News
48 bush war generals retire at historic event
President Yoweri Museveni with the retired generals of the NRA/UPDF at State House Entebbe
Forty Eight (48) former NRA commanders, majority of who comprised the core of the former rebel movement – the National Resistance Army (NRA) which took power in Uganda through force of arms in 1986, were this week retired by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Gen. Elly Tumwine, who passed away last week aged 68, and was buried on Tuesday Aug. 30, would have been the 49th Gen. to retire among the current cohort.
Notable among the retirees is Gen. David Sejusa, who for many times opposed the President for his lack of transparency in the political transition of the country and was sidelined.
Other notable figures include Lt. Gen. Nalweyiso, the highest ranking female soldier in Uganda’s history.
Gen. Nalweyiso was the highest ranking female soldier in the UPDF
President Museveni praised the retiring generals saying: “As President and Commander in Chief of the UPDF, I am very happy to be part of the process of retirement (with ample benefits), coming to fruition for our comrades; each one of them is a miracle story of sacrifice, courage and service for little to no pay.
Although many of them are aged like him already, Museveni nonetheless urged the retiring officers to buy land and practice the 4-acre model of farming.
“My advice to Generals, please, buy yourselves land and practice the four-acre model of agriculture and venture into coffee, fruits, pasture for animals (zero-grazing), food, chicken and pigs in the backyard, fishing near the swamps, etc,” Museveni said.
“As the country they have served long enough to stabilize…is firm enough to take care of them now, I encourage them to utilise the retirement benefits wisely in order to make a good contribution to the economy.”
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Gen. Sejusa paid tribute to Museveni for providing leadership during the struggle, the army leadership, and the people of Uganda without which there wouldn’t be peace.
“I am proud to belong to NRA/UPDF, which has made incredible strides. I thank the people of Uganda from all regions for their sacrifices. We all know there was a phase in our struggle when our civilian population was the vanguard. They were our eyes, the ears, our protectors. They fed us and this phase took a bigger part of 1981. They gathered intelligence, they carried out reconnaissance missions for us to acquire small arms, and so on. If we did not have the population on our side, then there would be no NRA/UPDF and certainly NRM.” Gen. Sejusa said.
Gen. Sejusa noted that although much had been done, a lot is still desired to consolidate the victories and the mission to liberate Africa.
“Therefore, continue training, take advantage of the opportunities being provided, and make sure that you deepen your ideological horizons. Above all, love your nation and always honor the people of Uganda. They’re special people for there’s no greater honor than serving the people,” said Gen Sejusa.
Comments
