What shake-up means for army

On Monday night, President Museveni announced a shake-up in the UPDF that saw senior army officers given new positions of command and administration.
With these new appointments came a sense that the UPDF is undergoing a transition from the Bush War group to a younger and more energetic generation.
Until this week, the UPDF had for the last 30 years been commanded by officers who either joined the army in the 1970s or early 1980s.
Gen David Muhoozi, the new Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), and his newly promoted colleagues belong to the new generation of the UPDF. Most of them either joined towards the end of the NRA armed struggle or after President Museveni had captured power.

Army commanders over the years
The first army commander was Gen Elly Tumwine, who joined the army in 1979 as a cadet in Tanzania. He was replaced by Gen Caleb Akandwanaho, aka Salim Saleh, in 1987.
Gen Saleh joined the armed struggle against former president Idi Amin in 1976. After his short stint as the army chief, Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu came in 1989 and served for eight years until 1997.
Gen Muntu was among the few university students who joined Mr Museveni’s armed struggle against the Milton Obote government in 1982.
Gen Muntu was later succeeded by Gen Jeje Odongo, the current Internal Affairs minister, who joined the military in 1979. In 2001, the late Maj Gen James Kazini was appointed CDF for two years and was later replaced by the late Gen Aronda Nyakairima.
Gen Kazini joined the army in 1979 and Gen Aronda started his military career in 1982 after completing studies at Makerere University.

Aronda still remains the longest-serving UPDF CDF after he led the army for 10 years. In 2013, he was dropped and replaced by Gen Katumba Wamala who held the position until Monday this week.

New crop of leaders
With Gen Muhoozi taking on the mantle, he comes with a team of young and versatile officers. In this group, there is the new Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, Lt Gen Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, Commander Land Forces, Maj Gen Peter Elwelu, Chief of Military Intelligence, Col Abel Kandiho, army spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire, and Joint Chief of Staff, Maj Gen Joseph Musanyufu.
They never fought in the Bush War but seem to bear sentimental relations with the war because of their interaction with those who participated in it.
However, sources in the army say there is a silent divide between the new generation and the old guard. They are seen as Johnny-come-latelies who have taken over the UPDF command and control.
David Pulkol, the former director general of External Security Organisation, says these changes are intended to benefit officers close to President Museveni.

“I call them genetically modified officers. They are fast tracked, they are made to jump ranks and the professionals who have risen to where they are now, are not favoured,” he says.
He says most of the promoted officers had previously worked closely with the President either as aides or members of his security detail.

“All these officers’ loyalty is Museveni first, UPDF second, and Uganda comes last,” he says.
For instance, there has been constant debate over suspicions that the First Son, Maj Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, is being groomed by his father to take control of the army and later succeed him as President.
But Maj Gen Muhoozi, who was among those dropped in the recent changes, broke his silence on the debate last year, saying he harbours no presidential ambitions.
“I do not have the ambition to be President. I am very happy being in the military and that is where I intend to stay for some time,” Maj Gen Muhoozi said, adding that the so-called “Muhoozi Project” is “non-existent” and a “red herring”.
But sceptics say Maj Gen Muhoozi and the new crop in the army leadership have grown through the ranks to become generals yet there is an old generation of Bush War fighters that has remained static both in ranks and appointments.
This old group is said to have served with loyalty and it is a belittling for them to salute these young leaders who joined the army when they were already senior officers.

They would have opted to retire but that comes with challenges—starting a new in a financially strained environment.
In fact, there have been proposals that these officers be retired and given reasonable retirement packages to enable them live a decent life outside the military.

