The infamous Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was nicknamed Dada as a young man while serving in the British army in Kenya.
Real name Idi Awo - Ongo Angoo was born in 1924 or 1925 in the Koboka tribe, known for their fearlessness. He joined the British colonial African troops and quickly rose to the highest rank in the African army, the effendi. The British Army decided in time to train Idi and a few more for ‘real’ officers so they could take over the army one day when the British left.
The first step was to open a bank account, which was not easy considering that Idi was not educated. He practiced signing for 20 minutes before entering the bank. He immediately bought her a few suits, a pile of alcohol and a car even though he didn't even have a driver's license.
The boxing champion in the middleweight category always beat rivals by one knockout.
- Politics is like boxing. You are trying to knock out an opponent - he said on one occasion.
After Uganda gained independence, Amin's close colleague Apollo Milton Obote became prime minister. He appointed Idi Amin as military chief. He soon stabbed a friend in the back while he was at a meeting in Singapore in January 1971. He took power and proclaimed himself president, and began to deal with his enemies in the most brutal way. He killed live on television, and kept pictures of the victims as a souvenir.
He also owned the island of Mukusu whose waters were full of crocodiles.
He used to come here on vacation, but even then he tortured and killed people and then the crocodiles would eat them. Amin's house was connected to the infamous State Bureau of Investigation, which was actually a torture prison. Rarely did anyone come out of it alive. Those who did, survived by eating human flesh. He himself admitted that he was a cannibal. A river crowded with corpses
While Uganda was a colony, the British settled Asians in the country. In the time of Idi Amin they held two-thirds of the economy. The president ordered that 80,000 Asians must leave the country, and they were only allowed to take what they could carry in their hands. He shared their shops and things with his followers. Uganda began to decline because ignorant people knew nothing about the business. People started smuggling even though the punishments were death. The Nile River was soon overflowing with corpses.
His brutality could only be measured by his passion for women. He also reportedly had syphilis. He had five wives, countless mistresses and, according to some sources, as many as 60 children. He had his last daughter in 1992. Although raised a Christian, he converted to Islam.
Idi Amin died of kidney failure in 2003 in Saudi Arabia. Although after his departure, Uganda experienced an economic boom, the people are still divided today. Many hate him, but many also adore him.
