BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Can Idi Amin be rehabilitated?
The question is animating some in this East African country two decades after the death of one of Africa’s most infamous leaders.
Amin, who took power by force in Uganda in 1971 and ruled until he was removed by armed groups of exiles in 1979, died in Saudi Arabia in 2003. His passing was barely acknowledged in Uganda, and some of Amin’s supporters over the years have unsuccessfully lobbied for his remains to be returned home, underscoring his tainted legacy.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, whose rebel group was among those that ousted Amin with the help of Tanzanian troops, regularly dismisses Amin, and once even described him as “a primitive dictator.” There are no monuments to Amin in Kampala, the capital, where not even a street is named after him.
But some Ugandans want to change that —
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
