CDF Muhoozi to Minister Muhoozi: No requirement for security personnel to be identified
A photomontage of personnel on patrol in the capital Kampala. Such operatives are increasingly hiding behind the mask during operations. PHOTOS/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI AND ABUBAKER LUBOW
What you need to know:
- During a recent parliamentary session, Mukono North Legislator Abdallah Kiwanuka, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, pressed Minister Muhoozi to clarify whether security forces had adopted a new dress code involving face-covering hoods.
The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has defended the practice of security personnel wearing hoods and concealing their identities during operations.
This comes a day after State Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi, criticised the practice, describing it as "unacceptable" for security officers to wear hoods while conducting operations. In response, Gen Kainerugaba disagreed with his counterpart, stating that there is no requirement for security personnel to be identified.
"I disagree with General David Muhoozi. There is no requirement for security personnel to be identified! None at all!" Gen Kainerugaba posted on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
The controversy arose after hooded officers from the Joint Anti-Terrorist Task Force (JATT) were involved in recent operations during the Kawempe North by-election. The officers clashed with National Unity Platform (NUP) candidate Elias Nalukoola and his supporters, resulting in physical altercations and injuries. The incidents included an attack on Nalukoola during the nomination period and later, when NUP party president Robert Kyagulanyi joined the campaign.
These violent encounters, which led to injuries among journalists, supporters, and political leaders, have sparked strong criticism from both the opposition and some government members.
During a recent parliamentary session, Mukono North Legislator Abdallah Kiwanuka, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs, pressed Minister Muhoozi to clarify whether security forces had adopted a new dress code involving face-covering hoods.
"You have been silent on the matter of these officers who attacked Ugandans and police officers hiding their identities. Why are they hiding their faces? Is this part of the directives you have given them?" Mr Kiwanuka asked.
In response, Minister Muhoozi reiterated his position, emphasising that security personnel must be identifiable when enforcing the law. "If you are enforcing the law, you must be properly identified. We have rules of engagement, written booklets for officers, and we should continue to enforce the law accordingly," he said.
However, Gen Kainerugaba, the CDF and First Son, strongly disagreed with Minister Muhoozi’s stance. He defended the JATT on his X-platform, tweeting: "Great boys of UPDF! Protecting Uganda and Ugandans!"
Deployment in Juba
Meanwhile, there was a mixed reaction to reports of the Ugandan People's Defence Forces (UPDF) deployment in South Sudan. On March 5, Gen Kainerugaba tweeted that Uganda had sent special forces to Juba to assist South Sudanese President Salva Kiir in securing the city amid escalating tensions. This prompted South Sudan’s Information Minister, Michael Makuei, to dismiss the claims.
However, army spokesperson Maj Gen Felix Kulaigye confirmed the deployment, and Gen Kainerugaba posted a video showing Ugandan troops arriving in Juba. "UPDF Commandos arriving in Juba to support South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) in the current crisis. Operation 'Mlinzi wa Kimya' has begun. God bless UPDF!" he captioned the video.
Defense Minister Jacob Oboth Oboth, however, denied knowledge of the deployment, stating he had not participated in any meeting that authorised it. "The deployment could not have happened when I was here. I will have to verify and inform the House," Oboth Oboth told Parliament, responding to concerns raised by Kira Municipality lawmaker Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda.
Mr Ssemujju had questioned why the government had deployed the military without parliamentary authorisation, as required by law. According to the Ugandan Constitution, military deployments abroad must be approved by Parliament.
Erute South MP Jonathan Odur also raised concerns about the apparent lack of control over the CDF, questioning whether the Minister of Defence had been sidelined in decisions regarding Uganda’s military presence in South Sudan.
Concerns over South Sudan's security situation
The security situation in South Sudan continues to deteriorate. The US recently ordered the evacuation of non-emergency staff from the country. The crisis deepened after the arrest of a deputy army chief and two ministers, all allies of opposition leader Riek Machar, by South Sudanese security forces. The arrests have been condemned by the opposition as a violation of the peace deal that ended the civil war between President Kiir and Machar’s forces.
Despite a 2018 power-sharing agreement between Kiir and Machar, tensions remain high, and key elements of the peace deal, including the formation of a new government, have yet to be fully implemented.
