James Zikusoka forces aligned to Milton Obote launched a botched attempt to overthrow Idi Amin, the dictator fired all cabinet ministers that he did not trust, Zikusoka included. Zikusoka sought political refugee in Kenya, and then later joined the United Nations Development Program and served as a consultant in New York and Saudi Arabia, then for the Commonwealth Secretariat in Barbados until Amin was overthrown in 1979. He served as Uganda's high commissioner to the United Kingdom, appointed to that position by Godfrey Binaisa,the then newly appointed President of Uganda in 1979. Later, from 1993 until 1997, Zikusoka served as the chairman
History of Uganda (1971–79) which Obote had attempted to dismantle. They seemed willing to forget that their new president, Idi Amin, had been the tool of that military suppression. Amin made the usual statements about his government's intent to play a mere "caretaker role" until the country could recover sufficiently for civilian rule. Amin repudiated Obote's non-aligned foreign policy, and his government was quickly recognized by Israel, Britain, and the United States. By contrast, presidents Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya, and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) initially refused to accept the legitimacy of the new military