On April 24, 2024, hundreds of Ugandans, including top government officials, flooded various social media channels to congratulate the Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, when he turned 50.
Born on April 24, 1974, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the First Lady Janet Museveni, General Muhoozi, a Sandhurst-trained military officer, is no stranger to Uganda’s struggle to restore security, peace, and political stability.
Gen. Kainerugaba is famous across north-eastern Uganda (Lango, Acholi, and Teso) for his military operation that led to the end of insurgents in the area.
In 2003, Gen. Kainerugaba, a young UPDF soldier at the rank of Major, arrived in the Teso sub-region to confront the then-dreaded LRA rebels that had ravaged the area, forcing many residents into internally displaced camps.
On August 24th, Kainerugaba, who was by then Commander of the Armored Battalion of the Presidential Brigade, was ambushed at Aparisa near Achuna on the Soroti-Orungo road while heading to Baralegi (State Lodge) in the present Otuke district.
In this clash, five LRA rebels were killed, 13 child captives were rescued, and several dangerous weapons were recovered by the UPDF. This particular group of LRA rebels was heading to Lira district to connect with their notorious commander, Charles Tabuley, who had coordinated various attacks on residents.
In November 2003, the UPDF soldiers commanded by Gen. Kainerugaba killed LRA’s Brigadier Charles Tabuley in Teso, a move that led to an immediate flash of rebels from the region.
Gen. Kainerugaba and his group of soldiers under the 21st Battalion entered through Amuria district into Otuke district in early 2004, where they settled (Jenga Defence) in Okwang Sub County to coordinate all their tactical operations.
While there, Gen. Kainerugaba coordinated various operations that severely ravaged the LRA’s installations in the area where all civilians were living in camps.
During this operation, Kainerugaba engaged closely with local authorities, including one Zadock Odongo (retired LCIII chief of Okwang) and Daniel Omara Atubo (former Otuke MP) until 2007, when he left the area after defeating the LRA group and restoring peace that saw people return home.
At that time, Atubo was still in opposition, but he kept close contact with Gen. Kainerugaba and his team, a move that led to the successful defeat of the LRA rebels.
This same group would stretch up to the Acholi Sub-region until 2007, when it became clear that LRA rebels had been flashed out of Uganda.
FAILED PEACE TALKS WITH LRA
In July 2006, the government of Uganda engaged in peace negotiations with the LRA rebels at their own request through Acholi leaders, which were mediated in Southern Sudan between Uganda and the LRA group over the terms of a ceasefire and possible peace agreement.
The talks, which had resulted in a ceasefire by September 2006, were described as the best chance ever for a negotiated settlement to the 20-year-old war. However, LRA leader Joseph Kony refused to sign the peace agreement in April 2008.
Two months after pulling out of the talks, the LRA launched an operation where they attacked and killed 23 people in southern Sudan, including 14 soldiers. The same month, diplomats reported that the LRA had acquired new weapons and was forcibly recruiting new soldiers, adding 1,000 recruits to the 600 soldiers it already had.
Operation Lightning Thunder in the DRC
Uganda immediately launched Operation Lightning Thunder in the DRC to combat LRA remnants that had entered the Congo in December 2008.
This was tactfully coordinated and commanded by Gen. Kainerugaba, and other senior military officers, including the late Brigadier Patrick Kankiriho (former 3rd Division Commander) and Lt. Gen. Moses Rwakitarate (the former Air Force Commander), among others, were in the DRC to combat LRA rebels who had now relocated there to further cause havoc under Operation Lightning Thunder that was launched during the same month.
On December 14, 2008, security confirmed that it had successfully attacked the main body and destroyed the main camp of Joseph Kony, code-named Camp Swahili, setting it on fire. On December 21, 2008, the government confirmed that 70% of the LRA’s camps had been destroyed so far.
By early January 2009, the LRA was routed; it had lost most of its food supply; it was on the run and very close to the border of the Central African Republic.
It was during this operation that the dreaded LRA rebels phased out, until today.
In conclusion, Gen. Kainerugaba’s military contribution in Teso, Lango, and Acholi, up to the DRC, successfully delivered the regions into peace and stability, a move that offered the government of Uganda ample time to escalate development programmes in the regions.
When the LRA war ended and people returned home in 2009, this encouraged residents to massively engage in production activities to rebuild the regions that had previously been ravaged and abandoned.
The writer is a journalist who covered the LRA War in Teso, Lango, and Acholi and in Southern Sudan during Peace Talks and Operation Lightning Thunder (2004–2009).
