By January 1971 , Milton Obote , then President of Uganda , was prepared to rid himself of the potential threat posed by Idi Amin . Departing for the 1971 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Singapore , he relayed orders to loyal Langi officers that Amin and his supporters in the army were to be arrested . Various versions emerged of the way this news was leaked to Amin . Also , the role of the foreign powers in the coup had been debated until recently . Documents declassified by the British Foreign Office reveal that , contrary to earlier speculations , it was not directly facilitated by Great Britain but benefited from covert support by Israel which saw Idi Amin as an agent to de-stabilise Islamic Sudan . The documents however unveil an outrightly positive assessment of Amin 's personality by the British authorities as well as recommendations of support and the sale of arms to the new regime
1971 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1971
History of Uganda (1971–79)