MAJOR General Francis Nyangweso, a former Uganda Olympic Committee president and IOC member, has died after a long illness. He was 71.

A former boxer who competed at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Nyangweso joined the Ugandan army after independence

He stuck a close friendship with former dictator Idi Amin, who named him his new army commander and chief of staff after the 1971 coup that brought him to power.

He was even reported to have acted as head of state when Amin, who was accused of causing the deaths of 400000 Ugandans during his nine-year rule, went on holiday.

The IOC said in a statement on Wednesday it was saddened by the death of Nyangweso, who spent 28 years at the head of his country's national Olympic committee, and was a member of the IOC's Culture and Olympic Education Commission and Olympic Solidarity Commission.

Though his name was mentioned in the bribery scandal that rocked the Olympic movement in 1999, Nyangweso survived the purge that saw several African members being expelled or resigning from the IOC.

He also served as vice-president of the International Amateur Boxing Association and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa from 1974 to 1978.