JEDDAH, 21 July 2003 — Idi Amin, the former Ugandan president, is in a “vegetative state” after falling into a coma on Saturday night, a day after being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, sources at the hospital told Arab News yesterday.
“He is expected to die any moment,” a hospital official said.
Hospital sources told Arab News that Amin has been suffering from high blood pressure and his health condition was deteriorating.
The 80-year-old Amin, who seized power in 1971 and was ousted in 1979, has been undergoing treatment for the past three months for hypertension and “general fatigue.”
Amin, who served in the British colonial King’s African Rifles and saw action in World War II in Burma, was a well-regarded officer at the time of Uganda’s independence from Britain in 1962.
He rose to chief of staff of Uganda’s army and air force in 1966.
He fell out with Prime Minister and President Milton Obote and ousted him on Jan. 25, 1971 when the head of state was attending an African summit.
Although initially popular, Amin grew increasingly authoritarian, violent and subject to mood swings.
It is estimated that more than 200,000 Ugandans were tortured and murdered during his regime that ended April 11, 1979 when he was ousted by a combined force of Ugandan exiles — including Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni — and the Tanzanian Army.
Many Ugandans believe Amin would face trial if he sought to return. Although he is in effect exiled, Amin’s relatives are free to come and go and several of his children live and work in the country.
