In a discourse he held on Christmas Day (25/12/2006) Sathya Sai Baba has spoke most affirmatively about the brutal despot and Dictator Idi Amin (on Christmas Day of all days of the year!). Idi Amin was a known and self-admitted murderer who had at least five wives and 23 children (plus hundreds of 'lady friends'), who fed enemies to crocodiles, reportedly kept some of his victims in his deep freezer, and - according to persistent reports of his staff who escaped - even tasted human flesh!

The myth about Amin in the Sai movement, told me many times when I was the national leader for Norway in the Sathya Sai Organisation for close on 18 years, was that Sai Baba had gone to stay with a Mr. Patel and not least so he could meet Idi Amin and tell him to postpone the extradition of asians (mostly Indians) from Uganda for one year. It was said that those few Indians who were devoted heeded Sai Baba's alleged warning to them and supposedly left without losing their possessions, others left later and lost most or all they had. However, this does not fit with the dates or any know facts at all. There is no reliable testimony to support the story… nor could I get any sensible, consistent answers from some Indians who were Sai followers whom I met in London in the 1980s who had fled Uganda.

Sathya Sai visited Amin in 1968, while he was head of the Ugandan Army and a well-known figure, but this was about three years before Amin came to power and so was in any position to do expel the asians! Not long after he usurped power in a military coup did Amin suddenly announce that he would send all Indians packing from Uganda within 90 days, causing untold sufferings to many of them. He famously claimed that God had instructed him to do this in a dream! Sai devotees who dream frequently of Sai Baba have not commented on this, and one may guess why! The rumours about Sai Baba's intervention and Amin's postponement of the event is yet another of the many myths and stories which multiply and spread around Sai Baba [and very often by him in the privacy of interviews] by his blind believing followers. The following account shows what kind of person Sathya Sai visited and makes so much of...

Trevor Grundy of the Daily Telegraph wrote: http://ismaili.net/timeline/2002/20020802dt.html

During the early hours of Saturday August 5, 1972, General Idi Amin, Life President of Uganda, Conqueror of the British Empire and the Last King of Scotland, had a dream. Still in his pyjamas, the six-foot three-inch former British Army sergeant called some of his senior military advisers into the State House in Kampala and told them that God had ordered him to expel the Indian/Asian community. That morning in Nairobi, I and other editors of the tabloid newspaper The Nation read the first news agency reports describing how The Almighty had also ordered Amin to take over Asian-owned hotels, mills, breweries, sugar refineries and cotton factories.

In Amin's dream, God told the general to nationalise all of the houses and flats owned by Uganda's 80,000-strong Indian community, made up of Hindis, Muslims and members of the Aga Khan's small but wealthy sect, the Ismailis. The Ugandan Life President gave non-citizens just 90 days to leave the country.

That same day, 18 leaders of the Indian community - wealthy, usually optimistic men - were summoned into Amin's awe-inspiring presence. They shook their heads in disbelief when they heard what he had to say. They had all "milked the Ugandan cow without feeding it", and had ripped off the economy by sending millions of Ugandan shillings to relatives in Britain. They should make plans to get all the members of their universally detested community out of the country by November 9. "If you don't go by then," Amin told them, "I will make you feel as if you are sitting on fire."

In Nairobi, the mood among Kenya's much larger and even more powerful Indian community was of good-humoured incredulity. Weren't Ugandan asians Idi Amin's best friends? He had said so dozens of times since overthrowing the quasi-Marxist President Milton Obote the year before. In January 1971, Ugandan asians had joined hands with blacks and whites and danced in the streets of Kampala when they heard that the "Redeemer" Amin had ended the corrupt and always menacing rule of Obote.

The day after Amin's thunderbolt announcement, I joined a close Ismaili friend, who worked as an accountant at The Nation, a paper owned by the Aga Khan, for a family picnic. Mansoor told me that Idi Amin was so erratic, he would probably retract his expulsion order within a few days. "He has probably had a row with the British High Commissioner, Richard Slater," he suggested. "He was probably rejected by some Indian beauty and wants his own back," said Mansoor's wife, as we laughed and enjoyed our picnic.

But Idi Amin was in no mood to retract a single word. On August 9, he appeared on television to tell the Asian community that even Indians with British passports must leave within 90 days. They included teachers, doctors, nurses, business leaders, lawyers, building contractors and the men and women who ran the twin pillars of the Ugandan economy - agriculture and tourism.
"asians," he said, in front of a sea of beaming black Ugandans, most of whom wore military uniforms, "have kept themselves to themselves and as a community have refused to integrate with Africans. Their main interest has been to exploit the economy. They have been milking our economy for years and now I say to them all - Go!"

