Ö÷²¥´óÐã

Ö÷²¥´óÐã World Service will make history on Thursday 9 April as it brings together the families of two former East African leaders whose hostility toward each other led to a fierce war in the late Seventies.

In a major Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili editorial initiative, Jaffer Remo Amin, the son of Uganda's former President Idi Amin, and Madaraka Nyerere, the son of Tanzania's "Founding Father" Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, have agreed to meet for the first time.

Led by Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili, the programming will also feature on the World Service's news and current affairs programme, The World Today, the human-interest programme Outlook, as well as the English-language output for Africa such as Focus On Africa, Network Africa and African Perspective. The multimedia content will also be available via the international-facing news website bbc.com/news.

On 10 April, it will be 30 years to the day since, following a month-long, decisive battle, Tanzania's then President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere ousted Uganda's Idi Amin Dada from power.

The troubled relationship between the two leaders had degenerated into warfare as early as October 1978 when Idi Amin attacked Tanzania and annexed the north-western province of Kagera.

The Ugandan leader was forced to flee into exile, first to Libya and later to Saudi Arabia where he died in August 2003.

From Monday 6 April, in the build-up to the 30th anniversary, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili's flagship daily news and current-affairs programmes, Amka na Ö÷²¥´óÐã (06.00 local time) and Dira ya Dunia (18.30) will reconstruct the events of three decades ago, talking to war veterans and victims who will relive their experiences of the 1979 war between Uganda and Tanzania.

The Ö÷²¥´óÐã will engage leading political analysts in a conversation looking at the effect those events had on East Africa and the rest of the continent. The leitmotif of the special programming is the meeting of the sons of the two leaders, who dominated regional politics.

From Monday 6 April, the Ö÷²¥´óÐã will follow Jaffer Remo Amin as he travels from his rural home Arua in north-western Uganda to Butiama in north-western Tanzania to pay homage to the late president Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.

Every step of the journey of Jaffer, 42, will be put on record by Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili's Idd Seif who will be accompanying him en route to the meeting. Over in Butiama, the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's Vicky Ntetema and Charles Hilary will be keeping track of the preparations by Madaraka Nyerere, 48, ahead of the meeting with Jaffer Remo Amin.

All along Amin's route to Butiama, the Ö÷²¥´óÐã will report on the public's reaction to the meeting of the descendants of the two men who led the opposing sides.

Project Coordinator, Caroline Karobia, has been talking to those who lived through the Seventies events.

She says: "Neither before nor after had East Africa seen a clash of that scale between two armies and, 30 years on, the memories are still vivid for most people who experienced the war. Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili will document these memories while also inviting our audiences to look ahead."

Head of Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili, Solomon Mugera, adds: "Idi Amin and Julius Nyerere were avowed enemies. Their differences dominated regional politics throughout the Seventies. Their leadership had profound impact on their citizens, with enduring legacies. Exploring the impact that war has had on Tanzania, Uganda and the entire East African region, Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili has spearheaded the meeting between the sons of the two adversaries. We are looking forward to covering every moment of their historic journey."

Notes to Editors

Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili is a multimedia broadcaster providing radio and online content to Swahili-speaking audiences. Ö÷²¥´óÐã Swahili is available on Ö÷²¥´óÐã FM stations and/or partner radio networks in Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Programmes are also available via the website bbcswahili.com which offers access to up-to-the minute news, features and analysis on East Africa and the rest of the world.

Ö÷²¥´óÐã World Service Publicity