For example, the children of RO/00049 Maj John Mugisha recently wrote an emotional letter to Daily Monitor appealing to President Museveni to support them financially. Maj Mugisha was given his current rank when NRA was officially giving out military ranks in 1988 and has never been promoted.
“Your Excellency, you have been a parent to many. We request you to intervene and help us. Our parents cannot afford to pay out school fees,” the letter read in part.
The letter, dated September 23, 2016, says the officer has made several attempts to retire from the army with hope that he could use the retirement package to support his family, but he was told it’s only President Museveni who can authorise his retirement. There are many officers who live a life of desperation like Maj Mugisha’s.
In fact, when Gen David Sejusa wrote the controversial letter that caused him to flee to exile, there were many voices pushing a notion that his outburst represented many old soldiers who are unhappy that they are being sidelined.

UPDF renewing itself
But those who say the old guard are being sidelined should also understand that for any institution to grow, it must change guard.
“Some of us get threatened by that kind of thing. But an institution that does not renew itself has a problem. We are here to see young officers taking over from the old ones in order to maintain life, rigorousness and relevance,” Gen Jeje Odong said in 2013 when Katumba Wamala was being decorated General before taking over as CDF.
The deputy executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, Col (rtd) Shaban Bantariza, also says there is cohesion, coherency, and harmony between the old guard and the young officers.
He also disagrees that the recent promotions is the beginning of phasing out the old guard.
“It’s not that they are phasing out the old guard. We just have a new team in place,” he says, adding that the old guard cannot be phased out because of institutional memory.
“Where there are no elders, the young ones can trail aimlessly and get lost,” he says.

‘Not national in character’
But Mr Pulkol says these promotions and transfers are not national in character. “This is not good for democracy and national unity.”
“We want an army that remains even after Museveni has gone. But with such changes, it’s increasingly becoming difficult. These promotions and changes are a threat to the officers themselves, UPDF and Uganda,” he says.
However, outgoing army spokesperson, Lt Col Paddy Ankunda, disagrees with Pulkol.
“As far as we are concerned, these changes are good for the institutional memory. But also, these officers are experienced and competent,” Ankunda says.
On UPDF not existing after Mr Museveni, Lt Col Ankunda says “UPDF is going nowhere. Those are prophets of doom and it’s unfortunate”.

Members of the old guard still serving

O/00018 Lt Gen Ivan Koreta
Born in Mbarara in 1964, Koreta trained in the Frelimo camps in Mozambique while still a teenager and participated in the war that removed Idi Amin from power in 1979. He later joined Museveni in the 1981-86 war that removed the Obote regime. He commanded the 13th Battalion that guarded the Kampala-Gulu Highway. He later served as chairman of the General Court Martial in 2007. In 2013, he was named an ambassador.

RO/00023 Gen Elly Tumwine
A former teacher of Fine Art, Tumwine is one of the few surviving original 27 armed men who attacked Kabamba. He represents the army in Parliament and heads the medal awards committee. He first joined Museveni in 1978 to fight against Idi Amin. In 1981, he fired the first bullet at the attack on Kabamba. In 1984, he succeeded Sam Magara as army commander until 1987 when he handed over to Salim Saleh.

RO/00026 Maj Gen Pecos Kutesa
The current head of doctrine in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Kutesa is one of a few officers and political actors of the liberation war to document his experiences in the book, “Uganda’s Revolution 1979-1986: How I Saw It .” The others are Yoweri Museveni, Eriya Kategaya, Matayo Kyaligonza and the late Sam Njuba. Kutesa also trained in Munduli, Tanzania, with Elly Tumwine, Mugabi and Napoleon Rutambika, among others.

RO/00037 Maj Gen Joram Mugume
He heads the UPDF land board. Mugume was trained during the 1970s and joined the struggle that overthrew Obote. He has served as deputy army commander.

RO/00047 Col Gyagenda Kibirango
Col Kibirango is the head of Mubende casualty unit. He joined NRA in 1982 and is a member of the UPDF High Command.

RO/00038 Brig Stephen Kashaka
The Military Attaché to the Ugandan Embassy in South Africa previously served in the same position in Tanzania. Kashaka was a primary school teacher before joining the armed struggle.

RO/00049 Maj John Mugisha
He was last deployed in early 1990s. He has not been deployed since then and has also been a Major since 1988, raising claims that he was sidelined.