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Bob Astles

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Bob Astles (born 1924), called Lubowa among the Ngo clan, was a former British soldier who lived in Uganda and became an associate of Idi Amin.

Astles was born in Ashford, Kent, United Kingdom. As a teenager, he joined the British Indian Army and then the Royal Engineers, reaching the rank of sergeant. He was twenty one when he left Britain for Africa seeking adventure. His first job in Uganda was as a building foreman, then with £100 he set up Uganda Aviation Services Ltd, the first airline in Uganda to employ Africans. In 1958, aged thirty four, he married Monica, who had come with him from Kent. A year later, after they had divorced, Astles married an aristocratic member of the Bugandan kingdom, Mary Ssen-Katukka, and they had two children. As Uganda's independence approached in 1962, Astles became involved with a number of political groups. One of these was led by Milton Obote, who led the country to independence. Astles worked in his government until the 1971 coup d'état, when he transferred his allegiance to Idi Amin.

In December 1971 suspicion fell on Astles because of his previous support for Obote. Amin sent him to Makindye prison where he spent seventeen weeks, often shackled and brutally interrogated. Astles later said, "Amin called me a 'rotten apple' on the radio, and nationalised my airline. It was ordinary Africans who helped me to survive. One guard was kicked to death for helping me." Astles stayed in Uganda and periodically worked in Amin's service, while running a pineapple farm. He also presided over an aviation service flying members of the government. Astles later said "I kept my eyes shut, I said nothing about what I saw, which is what they liked".

In 1975 Bob Astles joined Amin's service, becoming the head of the anti-corruption squad and advised the president on British affairs. Until today, what Astles did or did not do during Amin's brutal tenure is conjecture. He was feared, and considered by many to be a malign influence on the dictator; others thought he was a moderating presence. He came to be known as "Major" Bob (the title of Major was given to him by Amin) or "the White Rat".

Following the Uganda-Tanzania War which led to the demise of Amin's regime in 1979, Astles fled to Kenya, but was brought back to Uganda to face criminal charges. He was imprisoned on account of his alleged association with Amin's security apparatus. He was charged with everything from murder and corruption to theft. After serving six and a half years in Luzira prison, he was released and returned to Britain in 1985. He currently lives in Wimbledon, London and continues to deny the allegations against him.

He was played by Leonard Trolley in the 1982 movie Amin: The Rise and Fall; the fictional character Nicholas Garrigan in the book and film The Last King of Scotland was very loosely based on events in the life of Astles.[1]

References

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