Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba was appointed as a new commander of the UPDF’s land forces by President Museveni, who is also the commander of the armed forces.
In the latest changes, President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the commander in chief of the armed forces has appointed Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba as the new commander of land forces in the UPDF.
According to the changes which took effect from Thursday, Muhoozi who has been the Special Forces commander will now be replaced by Brig Peter Chandia who has been his deputy.
He replaces Lt Gen Peter Elwelu who has been appointed as the new Deputy Chief of Defence Forces at the Bombo UPDF land forces headquarters.
Muhoozi’s appointment, however, comes only six months after his December appointment as the commander of the UPDF elite unit mandated to protect the president and members of the first family.
Muhoozi was in December last year appointed to the Special Forces Command for a second stint following a reshuffle that President Museveni, who is also the commander in chief of the armed forces made in his security cabinet.
Meanwhile, in other changes, the president has also appointed Lt Gen Peter Elwelu as the new Deputy Chief of Defence Forces.
Then Maj Gen Leopold Kyanda who has been the Chief of Staff Land Forces has now been appointed the Joint Chief of Staff to replace Lieutenant General Joseph Musanyufu who has been sent to civil service for redeployment.
Other changes by the commander in chief have also seen Brig. Peter Chandia appointed the new Special Forces Commander, Maj Gen Sam Kavuma appointed as the deputy coordinator of the Operation Wealth Creation whereas Maj Gen Sam Okiding is the new Deputy Commander of Land Forces.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba army journey
Kainerugaba joined the army in 1997, recruiting about 100 university graduates who were trained as part of the Local Defence Unit (LDU): quasi trained soldiers, armed with sticks not guns.
He graduated from the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2000 and was deployed in the then Presidential Protection Unit (PPU).
In 2002, he attended a company commander/battalion commander’s course in Egypt. When he returned a year later, he was appointed commanding officer of the fledgling motorized infantry battalion of the Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB), formerly PPU.
In 2008, he graduated from Fort Leavenworth, the US Army Command and General Staff College. During that same year, the PGB was reorganised and renamed Commander Special Forces Group (SFG).
Muhoozi, who had returned from the US, took over as the first commander. As the elite unit rapidly grew in size, it was renamed Special Forces Command (SFC).
Muhoozi stepped down as SFC commander in 2017 and was appointed senior presidential advisor for special operations. Three years later, he was reappointed to lead the SFC.
He now becomes the new commander of land forces in the UPDF.
