But by 1979, when Amin fled into exile; first to Libya and then to Saudi Arabia where he died in Jeddah on August 16, 2003, his country had been reduced to a "Tarnished Pearl of Africa." Amin's time in power saw shocking bloodshed, with a number of his opponents either murdered, tortured, or imprisoned. His insatiable bloodlust finally saw, according to human rights observers, at least 500,000 Ugandans killed during his eight-year reign of terror.
Kwa mara ya kwanza wakati shirika la ndege binafsi la fastjet linaanza kazi hapa nchini, lilionekana kama ni mkombozi kwa wananchi wanyonge, wasio na uwezo mkubwa kusafiri na ndege! Kadri siku zinavyosogea shirika hili ndivyo linavyokunjua makucha yake na kuonyesha kwamba ni chui aliye ndani ya ngozi ya kondoo. FastJet imekuwa ikiwaimbisha wananchi wanyonge na nauli yake ya 32,000 tu! Ilhali ni wananchi wachache sana wanaopata nafasi katika daraja hili la chini.