“Can you have a strong army and a strong and safe country without a strong economy? Can you have a strong defence force and a strong and safe country without cohesive politics? Finally, can you have a strong defence force and a strong and safe country without, in some cases, addressing the issue of geo-strategic location such as being landlocked?” President Museveni asked.

“We should associate with a united Africa in the context of the Continental Free Trade Area and other trade partners of our choice, rather than clustering Africa depending on former colonial association,” Museveni said.

Upholding the party's position, Nsereko said Uganda cannot be governed by safe houses, citing Article 44 of the Constitution, which provides that freedom from torture is non-derogable, and Section 176 of the UPDF Act, which provides that all detention must be in gazetted places.

“Eventually, his AWOL status was upgraded to desertion, and he has been on the run since. In addition, Lt Mabonga is wanted on criminal allegations of extortion of funds from business groups and individuals in Kampala and other areas, as well as involvement in fraudulent land transactions and forgeries of land titles,” Col Magezi added. 

Police identified the suspects as Simon Irumba, Abson Kiiza, George Kadama and Lenaxi Baluku.

Uganda supported negotiations on a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation to curb illicit financial flows and profit shifting.

The President noted that soldiers should be housed in organised facilities where commanders can maintain discipline and troops can remain prepared for operations.