LONDON, 4 August 2007 — A son of the later former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was jailed earlier this year over his role in a brutal murder in London, it was revealed Friday after reporting restrictions were lifted.
Faisal Wangita was among a 40-strong gang which took part in a horrific attack on an 18-year-old Somalian, Mahir Osman, in a busy north London street popular with revelers and tourists in January last year.
He died within minutes of being stabbed 20 times, hit with baseball bats, bottles and hammers, punched and kicked in a brutal slaying that was captured on closed-circuit television cameras.
Three youths were jailed for life in May this year for his murder. Wangita, 25, was cleared of murder but was convicted of conspiracy to wound with intent and violent disorder and jailed for five years.
London’s Central Criminal Court heard that Wangita, who joined in the attack, kicking the victim on the ground, was a “serious risk to the public.”
The jury was not told he was Amin’s son until after his conviction for fear of prejudicing his case. Reporting restrictions allowing his identity to be disclosed were lifted after another trial of a youth for Osman’s murder ended last month with the jury failing to reach a verdict.
Prosecutors decided not to pursue a retrial during an administrative hearing at the same court yesterday, leading to a contempt of court order being lifted.
Wangita’s trial heard he claimed he was born in November 1981 but a document showed his date of birth to be February 1983. His papers said he was born in Uganda but he told police he was born in Saudi Arabia.
Wangita arrived in England some time ago and was living here legally with his mother, staying at a number of addresses in London.
The first detectives knew that the former Ugandan president and self-proclaimed “last king of Scotland” was his father was when his lawyer announced it in court.
The court heard Wangita had previous criminal convictions for possessing an offensive weapon and fraud in November 2000 and in May 2002 for threatening behavior, which saw him given community service.
