– ‘Sign of reconciliation’ –
Galvanised by a growing demand for Israeli security assistance and his government’s search for new allies, Netanyahu has put a fresh focus on improving ties on the continent.
Amin’s son Jaffar, a 10-year old boy when the raid took place, welcomed the commandos to Uganda this month as a “sign of reconciliation”, remembering the stories his father told after he was deposed and forced into exile.
Amin, whose eccentric eight-year regime helped his name become a shorthand for African dictatorship and violent misrule, said he had been “close” to the soldier who shot dead Yonatan Netanyahu.
The officer, named as Captain Rafael Osacha, reportedly died quietly in retirement in the 1990s.
Jaffar recalled what his father had said when he asked why he had not sent fighter jets to shoot down the departing Israelis.
“My father said of the Israelis, ‘Son, those are the children of God, when they start to fight, they never stop,’” Jaffar said.
“To him, he felt they had come to rescue their people, they had accomplished their mission, so he let them go.”
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