The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–45,000 and consisted of land forces and an air wing. Recruitment to the forces is done annually.
Shaban Bantariza was a Colonel in the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF). He served as the deputy director of the Uganda Media Centre and deputy government spokesperson, from June 2015.
Major General Nathan Mugisha is a military officer in Uganda People's Defence Force. He is the current Deputy Ambassador of Uganda to Somalia. He was appointed to that position in June 2011. Prior to that, he served as the Commander of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), June 2009 until June 2011, being the third military officer to serve in that capacity. Before taking the command of AMISOM he was commandant of the Uganda Senior Command and Staff College, at Kimaka, a suburb of Jinja.
Major General Fredrick Mugisha, commonly referred to as Fred Mugisha, is a senior military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force and assumed command over AMISOM as the fourth commander on 15 June 2011.
Ivan Koreta is a Ugandan military officer, diplomat and legislator. He is a General in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and a representative for the armed forces in the Parliament of Uganda; where he serves as a member of the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Presidential Affairs.
Lieutenant General Kayanja Muhanga, is Ugandan army officer. He currently serves as Commander Of Land forces in UPDF. He was appointed to that position in October 2022 by the President of Uganda and Commander in chief of the UPDF, Yoweri Museveni. He previously served as commander of the Uganda People's Defence Force contingent in Eastern DRC under operation code named Operation Shujja. He was appointed to that position in January 2021 by General Yoweri Museveni, the Commander in Chief of the UPDF and the President of Uganda. Prior to that, Maj. General Muhanga served as the commandant of the military police within the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF).
Major General Richard Prit Olum, commonly known as Dick Olum, is a military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), who serves as the Ugandan commander of the UPDF forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the joint Uganda/DRC mission code named Operation Shujaa. He also serves as the commander of the UPDF Mountain Division, based in Fort Portal, Kabarole District at the base of the Rwenzori Mountains. His appointment was made on 12 October 2022.
Major General Sam Kavuma, whose full name is Samuel Kavuma, is a Ugandan senior military officer. He currently serves as the deputy coordinator of the Operation Wealth Creation effective 24 June 2021, he was appointed by Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Immediately prior to his current position, he served as the deputy commander of the Uganda People's Defence Force Air Force. Before that, Kavuma served as the Commander of the Uganda People's Defence Force Contingent in Somalia, as part of the African Union Mission to Somalia. He was appointed to that position in October 2014. He replaced Brigadier Dick Olum, who served in that position from September 2013 until October 2014.
Major General Innocent Felix Oula is a senior army officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF). As of March 2020, he serves as the Head of Civil Military Cooperation. He concurrently serves as one of the UPDF representatives to the Parliament of Uganda. He was elected to that position in January 2014, replacing renegade General David Sejusa, who was expelled from Parliament.
The Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs (MODVA) is a government ministry responsible for the national defence and security of Uganda. In this capacity, its role is to preserve, defend and protect the people, property, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda, contributing to regional stability and supporting international peace initiatives.
James Nakibus Lakara, commonly known as Nakibus Lakara, is a Ugandan Lieutenant General in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF). Since June 2016, he has been the commander of the Uganda Rapid Deployment Capability Centre based in Jinja in the Eastern Region of Uganda. From April 2015 until June 2016, he served as the deputy force commander of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and was in charge of logistical support. From July 2013 until April 2015, he served as the commanding officer of the UPDF 3rd Division, based in Moroto.
Major General Michael Ondoga, is a senior military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF). He currently serves as the Military Attache to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was appointed to that position in July 2019.
Lieutenant General John Mugume is a senior Ugandan military officer. He currently serves as the General Manager of Defence Forces Shop Limited, the duty-free commissary of the UPDF.
Lieutenant General Charles Lwanga Lutaaya, is a senior Ugandan military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). He a presidential advisor on matters of Airforce. Before that, he was the Commander of the UPDF Air Force after having served as Deputy Commander of the UPDF Air Force.
Peter Elwelu is a Lieutenant General in the Ugandan military, known formally as the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF).He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of the Defense Forces of the UPDF. He was appointed to that position on 24 June 2021 Since 9 January 2017, he has served as the commander of land forces, which is the fourth-highest position in the UPDF hierarchy. Prior to that, from June 2013 until January 2017, he was the commander of the UPDF 2nd division, based in Mbarara, the largest town in Uganda's Western Region. Elwelu is most known for the Kasese massacre in which according to Human Rights Watch 153 people, including children, were killed. "They deserved to die" he told the Observer in May 2021.
Paul L'Okech, was a senior military officer at the rank of Lieutenant General, in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF), who was appointed Deputy Inspector General of Police of the Uganda Police Force on 16 December 2020. Between November 2017 and December 2019, he served on special assignment "to monitor on behalf of the guarantors of the South Sudan peace process, the assembling, screening, demobilization and integration of the armed forces of South Sudan".
Jim Beesigye Owoyesigire, was a Lieutenant General in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) until his retirement in August 2021. Since February 2018, he was the Commander of the five-nation AMISOM peace keeping force, based in Mogadishu, Somalia. When he assumed that responsibility, he took over from Lieutenant General Osman Noor Soubagleh, of the Djibouti Armed Forces, who had been in office since July 2016. In February 2019, he relinquished command of AMISOM to Lieutenant General Tigabu Yilma Wondimhunegn from the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF). The Amisom command is rotational among countries that contribute troops to the peace-keeping efforts in Somalia, namely Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
James Birungi, is a Major General in the Uganda People's Defence Force Air Force (UPDAF). He serves as the Chief of Military Intelligence in the UPDF, effective January 2022.
Brigadier General Francis Takirwa, is a Ugandan military officer who, effective December 2019, is the commanding officer of the Second Division of the Uganda People's Defence Forces, based in the city of Mbarara in the Western Region of Uganda.
Brigadier General Robert Freeman Mugabe is a Ugandan military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). Effective 12 July 2022, he is the Chairman of the UPDF General Court Martial, the highest court of military justice in the country. Before that, he served as the adjutant general of Bombo Military Barracks, the headquarters of the UPDF Land Forces, located in Bombo, Uganda.
