By now, the stories surrounding former Ugandan President Idi Amin Dada never cease to amuse, told new or old, they look like a well-scripted thriller that Amin had directed, the stories look far from accurate, and yet they are indeed true acts of a man who had his own way of doing things, spontaneous and arguably stupidly daring!
Amin was a distinguished army officer, a highly rated graduate of the Multi- battalion British Colonial Regiment-King’s African Riffles, Obote’s right-hand man until some time, raw and green in one, ill-exposed and ignorant per se, but most importantly honest and determined.
It is such traits that made him unpredictable, unbelievable, and unlimited, while at the same time making him feared, it was quite hard to explain how far Amin would go, one had to take him seriously even if he was joking, or else you would be caught by surprise just like Obote. He was a man who would joke while slitting your throat!
Hence in June 1977, five years after Amin expelled British Asians, this was the first stone in the bee-hive of Uganda and British relations. But Amin was not yet done throwing; in 1975, he sentenced British Lecturer Denis Hills to death for calling him a village tyrant.
Denis Hills was let off the hook after several negotiations with Britain whose conditions were pre-determined and repeatedly changed by Amin. But Amin’s sacrilege came with the unexplained disappearance and consequent death of Dora Bloch, a British passport holder who had been held hostage by Uganda authorities following the hijacking of the Air France flight to Entebbe.
In July 1976, Britain decided to cut ties with Uganda over Amin, despite Uganda being a commonwealth nation, they exited their embassy officials from Uganda via Nairobi while the remaining ones were put under strict protection of the French embassy and Amin in reply obtained himself a new title: CONQUEROR OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
Unfortunately for Amin, and the British, there was a looming event- the Commonwealth summit in 1977, London, United Kingdom, this is just one year after Britain severed ties with Uganda.
Soon enough, the commonwealth meeting would become overshadowed by the ‘war” between Amin and Britain, with Amin insisting he would attend the event whether the British wanted him there or not.
A war ensued…
