Joshua Wakholi

Joshua Wakholi; Obote's minister public service

A picture of what was happening in uganda's prisons in those first months was given to David Martin by J.W. He retired into private life, but was arrested and taken to Makindye prison. he was placed next door to Singapore, reserved for those condemned to death.

Wakholi reported that 36 army officers and one corporal were shot and slashed to death by three or four soldiers. The next morning, he was among those told to go into Singapore cell and scrub up the remains. The floor was a quarter of an inch deep in blood. It took six hours to clean. Along with the blood, there were pieces of skull and teeth, brain tissue and empty shell cases........ H.Kyemba

First Mugisu minister, Wakholi, killed by Amin
On the morning of January 25, 1971, former public service and cabinet affairs minister Joshua Wakholi was at his home in Entebbe preparing to go to office in Wandegeya.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/…/641634-first-mugisu-minister-w…

Kibedi's Open Letter To Amin

KIBEDI'S OPEN LETTER TO AMIN.

Ever since I resigned from the office of Foreign Minister in you Government in April 1973, you have not ceased to broadcast slanders, calumnies and other fabrications about me.  Hitherto i have not bothered to answer back, because I found it unnecessary to deny statements whose falsehood was obvious even to a three-year old Ugandan.  Furthermore, I wanted to give you plenty of time to wallow in the mire of your own lies, contradictions and other inconsistencies, the more so to expose your true character to the people of Uganda and to the world at large.

I consider that you have had your say, and it is now my turn to speak.  The time is further opportune because the matter which was the central cause of my resignation, namely the large-scale liquidation of innocent people in Uganda  since your assumption of power, is once more at the center of world attention.  The International Commission of Jurists has recently issued a critical report on it, to which you have taken vehement exception, and you have also appointed a judicial commission to "inquire" into the "disappearances".

As a person conversant with the truth relating to these and other issues arising from your misrule, I will now make my contribution.  I will speak in clear and unambiguous language for the sake of present and future generations of our motherland:

THE "DISAPPEARANCES"

1. The expression "disappearance" is a euphemism - the for Uganda's innocent dead - the thousands of people who, since the inception of your misrule, have been liquidated for personal, political or factional reasons, entirely outside the processes of law.  The victims are said to have "disappeared" because after their murders their bodies are clandestinely disposed of or mutilated beyond recognition, never to be recovered by their relatives.  The expression is not at all related to the thousands of Ugandans who, as a result of your misrule, have been obliged to live in political exile in many parts of the world.  You are not going to deceive or confuse anybody by suggesting that the exiles have also "disappeared".

2.  The International news media has often accused you of being responsible for the massacre of innocent people in Uganda.  Ugandans themselves, whether in or out of the country, have long taken it for granted that you are the mastermind behind the "disappearances".  A number of people who previously held high office in your Government have resigned such positions and gone into exile in protest against the reign of terror that you have unleashed in our country.

3.   I want to confirm here and now that indeed you are personally responsible for liquidation of all the people who have "disappeared" in Uganda ever since you came to power.  People have "disappeared" either because you have specifically ordered their liquidation as individual or as a group, or because they have  fallen victim to the murderous ravages of lawless elements who have thrived in the country as a result of your deliberate refusal to restrain the criminal activities of such elements, or to place any sort of discipline over them.  You have in effect placed such thugs completely above the law, since they know that they can kill, maim and loot with impunity.

To be continued

Ochungi

Any suspect was instantly presumed guilty and eliminated.  Between January and August 1972, in a wave of intensified political violence, political prisoners who had been locked behind bars because of their presumed opposition to the Amin regime were killed.  Most were members of the Police, the GSU, and the Civil Service who had served Obote with loyalty, including the brass of the Police Central Intelligence Department, which had investigated Amin's part in the murder of Brigadier Okoya.  The victims included Mohammmed hassan, the chief of /CID, Festus Wawuyo, his deputy, and Ochungi, another deputy in the CID.  Twenty Acholi/ Langi Military bandsmen who had been arrested and put under the care of Major Hussein Marella in December 1971 were also killed in this period, reportedly on Amin's orders.  Hundreds of people were trapped in the vicious circle of violence.  All the members of these paramilitary units used violence for their own selfish motives: the demarcation line between officially sponsored and private violence was very thin.

