Military and political career Waris Ali Fadhul or Ali Waris Fadhul was born in eastern Uganda, near the border to
Kenya, around 1940. He was an ethnic
Busoga, although he was often described as a "Sudanese" and spoke
Nubian. He was forcibly recruited by the
King's African Rifles in 1953; at the time he was thirteen. and tasked with eliminating soldiers loyal to the deposed President Obote. He consequently carried out several massacres of suspected dissident troops at the Simba barracks of
Mbarara. In addition, he was possibly connected to the deaths of journalist Nicholas Stroh and
Makerere University lecturer Robert Siedle. Amin promoted him to lieutenant colonel for his role in the purges of July 1971. He was the head of the Simba Battalion from 1971 to 1974, Tibayungwa was believed to have previously helped Museveni escape Uganda after the 1971 coup; the ex-official was bayonetted to death. In the next years, Fadhul rose to governor in the northern (
Acholi and
Lango districts) and the western provinces (Ankole and
Tooro districts). Fadhul's home was plundered during the war. According to Thomas Lowman, Fadhul was arrested in Bombo. According to the
Uganda National Liberation Front, journalist Godwin Matatu, and Indian diplomat
Madanjeet Singh, he joined other regime officials in fleeing to
Kenya.
Later life Fadhul was arrested in his home in Bulumagi, Uganda, in September 1986 He maintained his innocence during his trial, saying that all murders of civilians in Mbarara had been committed by his former colleague Yusuf Gowon. Fadhul was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989. Along with a leader of Amin's death squads, Kassim Obura, Fadhul was one of very few Amin followers who were ever actually convicted for crimes committed in the 1971–79 era. Placed on the death row at
Luzira Upper Prison, he remained incarcerated for 22 years. The
Supreme Court of Uganda turned down one of his appeals against the conviction and death sentence in 1993. However, his repeated appeals staved off his execution. In 2001, Yusuf Gowon was also imprisoned at Luzira, whereupon he and Fadhul developed such an antipathy that prison authorities had to separate them until Gowon was released. In 2009, Fadhul was pardoned by President Yoweri Museveni, and released. By this time, he suffered from
diabetes, ulcers and skin cancer and no longer had a home, as his old house in Bulumagi had been abandoned and vandalised during his time in prison. One house which had formerly belonged to him was now rented to the Weston College School-Makerere in
Mukono; the college consequently allowed him to temporarily sleep in one of their offices. He later relocated to the home of his eldest wife, Hajjati Segiya Nako, in Bulumagi. Several locals and family members celebrated his release. By 2010, he could no longer sit, eat or walk on his own, and had to receive regular treatments at
Nsambya Hospital and by doctors hired by his family to stay alive. However, he gave a number of interviews in which he offered "extravagant praise" for Museveni. On 2 November 2021, Fadhul died at the Nsambya Hospital at the age of 81 due to complications from diabetes. The former chairperson of Bulumagi, Mohammed Kasule Byansi, lamented Fadhul's death, describing him as "great man in our society" who had supported locals by sponsoring education and helping individuals to enlist in the military. In contrast,
The Australian's
obituary by journalist Alan Howe described Fadhul as "murderer" and "Amin's most faithful servant". == Personal life ==