Tanzania General Who Overthrew Idi Amin Dies at 104

One of the most celebrated soldiers in Tanzania has died.   

General David Musuguri, who commanded the Tanzanian forces during the war against Idi Amin's Uganda died on Tuesday in his home in Mwanza town. He was 104 years old. 

Nicknamed "General Mutukula" for his execution of the Uganda-Tanzania war, Musuguri was a highly decorated military leader who rose through the ranks to become Tanzania's Chief of Defence Forces between 1980 and 1988.   

Musuguri’s modest life and legacy have sparked tributes across Tanzania, with many recalling his bravery and service to the nation.  

In Uganda, his passing has rekindled memories of the events of 1978 and 1979 when a brutal war Musuguri commanded led to the fall of President Idi Amin Dada and ended what has been described as a ‘brutal regime’.   

The Uganda Army soldiers invaded Tanzania in August 1978 and occupied Kagera region. President Julius Nyerere tasked Musuguri, then Major General in the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF), to drive the Ugandan forces out of Tanzania.  

Together with Ugandan exiles living in Tanzania, the TPDF launched a counterattack, in October 1978, which climaxed with the fall of Kampala in April 1979.  

Initially, the conflict was clothed as a defensive mission, an effort to protect Tanzania’s border from Uganda’s incursions across Mutukula into Kagera region. But as the situation escalated, President Julius Nyerere expanded it into a mission to cause regime change in Kampala, saying, “We had no choice but to help our neighbours reclaim peace from tyranny.”  

In their book, War in Uganda the Legacy of Idi Amin, journalists Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey who witnessed the conflict as they were embedded with the TPDF, detail the events that followed. As phase two of the offensive began, with TPDF advancing into Masaka and Mbarara, Nyerere made changes in the command structures and appointed Musuguri to lead the 20th Division. 

The command change was pivotal: “(Major General Tumainie) Kiwelu, who had been working around the clock for months, was recalled to Dar es Salaam, and Musuguri—a hardened combat veteran—was appointed. His experience would shape the course of the war.”  

Musuguri was no stranger to battle. Described as “battle-hardened and formidable,” he had served alongside Amin in the British colonial army, the King’s African Rifles, rising from a Private in 1942 to a Lieutenant at the time of Tanzania's independence in 1961. He learned warfare not in classrooms but in the trenches, seeing action in Madagascar during World War II.   

In 1947, as a Sergeant and military instructor based in Kenya, Musuguri had, among his students, a young Idi Amin Dada. He would later in life quip that Amin made a mistake in attacking his instructor, in reference to Uganda's invasion of Tanzania in 1978.   

The journalists wrote of him: “Although he lacked formal education, Musuguri was smart and would have been Tanzania’s chief of defence forces except for the fact that he happened to be from Nyerere’s home village, Butiama, and the Tanzanian president did not want to be accused of favouritism.”   

With his imposing stature—often noted to resemble Amin in build and demeanor—Musuguri inspired both respect and a sense of intimidation. One witness noted, “He was very tall and dark, with a presence that commanded the room. His likeness to Amin in physical appearance added to the psychological impact on the battlefield.”   

During the war, he earned the nickname "General Mutukula" and skillfully led his forces through key battles at Simba Hills, Masaka, and Lukaya, as well as the renowned Operation Dada Idi.   

Musuguri is highly regarded for his strategic leadership and tactical skills, particularly during the Battle of Lukaya, where he faced a strengthened force as Amin received support from Libya and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). On February 7, 1981, almost two years after the fall of Amin, Musuguri received two spears from President Milton Obote to honour "his gallant action in the Battle of Lukaya."  

While celebrating, his 100-year birthday on January 4, 2020, he said that he wanted to capture Idi Amin with his own bare hands.   "Idi Amin was disrespectful because I taught him at Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi in 1947, at that time I was already a Sergeant in the King African Rifles," Musuguri recounted in an interview with Azam TV, as reported by The Citizen newspaper.  

Unfortunately for him, On April 11, 1979, when Kampala fell and Amin was officially ousted, Musuguri was stationed about 150 kilometres away in Kabuwoko, Masaka, where he had established his command post.  

According to accounts by President Yoweri Museveni, Musuguri first learned of Kampala’s fall from a BBC news report, which was relaying a Radio Uganda broadcast by Lieutenant-Colonel David Oyite-Ojok. Museveni recounted that the next day, Musuguri went straight to State House Entebbe.   

For the next few years, Musuguri established his headquarters in Entebbe where became a major actor in the events that followed the fall of Amin as he helped “to create a viable Ugandan defence force.”  

Many Ugandans believe that Musuguri wielded considerable influence behind the scenes, earning him the nickname "Uganda’s Unrecorded President." With substantial military authority, he played a crucial role in maintaining security—not only in Kampala but also for key Ugandan figures during this turbulent period.   

For instance, after capturing power, it was he who organised the swearing-in of the new president, Prof Yusuf Lule. Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey captured this well noting that immediately following the swearing-in, Lule was whisked out of Kampala, which was still not considered to be very secure. He was taken to Entebbe State House, which several days of frantic work and scrounging by Tanzanian soldiers had put in reasonable order. 

“Uganda had a new government, but that government could not yet govern. The president was a virtual prisoner in Entebbe State House... There was now a Ugandan government, at least on paper, but still, every problem, big or small, was brought to him,” Avirgan and Honey noted.   

They also wrote that in the early days of the UNLA government, Musuguri’s close associate, Colonel Msuya, assumed the unofficial role of “mayor of Kampala.” From Lule to Binaisa and then to Paulo Muwanga, Musuguri allowed political figures to navigate their roles, yet his influence as the commander of the TPDF remained substantial throughout this period.  

Samuel Odung, a retired UNLA soldier, described this in a 2010 article, noting that after Binaisa’s ousting, he was placed under house arrest at State House Entebbe, where Musuguri oversaw his protection.   

Various accounts portray General Musuguri as a soldier with a kind and humane side, despite his gruff exterior. In numerous interviews, he reflected on the Uganda-Tanzania War and the broader context of conflict, yet expressed little desire to dwell on the violence.   

“Throughout the conflict, he took responsibility for more than a dozen Ugandan orphans, ensuring their well-being until they could be reunited with family members,” the journalist wrote in their book on the war, highlighting his compassionate nature amidst the turmoil.

Biography   

Born on January 4, 1920, in Butiama, then part of Tanganyika, Musuguri received no formal education. Records show that, at 22, he enlisted in the King’s African Rifles (KAR) in 1942, starting as a private and later fighting in World War II, notably in the Battle of Madagascar.    

By 1947, he had advanced to Sergeant and served as an instructor at Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi, Kenya, where he trained several recruits—including future Ugandan President Idi Amin Dada. In 1957, the British administration introduced the rank of "Effendi" within the KAR, an honour given to exceptional African non-commissioned officers, which Musuguri earned.   

He was commissioned as an officer on February 6, 1962, and went on to attend a command and staff course in China from 1975 to 1976.   

Musuguri held numerous roles throughout his military career, including Chief of Staff in 1972, Brigade Commander in 1974, Commander of the 20th Division in 1978, and Chief of Defence Forces from 1980 to 1988. He officially retired from the military on September 1, 1988 and lived a modest life in his home area until his death this week.