Idi Amin, the infamous Ugandan dictator who ruled from 1971 to 1979, had a complex and chaotic personal life involving multiple marriages. Historical accounts confirm he had at least five officially recognized wives, with some suggesting a sixth, though exact numbers are debated due to poor documentation and his secretive tendencies. His practice of polygamy, culturally accepted in parts of Uganda, often served both personal and political purposes. The known wives were Malyamu, Kay Adroa, Nora, Nalongo Madina, and Sarah Kyolaba, with a possible sixth, Mama a Chumaru, mentioned in connection to his later years in exile. Their lives were deeply affected by Amin’s volatile rule, with outcomes ranging from divorce and exile to gruesome death.
Malyamu Amin
Malyamu, his first wife, married him in 1966 and came from the prominent Kibedi family in Busoga. She bore him several children, including Hussein Lumumba, Ali, Mwanga, and Ramadhan. Their marriage deteriorated after Amin seized power, and in March 1974, he announced their divorce on Radio Uganda, accusing her of unsanctioned business dealings. Soon after, in April 1974, she was arrested near the Kenyan border for allegedly smuggling fabric and was exiled to a Ugandan village. She survived his regime and later moved to London, where she reportedly died in 1974 from natural causes, though some accounts suggest she lived longer, leaving her exact end unclear.
Kay Adroa Amin
Kay Adroa, also married in 1966, belonged to Amin’s Kakwa ethnic group and worked as a senior nurse at Mulago Hospital. Like Malyamu, she was publicly divorced in the 1974 radio broadcast. Her fate turned tragic when, on August 13, 1974, her dismembered body was discovered in a car trunk, linked to a doctor who had died of poisoning the day before. An autopsy showed she was pregnant and had died from bleeding after an incomplete abortion. Theories abound about Amin’s role in her death, though no definitive proof exists, making it one of the most chilling episodes tied to his personal life.
Nora Amin
Nora, married in 1967, hailed from the Lango ethnic group and kept a low profile. Amin divorced her alongside Malyamu and Kay in 1974. She managed to survive his downfall in 1979, fleeing to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Little is known of her life thereafter, and her ultimate fate remains unrecorded.
Nalongo Madina Amin
Nalongo Madina, a Muganda and celebrated dancer with the Heartbeat of Africa group, married Amin in 1972 in a grand, publicized ceremony. She stayed by his side through his 1979 exile to Libya and later Saudi Arabia. When Amin fell ill in 2003, Uganda’s government facilitated her travel to Jeddah to care for him, and she was there when his life support was disconnected on August 16, 2003. Her whereabouts since then are uncertain.
Sarah Kyolaba Amin
Sarah Kyolaba, dubbed “Suicide Sarah” for her role as a go-go dancer in Amin’s Revolutionary Suicide Mechanised Regiment Band, married him in 1975 at age 19. Their extravagant £2 million wedding in Kampala, attended by figures like Yasser Arafat, coincided with the Organisation of African Unity summit. She had three children with him and accompanied him into exile. In 1982, she left him, moving to Germany and then London, where she worked as a lingerie model, restaurateur, and hairdresser. Despite their separation, she praised him after his 2003 death as a “true African hero” and “wonderful father.” Sarah died of cancer on June 11, 2015, in London.
Mama a Chumaru
Mama a Chumaru, a figure shrouded in mystery, is cited by some as a sixth wife Amin married in Saudi Arabia during exile, possibly in the 1990s. She is linked to his youngest children, including a daughter, Iman, born in 1992. Said to have lived with him in Jeddah until his death, her status as a wife or mistress remains unconfirmed, and her life after 2003 is undocumented.
The experiences of Amin’s wives reflect the turbulence of his dictatorship. Malyamu and Nora endured public rejection, Kay met a horrific end, while Madina and Sarah navigated exile, with Sarah eventually carving out her own path. Mama a Chumaru’s shadowy presence highlights the gaps in Amin’s later story. Their lives, marked by control, abandonment, and resilience, offer a personal lens into the chaos of his reign, though inconsistencies and secrecy leave parts of their tales unresolved.