I knew Amin would kill Oryema.

I served as a personal assistant to the Inspector General of

Police from 1966 up until when Idi Amin took over power.
As a person who was in security and more so working in
the office of the police boss, I saw his death coming.
We went to Kitgum with the IGP in 1969 intending to talk
to the Acholis to return the guns they had been given to
protect themselves against the Karimojongs.
From Karamaja, we flew to Acholi Inn for a late lunch
before returning to Kampala. At Acholi Inn, we found Idi
Amin, then army commander, and we had a meal together.
At 8pm that night, Perimo Okoya (Amin’s deputy) and his
wife were killed at their home 5miles from Acholi Inn.
The question was, why had Amin not reported to police the
death of his deputy or his whereabouts. We learnt that he
had left for his home at 1am. He never even made a report
to the President about his deputy’s death.
My boss would have made a report to that effect because
we saw Amin in Gulu. Since the IGP had dined with Amin
in Gulu, there was some friction and the President decided
to take over the investigation himself with Hassan the CID
director.
Bad blood spills over
During 1970 Independence celebrations in Mbale, the army
did not give the IGP his due compliments when he arrived.
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This upset him and as a result, he boycotted the reception
that evening.
I asked him whether we were going for the dinner and he
said no. There was no way I was going to attend in his
absence so I also went to my room and slept.
The following morning, we drove back to Kampala and
Oryema immediately called all the senior officers for a
closed door meeting in his office.
A list of complaints against Amin were drawn. I was tasked
to take the sealed envelope to the President’s office. It
seemed someone leaked the contents of the document I had
delivered to Amin, because on my way back to police
headquarters, I saw Amin in his jeep. He had come looking
for Oryema to kill him.
Trouble looms
I went to the operations room only to find that what I had
taken to the President’s office was already being publicised.
I went to the IGP’s office and I found only his secretary.
I asked her why they had leaked contents of the letter and
she did not answer but instead rang the IGP’s house. After
a few minutes, I heard the IGP telling the secretary to tell
me that I should do what I think is right.
I went to Radio Uganda’s newsroom and grabbed all the
documents they had about the complaints, took them to
my office and locked them up.

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The following morning at around 8am, whoever was
involved in drafting the complaints was in the IGP’s office
in a meeting chaired by Internal Affairs minister (Basil)
Bataringaya on the orders of the President. Some officers
denied involvement in drafting of the document.
Oryema reorganised a small reconciliation party between
Amin’s people and senior police officers at the police
officer’s mess. After the party, Amin got a running stomach
and his men told him that police’s intention was to
eliminate him. That added fuel to the fire.
The IGP met the President at around 9am the day he left
for Singapore. His aim was to caution him not to travel as
the situation home was not good but he waited until 1pm
in vain. Oryema then returned to office and we went for
lunch.
He went back to the President’s office to brief him but it
was not until evening when the Obote called all heads of
security including the minister and informed them of his
trip. He told them that if anything went wrong, they would
all be held responsible.
The IGP was aware that the coup was going to take place
so he took his family to Semie Nyazi’s home. Amin’s men
bombed the house after killing the guards and Oryema’s
father-in-law who had refused to relocate to Nyanzi’s home
died inside.
The next morning I didn’t know the coup had taken place. I
waited until midday before I started to look for my boss. I
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searched in several places and I found him at Nyanzi’s
house in Nakasero.
Meanwhile Amin had learnt of his escape and was looking
for him. Oryema was scared to go alone. We called Col Bar-
Lev who was our friend to escort him to Amin. When Amin
saw Oryema, he asked: “are you still alive? I thought you
were dead”.
During Cabinet appointment, Oryema was demoted from
the rank of Inspector General of Police to the rank of Lt Col
and appointed minister of Lands. When he was later killed
in 1977, I was not surprised as I knew it would be only a
matter of time for Amin to have his way.
Oryema was first native police boss
Erinayo Oryema was born on January 1, 1917 in Tangi,
Purongo in Nwoya District. He succeeded Micheal Macoun,
the last British IGP, upon completing training at the elite
Hendon and Brownshil in Britain and another three
months course in 1963 at the International Police Academy
in Washington.
This was after graduating as a teacher from Buwalasi
Teacher Training College, Mbale in 1935 and he was posted
to Gulu High School in 1936. He was to later work as a
school teacher in Gulu and Kitgum districts.
In 1939, he was enlisted with the Uganda Police Force as a
constable and selected as sub-inspector training. He was
promoted to the rank of Inspector of Police on January 1,
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1951 and assistant superintendent of police three years
later. By April 1, 1964, he had risen to first native African
IGP.
He was dropped as IGP shortly after Amin ascended to the
presidency in 1971, and later appointed minister of
Minerals and Water Resources (February 2, 1971 to June
30, 1974) and minister of Lands, Housing and Physical
planning (July 1, 1976 to February 17, 1977).
First Mugisu minister, Wakholi, killed by Amin
On the morning of January 25, 1971, former public service
and cabinet affairs minister Joshua Wakholi was at his
home in Entebbe preparing to go to office in Wandegeya.
As he had his breakfast, a coup announcement was made
on Radio Uganda. President Milton Obote had been
overthrown and the commander of the national army, Idi
Amin, was the new President.
The cabinet was suspended and Amin ordered all former
ministers to report to his office and promised them
security. After handing over his office, Wakholi went to his
village, Wangooli. But his stay there was shortlived for the
dreaded State Research Bureau trailed him, forcing him to
go into hiding.
“He kept on changing residences,” says his young brother,
George Walwanyi.
Arrested

