By Frank Kamuntu
Kampala: When talking about a number of the most brutal leaders Africa has ever produced, the name Idi Amin Dada need to first come to thoughts, while one hears the collection of atrocities dedicated by the Ugandan warlord leaving you wondering whether or not it’s miles blood that flows through his very own veins.
The truth is that he didn’t commit all those chaos alone, but he used certain persons to carry out his acts, one of whom was Isaac Maliyamungu who is popularly referred to as Idi Amin’s killing machine.
Isaac became one of the trusted reliable soldiers of Idi Amin, even though Idi Amin had trust issues for the duration of his regime, he held Isaac so close to his heart because he was around from the start of his government and he was among those that brought Idi Amin to power.
When Milton Obote became the president of Uganda, Idi Amin turned into the deputy commander of the Ugandan army, on his order, Isaac was recruited into the Ugandan army. Earlier than anticipated, Idi Amin started planning a coup to overthrow Milton Obote, Isaac performed a vital role in recruiting soldiers that were secretly skilled in a dense forest. Being an insider of the Milton Obote government, Isaac learnt about the ploy to arrest Idi Amin by Milton Obote. Maliyamungu ran quickly and alerted Idi Amin and advised him to hurry up the coupe to evade arrest.
The day the coup arrived, Isaac Malimamungu was given the challenge of securing the famous Entebbe airport in Uganda so that every form of movement might be halted as quickly as the coup started out. It was during the coup that Idi Amin became so impressed with Isaac, he drove an armored tank from the barracks to the airport and launched a shot at the gate of the airport killing two priests. This brought about a panic in the airport and the opposition fled permitting Isaac to take absolute control of the airport. The way with which he secured Entebbe airport inspired Idi Amin a lot that Isaac straight away found favor in his eyes.
The wheel of Idi Amin’s reign was already rolling and Isaac was given the singular job of wiping all loyalist that were loyal to the former president Obote. He became additionally informed to make sure that each one of the soldiers that aren’t in support of Idi Amin government is wiped out of the army with immediate impact. This challenge made him one of the most powerful men in Uganda at the time because Idi Amin gave him the powers to execute everybody that is not in support of his authorities such as superior highly ranked military officers. Within four months, Isaac had murdered hundreds of Ugandans. There is no surprise that he is called the Killing Machine.
His mode of operation impressed Idi Amin and he quickly made Isaac his proper hand guy, he became very powerful as he controlled not only the army but also the entire armed force of Uganda. Because of his loyalty to the Idi Amin regime, he was regarded as the inheritor to the throne. Many believed he can be their subsequent ruler, and he was a no-nonsense soldier who makes sure he leaves no stone unturned. To kill Idi Amin, you have to first kill Isaac Maliyamungu.
As usual, everything that has a starting must have an end. The quit of the reign of Idi Amin started when Isaac made a big mistake, certainly one of Ugandans ambassador overheard a discussion through a few contributors of the Kenya air pressure discussing plans via Israel to carry out a raid towards Uganda with Entebbe as the main target. He informed Isaac of what he heard, and he also instructed Isaac of the plans of the Israelis to lose hostages of the Idi Amin authorities, as if pouring water into a basket.
Isaac did not take the message of the ambassador serious as he referred to his words like garbage. That same day, the raid occurred and Isaac was in a hotel on the time enjoyable with a prostitute, and the attack was successful as one sector of the Ugandan Air pressure was destroyed. After the assault, he accused 14 soldiers of assisting the Israelis, after interrogation, he amassed 12 of them in a room, handled his pistol and killed every one of them to serve as a deterrent to whoever desires to be disloyal to the government.
On every occasion when Isaac visited any location in Uganda, his presence would instill fear in that vicinity. It was believed that he dismembered the body of his victims and ride over a number of his perceived enemies with trucks. It is also believed that he killed over 1000 Ugandans.
Isaac’s loyalty to Idi Amin became by no means in doubt, while the government of Idi Amin was crumbling apart and nearly all his soldiers left his side, Isaac stood with him till the very end. After Idi Amin’s government was over, Isaac fled the country only for fate to catch up with him in 1984 when he died of food poisoning in Sudan. Certainly, nothing lasts forever.
