Idi Amin's willing helpers

Derek R Peterson explains why many ordinary Ugandans worked tirelessly to serve Amin's repressive regime

Published: December 8, 2025 at 10:07 AM

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Idi Amin is 20th-century Africa’s most notorious ruler – a cartoonish tyrant who has been bracketed with the likes of Hitler and Stalin. And it’s true that, as Uganda’s dictator for most of the 1970s, he oversaw murderous repression as well as the forced expulsion of the nation’s Asian community. But why did so many ordinary Ugandans willingly serve the regime and help to maintain his power? That’s a question at the heart of a new book by the historian Derek R Peterson, and in this episode he shares his conclusions with Rob Attar.

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Derek R Peterson is the author of A Popular History of Idi Amin's Uganda (Yale University Press, 2025).

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Authors

Rob AttarHead of content and editor of HistoryExtra magazine

Rob Attar is head of content and editor of HistoryExtra magazine

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