23 Facts About Mustafa Adrisi

In 1978, Adrisi was injured in a suspicious car accident.

Mustafa Adrisi briefly became involved in the rebel activities of the Uganda National Rescue Front during the Ugandan Bush War, before returning from exile in 1987.

Mustafa Adrisi struggled with health problems in his later life and died in 2013.

Mustafa Adrisi was born into the Picara clan of the Aringa ethnic group in Yumbe District, Uganda.

Mustafa Adrisi enrolled in the Lodonga Demonstration Primary School in Lodonga.

Mustafa Adrisi practiced polygamy and, over the course of his life, married eight women and fathered multiple children, though by the time of his death he had lost seven of his wives to death or divorce.

In 1951 Mustafa Adrisi was drafted into the King's African Rifles.

Mustafa Adrisi was made Uganda Army chief of staff as a concession to the increasingly disgruntled Lugbara troops who had revolted during the Arube uprising in March 1974.

In 1975 Mustafa Adrisi was made general and commander of the army.

Mustafa Adrisi became infamous for his extreme corruption, using his positions to siphon off large amounts of government money for himself.

Mustafa Adrisi was instructed to resign from his post as Minister of Defence, but declined to do so.

That year a split in the Uganda Army developed between supporters of Amin and soldiers loyal to Mustafa Adrisi, who held significant power in the government and wanted to purge foreigners, particularly Sudanese, from the military.

Mustafa Adrisi felt that foreigners were not dependent enough on the regime to support it, and would at their convenience flee back to their lands of origin.

Mustafa Adrisi thought that it would be best if the Uganda Army was made up of northern Ugandans who had a larger stake in fighting for it.

The resulting tension in the army was further exacerbated when Mustafa Adrisi got in a shootout with Colonel Taban Lupayi, the head of the marines.

Mustafa Adrisi later testified that Amin had summoned him four times to accuse him of plotting a coup, which he repeatedly denied.

Mustafa Adrisi was then flown to Cairo for treatment of head injuries and multiple fractures in his leg.

Unrest grew in the military as a result of the incident, since many of Mustafa Adrisi's followers believed that the car accident was a failed assassination attempt orchestrated by Amin.

Mustafa Adrisi was scheduled to return in January 1987, but threats posed by members of the UNRF who wanted to continue the insurgency delayed his return until April.

Mustafa Adrisi arrived in Uganda impoverished, and was given a government-owned house in Arua District.

The commission did not find any conclusive evidence that Mustafa Adrisi was involved in any atrocities during his service in the regime.

Mustafa Adrisi briefly fell into a coma, but after recovering and being discharged, the government permanently located him to another house in Kampala so it could monitor his health.

Mustafa Adrisi died at Mulago Hospital on 28 July 2013 due to complications from a broken leg, diabetes, and hypertension.