On this day 41 years ago, the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which was held in Singapore under the chairmanship of Lee Kuan Yew, had just concluded. Milton Obote, the president of Uganda, was preparing to return home, and contemplating ways of getting rid of Idi Amin, the commander of Uganda’s army, who was making a nuisance of himself and misappropriating army funds. Meanwhile, Amin was contemplating ways of getting rid of Obote.
On the night of 24 January 1971 and the early morning of 25 January, Ugandan military vehicles rolled into the streets of Kampala, blocking major roads and surrounding Obote’s residence and Entebbe Airport. Early in the morning Radio Uganda broadcast the announcement that Obote’s corrupt government had been deposed, and Idi Amin would be leading a military government until new elections could be held.
There was cheering in the streets after the radio announcement, but the rejoicing was short-lived. One week later, Amin declared himself President, and his rule proved to be even more repressive and arbitrary than that of Obote. Hundreds of thousands of people were tortured and executed, all Asians were expelled from the country, and Uganda suffered a self-inflicted economic collapse.