Idi Amin, Murderous and Erratic Ruler of Uganda in the 70's, Dies in Exile

By Michael T. Kaufman

• Idi Amin, whose eight-year reign of terror in Uganda encompassed widespread killing, torture, and dispossession of multitudes and left the country pauperized, died yesterday in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, where he had lived for years in exile. He was believed to have been about 78 years old, though some reports said he was as old as 80. Mr. Amin had been hospitalized and on life support since mid-July. He died from multiple organ failure, Reuters reported. For much of the 1970s, the beefy, sadistic and telegenic despot had reveled in the spotlight of world attention as he flaunted his tyrannical power, hurled outlandish insults at world leaders and staged pompous displays of majesty.

• By contrast, his later years were spent in enforced isolation as the Saudi Arabian authorities made sure he maintained a low profile. Mr. Amin, a convert to Islam, his four wives and more than 30 children fled Uganda just ahead of an invading force of Ugandan exiles and Tanzanian troops that overthrew his government. They went first to Libya, and eventually to Saudi Arabia.