Fall of Kampala the Sudanese border and eliminated the last resistance. In 1971 Idi Amin launched a military coup that overthrew the President of Uganda, Milton Obote, precipitating a deterioration of relations with the neighbouring state of Tanzania. Amin installed himself as President and ruled the country under a brutal dictatorship. In October 1978 he launched an invasion of Tanzania. Tanzania blunted the assault, unified anti-Amin opposition groups, and launched a counter-offensive. The President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, told foreign diplomats that he did not intend to depose Amin, but only "teach him a lesson". The claim was not believed; Nyerere despised Amin,
Idi Amin estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from 100,000 to 500,000. Amin did not write an autobiography, and he did not authorize an official written account of his life. There are, therefore, discrepancies regarding when and where he was born. Most biographical sources claim that he was born in either Koboko or Kampala around 1925. Other unconfirmed sources state Amin's year of birth from as early as 1923 to as late as 1928. Amin's son Hussein has stated that his father was born in Kampala in 1928. According to Fred Guweddeko, a researcher at Makerere University, Amin