Suleiman Hussein

{{short description|Ugandan military officer}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Suleiman Hussein

|image =

|caption =

|office = Uganda Army Chief of Staff

|president = Milton Obote

|term_start = 29 September 1970

|term_end = 29 January 1971

|predecessor =

|successor =

|birth_name =

|nickname =

|birth_date =

|birth_place =

|death_date = 29 January 1971

|death_place = Kampala, Uganda

|allegiance = {{flag|Uganda}}

|branch =

|serviceyears = ?–1971

|rank = Brigadier

|servicenumber =

|unit =

|commands = Second Battalion

|battles =

|awards =

|spouse =

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|relations =

}}

Suleiman Hussein (died 29 January 1971) was a Ugandan military officer who was the Uganda Army Chief of Staff from 1970 until 1971.

Early life

Hussein originated from West Nile District, Uganda.{{sfn|Kirunda-Kivejinja|1995|p=142}} He was ethnically an Alur of Congolese ancestry.{{sfn|Kokole|1985|p=431}} He was a Muslim.{{sfn|Kalema|1995|p=12}}

Military career

Following Uganda's independence in 1962, Hussein initially rose to major. In 1964,{{sfn|Omara-Otunnu|1987|p=60}} he became commander of the Uganda Army's Second Battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel.{{sfn|Kokole|1985|p=431}}{{sfn|Kalema|1995|p=12}} On 12 April 1968 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier.{{sfn|Omara-Otunnu|1987|p=86}} On 29 September 1970 the Defence Council made him Uganda Army Chief of Staff.{{sfn|Kokole|1985|p=431}} Upon assuming this post he issued a statement addressed to the soldiers of the army, cautioning against "tribalism" and the subversive manipulation of ethnic loyalties.{{sfn|Omara-Otunnu|1987|p=90}} In January 1971 President Milton Obote informed a "committee" which included Hussein that he wanted Colonel Idi Amin arrested before he returned from an oversees trip to Singapore. The committee failed to act on this with haste,{{sfn|Omara-Otunnu|1987|p=98}} and some Uganda Army personnel launched a coup, overthrowing Obote and replacing him with Amin. On 29 January the putschists arrested Hussein in Kampala and brought him to Luzira Prison where he was subsequently beaten to death.{{sfn|Violations of Human Rights|1974|pp=27, 55}} His head was severed from his body and taken to Amin, who reportedly stored it in a refrigerator overnight.{{sfn|Kasozi|1994|p=249}}

References

{{reflist}}

Works cited

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite book| last = Kalema| first = Andrew Ndaula| title = Uganda, a Century of Existence| publisher = Fountain Publishers| date = 1995| location = Kampala| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JOEtAQAAIAAJ| isbn = 9789970020225}}
  • {{cite book| last = Kasozi| first = A.B.K.| editor1 = Nakanyike Musisi| editor2 = James Mukooza Sejjengo|title = Social Origins of Violence in Uganda, 1964–1985| publisher = McGill-Queen's University Press| date = 1994| location = Montreal; Quebec| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YSa7Wxuw50YC| isbn = 978-0-7735-1218-4}}
  • {{cite book| last = Kirunda-Kivejinja| first = A. M.| title = Uganda: The Crisis of Confidence| publisher = Progressive Publishing House| date = 1995| location = Kampala| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ql4MAQAAIAAJ| oclc = 35822265}}
  • {{cite journal| last = Kokole| first = Omari H.| title = The 'Nubians' of East Africa: Muslim Club or African "Tribe"? The View From Within| journal = Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs Journal| volume = 6| issue = 2| pages = 420–448| date = 1985| url = https://semuwemba.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/nubians-of-east-africa.pdf | doi = 10.1080/13602008508715952}}
  • {{cite book |last = Omara-Otunnu |first = Amii |title= Politics and the Military in Uganda, 1890–1985 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=I9evCwAAQBAJ |year = 1987 |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |location= London |isbn= 978-1-349-18738-6 }}
  • {{cite book| title = Violations of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Uganda| publisher = International Commission of Jurists| date = 1974| location = Geneva| url = https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Uganda-violations-of-human-rights-thematic-report-1974-eng.pdf| oclc = 1052819668| ref = {{harvid|Violations of Human Rights|1974}}}}

{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussein, Suleiman}}

Category:Ugandan military personnel

Category:Year of birth uncertain

Category:1971 deaths

Category:Ugandan Muslims

Category:Alur people

Category:People from West Nile sub-region