Abdallah Nasur

Abdul Abdallah Nasur (1946 – 18 April 2023) was a Ugandan military officer and administrative official. Under President Idi Amin, he served as Governor of Central Province from January 1975 to January 1976 and from August 1976 to April 1979, when Amin was overthrown. He also served as Governor of Karamoja Province from January to August 1976.

Born in 1946 in Nakatonya, Bombo, Uganda, Nasur enlisted in the Uganda Army in 1964 and was involved in military athletics. He rose in the ranks before being made Governor of Central Province, and in this office he played a leading role in Amin's "Keep Uganda Clean" initiative, garnering a negative reputation for his strict enforcement of the urban beautification campaign. He also frequently intervened in national sporting affairs. Following Amin's overthrow he fled to Kenya, but was extradited back to Uganda to face charges relating to the murder of the Mayor of Masaka, Francis Walugembe. He was convicted in 1982 and sentenced to death, though there remains disagreement over who was actually responsible for the murder. He was pardoned in 2001 and retired to Bombo. He died in 2023.

Early life Abdallah Nasur was born in 1946 in Nakatonya, Bombo, Uganda to Aljab Manguru and Abdu Abdallah Urada. He attended the Bombo Islamic School,

Career Nasur joined the Uganda Army in 1964. That year he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Amin also placed Nasur in charge of the Economic Crimes Tribunal, which was tasked with combatting smuggling and economic malpractice. According to Peter F. B. Nayenga, it was also "common knowledge" that Nasur was "personally responsible for many of the deaths" that occurred around Kampala and Entebbe.

As governor, Nasur played a leading role in Amin's "Keep Uganda Clean" initiative, which involved removing trash and beautifying Kampala's streets. He appointed a committee to encourage the public to sanitise the city and oversaw a network of undercover detectives that monitored littering. He regularly toured the city to ensure it was clean, and in May 1975 he had all illegal housing in the Nakawa neighborhood demolished. Nasur also decreed a prohibition on the wearing of slippers, as Kampala residents often wore them to bathe outside or use a toilet, and he associated them with dirt. This adversely impacted the urban poor, who could not afford other types of footwear. This generated allegations that Nasur's subordinates' would force people caught wearing slippers to eat them, or beat and incarcerate them. Nasur later denounced these charges as "baseless". Nevertheless, he garnered a negative reputation for his strict enforcement of the cleanliness campaign and in November Amin criticised him in a military meeting, saying "it is wrong on the part of the governor who was misbehaving to the extent of flattening people's cars and beating women wearing slippers". In January 1976 Amin transferred Nasur, making him Governor of Karamoja Province and replaced him with Samuel Odong.

In August 1976 Odong was moved and Amin reappointed Nasur Governor of Central Province. Shortly after reassuming his office, Nasur organised eight cleanliness zones in Kampala. He then led officials in conducting "spot checks" around the city, evicting residents of unkempt houses, seizing untidy businesses, and closing down disorganised markets. These actions dispossessed numerous citizens of their belongings. Nasur believed that unmarried women increased crime and prostitution and publicly suggested that they should leave urban areas and engage in agricultural production in the countryside. In an attempt to reduce crime, he banned the brewing and consumption of alcohol in certain parts of Kampala. He also closed down several shops and restaurants in Katwe, accusing their owners of overcharging for goods. In 1977 he forced out the chairman of the National Council of Sports and took his place. In this capacity he banned the Express football club after it had defeated an army team in a game, accusing its members of subversion. The following year he ejected Denis Obua from the national football team for drinking before the 1978 African Cup of Nations. He was still governor in April 1979.

Murder trial and imprisonment In late 1978 Uganda invaded Tanzania. This started a war between the two countries, and in April 1979 Tanzanian troops and Ugandan rebels overthrew Amin's regime. Nasur fled to Kenya, reportedly taking 75 million Ugandan shillings ($10 million) with him. Local authorities arrested him in Kakamega and on 16 June 1979 he was extradited to Uganda and charged with the murder of the Mayor of Masaka, Francis Walugembe. Walugembe had been killed in Masaka on 21 September 1972.

"I have been convicted of murdering a man I have never seen. Those who have accused me may go and celebrate that we have convicted Nasur. I, as a Muslim, I am holding this Koran knowing that I am charged falsely, but those who have charged me will be the ones to suffer." source=—Excerpt of Nasur's response to his murder conviction, 26 January 1982 In his ruling, he wrote that the prosecution witnesses all placed the scene of the murder at the quarter guard at Kasijjagirwa Barracks. Following his release he retired to his former home in Bombo and became a vocal supporter of Museveni. Reflecting on Amin in 2003, he said, "Everybody makes mistakes. Do not punish Amin. We should leave the judgment to God." He remained a devout Muslim in retirement, praying frequently in the local mosque, and was a respected leader in Bombo's Nubian community. Nasur died on 18 April 2023 at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala, following an affliction with pneumonia and a decline in health related to diabetes and heart trouble.