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How Did Idi Amin Get the Name “Dada”

Gal Mux
2 min readMar 19, 2022

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Photo by mustapha kasule on Unsplash

Idi Amin was a ruthless Ugandan dictator who ruled his country by decree and mismanaged it to extreme poverty.

His personal and leadership eccentricities have captivated historians and audiences worldwide making him the subject of several films most notably the acclaimed The Last King of Scotland starring Forrest Whitaker.

Amin mercilessly butchered his opponents. He was rumoured to have been a cannibal and had even bragged to have kept the decapacitated heads of his enemies in a freezer.

The man had at least 7 official wives and a reported 60 children.

Throughout his leadership, Idi Amin gave himself several names and titles including Field Marshall, President for Life and even Conqueror of the British Empire after Britain severed diplomatic ties with Uganda following his brutal rule. To him, he had defeated them.

Amin was also referred by several nicknames such as the butcher of Uganda, big daddy etc

There hasn't been consensus on how Amin got the name Dada, however.

Some sources state that it was his official given name at birth. That it was given to him by his father who named his son after himself. Others state that Dada the Kiswahili word for sister was given to Amin because of his cowardice.

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Gal Mux
Gal Mux

Written by Gal Mux

Lover of all things reading, writing, farms & gardens, 🥭&🍍salsas, laughter, crypto, MJ & Beyoncé. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GalMux

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