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Walwanyi, who remained with Wakholi’s car to run his
errands, also landed in trouble.
On March 28, 1971, after a football game, Walwanyi drove
to Malukhu to pick Wakholi’s wife, Alice who was a nurse,
and her newborn girl, Agnes Namutosi, to see the former
minister at his hideout.
“As we approached Mbale town, we met a convoy of cars
carrying soldiers who then surrounded our car,” he says.
Walwanyi was pulled out of the car, severely beaten and
asked to reveal the whereabouts of his brother before being
stuffed into a boot and driven to Mbale Central Police
Station.
“They introduced themselves as soldiers from Makindye
and ordered the Police to keep me in for the night,” he
adds.
Wakholi’s wife and child were driven back to her residence
and asked to disclose his whereabouts, but they refused. A
message was then sent to Wakholi to surrender if he
wanted to see his family. He surrendered the next day.
Prison life He was whisked away to Makindye Military
Prison and placed next door to the infamous Singapore,
which was reserved for those condemned to death.
“We visited him one day and he told us of the harrowing
tales of massacres in prison,” says Walwanyi.

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He added that when Amin massacred 36 army officers in
1971, Wakholi was among those selected to scrub
Singapore cell.
“He told us the floor was a quarter of an inch deep in blood,
pieces of skull and teeth, brain tissue and empty shell
cases. It took them six hours to clean it up. He said every
day, soldiers would call out names of some suspects who
were with him and none ever returned,” says Walwanyi.
When Wakholi was released, he discovered that several of
his close friends with whom they had been in cabinet had
been brutally murdered, so he fled to Kenya.
true
Dr. Milton Obote being welcomed by Idi Amin Dada back in
the day. Then minister Wakholi learnt from radio that Amin
had overthrown his boss, President Obote.
War on Uganda
From Kenya, Wakholi joined Obote in Tanzania in June
1971 and underwent military training for two months in
preparation for an attack on Uganda.
In September 1972, a decision to attack was made. Obote’s
trained force of about 1,300 soldiers, who were based in
Sudan, was supposed to be airlifted to Entebbe and attack
from the South.
Another force was supposed to go through Mutukula and
capture Masaka barracks while the other was assigned to
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attack Mbarara barracks. Walwanyi, who had also fled to
Tanzania, participated in the attack on Mbarara, which
was led by Yoweri Museveni.
Walwanyi says his brother was discouraged from joining in
the attack because he was ill-trained, but he refused. The
attack failed.
Walwanyi said the plane failed to land in Entebbe, leaving
only the other two planned attacks to continue. Wakholi
was among the over 800 fighters assigned to attack
Masaka. Walwanyi said they surprised Amin’s soldier at
Mutukula and destroyed a few jeeps but ran out of
ammunition.
So, they advanced onto Kalisizo to replenish their
ammunition but fell into an ambush where Wakholi,
former information minister Alex Ojera and Picho Ali,
Obote’s secretary for research, were arrested.
Wakholi was severely injured in the attack and died later
from gunshot wounds. According to a senior officer in
Amin’s army who participated in the battle, Amin was
briefed about the fate of the arrested ministers and he
ordered for their immediate transfer to Kampala.
Amin gave family bad news
On September, 19, 1972, a news bulletin on Radio Uganda
announced that Wakholi, together with Ojera, had been
captured and that Wakholi had died from bullet wounds.

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After the announcement, Amin summoned Wakholi’s family
to Kampala “Wakholi’s mother, Priscilla Namakanda, left
Mbale with my elder brother, Eridad Wakholi, to meet the
President,” says Walwanyi.
“They were driven to the International Hotel and treated to
a sumptuous meal and drinks before being ushered into a
room where Amin was waiting for them.
“Your son has been killed,” Amin told Namakanda before
telling her to warn the rest of her children not to engage in
armed rebellion,” disclosed Walwanyi.
Search for his body
It is largely believed that Wakholi was buried near a
Uganda Army detach on the Kyotera- Mutukula road.
After the fall of Amin’s government, Wakholi’s relatives
tried to locate his burial site in Kyotera with a plan to
exhume the remains and give him a decent burial. In 2006,
the family called off the search after failing to raise the
sh6m demanded by a guide.
They also failed to produce two eggs from an owl, to be
used by one Rubarema Keya in rituals near Mutukula
border post where Wakholi was reportedly buried.