Idi Amin
Background
Years ago I watched a movie with one of America’s well known actors Denzel Washington. The movie was called Mississippi Masala; in the beginning of the movie there was an Indian family who lived in Uganda. The father considered himself Ugandan, because he was raised there and built a life for himself and his family. The Asians were ordered to leave Uganda and they could only take with them the things they could carry. House, car, rights to their property, all of this had to be left behind. The father was devastated because he was patriotic about Uganda his best friend, who was a native Ugandan explained to him that Africa was for Africans, BLACK Africans.
I never forgot this.
I told myself one day I will research about what caused these events to occur.
Why did the Indians flood to Uganda to begin with, why did Idi Amin make them leave, and what happened to the country after their exile?
Lets get into it!
The Asian Migration to Africa
Did you know that the Asian population had traveled to the African continent in order to trade before the arrival of the Europeans in the 19th century? The migrants came along during the British colonial rule to assist in building a 600-mile long railway, between the coast of Kenya and Uganda. there was over six years of its construction. With Asians and other African tribes, like the Kenyan Maasai it took approximately 30,000 people to build, and unfortunately 3,000 were said to be lost. By 1901, the railroad was finished and made it more convenient for cotton, tea, coffee and sugar, from India to be exported back to the Britain.
A small population of Asians returned back to their previous homes, but many stayed with alongside native Ugandans, which started the beginning of racial tensions. The British played a part in this, for they considered the Asians to be better at conducting business and chose them over native Ugandans. Asians were became owners of the sugar plantations, treating natives horribly and paying them ghastly low wages, while also bringing in other migrants to the area.
This exploitations from the British continued until the country gained its independence in 1962.
Idi Amin
Known for his position as the 3rd president of Uganda from 1971–1979, at the end he was forced into exile. His dictatorship mentality was learned from being in the ‘Kings Rifles’, a part of the British colonial army, he took over Uganda by force and is well known today for his crimes against Ugandans. He even supported the previous dictator, Milton Obote, until opposition grew between the two, Amin did not waste time in taking over the regime.
As all politicians do, he promised the people of Uganda democracy, improvement of housing and job availability. Under his regime, there were countless crimes of murders from his military. There are arguments to whether he knew about all brutal events that took place or did those under him take it upon themselves to handle situations.
Amin’s mission was to create a Uganda that native Ugandans could be proud of.
1972 — Asian Exodus
Amin ordered the evacuation of all Asians, who made up 90% of the country’s businesses and tax revenue in Uganda, from this he accused them of soaking up Uganda’s money. Approximately 40,000–80,000 Asians had 90 days to get their affairs in order to leave the country.
‘Ugandans — Black Ugandan Africans — didn’t really trust Asians, and Ugandan Asians didn’t really trust Black African Ugandans. Right? It’s the unsaid thing. And Amin was part of the discourse going around in Uganda which created, gave him the environment to come to the forefront, in addition to Britain’s bloody involvement in putting Amin into those positions. OK?… So, Britain has responsibility and it took some responsibility by taking the Ugandan Asians, but let’s also be honest that Britain didn’t open its arms to us and say, ‘Immediately come in.’ OK? It took public pressure, to get them to take us in. So yeah, they did the right thing in the end, but Britain’s involvement in Uganda has a dirty history’.
Like all migrations in world history, people leaving from one place to another is embedded in hopes they can start afresh for themselves and their families. For Indians, coming to Uganda to work on the railway, this way their way. Identifying the pros and cons, many stayed on in Uganda with a promise of a better future.
The majority who were forced to leave Uganda, most likely grew up in Uganda and did consider it their home like the father in Mississippi Masala. They had no idea what India looked besides from stories that had been passed down in their family.
India also has their own 3,000 year old caste system, which is classification of people into four hierarchically ranked castes called varnas. They are classified according to occupation and determine access to wealth, power, and privilege.
It is my personal belief that unless you are a part of the elite, then living in Uganda outweighs living in your own mother country. The British made them feel superior to the natives, allowing them leadership and created future business owners. This alone, can cause one to act arrogant; intentional and unintentional.
Modern Day Uganda
Yoweri Museveni, current president of Uganda, has held this seat of power since 1986. He reversed the order of Idi Amin, allowing Asian to come back to the country, he feels that them being there is helping not harming Uganda’s economics. Today, Amin still has supporters. Even those who aren’t total supporters feel that the Indians are taking over the economy, like in the past. They come to Uganda with arrogant attitudes and are disrespectful to fellow Ugandans bringing back racial tensions from the past.
“Mr. Museveni thinks this country started with him and that he has performed miracles. Our past leaders made mistakes, without a doubt, which Museveni likes to capitalize on, but he has done worse.” — Joel Ssenyonyi, a lawmaker who is a spokesman for the opposition National Unity Platform party, told The Associated Press.
Good Deeds Of Idi Amin
- Releasing all political detainees that were languishing in Luzira by the government of Dr. Apollo Milton Obote: For example several Baganda notables including one of Sekabaka Muteesa’s sisters who were imprisoned shortly after the Kabaka Crisis of 1966.
- The exchange rate of the shilling to the dollar remained steady between 7shs and 7.50shs between he reign and on the black market it was 16shs.
- He dug and built in Jinja the biggest fuel reserve in Africa by then in one month-works were done in the night.
- Amin expanded the Uganda Railways Corporation: The railway transported heavy equipment for inland with relative ease, for until that time the main form of transport into the interior was ox-drawn wagons. It also expedited the export of coffee and tea and encouraged other types of commerce.
- Amin appointed Elizabeth Bagaya as Africa’s first female Foreign Minister in 1972, before Britain and most of Europe had female Foreign Ministers or woman Prime Ministers like Margaret Thatcher.
- He constructed many government schools, education colleges of which up to now are working in the premises established by him.
- Linking Uganda to the rest of the world by putting up earth satellite at Mpoma in Mukono and at Ombaci in his home region of West Nile. By the time it was set up in the 70s, the satellite station was one of the very few of its kind on the African continent.
