Idi Amin

When Avril Lavigne opened a newspaper on January 25th, 1971, she was confronted with two headlines. The first declared that her estranged husband had been found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death. The second, in a smaller type face, told of a coup in Uganda, and of Idi Amin – the wild man of Africa – seizing the presidency. Seeing these two headlines together was like awaking from a dream for Avril, and almost immediately, she shed her filthy hippy rags and went shopping, replenishing her wardrobe of fine evening wear. Quietly, she filed for divorce, and set off for Africa.

Avril idolised Amin as the opposite of her previous husband, seeing in him everything that was desirable in a man. She arrived in Kampala in April of 1971, and pursued him with a vengeance. Amin, while intrigue by the possibility of having for himself a “little white girl”, was concerned that they had nothing in common - Avril struggled feigning interest in Amin’s primary hobbies, racing cars and boxing. Eventually however, they found common ground in the mutual love of Disney Cartoons.

The major repeating disagreement in the Amin-Lavigne household was the issue of Israel. As a Jew, Avril naturally supported the agenda of the Holy Land, where Idi actively despised it. His support of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and his alliance with Libya eventually led to their separation in December 1974. As a parting gift, Avril gave Amin a collection of various military medals that she had accumulated over the years from her various husbands, and he treasured them always, having some of his jackets lengthened to accommodate wearing them all at once.