Idi Amin still in ICU
2003-08-05 11:57
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin remained in stable condition on Tuesday at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of King Faisal Specialist Hospital in this Saudi Red Sea city, a hospital source said.
"He is still in the intensive care unit, but he is in a stable condition," the source said.
Amin, a Muslim now in his eighties, was admitted to hospital on July 18 and went into coma. Hospital sources said he came out of the coma six days later, but remained in critical condition under close watch by doctors.
Hospital officials refused to specify Amin's illness or provide details about his condition at the request of family members who have been living with him in Saudi Arabia in obscurity for more than 10 years.
Amin's 1971 to 1979 reign in Uganda following a military coup was one of the bloodiest in Africa's modern history, and he has not been back to his country since he was ousted by joint forces of Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles on April 11, 1979.
Up to 400 000 people are estimated to have died during his time in office, or are still unaccounted for.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni warned last month that Amin would face trial for his atrocities if he returned to his homeland alive.
Last month, one of his wives and a daughter joined him at his bedside after a flight from Kampala "facilitated" by the Ugandan government.