1972 Invasion (Amin beats off invasion)

Out of the 1,300 fighters on the two sectors, only 847

UPC leaders were killed, including Joshua Wakholi, Alex Ojera, and Picho Ali. Out of the 1,300 fighters on the two sectors, only 847 returned. Thus over a mere three days, 453 fighters were captured or killed. And that was the end of the invasion.   

Continue via the link hereunder:
http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/ugandaat50/Amin-beats-off-invasion-by-Obote-and-Museveni-forces/-/1370466/1517444/-/item/1/-/a2j8bqz/-/index.html 

 
Evil Amin along with Uganda soldiers visiting the Muronga Ferry in Kikagati 100 yds from the Tanzanian border with Uganda.'There is a stamp on the back with a date. The date is hard to read, but seems to be 27 sep 1972. This would make sense: '17 September 1972/ An invasion by over one thousand troops, exiled supporters of the former Ugandan President Apolo Milton Obote, attack from Tanzania. President Idi Amin responds by bombing Tanzanian towns

http://ugandansatheart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/uah-amin-along-with-uganda-soldiers.html

Charles Lwanga

One morning, ( I’ve forgotten the exact date.) shortly after 0600 AM I heard on Radio Uganda (Ebiraango) that ” Hajjat Affua Namuddu abikka mutabaniwe Charles Lwanga, yafudde” ( Hajjat Affua Namuddu announces the death of her son Charles Lwanga). I thought I was dreaming because I had been with Charles Lwanga the previous day and he was inviting me out ” to enjoy” with him. Charles Lwanga was my brother-in-law and a brother to Halima Namakula, the singer. Halima came to my residence and told me that Charles had been short dead by the members of the State Research Bureau. I immediately went to the SRB Headquarters, Nakasero and told the Adjutant Lieutenant Jackson Kyalikunda what his people had done to my brother-in-law. He promised to inform the Director of the SRB, Lt. Colonel Francis Itabuka and that they would investigate and bring the ”culprits” to justice. I knew that the ” Law of the Land ” at the time was a firing squad, but I was not concerned with the type of purnishment.

May God Bless Uganda.
Byaruhanga, Jonny Rubin.

http://ugandansatheart.org/2009/01/17/the-truth-about-amin-murders/ 

Amin’s son apologises for his father's atrocities

Idi Amin was president of Uganda between 1971 and 1979.
Publish Date: Jun 03, 2015

newvision

By Richard Drasimaku           

        

JEFFERY Amin was a primary school boy, unaware of what was going on in the country when his father Idi Amin was the president of Uganda. 

But it has taken the 48-year-old courage to come out amongst the over 60 children of the former head of state to say sorry to the nation for the atrocities committed between 1971 and 1979.

He came face to face with Baptist Jotim, a clan chief from Acholi whose father died in the hands of the notorious regime’s soldiers in 1976.

This was during a reconciliation, peace, unity and development dialogue that brought together 102 cultural, religious and opinion leaders from West Nile, Acholi and Lango at Heritage Courts Hotel in Arua town.

Notable among the traditional leaders were the Alur Prime Minister Edwin Wathum, Ephraim Waringu, the Thebiz of Kebu Rigangi, Mathew Otto, the Lands and Mobilisation minister of Acholi and Benny Ocan, the Lango prime minister.

The others were Silas Akonyu a Kakwa elder, Stephen Drani a Madi paramount chief and his adviser Olga Tabea and the host Hanuna Ndema, the prime minister of the formative Lugbara cultural institution.

 

Chief Baptist Jotim (left) sheds tears as Jeffery Amin (R) apologises for the killing of his father by regime soldiers in 1976. Photo by Richard Drasimaku.

The eminent leaders discussed the events that led to discord between former friends Amin and Milton Obote that eventually evolved into hatred between the Acholi, Lango and the West Nile people with devastating revenge massacres.

Colourful street performances by Acholi traditional dancers through Arua town punctuated the two-day event organised by Uhuru Institute of Social Development.

But the mood was sombre as tearful Jotim narrated how some soldiers from West Nile went to their home in Kitgum to warn his father that he was on a wanted list of people to be killed.

They drove him to Malaba border post and told him to flee to Kenya but he refused and returned home. Four days later other soldiers came to abduct him. The next thing they heard was that dad was dead.

Jotim says he was overwhelmed by anger so much that when Amin died in Saudi Arabia in 2003, he refused to accompany Amin’s former Acholi wife Ester to a prayer meeting that was held at Amin’s ancestral home in Koboko.

