Bob Astles Robert " Bob " Astles ( 23 March 1924 – 29 December 2012 ) was a British soldier and colonial officer who lived in Uganda and became an associate of presidents Milton Obote and Idi Amin . Early life . Bob Astles was born in Ashford , Kent . He joined the British Indian Army as a teenager and then the Royal Engineers , reaching the rank of Lieutenant . Of his war service , he recalls : " I enjoyed being with other nationalities and their fights for world recognition during World War II . " He was 21 when he left the United Kingdom for Africa . Ugandan career . In 1949 , Astles was sent on special duties during the Bataka uprising in Buganda . His first job in Uganda was as a colonial officer with the Ministry of Works , then with £ 100 he set up Uganda Aviation Services Ltd , the first airline in Uganda to employ Africans . As Uganda ' s independence approached in 1962 , Astles became involved with a number of political groups . One of these was led by Milton Obote , who led the country to independence . Astles worked in his government until the 1971 coup d ' état , when he transferred his allegiance to Amin . In December , suspicion fell on Astles because of his previous support for Obote . Amin sent him to Makindye Prison where he spent 17 weeks , often shackled and brutally interrogated . Astles later said , " Amin called me a ' rotten apple ' on the radio , and nationalised my airline . It was ordinary Africans who helped me to survive . One guard was kicked to death for helping me . " In 1975 , Astles joined Amin ' s service , becoming the head of the anti - corruption squad and advising the president on British affairs , while running a pineapple farm . He also presided over an aviation service that transported members of the government . Astles later said " I kept my eyes shut , I said nothing about what I saw , which is what they liked " . What Astles did or did not do during Amin ' s reign is a matter of conjecture . Some considered him to be a malignant influence on the dictator ; others thought he was a moderating presence . He came to be known as " Major " Bob ( the title of Major was given to him by Amin ) or " the White Rat " . Imprisonment . Following the Uganda - Tanzania War which led to the demise of Amin ' s regime in 1979 , Astles fled to Kenya , but was brought back to Uganda to face criminal charges . At the time Kenyan newspapers linked the charges to the death of Bruce Makenzie , one of Kenya ' s former ministers in an aircraft explosion , though it was suspected that the bomb was meant for Astles who had refused to fly on the aircraft . He was imprisoned for his alleged association with Amin ' s security apparatus , and was charged with everything from murder and corruption to theft . Though acquitted , he remained in Luzira Prison for six and a half years , returning to Britain after his release in 1985 . Personal life . In 1958 , he married Monica , who had come to Uganda with him from Kent . A year later , after they had divorced , Astles married an aristocratic member of the Buganda kingdom , Mary Ssen - Katukka , and they later adopted two children . Astles later lived in Wimbledon , London , and continued to deny the allegations for which he was imprisoned . After returning to Britain , he dedicated his life to campaigning against superpower interference in African political and economic affairs . He also contributed political commentaries to a number of publications associated with Africa . He died in December 2012 at the age of 88 . The obituary in " The Telegraph " described him as " the most hated white man in postcolonial Africa . " Film . He was played by Leonard Trolley in the 1982 movie " Amin : The Rise and Fall " . The fictional character of Dr . Nicholas Garrigan in the book and film " The Last King of Scotland " was loosely based on some events in Astles ' life .