"I consider myself the most powerful individual in the world" Idi Amin
But Idi Amin was a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba, who claims to be the Creator of the Whole Universe?
Idi Amin's famously self-awarded title [plus decorations] was: "His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular"

Sai Baba's praises of Amin were eagerly promoted on the worldwide broadcasts of propagandistic Radio Sai and on the Sai Baba official website by his main propagandist, Dr. G. Venkataraman (also former contributor to India's nuclear bomb 'himsa technology'), who thus also evidently accepts that Idi Amin was a Sai-devotee of some stature! His lack of judgement matches that of his ailing Lord God, the evidently-failing Sai Baba. That was too much even from a myth-deluded and truth-challenged 'scientist' who avoids all important criticisms to his cover-up and has never dared tell anything he knows of Sai Baba's well-known private doings and the many reliable allegations about them. Perhaps he admires Idi Amin for his lead in such censorship and cover-up?

Interviewer: Einar Lunde was Norwegian National Broadcasting's correspondent in Africa for many years. You met Idi Amin, in Somalia, at a large meeting he should lead, and there you experienced a little of what we saw in the film here (Editor's note: a film clip from 'The Last King of Scotland, with Forrest Whittaker as Idi Amin) - that he had the ability to take over a room - and that by storm.

Einar Lunde: Yes, to start with he was not there. This was a huge conference, called OAU (Organisation for African Unity), 43 heads of state from the whole of Africa sat there, including Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethopia on his very last official appearance - there sat the United Nations' Secretary general, everyone who could creep or walk among top diplomats from Western Europe and America were there in the hall. And he should be there 10 o'clock to open the meeting because he was the departing chairman for OAU. The time was ten, eleven, twelve... it was time for lunch, everyone went and ate lunch, went around the corridors and wondered what in all the world had happened. The chairman had not arrived. Not until 1600 did Idi Amin Dada arrive in the hall and, to my great surprise, while I sat on the podium with a number of other journalists - we flew around and photographed and recorded sound - everyone stood up and clapped him - an applause that was just not true! Now and again I saw some who looked rather embarrassed in the hall, but the others sat and interrupted him with applause time after time. In the end, when he was done, the whole assembly rose and clapped this mass murderer almost so as to raise the roof. (Editor's comment: Charismatic psychopaths have used this cynical ploy throughout history - making people wait endlessly,. The sycophantic adulation and applause also reminds a lot of big celebrations at Sai Baba ashrams.)

Interviewer: Yes, since then he has become a name and a face we connect only with brutality and mass murders, but he was popular, how did he manage that?

Einar Lunde: Yes, firstly he was locally in Uganda... he was born as a very poor boy, could almost not read, hardly write. (Editor's note: But Sai Baba said in his Discourse of Amin that "he was well educated"??) He got into the Army, he advanced, and became more and more popular. He was a womaniser. He loves the ladies so he was continually caught in a military tent with a lady every evening, and then the commander came and said "You must stop that". "But this is my sister," said he "this is my sister, my dada!" In Swahili that means sister, so he therefore got the nickname 'Idi Amin dada' from his charm offensives, one may say... he had the ability to attract popularity from other Africans by swearing about former colonial masters... one was just then getting rid of the colonial masters at that time in Africa and this was a new feeling of freedom.

Interviewer: Yes, and he was seen more or less as some kind of international media favourite because he was capable of some real PR stunts to show African pride.

Einar Lunde: ... he also wanted to show that he, as a black man, was superior to whites, the former colonial masters, so he got whites to carry him through Kampala's streets before a large press and film corps from the whole world, just to demonstrate this - to great joy from all Africa.

Interviewer: He had to have extra large coats sewn to find space for all the medals, so I have heard. But he was also a person who bit by bit exhibited sickening traits and did bestial things.

Einar Lunde: Very early on. One of the reasons he got into - and was actually promoted in - the army was that he used hard methods, torture, even in hunting down simple cattle thieves.

(filmclip shown)

Interviewer: We can see the contours of a very disturbed person who believes he acts on God's orders.

Einar Lunde: It was extremely brutal. What he stood for was totally horrific and he killed hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people in a bestial manner.

Interviewer: Well, Idi Amin is indeed for us the incarnation of the mad despot. Is he the worst in his class, or is there a bit of that racist rumour in all that is told about him; that he was a cannibal, that he killed and divided up one of his wives, then sewing her together again and showing her forth - is this because we want such stories, or is it true?

Einar Lunde: I'm afraid that much of it is true. I have met to who were closest to him and they could tell me that one thing is all you have heard, it is horrific, worse is what you have not heard! So they confirmed all these ghastly stories that have surrounded Idi Amin.

Intervjuer: Einar Lunde var Afrika-korrespondent for NRK i mange år. Du møtte altså Idi Amin, i Somalia riktignok, på et stort møte som han skulle lede, og da opplevde du litt av det som vi så i filmen her (redaksjonen: en filmklipp fra 'The Last King of Scotland' med Forest Whitaker som Idi Amin), at han hadde evnen til å 'ta' et rom, og ta det med storm.

