The sons of Uganda's former dictator Idi Amin and Tanzania's ex-President Julius Nyerere have met for the first time, three decades after the two countries fought a war. The BBC's Swahili Service brought the two together to reflect on the five-month conflict, which left half a million people dead and culminated with Tanzania troops ousting Amin from Kampala on 10 April 1979. JAFFAR AMIN "The two families - President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and President Idi Amin - ought to have met because they were the two protagonists. So, after carefully considering BBC's request, I agreed to travel more than 1,000km to Tanzania to meet Madaraka Nyerere in Butiama [his home town in northern Tanzania]. Both of us were young when the war broke out. Madaraka was 16 and I was only 12. Madaraka Nyerere comes from a family of somebody who's revered as a father of the nation and a great symbol of African socialism. Idi Amin represents African proactive nationalism and sought to instil a sense confidence within the common people. But today I find my immediate family in an undefined state that feels like we are deliberately being ostracised at a political level. There are those who condemned my father as a tyrant who killed or ordered the killing of those he perceived to be opposed to his rule. Yet there are those who knew Idi Amin Dada as a man who loved his country, family and culture as an African. My father is somebody who came from a poor background and always reminded us of his poor origins. He had a stint in the 1940s as a share cropper in the Mehta sugar plantations in Lugazi, Buganda District, but rose through the military to become a leader of a country. Some dismissed him as a stooge of the colonialists. Suddenly this "stooge" became very independent, populist and very nationalistic. He propagated African pride for Africans and went ahead to implement the common man's charter, which was prepared by his predecessor. Bizarre homage The purpose of his leadership was to make Africans proud of themselves. It's self-evident that as Ugandans, we exude a level of self-confidence you rarely find anywhere else on the continent. His downfall can be traced to some of the controversial decisions he made during his seven-year rule. For example, when he expelled Asians from the country, international opinion ran against him. However, he claims he compensated them to the tune of $1bn through the assistance of the OIC [Organisation of the Islamic Conference] countries during the Opec heydays. Also, when fellow Muslims convinced him to move away from the loyal relationship he enjoyed with Israel, he soon found the tide going against him. There are those who will find it bizarre that I can decide to pay homage to a man who kicked my own father out of power and sent us into exile. Wrong side of history But considering the great efforts towards patriotism and a united identity that Tanzania enjoys I would wish for this virtue to become an example to Ugandans. I also take a leaf out of [US] President [Barack] Obama's message to the Muslim world to unclench our fists when offered an extended hand. But there is a common ground between Mwalimu [Julius] Nyerere's son and myself to reconcile historical animosities that have lingered for a long time. It's been 30 years during which no-one from both families ever dreamed of meeting. Madaraka and I are taking that tough yet historical step. We do not want to be on the wrong side of history."