The 280 commissioned officers included 187 professional cadets who began training in February 2026 and 87 Bachelor of Defence Studies cadets who started training on September 18th, 2023. Eleven of the newly commissioned officers are female. Six additional cadets trained abroad, including Officer Cadets Ruhamya Kainerugaba and Andrew Bakira, who attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom.

“You cannot be a political party on the one side, but at the same time you don’t recognise the legitimacy of the government, which is leading the country. They call the government a junta. So now me, I’m part of a junta,” Mao said.