Amon Bazira (sometimes referred to as Amon Kabunga Bazira; 1944–1993) was a

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement ext ...

leader and organiser who created an extensive

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

network that was a clandestine component of the struggle to end the regime of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n military dictator and

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

. After helping to remove Idi Amin, Bazira served as Deputy Director of intelligence, and then as Director of Intelligence in Uganda in 1979. He produced a government report predicting that there would be a massive

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

that would lead to the collapse of order in Central and Eastern Africa, and proposed granting citizenship to Rwandan refugees and other displaced Africans in Uganda, as a means of preventing genocidal warfare. In August 1993, Amon Bazira was assassinated in between

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

and

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitants, making it the largest ...

in Kenya.

Background and education

Amon Bazira studied at

Bwera Mpondwe is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. Location Mpondwe is located in the Rwenzori Mountains in Kasese District. The town is at the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Bwera is another settlement to the immediate ...

Junior Secondary School then Nyakasura School in present day

Fort Portal Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom. Location Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampal ...

. He later joined Makerere University where he offered Philosophy, History and Law and graduating in 1970.

Career

Amon Bazira served as Member of Parliament for the then Kasese West Constituency between 1980 and 1985.He also served as the deputy minister for Lands, Water and Surveys in the Obote II administration, a position he occupied until the fall of this administration on July 27, 1985.

Personal life

Amon Bazira was married to Mary Bazira and is the father of Daniel Bazira Kashagama, who was appointed King of Busongora Kingdom. He was also father-in-law to

Obiora Chinedu Okafor Obiora Chinedu Okafor is a Canadian lawyer, currently the York Research Chair at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, and the Gani Fawehinmi Chief Abdul-Ganiyu "Gani" Oyesola Fawehinmi, , (22 April 1938 – 5 September 2009) was a Niger ...

through his daughter Annette Atugonza.

References

External links

*
The African Front website
1944 births 1993 deaths Ugandan pan-Africanists Assassinated Ugandan politicians Ugandan people murdered abroad People murdered in Kenya Makerere University alumni Ugandan prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Uganda Ugandan people imprisoned abroad Prisoners and detainees of Rwanda {{Uganda-bio-stub