Former Amin soldier Maj Gen Gowon dies

A tough but soft-spoken army officer, who served during President Idi Amin’s regime, has died.
Maj Gen Yusuf Gowon, who had since lived a peaceful life after his return from exile in 1994, died last week and was buried on Saturday at his home in Arua City.

His humility won him several friends, who have been frequenting his place to take care of him during his ill health.

For those he had related with, he was an authority on matters of the military, whose history he shared with many at will upon a visit to his home.

President Museveni described the former army chief of staff as a tough and shrewd officer with whom he had no problem.

Gowon succumbed to heart failure at Arua Regional Referral Hospital last Friday.

In a speech read for him by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretary for Finance and Administration, Ms Naham Medina Ojale, during the burial on Saturday, the President said they forgave each other of the past events a long time ago.

“I am sorry for the loss of life. I knew him as a very strong fighter long ago as one of the fighters of Amin who never abandoned him,” Mr Museveni said, adding: Late Maj Gen Yusuf Gowon was not a hypocrite. When we started to fight Amin, very many people decided to run away from him but Gen Yusuf Gowon stood with President Amin.”

The president contributed Shs10 million for funeral arrangements while the NRM Secretariat gave Shs5 million.

The Resident District Commissioner for Madi-Okollo, Mr Swaib Toko, described the deceased as a disciplined and professional soldier who served his country well.

“The lives of people like Gowon should inspire us all,” Mr Toko said.

Who was Gowon
Born in 1936, Gen Yusuf Gowon, who first served as a prison warder, rose through the military ranks, largely due to a combination of factors.

He was viewed by Amin as a person without ambition and therefore could not overthrow his boss.