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There was more to Idi Amin than the world will ever know By Hussein Amin Posted Saturday, August 16 2014 at 01:00 When Idi Amin Dada was ousted as president of Uganda in April 1979 and ended up in exile in Saudi Arabia, a veil was pulled down on one of the most photographed and talked about leader of the time, no matter that he was not always portrayed in the best light. Al Hajji Idi Amin was the most popular African in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Idi Amins "retirement" was about enjoying his new found freedom in Saudi Arabia, away from the official "President of Uganda" life with its responsibilities of running a country. He visited ancient Islamic sights in Saudi Arabia and prayed five times a day. He liked going to the open air market or walking amongst the crowd of people at popular shopping malls where he would stop at a café for his favorite turkish coffee. Swimming was his preferred exercise and he would be at the beach literally every afternoon. He was regularly invited to dinners, iftars and meetings with Arab businessmen, diplomats and politicians from all over the Middle East. He would talk to them about Uganda, it's economic potential and resources. He met alot of Africans as well; Students, pilgrims and businessmen. It was a sight of pure glee when young Africans saw him passing by. He preferred praying at the Grand Mosque of Mecca but would regularly make the 800 kilometres to the prophets Mosque in Medina. He was a regular at the neighbourhood Mosque and contributed with other faithful neighbours to it's reconstruction. He liked Ugandan food and would have it sent over. But was also a fan of fastfood from KFC, Pizza Hut, Mc Donalds as well as Kobsa, the Saudi national food with seasoned rice and camel meat. He however constantly kept himself up-to-date about Uganda and world affairs. And he did this by continuously following news and debates on radio, tv and all major economic and political international newspapers and magazines on a daily basis. Plus talking to Ugandans themselves in the country and abroad. He continued educating himself, reading and getting informed throughout his life. I remember the BBC once shocked to hear someone speaking perfect english. So stunned was the fellow that he wondered if it was truly Idi Amin on the other side of the line. To those who cared to listen, he used to say: "it is better to be under-estimated in life". That's probably how he blind-sided the incredibly huge number of opponents he had for eight years (the time he ruled Uganda). Some of whom actually still think he was stupid. Sorry folks! He wasn't!?! Besides some close family members, few people know that Amin was regularly immersed in reading with his huge round reading spectacles. When he passed away on 16th August 2003, it was of course a sad day for us and many people around the African continent. Scores of people came home to pay their last respects. This included the Saudi government that was represented by the then Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz on behalf of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz who was away at the time on official duty. Others included senior military officers, Ambassadors, his business friends and even some two Uganda embassy officials whom we welcomed. In Saudi Arabia, Idi Amin received a burial befitting his status as a former head of state. Amin managed those eight years as President of Uganda mainly because of his sharpness of mind, alertness to security issues, his ability to grasp complex concepts rapidly and his tenacity to ensure that he got things done, particularly in terms of services to Ugandans, even if it meant to move mountains. And as we all know, he did this while the Ugandan economy was being quashed by an international embargo and constant sabotage regardless of the impact on the Ugandan population. It was literally extraordinary to make any headway with that amount of opposition abroad and the limited resources at his disposal, compared to all the international aid, World bank loans and Chinese grants that are available today for Uganda. If Idi Amin had half the Western and regional goodwill that Uganda has today, this country would have been far more advanced than what we see. The current government is also further reduced in its effectiveness by the overwhelming and ubiquitous issue of corruption. Yes, Amin had crucial support from the Arab world but also immense popularity at home and with Africans all over the continent. The Tanzanian people themselves didn't have any beef with him. He met frequently with their pilgrims in Saudi. Wasn't it a road block of TPDF (Tanzanian Peoples Defence Forces) soldiers that let Amin through on the night of 12-13th April 1979 as he left Kampala after the capital city had fallen the previous day? If it wasn`t for his popularity in Uganda and Africa at the time, Idi Amin wouldn`t have survived the eight years as president and later in exile until old age. I remember Amin used to drive himself freely in Uganda with limited security, sometimes none at all. That continued in Saudi Arabia. I ask alot of questions about Idi Amin that mostly query issues actually raised initially by commentators. But there is one question which probably needs an informed response from a knowledgable historian. How could Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada have planned and executed a military coup in order to greedily grab power from President Apollo Milton Obote if, on January 24th 1971 (the day before he took over government following the military uprising), Amin himself was put at gun point by the mutineering soldiers and asked to be president? Mr. Hussein Lumumba Amin is the son of Former President Idi Amin.
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