Idi Amin — The Dictator Who Divorced Three Wives by Radio Announcement

What Happened

Idi Amin Dada, the military dictator who ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979 and is estimated to have killed between 100,000 and 500,000 people, treated marriage with the same brutality he applied to governance. He married at least six women, often simultaneously under polygamous custom, with five serving as official 'First Ladies' before he was deposed.

On March 26, 1974, Amin made international headlines by announcing on Radio Uganda that he had divorced three of his wives — Malyamu, Nora, and Kay — simultaneously. He claimed they had gotten drunk and thrown a party without his permission. No court proceedings, no legal process, no negotiation — just a radio broadcast ending three marriages at once. Malyamu was subsequently arrested at the Kenyan border in April 1974, accused of trying to smuggle fabric out of the country.

The fate of Kay Adroa was far more horrifying. Her dismembered body was discovered in the trunk of a car in 1974. While never officially connected to Amin, the discovery came shortly after the radio divorce announcement. Nora escaped to Zaire in 1979, and her current whereabouts remain unknown. These were not divorces in any legal sense — they were acts of state terror disguised as domestic proceedings.

Amin continued marrying after these events. Nalongo Madina, whom he married in 1972, remained with him until his death in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2003. Sarah Kyolaba, a 19-year-old go-go dancer he married in 1975, separated from him in 1982. Amin's 'marriages' and 'divorces' stand as extreme examples of how authoritarian power can obliterate any pretense of marital rights.

Legal Breakdown: Marriage rights under authoritarian regimes

What This Means for Your Divorce