Obote instead reprimanded him, since it would have been unpolitical to prosecute one of the two African commissioned officers just before Uganda was to gain her independence from Britain on October 9, 1962. Thereafter Amin was promoted to captain in 1962 and major in 1963 and was selected to participate in the commanding officers' course at Wiltshire school of infantry in Britain in 1963.
The need for pay increases and the removal of British officers led to an army mutiny in 1964. Amin was called upon to calm the soldiers. The resulting settlement from this crisis led to Amin's promotion to colonel and commanding officer of the First Battalion Uganda Rifles. The 1964 events catapulted the army into political prominence, something Amin fully understood, and he used the political process to gain favors from his superiors.
Amin's close association with Obote apparently began in 1965 when, in sympathy for the followers of Patrice Lumumba (the murdered prime minister of Congo), Obote asked Amin for help in establishing military training camps. Amin also brought coffee, ivory, and gold into Uganda from the Congo so that the rebels there could have money to pay for arms.
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