Kamel Hana Gegeo


Kamel Hana Gegeo was an Iraqi Assyrian bodyguard, valet, and food taster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He was murdered by Saddam's son Uday Hussein at a party with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as a guest.

Career

Gegeo is said to have introduced Saddam to his second wife, Samira Shahbandar, and arranged trysts between them, which led to a feud between Gegeo and Sajida Talfah, and Uday Hussein, who took it as an insult against his mother Sajida. Gegeo's father, Hana Gegeo, was one of Saddam Hussein’s personal chefs; his mother was the nanny of Hala. His brother, Malco Hana Gegeo, was a military man assigned by Saddam to form the Assyrian forces, which were then called the Assyrian regiment.

Death

On 18 October 1988, Gegeo was murdered by Uday Hussein. During a party thrown in honour of Suzanne Mubarak, Uday bludgeoned Gegeo with a club in front of guests, and by some accounts, finally shot him to death, possibly acting on orders from his mother. Saddam was willing to punish Uday and arrest him for murder, but after multiple pleas by his first wife Sajida Talfah and Gegeo’s parents to pardon Uday, he exiled him to Switzerland instead of imprisoning him. Mubarak himself later called Uday a "psychopath".