Bob Astles

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Robert Astles (born March 23, 1924 in Ashford (Kent) , † December 29, 2012 in London ), called Lubowa in the Ngo clan, was a British soldier and colonial official in Uganda and a close collaborator of Milton Obote and Idi Amin Dada.

As a teenager, Astles joined the British Indian Army and later the Royal Engineers , where he achieved the rank of non-commissioned officer. He remembers his military service with the following words: “I enjoyed being with people from other nations and witnessing their struggle for worldwide recognition during the Second World War. Most of the boys, especially from Africa, were excellent fighters at the front, but unfortunately their contributions are not mentioned. ”At the age of 21 he left Great Britain and went to Africa.

In 1949 Astles was entrusted with special tasks during the Bataka uprising in Buganda . His first job in Uganda was as a colonial official in the Department of Labor, then with £ 100 he set up Uganda Aviation Services Ltd, the first Uganda airline to employ Africans. In 1958 he married Monica, who had come with him from Kent. A year later, after they divorced, Astles married a distinguished Buganda royal, Mary Ssen-Katu, and they later adopted two children. As Uganda's independence approached in 1962, Astles was associated with a number of political groups. One of them was led by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence. Astles served in his government until the coup in 1971, when he became Amin's henchman.

In December 1971, Astles came under suspicion for his previous support for Obote. Amin sent him to Makindye Prison, where he spent 17 weeks, often handcuffed and brutally interrogated. Astles later said, “Amin called me a 'bad apple' on the radio and nationalized my airline. It was simple Africans who helped me survive. A guard was kicked to death for helping me. "

Astles stayed in Uganda, occasionally working for Amin and running a pineapple farm at the same time. He also ran an air service for the transportation of government officials. He later said, "I kept my eyes closed, I didn't say anything about what I saw and they liked it."

In 1975, Astles joined Amine's service as head of an anti-corruption group, and Astles advised the President on matters affecting Britain. What Astles did or did not do during Amin's brutal reign is speculation. He was feared and many thought his influence on the dictator was bad; others thought it was moderating. He was known as "Major Bob" (the title Major was given to him by Amin) or as "the white rat".

After the Uganda-Tanzania War , which led to the fall of the Amin regime in 1979, Astles fled to Kenya but was returned to Uganda and tried as a criminal. He was jailed on charges of being linked to Amin's security apparatus and charges ranged from murder and corruption to theft. Despite being acquitted, he remained in Luzira Prison for six and a half years and returned to the UK after his release in 1985.

He lived in Wimbledon (London) and continued to deny the allegations made against him. Since his return to Britain, he has dedicated himself to fighting superpower interference in African politics and economics. He also made political commentary contributions to a number of publications on Africa. (See: Bob Astles' Political Commentaries on Africa.)

He was played by Leonard Trolley in the 1982 film Rise and Fall of Idi Amin . The fictional character of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan in the novel and film The Last King of Scotland is based only roughly on a few events in Astles' life.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9873981/Bob-Astles.html
  2. ↑ Henry D Gombya: Bob Astles is dead! The London Evening Post, January 20, 2013, accessed January 22, 2013 .
  3. ↑ List of Buganda clans here
  4. ↑ "Guilt by association?" , BBC HARDtalk , Bob Astles in conversation with Tim Sebastian on January 7, 2004.
  5. ↑ Bold Type: Interview with Giles Foden

Web links

Bob Astles' political commentary on Africa

personal data
SURNAME Astles, Bob
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Astles, Robert; Lubowa
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British soldier and colonial officer in Uganda
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Ashford (Kent)
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 2012
Place of death London