It was a narrative that caused remorseful Jeffery to walk to Jotim to say sorry and apologise on behalf of the family for any wrong doing to the nation during his late father’s reign.

 

Jeffey Amin (L) joined by Acholi traditional dancers in the peace march through Arua town. Photo by Richard Drasimaku

As bishop Alfred Achur of West Lango Anglican diocese joined to counsel the duo, another wronged cleric Sheikh Adam Ayub rose up to confess his hatred for the West Nile people in general arising from an attempted slaughter of his father Ayub who was the former Khadi of Lango.

“I became a soldier to avenge that incident but today I want to forgive all West Nilers. We were fighting a war that was not ours,” Ayub said. To which Jotim added; “We are here because something went wrong. We have brought all the wishes of our people that we should burry all the past differences and unite for peace.”

Achur assured Jeffery that none of the people who gathered at Heritage Courts has a grudge against him or his family.

“Jeffery came openly to seek forgiveness on behalf of his dad because he is a good Muslim with strong faith,” the bishop said.

Ndema said it was needless to talk about past atrocities because they were simply too many. He emphasised that the leaders should make sure reconciliation goes to the grass roots.

Akonyu meanwhile stressed the importance of re-cultivating the friendship and cooperation between the different communities in the Northern region that existed before the Amin-Obote fallout so as to guarantee a better future for the young children.

“As a mother, we appeal to our husbands to join hands with us in upbringing our children in the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness. We have mourned enough because of disharmony, let us support each other so that we change the face of Northern Uganda,” Tabea urged.

Keith Savage

Keith Savage was blown up together with Bruce Mckenzie in the same plane.

Bruce Mckenzie

He was the only non-African ever to serve in independent Kenya’s Cabinet. And it was not in a ceremonial post, but in the critical Ministry of Agriculture during the nation’s formative years. He was very close to President Jomo Kenyatta and some of his most powerful Ministers, but he was also close to the secret services of South Africa, Britain and Israel, relationships that would eventually cost him his life in rather mysterious circumstances. - 

See more at: http://www.kenyahistory.co.ke/personalities.php?pg=personalities&id=43#sthash.L2ko02Is.dpuf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Mackenzie_%28Kenyan_politician%29

McKenzie was presented a stuffed Kenyan cob (antelope) that contained a bomb.  

Terpil told others the story that "Amin's speech ran so long that I was afraid the damned thing would
explode while the plane was still at Kampala airport.  So I had to
send a guy aboard to set the time back another half-hour."

Joseph Bitwari

Joseph Bitwari (RIP)

By Benson Katundu-Byarugaba:  Iddi Amin killed my Uncle Joseph Bitwari former District Commissioner , Bugisu District!! 

Mr Alex (Alija) Latim

Killed by Amin's Men 1979

It should be remembered that the late Bataringaya (also murdered by Amin) was the Leader of the Opposition (1962-1964) as a Democratic (DP) Party Secretary General who crossed to the ruling party, the Uganda Peoples’ Congress (UPC). After his decision to cross, Alex Latim (RIP) took the mantle and martialed the Opposition through.

Very little has been written about Amin’s victims, their lives, and the lives of their families who still endure the pain that Amin’s brutality inflicted on them.

We hope to change the mindset that people have, i.e. whenever they talk about Amin’s victims, only the manner of their deaths are discussed, but not what they stood for, or their contributions to their country Uganda.

As people who were alive during that era die one by one due to old age, natural causes or other calamities, it is our hope that some will share what they know about any of the victims herein.  Information can either be written on the comments section of the victims herein, or discreetly sent to this address  kololo8@gmail.com.

Theresa Nanziri Bukenya

The Sad Demise of Theresa Nanziri Bukenya

It was on the evening of June 22nd 1976 when Idi Amin's regime committed a heinous act. Theresa Nanziri Bukenya, then a warden of Africa Hall at Makerere University, was picked from her residence by men from the dreaded State Research Bureau. Two days later Nanziri's dead body was found with bullet wounds on the neck, at River Ssezibwa. Nanziri had joined along list of others who suffered cold death at the hands of Idi Amin.

Bear in mind that she was 7 months pregnant at the time of her murder

Who was Nanziri?

http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/homepage.asp?ID=574

Bryon Kawadwa

Playwright, Artiste and director of National Theater. Murdered by Amin's henchmen.

