Suleiman Hussein

Suleiman Hussein (died 29 January 1971) was a Ugandan military officer who was the Uganda Army Chief of Staff from 1970 until 1971.

Suleiman Hussein
Uganda Army Chief of Staff
In office
29 September 1970 – 29 January 1971
PresidentMilton Obote
Personal details
Died29 January 1971
Kampala, Uganda
Military service
Allegiance Uganda
Years of service?–1971
RankBrigadier
CommandsSecond Battalion

Early life

Hussein originated from West Nile District, Uganda.[1] He was ethnically an Alur of Congolese ancestry.[2] He was a Muslim.[3]

Military career

Following Uganda's independence in 1962, Hussein initially rose to major. In 1964,[4] he became commander of the Uganda Army's Second Battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel.[2][3] On 12 April 1968 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier.[5] On 29 September 1970 the Defence Council made him Uganda Army Chief of Staff.[2] Upon assuming this post he issued a statement addressed to the soldiers of the army, cautioning against "tribalism" and the subversive manipulation of ethnic loyalties.[6] In January 1971 President Milton Obote informed a "committee" which included Hussein that he wanted Colonel Idi Amin arrested before he returned from an oversees trip to Singapore. The committee failed to act on this with haste,[7] and some Uganda Army personnel launched a coup, overthrowing Obote and replacing him with Amin. On 29 January the putschists arrested Hussein in Kampala and brought him to Luzira Prison where he was subsequently beaten to death.[8] His head was severed from his body and taken to Amin, who reportedly stored it in a refrigerator overnight.[9]

References
  1. Kirunda-Kivejinja 1995, p. 142.
  2. Kokole 1985, p. 431.
  3. Kalema 1995, p. 12.
  4. Omara-Otunnu 1987, p. 60.
  5. Omara-Otunnu 1987, p. 86.
  6. Omara-Otunnu 1987, p. 90.
  7. Omara-Otunnu 1987, p. 98.
  8. Violations of Human Rights 1974, pp. 27, 55.
  9. Kasozi 1994, p. 249.

Works cited
  • Kalema, Andrew Ndaula (1995). Uganda, a Century of Existence. Kampala: Fountain Publishers. ISBN 9789970020225.
  • Kasozi, A.B.K. (1994). Nakanyike Musisi; James Mukooza Sejjengo (eds.). Social Origins of Violence in Uganda, 1964–1985. Montreal; Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-1218-4.
  • Kirunda-Kivejinja, A. M. (1995). Uganda: The Crisis of Confidence. Kampala: Progressive Publishing House. OCLC 35822265.
  • Kokole, Omari H. (1985). "The 'Nubians' of East Africa: Muslim Club or African "Tribe"? The View From Within" (PDF). Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs Journal. 6 (2): 420–448. doi:10.1080/13602008508715952.
  • Omara-Otunnu, Amii (1987). Politics and the Military in Uganda, 1890–1985. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-18738-6.
  • Violations of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Uganda (PDF). Geneva: International Commission of Jurists. 1974. OCLC 1052819668.
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