Rise in the ranks

Maliyamungu quickly became Amin's "right-hand man".^[23] He was appointed member of the Defence Council,^[24] General Staff Officer I Grade responsible for training and operations^[25] (de facto army chief of staff),^[15] and commander of the Ordnance Depot at Magamaga.^[24] In 1972 he served as acting commander of the Second Infantry Battalion based in Masaka.^[26] He was appointed the official head of the "Second Simba Mechanized Battalion" at Masaka and promoted from major to lieutenant colonel in May 1973.^[27] In 1974, he transferred from head of the Ordnance Depot to commander of the Eagle Colonel Gaddafi Battalion, and was also given command of a mechanised regiment.^[28] In April 1975, Maliyamungu left leadership of the Gaddafi Battalion to Hussein Mohammed, and was appointed head of an entire brigade. He consequently oversaw several units from an office in Jinja.^[29]

Most importantly of all his commands, Maliyamungu headed the VIP Protection Unit (Amin's bodyguards and enforcers)^[30] and played a major role in the State Research Bureau, Uganda's intelligence agency.^{[lower-alpha 2]} Along with Major General Mustafa Adrisi, he was believed to effectively control the entire Ugandan armed forces,^[33] and was regarded as the Ugandan President's "power base".^[6] Knowing that his power derived from his influence over the soldiers, Maliyamungu reportedly turned down offers of cabinet posts to stay in the barracks. He was generally respected and feared among the common soldiers,^[6] and held the power to beat or execute those who disappointed him^[34] or were suspected of being disloyal to the Amin regime.^[21] By 1977, he claimed to be the de facto heir of Amin due to his loyalty to the regime and reliability in carrying out the President's orders.^[6]

In 1976, Maliyamungu was responsible for a major security blunder. Uganda's Ambassador to Lesotho, Isaac Lumago,^[35] overheard a conversation by officers of the Kenya Air Force on 4 July. They discussed plans by Israel to carry out a raid against Entebbe to free hostages who were held there by Palestinian and German hijackers with assistance by the Ugandan government. The ambassador informed Maliyamungu,^[36] but he regarded the report as "gasiya" (rubbish)^[8] and took no action whatsoever.^{[36][lower-alpha 3]} That same day, Israeli commandos carried out Operation Entebbe, freeing the hostages, and destroying one quarter of the Uganda Army Air Force.^[38] While the raid took place, Maliyamungu was allegedly relaxing at a nearby hotel with a prostitute.^[8] Following the raid, he had 14 soldiers arrested under suspicion of collaborating with the Israelis. Once they were gathered in a room at Makindye Barracks, Maliyamungu shot 12 of them with his pistol.^[39]

Over time, Amin's brutal regime was increasingly destabilized by internal divisions and economic problems despite great repression by state authorities.^[40] One of Amin's policies that drew opposition even among his original followers was the great power he gave to Kakwa and Nubians, while leaving officials of other ethnicies underrepresented. As result, a group of officers led by Brigadier Charles Arube attempted to overthrow Amin and kill his Nubian/Kakwa followers, including Maliyamungu. In the end, the so-called Arube uprising failed.^[41] Maliyamungu was also regarded as "prime target" for assassination by Ugandan exiles, as he controlled much of the Uganda Army's tank forces.^[42] By 1978, Maliyamungu was one of the few remaining people who were regarded as trusted and loyal followers of Amin.^[43] He was one of the officers who were responsible for enlisting 10,000 new soldiers for the Uganda Army in Sudan, Kibera (Kenya), and Uganda^[44] around September 1978. This mass recruitment followed extensive purges in the military.^[45]

Involvement in state repression

Maliyamungu was known as Idi Amin's "hit man"^[46] and "principal hangman".^[47] The forces under his command used extreme methods in suppressing suspected dissidents.^{[48][24][49][4]} Though there is no record of Maliyamungu behaving violently before the coup, after Amin's takeover he became one the new regime's most vicious officials.^[50] He was reportedly feared by his colleagues on the Defence Council due to his brutality,^[24] and by the rest of the army due to his great powers and close connection with President Amin.^[3] Maliyamungu preferred to execute his victims by dismembering^[8] or disemboweling them and driving military trucks^[14][51] or tanks over them.^[21][52] His reputation was such that people would panic whenever he came to visit an area.^[8]

Maliyamungu was linked to the deaths of several prominent Ugandans during the rule of Amin. In 1972, rebels invaded Uganda. Maliyamungu was entrusted with hunting down and killing rebel stragglers and supporters in Masaka.^[53] In course of these purges, he was reportedly responsible for the execution of Francis Walugembe, the popular former Mayor of Masaka.^[54][14][55] Maliyamungu had previously come into conflict with Walugembe while the latter was mayor as the former tried to exert significant control over Masaka.^[56] Maliyamungu first cut off Walugembe's genitals, then paraded him through Masaka's streets,^[14] and finally "cut [him] into pieces in the [town's] market in full public view".^{[55][lower-alpha 4]} He also chaired the show trial of Janani Luwum, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, and other religious leaders in 1977. Luwum as well as his colleagues were murdered shortly after the trial.^[3] According to Mustafa Adrisi (Vice President of Uganda at the time)^[59] and a Human rights commission, Maliyamungu was directly responsible for their deaths.^[15] Intelligence reports also implicate him in the killing of Kung'u Karumba, a friend of Prime Minister of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta and a prominent Kenyan nationalist. Maliyamungu's wife was reportedly indebted to Karumba, and the latter was murdered during a disagreement over the debts in June 1974.^[60]

According to George Ivan Smith, President Amin, Vice President Adrisi, and Maliyamungu decided to order a purge of the Langi and Acholi ethnic groups in northern Uganda in 1977. Thousands belonging to these ethnic groups, primarily men, were subsequently murdered.^[61] Despite the widespread and brutal suppression of all dissidents, the power of the Amin regime increasingly deteriorated in the late 1970s, as political and economic instability grew in Uganda. In response to these developments, Maliyamungu (by then promoted to brigadier) declared in a 1978 speech to 10,000 civilians that he would use tanks and bulldozers to destroy any area that was opposed to the government, proving to everyone that the regime "is hotter than a heated iron bar and not afraid to act".^[46]

Corruption

Like many other high-ranking officials under Amin, Maliyamungu used his power to enrich himself. When Amin ordered the expulsion of Asians from Uganda, Maliyamungu was placed on a committee to oversee the distribution of their wealth, taking much for himself.^[62][63] He was also involved in coffee smuggling,^[34][14] shipping large amounts of coffee with boats from Uganda across Lake Victoria to Kenya.^[14] President Amin ordered his British advisor Bob Astles to clamp down on Maliyamungu's smuggling operations in 1978. According to Indian diplomat Madanjeet Singh, Maliyamungu responded by kidnapping and torturing Astles before releasing him.^{[64][lower-alpha 5]}

Maliyamungu also used his national position to intervene in sporting. In late 1975 he interrupted a session of the Uganda Amateur Athletics Association (UAAA) general assembly and declared his desire to lead the organisation. The assembly then unanimously elected him UAAA chairman. During this time he repeatedly intervened in the affairs of Uganda's national sport teams to oversee their preparations for the 1976 Summer Olympics. This came to naught as Uganda boycotted the event.^[67]