@surualifupi: In the turbulent post-colonial era of Afrika, as newly independent nations struggled to find their footing in the 1960s and 70s, military coups swept across the continent like wildfire, shattering dreams of democratic rule. In this chaos bloomed an unlikely bromance between two of Afrika's most controversial leaders: Field Marshal Idi Amin Dada, the self-proclaimed conqueror of the British Empire and last King of Scotland, who seized power in Uganda through a 1971 coup, and Zaire's Marechal Mobutu Sese Seko, who had orchestrated his rise to power by deposing Patrice Emery Lumumba. The duo, both products of their colonial armies and masters of personality cults, enjoyed warm relations despite their 'International' reputation for brutality. Their peculiar friendship was best illustrated during the dramatic saga of British lecturer Dennis Hills in 1975. Hills, who had written a manuscript criticizing Amin's regime, had been condemned to face the firing squad for treason, something that caught international attention and sparked a diplomatic crisis with Britain. During the tense negotiations between the British government and Field Marshal Amin, the Ugandan leader, in a characteristic display of theatrical politics, insisted that all diplomatic exchanges must be channeled through his trusted friend, President Mobutu. Amin, whose trust in Western powers had been eroded by years of sanctions and criticism, declared that his absolute confidence in the Zairian leader motivated him to spare Hills' life. He maintained that Hills' repatriation to the United Kingdom must also be brokered through the President of Zaire, whom he saw as a reliable mediator. Both leaders would eventually meet similar fates: Amin was forced into exile following Tanzania's invasion of Uganda, while Mobutu's 32-year rule came crashing down in 1997 during the First Congo War, with both men dying in foreign lands, Amin in Saudi Arabia in 2003, and Mobutu in Morocco in 1997. #history #congolaise🇨🇩 #congo #uganda #africa #surualifupi

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Monday 24 February 2025 05:35:36 GMT