieutenant on 15 July 1961, becoming one of the first two Ugandans to become commissioned officers. He was assigned to quell the cattle rustling between Uganda's Karamojong and Kenya's Turkana nomads. According to researcher Holger Bernt Hansen, Amin's outlook, behavior and strategies of communication were strongly influenced by his experiences in the colonial military. This included his direct and hands-on leadership style which would eventually contribute to his popularity among certain parts of Ugandan society.
On 2 February 1971, one week after the coup, Amin declared himself President of Uganda, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Uganda Army Chief of Staff, and Chief of Air Staff. He suspended certain provisions of the Ugandan constitution, and soon instituted an Advisory Defense Council composed of military officers with himself as the chairman. Amin placed military tribunals above the system of civil law, appointed soldiers to top posts in government and government-owned corporations, and informed the newly inducted civilian cabinet ministers that they would be subject to military courtesy. Amin ruled by decree; over the course of his rule he issued approximately 30 decrees.
Among the most prominent people killed were Benedicto Kiwanuka, a former prime minister and chief justice; Janani Luwum, the Anglican archbishop; Joseph Mubiru, the former governor of the central bank of Uganda; Frank Kalimuzo, the vice-chancellor of Makerere University; Byron Kawadwa, a prominent playwright; and two of Amin's own cabinet ministers, Erinayo Wilson Oryema and Charles Oboth Ofumbi.
