Former ruthless dictator Idi Amin dies

Idi Amin, the ruthless former dictator of Uganda and one-time darling of the British army, died today.

Amin, who was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his countrymen in the 70s, had been on a life-support machine since July 18.

Amin was 80, Ugandan officials said, though other sources had him born in 1925.

Having suffered kidney failure, Amin passed into a coma and was admitted to the King Faisal Specialist hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he lived.

He died at 8.20am local time, (5.20am Irish time), hospital staff said.

Amin was a well-known figure in the British army and began his career in the King’s African Rifles of the British colonial army in 1946.

He rose through the ranks to lieutenant and was one of only two native Ugandans to receive a commission from the British army during colonial rule.

Despite his evident success, he was seen as a rather dim character by British officials.

In British Public Records Office documents written in the 60s and released in 2000, officials wrote: “Idi Amin is a splendid type and a good (rugby) player... but... virtually bone from the neck up, and needs things explained in words of one letter.”

In January 1971, the one-time heavyweight boxing champion staged a coup while President Milton Obote was out of the country and swept to power.

But relations soured between the UK and Uganda.

In 1975, Amin wrote to the British Queen: “My dear Queen.

“I would like you to arrange for me to visit Scotland, Ireland and Wales to meet the heads of revolutionary movements fighting against your imperialist oppression.”

He is also reported to have sent Her Majesty a telex which read: “Dear Liz, if you want to know a real man, come to Kampala.”

During eight years of tyrannical rule, Amin ordered the execution of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans from rival tribes.

He expelled the country’s 50,000 Indians and Pakistanis and dramatically increased the size of the army, giving military tribunals preference over civil law.

In April 1979, Amin, who was a Muslim, fled to Libya and Iraq, before finally settling in Saudi Arabia where he led a relatively comfortable life in exile.