[UAH] WHY APPOINT A GOOD MAN AS NEW ARMY BOSS WHEN HE WONT BE IN CHARGE?
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New CDF, Katumba Wamala
The change to the new guard underscores an ultimate power handoff from a coterie of grey-haired officers from the Luweero bush war who have been at the helm since 1986. The former CDF Gen Aronda Nyakayirima and his deputy, Lt Gen Ivan Koreta represented the last vestiges of the Luweero bush war fighters who for more than two decades had been at the helm of the UPDF leadership.
In 1979, during the post- Idi Amin era, newly appointed CDF Gen Katumba Wamala attended the cadet officers' course at the respected Monduli institution in Tanzania. The other officers who attended the same course were Gen Elly Tumwine, Gen Jeje Odongo, the late NRA army commander Sam Magara, former deputy army commander Maj Gen Joram Mugume, Maj Gen Pecos Kuteesa, Brig Julius Chihandae, the late Brig Peter Kerim, Brig Stephen Kashaka and the late NRA director of Finance Frank Guma.
When Gen Salim Saleh was appointed platoon commander in Moroto district to serve under the Obote II UNLA army, it was Katumba who also served in the same force, who helped him escape to Luweero to join the NRA struggle. Therefore, by the time Katumba joined the NRA in 1986, he was already an insider. He had carried out a number of covert operations for the NRA, whose objectives were to destroy the UNLA from within.
In 1986, Katumba was appointed an Aide de Camp (ADC) serving three Army Commanders; Gen Elly Tumwine, Gen Salim Saleh and Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu respectively. However, some sources told The Observer that much as Katumba is not a historical member of NRA, he is among the most popular commanders within the rank and file. His leadership style draws parallels with that of first deputy Army Commander, the late Fred Gisa Rwigyema.
"His major assignment which earned him recognition was when he was the commander of operation "Safe Haven" during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He knew how to motivate troops and to manage their welfare. There was battle fatigue and he could give soldiers Rekiso (leave)," said a source in the army.
Another source told The Observer that Katumba is a good military strategist.
"When he was 4 Division Commander, he wiped out the West Nile Bank Front (WNBF) under Juma Oris," he said.
Katumba's deputy, the fast-rising Lt Gen Charles Angina, is also a former UNLA officer who joined the bush struggle in 1983. By 1986, he was an intelligence officer. A source told The Observer that because the two had a dismal role in the Luweero war, they might not have much sway as overall commanders of the army and that alone calls for them to tread carefully.
Behind the veneer of this reshuffle, some sources within the army claim the president's son Brig Muhoozi Kainerugaba is still ultimately in charge. Currently the four key echelons of the army, previously under the regular force, the Mechanized Brigade, Airforce, Marine and Artillery units are firmly placed under the Special Forces Command (SFC) which is under Kainerugaba.
"The regular army is only left with the infantry. In a situation of war, the infantry would need all these units. It's with such powers that Muhoozi remains in charge of the army," said a military source.
About six months ago, there was another realignment within the structures of the army, which gave the SFC more powers. In the new structures, a story first reported by The Observer and later on confirmed by the former army spokesperson Col Felix Kulayigye, the SFC alongside, the Land Forces and Airforce had been integrated as the three fighting forces.
Yet the SFC still retained the elite fighting units within the Land and Air Forces which include for example; the Mechanized Brigade formerly under Maj Gen Gervas Mugyenyi and the Nakasongola Defence unit previously under Maj Gen David Muhoozi.
"Muhoozi has therefore had an opportunity to command the elite units and be able to interact with Katumba Wamala while he was Land Forces Commander in the war-room; s,o his [Katumba] elevation to CDF will be a continuity of this working relationship," said the source.
The other surprise appointment is the former Aide de Camp to the president Wilson Bwambale Mbadi who in a space of less than a year has been appointed to two major offices. Formerly a Colonel, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst-trained officer, was first promoted and appointed as 4 Division commander and given the rank of Brigadier.
He has now been appointed to the influential role of Joint Chief of Staff (JCOS) and promoted to the rank of Major General, making him number four in the hierarchy of the UPDF. The other major appointment is David Muhoozi, an officer who joined the army in 1985 alongside the late Brig Noble Mayombo, Brig James Mugira and Brig Leopold Kyanda who is now the Land Forces Chief of Staff.
Muhoozi, who was in charge of the Airforce division based in Nakasongola, which is under the SFC, has been promoted to the rank of Major General and is now the commander of the Land Forces. With the exception of Kyanda; Muhoozi, Mayombo and Mugira are lawyers by profession and were touted to become the next leaders of the UPDF after the exit of the historicals.
mutaizibwa@observer.ugekiggundu@observer.ug
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H.OGWAPITI
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