Bruce Mackenzie (British intelligence operative)
| Bruce McKenzie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1919 Richmond, Natal Province, South Africa |
| Died | 24 May 1978 (aged 59) above Ngong Hills, Kenya |
| Cause of death | Time bomb |
| Title | Kenyan Minister of Agriculture |
Bruce Roy Douglas McKenzie DSO DFC (1919 – 24 May 1978) was a South African-born Kenyan politician. He was the Minister of Agriculture in Kenya during the presidency of Jomo Kenyatta, to whom he was an adviser. He is alleged to have been an agent for British, South African or Israeli intelligence by various people. He was assassinated on the orders of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
McKenzie was born in 1919 in Richmond in South Africa's Natal Province. He joined the South African Air Force in 1939, and was seconded to Britain's Royal Air Force during World War II, with which he saw action in North Africa, the Mediterranean and European theatres. Following his air force service, he emigrated to Kenya in 1946 and became a prominent farmer in Nakuru.
In January 1976, McKenzie was involved in the capture of two German and three Arab suspected terrorists wanted by Israel for an attempted missile attack on an El Al airliner taking off from the airport of Nairobi. The five were secretly transported to Israel and later sentenced to long prison terms.
In late June 1976, during Operation Entebbe, McKenzie persuaded Kenyan President Kenyatta to permit Mossad to collect intelligence prior to the operation, and to allow the Israeli Air Force access to the Nairobi airport. Before the operation, McKenzie flew his private plane to Entebbe to enable Mossad agents to take aerial photographs of the airport installations and parked fighter jets which were soon destroyed by the Israeli troops.
In retaliation, Ugandan President Idi Amin ordered Ugandan agents to assassinate McKenzie. He was killed on 24 May 1978 when a bomb attached to his aircraft exploded. The bomb was reportedly concealed inside either a mounted antelope head or a carved wooden statue in the form of a lion's head McKenzie had been presented as a gift from Idi Amin just prior to the flight.
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