1936 Ladonga, West Nile Province, Protectorate of Uganda
Died
(aged 85) Arua, Uganda
Nickname(s)
"Goan" "The tractor driver" "bad omen" "Snake"
Military service
Allegiance
Uganda
Branch/service
Uganda Army (UA)
Years of service
1968–1979
Rank
Major General
Battles/wars
1972 invasion of Uganda
Uganda–Tanzania War
Invasion of Kagera
Battle of Lukaya
Operation Dada Idi
Yusuf Gowon[a] (born Yusuf Mogi; 1936 – 2 February 2024) was a Ugandan military officer who served as chief of staff for the Uganda Army during the dictatorship of Idi Amin. Originally a farmer, Gowon quickly rose in the ranks of the military due to a combination of happenstance and his skills in politics. Compared with other high-ranking officials of Amin's regime, he was regarded as humane; nevertheless, he was probably involved in some political murders. His appointment as chief of staff was mostly owed to the fact that he was regarded by President Amin as loyal, not ambitious, and of no threat to his own rule. Gowon's lack of talent for tactics and strategy came to the fore when the Uganda–Tanzania War broke out in 1978, and his leadership of the Uganda Army during this conflict was extensively criticised. Many of his comrades and subordinates even blamed him for Uganda's defeat in the conflict with Tanzania. When Amin's regime began collapsing in 1979 and his own soldiers intended to murder him, Gowon fled Uganda.
Gowon subsequently settled in Zaire where he worked as businessman. Unlike many of his former comrades, Gowon did not join any insurgent group during his exile. When the new Ugandan government of Yoweri Museveni offered him to return to his home country in 1994, he accepted and founded a nonprofit organization to help ex-combatants to find civilian jobs. He also became head of a veterans association. In 2001, Gowon was arrested and tried for the suspected involvement in the murder of Eliphaz Laki during Amin's rule. The trial generated much publicity and was controversial, as some regarded it as important chance to finally address the crimes of Amin's dictatorship, while others claimed that it was politically motivated. Gowon denied any involvement in Laki's murder, and was acquitted due to lack of evidence in 2003.
^Rwehururu 2002, p. 96.
^Decalo 2019, The Collapse of a Dictator.
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