Forest Whitaker is hotly tipped to win an Oscar on Sunday for his portrayal of Idi Amin in the movie The Last King of Scotland.
But for the former tyrant's son Jaffar, the performance failed to capture the tall, powerful man he still describes as his "Big Daddy."
The Amin family has shunned the media for over two decades, but now that the film has put the Ugandan dictator back into the spotlight, his son wants to set the record straight.
"Dad is the only person that has ever been accused and sentenced, incarcerated by opinion, without it ever reaching any courthouse," Jaffar Amin said in an interview, calling for a truth and reconciliation committee to investigate that dark period in Uganda's history.
Jaffar Amin, a 40-year-old father of five with broad shoulders, confident demeanor and rich baritone voice, bears a striking resemblance to his father.
Though he doesn't deny the atrocities attributed to his father during his reign of terror, he says the film will compound many of the negative images on which he is now trying to shed light.
He acknowledges he faces a difficult battle trying to humanize Idi Amin.
"Dad's image can't be changed," he sighed.
"If I bring an understanding, it will be very little because he's in a compartment and getting him out of there will take a thousand years. But I believe my father would take it on the chin whatever they say about him," he said.
Jaffar Amin has broken the family's vow of silence and is writing a book to counter his father's reputation as a brutal buffoon and cruel eccentric.
"I don't want to fight what has been written, but I want to show another side. I want to show a parent, I want to show my father," he said.
He is the tenth of Amin's 40 official children by seven wives.
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