Fall of Idi Amin: I was part of 'the walking dead'

PIC: PIC: The writer, Patrick Oyulu is pictured here (right) with his brother Steven Oyulu "around the time we walked". (Credit: Patrick Oyulu)

THE FALL OF IDI AMIN

On this day 38 years ago (April 11, 1979), Ugandan president Idi Amin was ousted and forced to flee into exile when Kampala was captured, bringing an end to his eight-year rule. Where were you that day? We would like to know your story. Patrick Oyulu was a 10-year-old boy living in Kampala then. He shares his experience . . .

By Patrick Oyulu

The Walking Dead, a movie that portrays life following a zombie apocalypse, perfectly sums up the situation we were faced with when Idi Amin was toppled on April 11, 1979.

As a youngster, I walked on foot with my family from Kampala to Luwero fleeing, like everybody else, from the impending apocalypse that befell Kampala. In 1986, I walked again from St. Mary's College Kisubi to King's College Budo, fleeing from marauding UNLA soldiers but for now I shall stick to the 1979 story.

As a 10-year-old, the sound of artillery rounds slamming into Kampala suburbs, especially the sounds of the dreaded "Saba Saba", were both intriguing and scary. From our house on Owen Road Mulago (just behind Victoria University), the sight of plumes of smoke in the horizon, artillery blasts shaking our house and fleeing Uganda Army soldiers left us anxious.

Private cars were stolen and commandeered for the war effort.

Our family cars didn't survive either. Fleeing Amin soldiers hijacked dad's Peugeot 404 and a government-supplied Ministry of Health Renault Roho he used when he was Chief Laboratory Technologist at Mulago.  The cars, subsequently, smeared with mud and covered with tree branches (as camouflage), were used by the fleeing Amin soldiers.

In a case of bad timing, our cars were stolen on the eve of our departure from Kampala. Dad had made the decision that we flee to Nebbi District to because of "Saba Saba".

Car or no car, dad made the decision to walk.

With suitcases and a few other belongings, "The Walking Dead" began the trek on Kampala-Gulu Road. We encountered many road blocks from the Mulago roundabout, Bwaise, Kawempe, Maganjo, Matuga, Bombo, Wobulenzi etc. At every stop, men would be put aside and interrogated.

My dad fell in that category.

Each time, we kids and women were allowed to go. We would walk a kilometer then wait, hoping for dad to be released. Each time, dad was released and we would see him in the distance coming. At one dreaded roadblock in Bwaise, an Amin soldier grabbed dad's prescription spectacles for himself.

The soldier then rode away in a brand new bicycle he had stolen off a shop by the road. I recall vividly dad saying the soldier risked having eye problems in the future. The poor soldier thought they were Gucci ‘shades' or something!

BEFORE & AFTER: Patrick Oyulu was a 10-year-old boy when Amin was ousted in 1979. He is pictured (right) present-day with his 10-year-old son Theo

As a kid, walking to Luwero was stressing. I took turns carrying a suitcase on my head with my brother Steven Oyulu (pictured in the old photo).

I would carry our suitcase for a kilometer then give it to my brother who would carry it for another kilometer. We used kilometer stones by the roadside as markers. For food, dad would buy tomatoes and bananas that were being sold along the way. The sea of people walking northwards was akin to what you saw in Rwanda, or even Syria.

I have experienced it myself.

In the evening, we reached Bombo and we were told we couldn't sit by the road side as many of "The Walking Dead" were doing, so my dad went to look for a place for us to stay.

The security in Bombo was not good, with tales of grenade throwing and gunshots by frightened Uganda Army soldiers. Fortunately enough, a Good Samaritan (an Amin soldier) came to our rescue and offered us a place, in their servants' quarters, for us to rest in.

Indeed as predicted, the sounds of grenade fire littered the night life in Bombo.

As a kid, I recall I was very hungry then, and anticipated good food from our host. Moreover, the aroma emanating from the main house backed up my theory. Food was imminent. Lo and behold, we were told (or ordered) to blow off our candles and sleep!

Where was the food? I found it in my dreams.

In addition, our host promised to give us a ride to the north in the morning. Great host right? Well we woke up in the morning to find he, like every jittery Amin soldier, had FLED!

We began our journey, albeit on foot again, headed for Wobulenzi. Dad kept telling us we were about there. 'Behind those hills', he would say. So, hill after hill, dad kept repeating the same…'Behind those hills'. Exhausted yours truly was, and thirsty too. We resorted to drinking water from ponds of stagnant water by the Gulu Highway.

Until we reached KATIKAMU!

Dad had a house and land at Katikamu and relatives as well, and he had decided we would stay there.

Through the forests of Nakagolo, we walked to a village called Bukolwa. That was home.  It was when we arrived at Bukolwa that we heard Kampala had fallen! We stayed in Katikamu until the Tanzania People's Defense Forces (TPDF) aka "Wakomboozi" liberated the area, then we decided to go back to Kampala.

We hitched a ride on a TPDF truck, and on our way back, we saw a Bombo that was FLATTENED by artillery, including the house we had sought refuge at. Throughout the return journey, countless dead Uganda Army soldiers littered the highway, some still seated in their jeeps.

Phew! It turned out they were The Walking Dead!

Where were you on April 11th April, 1979? Do you have a moving national story or picture to share with UGANDA? Please send your information to website@newvision.co.ug or through our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter