5 things you probably didn’t know about Sarah, Idi-Amin’s former widow
She’s dead
Sorry about that. World infamous cancer got the better of the ex Ugandan first lady who passed away in a London hospital on June 11. Doctors said she was killed by “snooker-ball-sized” cancerous growths which showed up at her armpits. Strange, eh? What isn’t?
She probably didn’t love her husband
Their 1975 wedding banquet cost £2m and Amin’s best man was the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. What could be more glamourous than that? The royal wedding, you think? Well, ignore the glitz. Sarah was Practically snatched from the love of her life whom she reportedly had a baby for, only for Amin to claim ownership of the baby on national radio…and then a young man in Masaka “was disappeared.”
Don’t gloat. Sarah later tell the whole world her dictator husband was a loving man.
But why “run” to Germany?
Ever heard of a first lady on the run? Okay, she had actually ceased to be the first lady as Amin had been deposed prior to 1985. Then, Sarah ditched him in Saudi Arabia and sought refuge in Germany. She later made her way to the UK to live the British Dream. What does that even mean? Google it.
She “escaped” prison once
She wasn’t actually jailed so it wasn’t a prison break; just an escape from serving jail term. Sources revealed the British government almost handed Sarah a jail sentence after she pleaded guilty to allowing cockroaches and mice infest her London café. Sarah was instead given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1,000 being part of the money it cost the government to prosecute her.
The Sarah and the “Suicide Squad”
You’ve been seeing too many movies. It’s not what you think. The lady used to do go-go dancing for the Ugandan Army’s Revolutionary Suicide Mechanized Regiment Band. That’s what they call them, and “Suicide Sarah” was what she became known as. You dig? It was during one of those alluring dances that Amin spotted her. So began a chain reaction that culminated in her being added to the despot’s nuptial fleet. Amin married at least five women, three of whom he divorced on national radio. Sarah wasn’t one of them.
Her full names are Sarah Kyolaba (1955-2015).
Good night Sarah, we’re going to miss you.
For additional reading as regarding this thesis, please consult “The Last King of Scotland.”
