South Asian Heritage Month special – Marking 50 years of the contributions of Ugandan South Asians in the UK

Please note that this article was published prior to the new brand name of PREACH Inclusion® on 25 April 2024, so you will notice references to BAME in Property.

This year marks 50 years since Ugandan Asians were expelled from Uganda. More than 27,000 Asians were expelled by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1972 and thousands settled in Leicester. For this year’s #SouthAsianHeritageMonth, we celebrate the stories of resilience and tenacity of the Ugandan Asians who came to the UK in the toughest of circumstances but who overcame adversity – not just for themselves but for their community too. Partner at Montagu Evans, Bhavini Shah, explores the influence of Ugandan Indians in the UK, especially Leicester.

On 4 August 1972, Idi Amin, President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979, ordered the expulsion of Uganda’s South Asian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country, accusing them of “sabotaging Uganda’s economy and encouraging corruption”. Although they formed the minority of the country’s population, it is important to note that official figures suggest that the Ugandan Asians contributed to circa 90% of Uganda’s tax receipts in 1972.

Estimates of the total number of Ugandan Asians expelled from Uganda varies, ranging between 55,000 and 80,000 people, with the number of people coming to the UK around 27,000. Ugandan Asians were pretty-much stripped of their assets and possessions with people even reported being held at gun point by officers before leaving the country to take valuable personal possessions.

"Though Amin took their possessions, they had not lost their skills, university degrees or network of community contacts that would see many of their businesses rise from the ashes. They helped each other to help themselves."

A BBC article from 18 September 1972 reports on the first 193 Ugandan Asians arriving into Stansted Airport that very morning. Some had made their own arrangements with family and friends whilst others were taken to an RAF camp at Stradishall in Suffolk, which was organised by the UK Ugandan Resettlement Board. The families who arrived mostly settled in already established communities in areas such as London and the East Midlands with most Ugandan Asians (around 20,000) settling in Leicester.

It is in business that Ugandan Asians have made the biggest impact because that is where most of their success in Uganda lay. They were highly educated and familiar with British customs. Though Amin took their possessions, they had not lost their skills, university degrees or network of community contacts that would see many of their businesses rise from the ashes. They helped each other to help themselves.

Arriving with nothing, they quickly set about trying to rebuild the luxurious lives many had lived in East Africa. Industrialist Manubhai Madhvani, who died in 2011 aged 81, was a regular in the annual Rich Lists. He lost everything in 1972 but his business empire had interests in sugar, brewing and tourism. He once said ‘you can take someone's money, but you cannot take their know-how.'

"When young Ugandan Asians did get a job, it was after having to attend more interviews that their white counterparts. Again, this is something we still see today with young people from ethnic minority backgrounds sometimes changing their name at the top of a CV to try to get a foot in the door."

But it wasn’t easy in the early years. Those with professional skills in teaching or medicine, for example, found that their skills were not transferrable or needed to be topped up. This is something we still see today with the refugee and immigrant populations. One man, Vinod Kotecha, was a pharmacist in Uganda, but his diploma was not recognised in the UK. He was told by the then Pharmacy Association that he would have to study again from A-levels upwards to get the required qualifications recognised in the UK. He tried hard to get these qualifications but ended up working as a filing clerk in the local health authority in Leicester.

School-aged Ugandan Asians who finished off their school studies in the UK were less likely to get a job compared to their white counterparts so many young people continued their studies. When young Ugandan Asians did get a job, it was after having to attend more interviews that their white counterparts. Again, this is something we still see today with young people from ethnic minority backgrounds sometimes changing their name at the top of a CV to try to get a foot in the door.

One theory from M. H. Freeman’s thesis ‘Asian enterprise in Leicester’ is that ‘[Ugandan] Asian businessmen have frequently limited themselves to markets where they cannot be perceived as a threat by white people. Significant penetration into the white market has only been achieved in spheres considered undesirable by white traders. Grocery shops, newsagents, taxi-hire, of licences predominate for Asians; areas in which white entrepreneurs have long been in retreat.’ In fact, a Daily Mail article from 11 February 1976, titled ‘Service with a smile back in Britain’, estimated that Ugandan Asians had taken over 4,000 grocery stores, 1,000 newsagents, 500 sub-post offices and 300 pharmacies with young Ugandan Asians forming a ‘rising generation’ who were winning a substantial amount of university places and figuring prominently in GCSE results.

"…we can learn a lot from the Asians living here especially when it comes to family loyalties, respect of children to parents and sheer hard work to gain better standards from a poorer background."

Furthermore, an article by the Loughborough Echo newspaper, dated 10 January 1974, found that 90% of Ugandan Asians in the area were already working. The remaining 10% were either elderly or were unskilled.

In Leicester, Ugandan Asians’ presence has transformed the city from a depressed and deprived East Midlands town through the establishment of businesses, creation of community groups, entering politics and reinforcing the importance of education to future generations which has supported the strong communities in Belgrave, Melton Road and Rushey Mead and perhaps even further afield outside of their immediate community: in the opinions page of the Leicester Mercury newspaper from 30 August 1972, a reader noted that ‘…we can learn a lot from the Asians living here especially when it comes to family loyalties, respect of children to parents and sheer hard work to gain better standards from a poorer background.'

In the 50 years since Ugandan Asians were expelled from Uganda, many have returned but just as many have stayed and raised their families here and in the other countries that they settled in. The impact of this community is strong and continues today with some high profile success stories:

• Lata Patel who was mayor of Brent from 1996-97;
• Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, MBE, is one of Britain's most distinguished columnists (we note she left Uganda shortly before the official expulsion);
• Asif Din was an accomplished Warwickshire cricketer from 1981 to 1995, whose family arrived in the UK in 1972 with £50 to their name; and Tarique Ghaffur, CBE, was promoted to Assistant Commissioner within the Metropolitan Police and headed three of the Met’s Operational Command Units: the Directorate of Performance, Review and Standards in 2001; the Specialist Crime Directorate from November 2002; and Central Operations from 2006.

To mark 50 years since the expulsion of this community, there are a number of online and in-person events that have already kicked off:

• Charity AFFCAD UK has gathered a number of personal stories of those who fled Uganda: https://affcaduk.org/50-ugandan-asian-stories/
• On Instagram follow @UgandanAsians and @BritishUgandanAsians50 to get live updates on events across the country and access to articles and podcasts
• In Leicester, Navrang Arts has been provided with funding from the National Lottery and Leicester City Council to curate an exhibition. More details can be found @Uganda2Leic50

Do you have roots in Uganda too? Share your story in the comments below.

An earlier version of this article was first published in August 2020 and can be read here.