When Amin’s brother was locked in car boot

“After the March 1974 Arube coup attempt, Amin learnt a lesson, especially when he met the incensed soldiers of Malire Mechanised Specialised Regiment at Lubiri, Mengo. Amin realised what an angry and frustrated soldier could do.

On that day, when the dust settled, Amin hosted a night marathon meeting with senior army officers, as well as those who had been arrested for attempting to stage the coup, at his Command Post in Kololo. Without fear, officers voiced out their anger at the brutality meted to the citizens by soldiers.

And it was resolved that Ugandans deserved better and soldiers must stop extra judicial killings and brutalising citizens. From Malire garrison, Amin also accepted as “ordered” by the soldiers to dismiss Brig Hussein Malera (a Sudanese), who was the Acting Chief of Staff of the Uganda Army and promote Brig Mustafa Adrisi to General and appoint him army commander.

Amin’s brother put in the boot
Once Maj Gen Mustafa took office, he vowed to crack down on errant soldiers. He strongly castigated soldiers for torturing citizens and particularly those putting Ugandans in car boots.

But Amin’s brother, Maj Idi Nebbi, disregarded Maj Gen Mustafa’s command – and he paid for it the hard way.

One day, Amin’s brother, Maj Idi Nebbi (Amin used to call him Maj Moshe, after Israel’s Gen Moshe Diane). Maj Nebbi took his car for repair at Katwe [a Kampala suburb].

In the process of mounting the engine, the mechanic forgot to put back one screw [mountings]. So, the engine was put on three screws [mountings], instead of four. As Maj Nebbi drove, the engine tilted to one side. He checked and found one [mounting] missing. So, he said this was a plot to kill him.

He went back and arrested the mechanic, a young boy and put him in the boot. He drove around town, doing his other businesses. Later in the day, Maj Nebbi drove to the army headquarters [at Bulange building in Mengo, Kampala] and he parked his car outside.

As a norm, Gen Mustafa used to come out of his office and sit at the verandah to catch some fresh air. On this particular day, Gen Mustafa came out of his office and sat on the verandah as usual.

While there, the mechanic, who was still locked in Maj Nebbi’s car boot, heard Gen Mustafa’s voice. He made noise, calling out: “Mzee ndi wanno bantade mu buttu y’emmotoka”. Meaning: “Mzee, I am here. I have been put in the car boot.”

Gen Mustafa asked: “Whose car is this?” Soldiers told him it was for Maj Nebbi. He called him out and said: “Now I will show you this country does not belong to your brother!”

Gen Mustafa called his driver, Sgt Patrick Kitaka. He asked him to pull out his car [a Mercedes- Benz]. He ordered Maj Nebbi to enter the boot of his Mercedes and instructed the driver to lock it.

He then told the driver: “Drive this man to Jinja [district in eastern Uganda] and back. When you reach Jinja, report to the Commanding Officer there and tell him to call me”.
Sgt Kitaka drove to Jinja barracks and back, with Maj Nebbi in the boot. Once in Jinja, the Commanding Officer (Lt Col Hussein Mohammed), called Gen Mustafa, saying: “Afande, your driver has reported to me with the “luggage” inside the boot. He is on his way back.”

When the driver reported back at Bulange, Gen Mustafa told him to open the boot. He slapped Maj Nebbi and barked in Swahili: “We mujinga, toka injje!” Meaning: “You fool, get out.” He asked him: “Is it nice inside there?” Maj Nebbi was trembling.

Gen Mustafa then rang Amin and told him: “I have put your brother, Maj Nebbi, in the boot of my car and driven him to Jinja and back because he put a civilian in the boot of his car after a slight mistake”

Amin replied: “No problem, that is your job.” From that day, soldiers became more disciplined. The soldiers who continued misbehaving and killing people were from the State Research Bureau, which was not directly under the army.