Einar Lunde: Ja, til å begynne med så var han ikke der. Dette var en svær konferanse. Det het OAU, Organisasjonen for afrikansk enhet, det satt 43 statsoverhoder fra hele Afrika (der), inklusive Keiser Haile Selassie fra Etiopia på sin aller siste offisielle opptreden, der satt FN's generalsekretær, der satt alt som kunne krype og gå av topp-diplomater fra Vest-Europa og Amerika i salen, og han skulle være der kl. 10 og åpne møtet for han var avgående formann for dette OAU. Ingen Idi Amin var der. Vi ventet. Klokken ble 10, 11, 12, det ble lunsjtid, alle gikk og spiste lunsj, alle gikk rundt i gangene og lurte på hva i all verdens navn var det som skjedde. Formannen var ikke kommet. Først kl. 16 innfant Idi Amin Dada seg i salen, og til min store overraskelse, og da satt jeg oppå podiet, sammen med en del andre pressefolk, vi fløy rundt og fotograferte og tok lyd, og da reiste folk og klappet ham inn med en applaus som ikke var sann, altså! Og så holdt han en tale, og den talen var jo bare helt utrolig! Han ... Jeg så det var noen få innimellom som så noe beskjemmet ned i salen, men de andre satt og avbrøt ham med applaus gang på gang. Til slutt, da han var ferdig, så reiste hele salen seg av statsoverhoder og klappet denne massemorderen opp i taket omtrent. (Redaktørens kommentar: Karismatiske psykopater har brukt den kyniske triks gjennom historien - å tvinge folk å vente endeløst.. Den sykofantiske beundring og applaus minner også mye om store begivenheter ved Sai Babas ashramer.)

Intervjuer: Ja, altså i ettertid er jo han blitt et navn og et ansikt som vi forbinder bare med brutalitet og massedrap, men altså, han var populær, hvordan klarte han å bli det?

Einar Lunde: Ja, for det første - lokalt i Uganda sa var han..., han ble født som en meget fattig gutt, kunne nesten ikke lese, knapt nok skrive. Han kom seg inn i hæren, han kom seg videre, og ble mer og mer populær. Han var en womaniser. Han elsket damer, og damene så ut til å elske ham, så han ble stadig vekk tatt i militærteltet med en dame hver kveld, og da kom kommandanten og sa: "Dette må du holde opp med." "Men dette er jo min søster," sa han, "dette er min søster, min dada, min dada!" På swahili betyr det altså søster, så derfor fikk han tilnavnet Idi Amin dada fra sine sjarmøretapper kan man si... han hadde evnen til å tiltrekke seg også andre afrikaneres popularitet ved at han skjelte ut tidligere koloniherrer... i Afrika på den tiden var man akkurat i ferd med å bli kvitt kolonistyrene, og dette var en ny frihetsfølelse.

Intervjuer: Ja, og han ble på sett og vis en slags internasjonal medieyndling og, fordi han evnet å gjøre en del sånne pr-stunt for å vise afrikansk stolthet.

Einar Lunde: ... han ville også vise at han som en svart mann var overordnet den hvite mann, de tidligere koloniherrene, så han fikk jo hvite mennesker til å bære seg gjennom Kampalas gater foran et stort pressekorps og filmkorps fra hele verden, for å bare demonstrere dette - til stor jubel fra hele Afrika.

Intervjuer: Han måtte sy ekstra store frakker for å få plass til alle medaljene har jeg latt meg fortelle. Men han var jo også en mann som etterhvert viste syke trekk og gjorde bestialske ting.

Einar Lunde: Veldig tidlig. En av grunnene til at han kom inn og ble faktisk forfremmet i hæren, var at han brukte harde metoder, tortur, på jakt etter bare noe så enkelt som kvegtyver.

(filmklipp ble vist)

Intervjuer: Ja, vi kan vel se konturene av et ganske forstyrra menneske som mener at han handler på oppdrag fra Gud.

Einar Lunde: Det var ekstremt brutalt. Det var aldeles forferdelig det som han sto for, og han drepte jo hundretusener på hundretusener av mennesker på en bestialsk måte.

Intervjuer: Men altså, Idi Amin er jo for oss selve inkarnasjonen av den gale despoten. Er han den verste i klassen, eller er det litt sånne rasistiske vandrehistorier alt dette som fortelles om han; at han var kannibal, at han drepte og parterte en av konene sine, for så å sy henne sammen igjen og vise henne fram - er det fordi vi ønsker oss sånne historier, eller er det sant?

Einar Lunde: Jeg er redd for at mye av det er sant. Jeg har truffet to av de som var nærmest han, og de kunne si at en ting er alt det dere har hørt, det er forferdelig, verre er det dere ikke har hørt! Så de bekreftet alle disse fæle historiene som har vært omkring Idi Amin.

"In 1972, he expelled virtually the entire Asian population, including about 50,000 Indians, saying he had been ordered by god to do so in a dream. He also usurped the business and wealth of the Indians, many of whom were traders, leading to the country's economic collapse." (The Hindu)