Having learned that Obote was planning to arrest him for misappropriating army funds , Amin seized power in a military coup on 25 January 1971 , while Obote was attending a Commonwealth summit meeting in Singapore . Troops loyal to Amin sealed off Entebbe International Airport and took Kampala . Soldiers surrounded Obote 's residence and blocked major roads . A broadcast on Radio Uganda accused Obote 's government of corruption and preferential treatment of the Lango region . Cheering crowds were reported in the streets of Kampala after the radio broadcast . Amin announced that he was a soldier , not a politician , and that the military government would remain only as a caretaker regime until new elections , which would be announced when the situation was normalised . He promised to release all political prisoners
summit meeting
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971
Idi Amin