Uganda People's Congress escaped to London and Obote declared himself President of Uganda. This action more than anything else began the decline of the UPC as a popular party in Uganda. As his unpopularity grew Obote increasingly turned to his Northern home support rather than trying to strengthen the party in the South. The 1969 elections were cancelled and Obote became dictatorial. His government was overthrown in 1971 by Idi Amin. The UPC returned in 1979 after Idi Amin was overthrown. Obote as leader of the UPC was closely aligned to the Military Junta that had replaced Idi Amin and rather than strengthen
Hafizullah Amin Amin, in which Puzanov participated. The situation was worsened by the KGB accusing Amin of misrepresenting the Soviet position on Afghanistan in the PDPA Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council. The KGB also noted an increase in anti-Soviet agitation by the government during Amin's rule, and harassment against Soviet citizens increased under Amin. A group of senior politicians reported to the Soviet Central Committee that it was necessary to do "everything possible" to prevent a change in political orientation in Afghanistan. However, the Soviet leadership did not advocate intervention at this time, and instead called for increasing its influence in