By Frank Kamuntu
Maliyamungu was one of the officers tasked with ridding the Uganda Army of any anti-Amin and hardline Obote adherents that could still be present. As a result, even superior officers, he was given “full authority to execute anyone in the army.”
Maliyamungu worked with Col. Ali, Col. Musa, and Major Malera to put an end to the armed opposition to the new government. It’s said that then he murdered hundreds of people who held opposing political views.
Later, he reveled in “single-handedly mastermind[ing]” the slaughter of those who were allegedly Amin’s enemies.
Following the overthrow of Idi Amin’s regime and Tanzania’s takeover of Kampala, Maliyamungu and his family relocated to Zaire. He moved with a good chunk of his fortune, intending to start a business.
Maliyamungu later took part in the West Nile region’s pro-Amin insurrection during the Ugandan Bush War.
Together with other Amin followers, he gathered a military force and crossed the border from Zaire into the West Nile region. He then moved to Sudan, where he later passed away in February 1984 as a result of poisoning.
It Was A Tough Gov’t
In early August 1972, the President Amin, ordered the expulsion of his country’s Indian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country.
At the time, South Asians in East Africa were simply known as “Asians.”
They had come to dominate trade under British colonial policies. The original order applied only to British subjects of South Asian origin but was later expanded to include citizens of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
The expulsion affected about 80,000 individuals of Indian descent in Uganda, with 23,000 having their applications for citizenship processed and accepted.
Amin accused a minority of the Indians of disloyalty, non-integration, and commercial malpractice, claims that Indian leaders disputed. He defended the expulsion by arguing that he was “giving Uganda back to ethnic Ugandans.”
Many of those expelled were citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, and 27,200 emigrated to the United Kingdom. The economy suffered significant damage, and international relations were strained as world leaders condemned the expulsion1.
Amin’s government was also notorious for human rights abuses, including torture, executions, and disappearances.
Despite the controversy surrounding his rule, Amin remains a significant figure in Uganda’s history.
