President Yoweri Museveni has granted financial and material support to Madina Najjemba Amin, one of the widows of former President Idi Amin Dada.
In a letter dated November 9, 2023, Museveni directed State House to provide Najjemba with a monthly allowance of 15 million shillings, a new house, a 4×4 vehicle, and medical insurance.
“I have seen your letter of the November 9, 2023. How are you? It is good that you wrote to me. By the copy of this letter, I direct the State House Comptroller to buy you a car (4×4), build you a house, ensure you get medical insurance, and give you an allowance of Shs. 15 million per month,” Museveni wrote.
Madina Najjemba had written to the president asking for help. She has long lived in financial hardship along with other family members of the late president Idi Amin, whose regime (1971–1979) remains one of the most brutal and controversial in Uganda’s history.
Although Museveni has often criticized Idi Amin for human rights abuses and poor leadership, his recent support to Najjemba has surprised many.
In the same letter, the president also raised concerns about what happened to Amin’s official entitlements after his ouster, asking: “What happened to Idi Amin’s entitlements? Who took the money?”
This question has now sparked speculation about whether any benefits meant for Amin’s family were ever distributed or mismanaged after the fall of his government.
Idi Amin was overthrown in 1979 by Ugandan exiles with Tanzanian military support, and many of his relatives have since lived in the shadows, with little to no support from the state.
