Waris Ali Fadhul or Ali Waris Fadhul was an ethnic Busoga from eastern Uganda, although he was often described as a "Sudanese" and spoke Nubian. He joined the Uganda Army at some point during the presidency of Milton Obote. He took part in the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état that resulted in Obote's overthrow and initiated Idi Amin's presidency. At the time of the coup he was a corporal stationed in Moroto. Thereafter, he rose in the ranks. Described by researcher Andrew Rice as "an Amin confidante and notorious brute", Fadhul was granted command of the Uganda Army's Simba Battalion and tasked with eliminating soldiers loyal to the deposed President Obote. He consequently carried out several massacres of suspected dissident troops at the Simba barracks of Mbarara. In addition, he was possibly connected to the deaths of journalist Nicholas Stroh and Makerere University lecturer Robert Siedle. Amin promoted him to Lieutenant Colonel for his role in the purges of July 1971.