Tag Archives: updf

By Haggai Matsiko Regional peace rests on untested 1,200-strong UN force The announcement that Ugandan troops are exiting South Sudan has sparked both relief and fear. There is relief because since the Jan. 23 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed by South Sudan President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar …

Uganda People’s Defence Forces on 13th of October began its phased withdrawal from South Sudan. 2,500 Ugandan soldiers had been deployed in South Sudan following the conflict in the new African nation between the President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar. The first phase of the withdrawal will be complete by …

By Andrew M. Mwenda How Nyakairima took UPDF out of headlines and has left a professional respected military Sometime in 2003, President Yoweri Museveni chaired a meeting of the army high command to discuss highly sensitive matters. The proceedings leaked to me. I was happy to publish a story about …

By Independent Reporter AMISOM responds late to al Shabaab re-organisation and tactics On July 23, Stratfor – the American-based intelligence firm- issued an optimistic analysis of the African Union force in Somalia, AMISOM, effort against the militant group, al Shabaab. The analysis was titled, `In somalia, African forces make gains …

By Patrick Nakabale With soldiers talking seeds and plants instead of guns and bombs, the prosperity gospel is made easier Recently, I was privileged to participate in activities of wealth-creation and prosperity through agriculture in Kakiri town council and surrounding areas. We have been involved in activities of agricultural expansion …

In Sri Lanka, soldiers are fixing roads and bridges, remodelling cities, and selling vegetables President Museveni’s decision to give the controversial National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) to his former bush war veterans who, he claims, are living under abject poverty reminds me of an article I wrote in June last …

By Haggai Matsiko Army that beat Machar’s fighters faces an unceremonious exit A potholed runway ushers you into Juba International Airport—the most critical South Sudan government installation.  A small old stuffy building with dusty window panes and a dusty cracked cement floor, the terminal is manned by policemen who don …

By Andrew M. Mwenda The changing face of the Ugandan army and what it says about Museveni’s plans for the future Imade my career in the late 1990s and early 2000s in large part by investigating and reporting on corruption and incompetence in the Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF). The …

By Haggai Matsiko Gen. Biraaro joins renegades Sejusa, Besigye President Yoweri Museveni might face two retired generals in the 2016 presidential elections if word on the street proves correct.  Apart from retired Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu who is set to contest on the ticket of the biggest opposition party, the …

Lessons from Aronda, Muntu, Muhoozi promotions ANALYSIS | HAGGAI MATSIKO & IVAN RUGAMBWA | Recent promotions in the army have re-ignited the continuous debate of how President Yoweri Museveni uses the forces to stay in power.  Hundreds of low rank officers, from 2nd Lieutenant to Major, were in May promoted …