Following the 1971 Ugandan coup d'état, Idi Amin called for Obitre Gama to return to Uganda immediately. Obitre Gama learned of the coup d'état in his home country through a BBC Radio broadcast. He was appointed to be Minister of Internal Affairs on 2 February, replacing the imprisoned and soon-to-be executed Basil Kiiza Bataringaya. He was the first soldier to be a member of the Cabinet of Uganda, a role he tried to turn down and a role he did not seek. Obitre Gama's most influential action as Minister of Internal Affairs was leading a mechanized battalion to restore order to Kampala in February 1972 following ethnic conflict within the city.