On 25 January 1971, whilst President Obote attended a Commonwealth meeting in Singapore, Amin led a coup d’etat and took control of the country, declaring himself president.

Popular history recalls Amin’s declared title to be: “His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.”

Another near-obsession for Amin was the threat of a counterattack by former president Obote.

President Obote had took refuge took refuge in Tanzania, shortly after the expulsion of Asians in 1972. Obote supporters within the Ugandan army, were predominantly from the Acholi and Lango ethnic groups.

Obote did launch such an attempt across the Tanzanian border into south western Uganda.

His small army contingent in twenty-seven trucks set out to capture the southern Ugandan military post at Masaka but instead settled down to await a general uprising against Amin, which did not occur. A planned seizure of the airport at Entebbe by soldiers in an allegedly hijacked East African Airways passenger aircraft was aborted when Obote’s pilot blew out the aircraft’s tires and it remained in Tanzania.

Amin was able to mobilize his more reliable Malire Mechanical Regiment and expel the invaders.

Amin responded by bombing Tanzanian towns, and purging the army of Acholi and Lango officers.

The ethnic violence grew to include the whole of the army, and then Ugandan civilians, as Amin became increasingly paranoid. The Nile Mansions Hotel in Kampala became infamous as Amin’s interrogation and torture centre, and Amin is said to have moved residences regularly to avoid assassination attempts.

Amin’s killer squads, under the official titles of ‘State Research Bureau’ and ‘Public Safety Unit’ were responsible for tens of thousands of abductions, tortures and murders. Amin personally ordered the execution of the Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Janani Luwum, the chief justice, the chancellor of Makerere College, governor of the Bank of Uganda, and several of his own parliamentary ministers.