Officer Cadet Ruhamya Kainerugaba, son of Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom.

Ruhamya officially completed Sandhurst’s prestigious Officer Commissioning Course and was commissioned alongside fellow Ugandan Officer Cadet Andrew Bakira during the academy’s Sovereign’s Parade on Friday.

General Muhoozi Kainerugaba attended the graduation ceremony to witness his son’s commissioning.

Before the parade, Gen. Kainerugaba was received by Major General Nick Cowley OBE, the Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, who presented him with a Sandhurst Alumni medal. The recognition was notable because the tradition of issuing the badges was introduced after Gen. Kainerugaba’s own time at the academy.

The Sovereign’s Parade is the formal ceremony marking the passing out and commissioning of officer cadets at Sandhurst.

Ruhamya and fellow Ugandan cadet Andrew Bakira joined British and international cadets who marched past Old College, the academy’s iconic main building, during the ceremony attended by family members, dignitaries and military officials.

For Gen. Muhoozi, the occasion also marked a significant family milestone. He attended Sandhurst decades earlier and graduated in 2000.

In the period leading up to the parade, the CDF shared updates about his son’s progress, including side-by-side photographs showing his own officer training alongside images of Ruhamya.

Reflecting on the experience, Gen. Muhoozi described it as “father and son going through the same hardships, separated by 27 years.”

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst’s commissioning course runs for 44 weeks and is regarded as one of the world's demanding military leadership programmes.

During their training, officer cadets undergo instruction in areas including infantry tactics, weapons systems, fieldcraft, operational planning, ethics and high-pressure command.

Following completion of the course, newly commissioned officers return to their respective national armed forces. For Ugandan graduates, this means returning to the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) for deployment according to the needs of the force.

Addressing the newly commissioned officers during the Sovereign’s Parade, General Sir Roly Walker, the Chief of the General Staff, warned that the global military environment is changing.

Gen. Walker reflected that there had been confidence in a world where Western forces dominated militarily, but said that era is now fading.

He also warned about the prospect of general war and emphasized that national defence is increasingly becoming a collective national responsibility.

“There is an absolute clarity to your purpose, which is to be ready to fight and win your nation's battles,” Gen. Walker told the new officers.

He also stressed the responsibility that comes with military leadership, saying that nations will need soldiers and those soldiers will need strong leaders.

“Our nations will need their soldiers. Those soldiers will need to be led... They deserve the best leaders,” he said.

Gen. Walker reminded the newly commissioned officers that their first duty is to earn the trust of the soldiers they lead.

He concluded by highlighting Sandhurst’s motto, “Serve to Lead,” saying: “And we ask nothing more from you.”

Despite the challenges facing the future military environment, General Sir Roly Walker expressed confidence in the newly commissioned officers, declaring that the future is in good hands.