Head to head: Toppling Idi Amin

The sons of Uganda's former dictator Idi Amin and Tanzania's  ex-President
Julius Nyerere have met for the first time, three decades  after the two
countries fought a war.
The BBC's Swahili Service brought the two together to reflect on the
five-month conflict, which left half a million people dead and culminated  with
Tanzania troops ousting Amin from Kampala on 10 April 1979.
_MADARAKA NYERERE _ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7992195.stm#yes)
JAFFAR AMIN

The two families - President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and President Idi  Amin -
ought to have met because they were the two protagonists.

Jaffar Amin says it is important to reconcile  historical animosities

So, after carefully considering BBC's request, I agreed to travel more  than
1,000km to Tanzania to meet Madaraka Nyerere in Butiama [his home  town in
northern Tanzania].
Both of us were young when the war broke out. Madaraka was 16 and I was  only
12.
Madaraka Nyerere comes from a family of somebody who's revered as a  father
of the nation and a great symbol of African socialism.
Idi Amin represents African proactive nationalism and sought to instil  a
sense confidence within the common people.
But today I find my immediate family in an undefined state that feels  like
we are deliberately being ostracised at a political level.
There are those who condemned my father as a tyrant who killed or  ordered
the killing of those he perceived to be opposed to his rule.
Yet there are those who knew Idi Amin Dada as a man who loved his  country,
family and culture as an African.


The purpose of his [Idi Amin's] leadership was  to make Africans proud of
themselves



Jaffar Amin

My  father is somebody who came from a poor background and always reminded us
 of his poor origins.
He had a stint in the 1940s as a share cropper in the Mehta sugar
plantations in Lugazi, Buganda District, but rose through the military to  become a
leader of a country.
Some dismissed him as a stooge of the colonialists.
Suddenly this "stooge" became very independent, populist and very
nationalistic.
He propagated African pride for Africans and went ahead to implement  the
common man's charter, which was prepared by his predecessor.
Bizarre homage
The purpose of his leadership was to make Africans proud of themselves.
It's self-evident that as Ugandans, we exude a level of self-confidence  you
rarely find anywhere else on the continent.

Idi Amin died in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2003, but  still casts a long shadow

His downfall can be traced to some of the controversial decisions he  made
during his seven-year rule.
For example, when he expelled Asians from the country, international  opinion
ran against him.
However, he claims he compensated them to the tune of $1bn through the
assistance of the OIC [Organisation of the Islamic Conference] countries  during
the Opec heydays.
Also, when fellow Muslims convinced him to move away from the loyal
relationship he enjoyed with Israel, he soon found the tide going against  him.
There are those who will find it bizarre that I can decide to pay  homage to
a man who kicked my own father out of power and sent us into  exile.
Wrong side of history
But considering the great efforts towards patriotism and a united  identity
that Tanzania enjoys I would wish for this virtue to become an  example to
Ugandans.

The rusting hulks of tanks from the war still litter  Uganda's countryside

I also take a leaf out of [US] President [Barack] Obama's message to  the
Muslim world to unclench our fists when offered an extended hand.
But there is a common ground between Mwalimu [Julius] Nyerere's son and
myself to reconcile historical animosities that have lingered for a long  time.
It's been 30 years during which no-one from both families ever dreamed  of
meeting.
Madaraka and I are taking that tough yet historical step. We do not  want to
be on the wrong side of history.
MADARAKA NYERERE

When the Kagera war - Tanzania versus Uganda conflict - began I was a
student in Shinyanga.



I remember how we tuned in to the radio to  hear my father declaring war on
Uganda, his voice was rich with  anger



Madaraka  Nyerere

Shinyanga, in  north-western Tanzania, is the main route from the commercial
capital, Dar  es Salaam to Kagera - scene of the war.
I used to see a lot of military equipment and soldiers passing through,
soldiers going towards Kagera.
My father had been at loggerheads with Idi Amin for nearly seven years
before their differences boiled down into war.
By then, the Tanzanian public had been fully sensitised about why their
countrymen were being sent to war.
I sometimes wondered whether our troops would emerge victorious  dislodging
Idi Amin who had presented himself as a very tough man.
Incidentally I met the Ugandan leader in very bizarre circumstances.
Back in 1972 just after he had taken over power through a military  coup, he
landed unannounced in the Tanzanian lakeside town of Mwanza.
He went straight to the state lodge where my father was meeting  Zambia's
former President Kenneth Kaunda.

Tanzania's army counter-attacked after Ugandan troops  invaded

I'd been given a room at the state lodge in Mwanza. I had gone out in  the
morning and while away, Idi Amin was given the same room without my  knowledge.
When I returned, I walked straight to my room, opened the door and who  do I
see? It was Idi Amin.
He seemed busy working on something, which I couldn't quickly  discern.
So I greeted him in Kiswahili: "Shikamoo" (greeting for elders), and he
responded: "Marahaba" (I am fine).
There was no more conversation. I left the room and that's the only  time I
ever came into close contact with him. Luckily he stayed in the  room for only
a few hours and left for Uganda.
I never found out what my dad made of Idi Amin's sudden appearance at  the
meeting. Typical of dad, he never spoke about and it never seemed to  bother
him.
Come 1979, around lunch time, together with college mates, we tuned in  to
the radio to hear my father declaring war on Uganda.
Most people who listened to that speech recall that they had never seen
Mwalimu Nyerere so angry.
His tone of voice was rich with anger as he explained in a live  broadcast
reasons and the preparedness of attacking Uganda.
Peace-loving man
Amin's troops had launched several air raids on Tanzania, invaded it  and
occupied the north-western region of Kagera.
I had never heard or seen my father so angry because he wasn't this  type of
person who brought home his daily stresses as the president.

Julius Nyerere is still revered in much of  Africa

He made sure  there was a clear and strict demarcation of his roles as
president and  head of the family. He never brought his work at home.
That seemed to dictate how we related with him, we would hardly ask him
anything to do with work.
Even at dinner time, he would talk about anything else but not his  work.
He kept his family insulated from work-related issues.
When the war broke out two of my brothers, Andrew and John, were in the  air
force.
And even after the war ended, my other brother Makongoro couldn't  resist the
allure of joining the army. He spent nearly two years in Uganda  doing
military work.
When the BBC asked me whether I could meet Jaffar Amin, all sorts of  things
rushed through my mind.
It took time to agree.
What convinced me is that both of our fathers are now dead.
Also, my father was a peace-loving man.
Even after the war, he would have agreed to meet Idi Amin and even  invited
him to his home Butiama.
Whatever bitterness there was in the past, all we can do now is to  learn the
lessons and open a new chapter for the future.
_JAFFAR  AMIN_ (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7992195.stm#upagain)

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