IDI AMIN WAS THE BEST PEOPLE PRESIDENT UGANDA HAS EVER HAD- JUST - TopicsExpress



          

IDI AMIN WAS THE BEST PEOPLE PRESIDENT UGANDA HAS EVER HAD- JUST ASK HIS BARBER AT NSAMBYA:Friends,President Iddi Amin had a very public life, and it is those times I am going to target in this posting. Until when the Ugandans in Tanzania started to how hand grenades at him, he lived a very public life. He hated to be driven and he hated convoys. To tell the truth he had the convoys but they were disguised that you really had to know the very inner workings of state house to see those vehicles. It was not uncommon for him to be driving on Kampala road going East bound when the escorts are going West bound. And yet both seemed not to know each other they did. There were those cars that were parked and you did not know about them. But if you knew the convoy there are plate numbers that you would see on streets and question why they repacked there, the field Marshall is around. To realize how public Amin was, many presidents have barbers in state house that are sometimes live in. Iddi Amin had a barber in Nsambya sitting in a mango tree just opposite Nsambya hospital. If you remember that location way back in the 70’s it had Mango trees and there under was a huge barber operating in a tree, and Amin used to frequent it to get his hair cut. Nothing fancy and nothing ceremonial but a single soldier or sometimes two and they would bother no one, until when you look towards the Mango tree then you were reminded to bother your own business and kindly move on. Many would ask why they are enhanced to move on and would not know, but again if you were in the know you would realize that The Field Marshall was cutting his hair under the Mango tree. Ad by the way he paid his bills too. Among the very many times he drove himself, he used to drive the stretch of Entebbe Kampala road way in the morning. Amin was in Kampala at least by 6am. And he used to bring passengers with him, if you remember some stories about him of how he took a woman that was stranded on Entebbe road during the time of fuel shortage, and they had a good conversation, on how the country was running, the woman was very cooperative and she said the country was bad for Amin has failed to bring in enough fuel, now we are stranded, it never occurred to this poor woman that she was talking about Amin who is the driver of the car. Now this is very possible for you go into a car of a very good man that handed you a hand and that prevents you from looking at him close, but you never expect a field marshal to dive a car stop and pick you up, that some hob blocks you brain from understanding that you are actually being driven by the man you’re talking about. I know a woman he took when she wanted to have a baby and he drove her back to Entebbe hospital, on stopping he walked back to the trunk and got 50,000 shillings and he asked that lady to start an account for the baby, that tis when she realized that actually it was Amin who brought her. In the early 70’s trust me 50,000 shillings was a very reasonable change. He was heading to Entebbe one day and he followed a truck from Kenya that was hauling jet fuel to the airport, and this time he decided to go to the airport with this guy, when they both arrived he thanked him to be a very good driver, I have followed you all long and I was amazed at how you follow the traffic laws and gave signs to everyone that is a good job, and he handed him some unknown cash. When he was targeted at Nsambya Police training school, every one surrounded him and instructed him to leave immediately, Amin refused to go for we had injured soldiers and civilians, as a soldier Amin took in the red cross job and started to pick up those that were injured. There was a soldier whose stomach has been opened by the ship nails of the grenade, he lifted him dumped him into the car and holding his intestines tot eh stomach with one hand, Amin drove a standard car with a one hand all way to Mulago hospital and instructed every alive doctor in Uganda to save this kid’s life. If my memory is correct this kid did not make it. These are the kinds of movements Amin did and threw everyone at humps for at that moment no one knew exactly where he went so the hunt down of the president started and they found him in Mulago hospital waiting on his patient. Amin watched his Movies in public and if you needed to see him he frequented Norman cinema on Bombo road. Actually on that building he had a barber too. But he loved Double 0007 and whenever a movie of double 0007 came up to Norman cinema you had a very good chance to see him. The way he moved he knew he would be there so an advance team was set up and he would drive himself in a private car or sometimes an open jeep and he shows up. Norman cinema knew he was in the audience, for some times if he was required you would see a word on a screen, “ 00 contact control” That would run across the screen and then some huge guy in front of you or behind you walks out then you realize you were just two feet from him. He moved very fast and when he parked a car some unknown kid would pull it out from nowhere and when he reaches a time to go away, some unknown 504 would show up and get abandoned and he jumps in to drive off. Then Apollo hotel was his favorite to show up and swim with tourists so he had places you would see him in public if you so wanted. He went to Bombo one evening for a function, either was a duwa or Mauled I fail to remember, where old women danced Kabalagala Gonja, if you wanted to steal Iddi Amin that is the song you would raise up. He got up and danced all along with the old women. At about 9pm a decision was made to pull him out and drive him back to Entebbe. The function continued and ended whenever they wanted. At about midnight Amin woke up got one of the escorts of state house and he drove with him back to Bombo. Knocked some Haji’s home and asked him to gather those old ladies to dance for him again, and they yes got together and danced., 2am a Bombo soldier noticed that the president was in Bombo and dancing, so the hunt down of the president again started. Last man to escort him sweared he was locked into state house, nope he stole himself and he is back in Bombo and dancing Kabalagala Gonja. This is how complex was guarding the president, for he made these very unpredictable movements and engagements that you will never see in a Uganda president. And after work in the evening, you bet he would go for a girls hunt down, all over the God damn place and he treated them nicely if they returned the Favour. I have read in very many pieces that Amin chased the educated people and handed the ministries to illiterates. That is not true either, Amin actually left that system intact. What he did though was to put a soldier not op of the organization to torch the degree holders to produce. So those captains you saw those military Ministers you saw they had a very well-crafted educated idiots running the system, don’t delude yourself that it was the only running the system. Degree holders needed a tough man that demanded results and that is what the heads of departments did.It was a case of: I need a project to put water in this district I need it to be finished in 2 days or die. And those projects would show up one and half day. So let us not delude ourselves that he was running the government with Butabika kinds only. Those were implementers. And when some of you claim that he only cared about Banubbi and Moslems you are kidding, let us look at the revitalization of Uganda transport , Amin brought the first coach buses in Uganda from Yugoslavia, well let us see the routes they was put on, an express to Mbale, an express to Entebbe, an express to Jinja, and Express to Masaka, an express to Kiryandongo. All of them were running frequent except Kiryandongo that was running onetime a day. Now go back and tell me that these were areas of Banubbi and Moslems only. What we had in Uganda before Amin came to power, were The Rahemutula buses, do you remember those buses that had a blue and white? They had seats that were made of only two things, a plywood and cheap leather. That is what we had till 1971. Iddi Amin lifted our scale to a Yugoslavia coach buses that were used in a public transport. If you did not use those routes then you would be handed a Republic Express Bus services that were in every corner of the country. Edward Mulindwa. Toronto.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 15:55:05 +0000

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