The fate of Kawadwa at the hands of Amin's agents was not without its tragic irony. 

Several Baganda theatre artists welcomed Amin's coup, as first. Popular theatre artists like Kiyingi and Kawadwa, and literary dramatists like Serumaga, thought Amin would reinstate the Kabaka, (who had been deposed from his traditional Kingship by Obote). Although the Kabaka was not reinstalled, in the early years of Amin's regime, Kawadwa's productions did seem to spearhead a Baganda renaissance.

Eventually, however, Amin's paranoia took offence at one of Kawadwa's most popular plays. St Charles Lwanga, first produced in 1970, was a play about the nineteenth century Baganda Christians who were martyred by Kabaka Mwanga. Kawadwa decided to revive the play in 1976 and owing to its Christian content, sought and received approval for the performance from Muslim Amin's presidential office.

In 1977, the year of the performance, Amin's notorious Bureau of State security outraged Ugandan and world opinion by murdereing the Anglican Archbishop, Janani Luwum. Suddenly Kawadwa's play was transformed from a relatively innocuous exploration of nineteenth century Ugandan history into a politically sensitive allegory on contemporary state terrorists. Soon afterwards, Byron and several members of his theatre company were picked up by the bureau of state security and their burnt bodies were discovered in the bush 33 km outside Kampala. Kawadwa's fate seems all the more pathetic because he was not an oppositional author of a consciously ideological stamp; it was just that his ability to ceate theatrical forms with a wide popular appeal outside Amin's permitted propaganda machinery eventually seemed a threat to the state.

Mr Charles Oboth Ofumbi

Left, murdered by Amin 1977.

The killing of archbishop janani luwum, lands minister and former inspector general of police erinayo oryema and interior minister charles oboth-ofumbi on february 17, 1977, marked the climax of amin’s bloody repression.

After these murders, amin took a ruthless and sweeping decision: all remaining acholi and langi soldiers were to be eliminated. After all, he had allegedly uncovered a plot to overthrow his government in which the archbishop and the two ministers were a part.

Ofumbi knew too much to stay alivePublish Date: Apr 23, 2013

http://charlesobothofumbi.blogspot.co.uk/

The family of former Internal Affairs Minister, Charles Oboth Ofumbi who was brutally murdered on February 16, 1977, speaks out for the first time about the pain and the tragedy they went through.

By Charles Etukuri

At the family home in Nyamalogo, Mulanda in Tororo district, Ofumbi’s widow, Elizabeth, recalls the last conversation she had with her husband.

“I had travelled to pick our children who were studying in St. Andrews Turi in Kenya when he called me. He sounded different on the phone and he said he was going for a stormy cabinet meeting but was not so sure he would come out alive. ‘Pray for me and should anything happen, please make sure that you give the children the gift of education,’ were his last words to me,” she recalls.

With those words, Ofumbi drove to Nile Mansions (now Kampala Serena Hotel) where President Idi Amin had called a special ministerial meeting. Amin had invited diplomats, the press and religious leaders.

Read more via this link:  http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/641953-ofumbi-knew-too-much-to-stay-alive.html

Mr Erinayo Oryema

Murdered in 1977

On 16 February 1977, Oryema, Archbishop Janani Luwum and Interior Minister Charles Oboth Ofumbi were arrested. The same day Idi Amin convened a rally in Kampala with the three accused present. A few other "suspects" were paraded forth to read out "confessions" implicating the three men for planning to stage a coup. The next day, Radio Uganda announced that the three had been killed when the car transporting them to an interrogation center had collided with another vehicle. The accident, Radio Uganda reported, had occurred when the victims had tried to overpower the driver in an attempt to escape.^[2] Henry Kyemba, Minister of Health in Amin's government, later wrote in his book A State of Blood, that "The bodies were bullet-riddled. The archbishop had been shot through the mouth and at least three bullets in the chest. The ministers had been shot in a similar way but one only in the chest and not through the mouth. Oryema had a bullet wound through the leg."^[3]

According to the later testimony of witnesses, the victims had been taken to an army barracks, where they were bullied, beaten and finally shot.^[4]

Erinayo Oryema was by the time of his death the longest serving minister in Amin’s government. The murder of Oryema and Luwum had profound effects. Their deaths made many realise that no one was safe, and shortly thereafter several of Amin’s ministers defected or fled to exile.