Relatives: Ex-ruler of Uganda Idi Amin in coma
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Idi Amin, photographed in 1978
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(CNN) -- Former Ugandan ruler Idi Amin is in a coma at a Saudi Arabian hospital, and Uganda's government has rebuffed his family's request to allow him to be buried in his homeland, relatives said Sunday.
Amin, now 80, is overweight and has suffered from hypertension and fatigue in recent years, reported David Kibirige of Uganda's newspaper The Monitor.
Amin, a Muslim who rose to rule Uganda in 1971, received sanctuary in Saudi Arabia after his ouster in 1979, according to the CIA World Factbook. Amin's "dictatorial regime" was "responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents," the factbook said.
Amin's wife, Medina, said the former dictator slipped into a coma Friday night and was being treated at a Saudi hospital, Kibirige told CNN.
"There are signs of improvement, but he is still unconscious," Kibirige said.
Kibirige said Amin's family has asked Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to allow him to return home, but Museveni's government has said he still would face arrest there. If Amin dies, the government would not allow him to be buried there, Kibirige said.
