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.
Amin was welcomed both within Uganda[citation needed] and by the international community[citation needed]. He gave former king and president Mutesa (who had died in exile) a state burial in April 1971, freed many political prisoners, and reiterated his promise to hold free and fair elections to return the country to democratic rule in the shortest period possible.
Presidency
Main article: Uganda under Idi Amin
Establishment of military rule
On February 2, 1971, one week after the coup, Amin declared himself President of Uganda, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed