Amin: ‘Nyerere is a liar’

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33034, 29 September 1972, Page 9

Amin: ‘Nyerere is a liar’

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

KAMPALA, September 28.

President Amin of Uganda today toured the Mutukula sector of the Uganda-Tanzania border, and later said that President Nyerere of Tanzania was lying when he had said that his troops had not entered Uganda.

According to the Government radio service, General Amin said that his visit to the border area, 160 miles south-west of Kampala, had completely disproved Dr Nyerere’s claim that Tanzanian troops had played no part in last week’s invasion of Uganda. “About 500 guerrillas, Tanzanian troops, and white mercenaries penetrated about 25 miles into Uganda, where they are now cut off,” General Amin was quoted as saying. “This proves that Nyerere does not know what is happening at the border. All he is doing is to continue with his propaganda to not only deceive the innocent people of Tanzania, but to mislead Africa and the world at large.”

General Amin added: “Even his Ministers seem to fail in line with the ignorance of their leader. A commander-in-chief of the armed forces who does not visit his troops in the battle area—like Nyerere—is not suited to such a position. “I decided to visit the battle area because I wanted to make a personal assessment of the situation.” General Amin added that the bodies of many enemy dead were lying unburied on the road from Mtukula to Masaka, 80 miles west of Kampala. No exact figures of enemy casualties have been published, but the deaths of 360 invaders have been announced in the last 10 days. A military spokesman said tonight that during the same period three Ugandan officers and 27 other ranks had been killed, and three soldiers were missing. The Secretary-General of

the Organisation of African Unity (Mr Nzo Ekangaki) began talks in Kampala today about the conflict. He had a long meeting with the Ugandan Foreign Minister (Mr Wanume Kibedi), and is due to meet President Amin tonight.