Idi Amin in quotes

Amin led one of the bloodiest regimes in African history

Former Ugandan leader Idi Amin was generally caricatured abroad as a figure of fun, because of his boorish antics and violent mood swings.

Below is a selection of quotes attributed to Amin and comments from people who knew him.

Idi Amin's quotes:

In any country there must be people who have to die. They are the sacrifices any nation has to make to achieve law and order.

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I want your heart. I want to eat your children.

(Idi Amin to an adviser just before dinner)

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I ate them before they ate me.

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I myself consider myself the most powerful figure in the world.

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Amin is also known for allegedly sending the then US President, Richard Nixon, a "get well soon" card just after the Watergate scandal, and telling the then Israeli Prime Minister, Golda Meir, to "pack her knickers".

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Quotes about Idi Amin:

Even Amin does not know how many people he has ordered to be executed... The country is littered with bodies.

Henry Kyemba, Amin's longtime friend and a former health minister

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He raped the whole country of morality, of integrity. He implemented a trend of corruption in a people who were not corrupt. He raised a generation of people who wanted to steal rather than to work for personal gain.

Robert Kayanja, Miracle Centre Cathedral in Kampala, Uganda

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Moving from place to place, Amin in a sense moved the state with him; outside of him, nothing happened, nothing existed.

Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski

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The people don't have any problem with my father.

Amin's son, Haji Ali Amin

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