KAMPALA, Uganda — A prominent scholar contends in a forthcoming book that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s long rule represents a “worst version” of the brutal regime of Idi Amin, criticizing Museveni’s methods of control and long tenure.
In “Slow Poison: Idi Amin, Yoweri Museveni, and the Making of the Ugandan State,” set to be published Oct. 14, 2025, Mahmood Mamdani offers a critical analysis of Uganda’s postcolonial trajectory. Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University and former director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research in Kampala, draws a sharp contrast between the two leaders.
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Mamdani, who returned to Uganda in 1972 during Amin’s violent rule, writes that while Amin sought to forge a Black Ugandan nation by expelling the Asian minority, Museveni has instead fragmented the majority population into numerous ethnic groups, a strategy Mamdani likens to a modern form of colonial indirect rule.
The book argues that although both leaders employed violence as a central tenet of their rule, Museveni’s approach has been more insidious and ultimately more damaging to the country’s fabric. Mamdani asserts that despite his widely condemned actions, Amin maintained a degree of popular support until his downfall. In contrast, he argues that Museveni has not enjoyed the same level of genuine support.
Mamdani highlights a significant difference in international perception. He notes that Amin was globally ostracized for the expulsion of Asians, while Museveni was initially hailed by the West as a key ally in the “war on terror” in Africa. Mamdani contends that this international backing shielded Museveni from accountability for what he describes as “far greater crimes.”
“In exchange for adopting the package of neoliberal reforms known as the Washington Consensus, he became Africa’s poster child,” Mamdani writes.
The book also delves into the economic consequences of Museveni’s lengthy rule, alleging that the privatization of state assets has led to immense wealth accumulation for Museveni’s family while the country remains among the world’s poorest. Mamdani contrasts this with Amin, who despite his ambition to create a class of Black millionaires, never personally amassed such wealth.
“Amin, who aimed to create a nation of Black millionaires, never became one himself. Meanwhile, Uganda’s surrender to privatization has brought Museveni’s family immense wealth, even as the country remains one of the world’s poorest,” Mamdani states in the book.
“Slow Poison,” a 320-page volume published by Belknap Press, presents Mamdani’s firsthand observations and scholarly analysis of the complex power dynamics that have shaped Uganda’s post-independence history and the legacies of its most prominent leaders.
