A Ugandan intelligence agency and a member of the rebel group claimed that Israel was backing the insurgents, but this was not independently confirmed.

Much of its leadership was killed or expelled, while members of ethnic and religious groups supportive of Amin were recruited and promoted en masse.

[6] Tens of thousands of Ugandans fled into exile during Amin's rule,[7] and some organized political and militant groups with the aim of deposing him.

However, about ten thousand exiles lived in Kenya, a country which generally attempted to avoid conflicts with Uganda and consequently frowned upon anti-Amin activities.

The Kenyan exiles were also aided by Christian organizations, some Western European political parties, and other "unusual patrons" such as American evangelist Billy Graham, international arms salesmen, and the Italian mafia.

Based on their investigations, journalists Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey concluded that this lobbying resulted in the formation of the "Uganda Liberation Movement" in 1977.

[9] Even though the Ugandan government had been warned by the SRB of the rebel plot and was prepared, the Uganda Liberation Movement's invasion did not go exactly as the intelligence agency had predicted.