A major security scandal has erupted in Uganda’s establishment, with a number of of high-ranking army officers and intelligence operatives allegedly under intense interrogation over a chilling web of assassinations, cover-ups, and alleged collusion with terrorists.
Reports indicate that among those being questioned is Maj. Gen. James Birungi, the former head of Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS), previously known as the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).
He is interrogated alongside other senior DIS officers, including Lt. Col. Ephraim Byaruhanga, director of Special Operations, and Col. Peter Ahimbisibwe the DIS Director of Counter-Terrorism among others.
The group is accused of concealing crucial intelligence related to a string of high-profile assassinations, and in some cases, allegedly submitting fabricated reports that misled investigations and compromised national security.
Sources close to the ongoing inquiry reveal that the officers are being probing on whether they knowingly ignored or suppressed evidence that could have prevented attacks carried out by suspected operatives of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group with terrorist links.
The attacks under scrutiny include the 2016 assassination of Maj. Muhammad Kiggundu, the 2017 killing of former police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi, and the 2021 attempted assassination of Works Minister Gen. Katumba Wamala, in which his daughter Brenda Nantongo was fatally shot.
However, forensic evidence exposed a shocking ballistic connection, the same weapon used in the Katumba attack had also been used in the Kaweesi and Kiggundu murders.
Even more alarming: that ballistic link was deliberately hidden from most investigators, suggesting an internal conspiracy to obstruct justice.
The investigation further alleges that the detained officers may have presided over infiltrated intelligence units, allowing ADF sleeper cells to operate unchecked in Kampala and beyond.
Birungi was arrested shortly after appearing before Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Samuel Okiding, who leads a high-level inquiry launched by Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
The inquiry board comprises top national security figures, including: Police Chief Abas Byakagaba, Criminal Investigations Director Tom Magambo, Crime Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Christopher Ddamulira, ISO Director Arthur Mugyenyi, External Security Organisation (ESO) Chief Ambassador Joseph Ocwet, and the Special Forces Command Counter-Intelligence Officer Col. Ddamulira Sseruyange.
The board is tasked with uncovering how far the rot runs, and whether senior officers within Uganda’s intelligence community actively sabotaged counter-terror operations, allowing political assassinations to proceed unchallenged.
