David Musuguri

Last updated

David Bugozi Musuguri
Nickname(s)General Mutukula
Born (1920-01-04) 4 January 1920 (age 104)
Butiama, Tanganyika
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Britain
Flag of Tanganyika (1961-1964).svg  Tanganyika
Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania
Service/branch King's African Rifles
Tanganyika Rifles
Tanzania People's Defence Force
Years of service1942–1988
Rank Lieutenant general 16-Tanzania Army-LG.svg
Commands held20th Division TPDF
TPDF
Battles/wars

David Bugozi Musuguri (born 4 January 1920) is a Tanzanian soldier and retired military officer who served as Chief of the Tanzania People's Defence Force from 1980 until 1988.

Contents

Biography

Early life

David Musuguri was born on 4 January 1920 in Butiama, Tanganyika. [1] [lower-alpha 1] In 1938, he underwent bhakisero, a traditional rite of passage for Zanaki males involving the filing of the top incisors into triangular shapes. [2]

Military career

In 1942, Musugiri enlisted in the King's African Rifles (KAR), [3] beginning as a private. [4] He later served with the KAR in Madagascar. [3] By 1947 he was a sergeant and acted as an instructor at Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi, Kenya. While there he met future Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who was a pupil of his. [5] In 1957, the British administration introduced the rank of effendi into the KAR, which was awarded to high performing African non-commissioned officers and warrant officers (it was not a true officer classification). Musuguri was given the rank. [6] In December 1961, Tanganyika became a sovereign state and several units of the KAR was transferred to the newly formed Tanganyika Rifles. The rank of effendi was shortly thereafter abandoned, [7] and, by 1962, Musuguri had been promoted to lieutenant. [8] During the Tanganyika Rifles mutiny of January 1964, Musuguri was stationed in Tabora. Rebellious troops, attempting to remove and replace their British officers, declared him a major. [9]

I am proud that I participated in chasing Idi Amin Dada to Saudi Arabia where he sought for asylum. But I can assure you, there is no war that is good. War means killing.

—Musuguri's reflection on the Uganda–Tanzania War [1]

Though reportedly illiterate, Musuguri eventually rose to the rank of brigadier by 1978. [10] In early 1979, he was promoted to major general and given command of the Tanzanian People's Defence Force (TPDF)'s 20th Division, a force that had been assembled to invade Uganda following the outbreak of the Uganda–Tanzania War in 1978. [4] [11] During the war, he garnered the nom de guerre "General Mutukula", [12] and successfully commanded his forces during the battles of Simba Hills, [13] [14] Masaka, [15] [16] and Lukaya, [17] [18] as well as Operation Dada Idi. [19] Over the course of the conflict he took charge of over a dozen Ugandan orphans and oversaw their care until they could be turned over to relatives. [20]

In early November 1980, Musuguri was appointed Chief of the TPDF. He returned to Tanzania the following week to take up his new post. [21] On 30 December, President Julius Nyerere promoted him to lieutenant general. [22] On 7 February 1981, Ugandan President Milton Obote gave Musuguri two spears in honor of "his gallant action in the Battle of Lukaya". [23] During his tenure, he was accused of encouraging ethnic favoritism in the armed forces. [24] He was opposed to withdrawing Tanzanian troops from Uganda in 1981 on the grounds that the country had not yet built a reliable armed force, but Nyerere overruled him. [25] His retirement was announced on 31 August 1988. [24]

Later life

Following his retirement, Musuguri moved to Butiama. [1] [3] In 2002, he endorsed the creation of an East African federation between Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. [26] In 2014, he was awarded the Order of the Union Third Class by President Jakaya Kikwete. [27] On 4 January 2020, he celebrated his 100th birthday. [1]

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Thomas Molony, Musuguri was born on 4 January 1923. [2]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mugini, Jacob (4 January 2020). "General Musuguri: Ex-CDF Chief Who Turns 100 Years Today". Daily News. Retrieved 4 January 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 Molony 2014, p. 239.
  3. 1 2 3 Molony 2014, p. 213.
  4. 1 2 Avirgan & Honey 1983, p. 79.
  5. ↑ "General David Musuguri, Idi Amin's nemesis turns 100". The Citizen. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  6. ↑ Tanganyika Rifles Mutiny 1993, pp. 19–20.
  7. ↑ Tanganyika Rifles Mutiny 1993, pp. 20, 25.
  8. ↑ Tanganyika Rifles Mutiny 1993, p. 26.
  9. ↑ Tanganyika Rifles Mutiny 1993, p. 101.
  10. ↑ "Makamanda Walioongoza Vita ya Kagera". Global Publishers (in Swahili). 3 January 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  11. ↑ Lubega, Henry (26 April 2014). "Revisiting the Tanzania-Uganda war that toppled Amin". Daily Monitor. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  12. ↑ Mzirai 1980, p. 156.
  13. ↑ Avirgan & Honey 1983, pp. 78–79.
  14. ↑ Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, p. 29.
  15. ↑ Avirgan & Honey 1983, p. 84.
  16. ↑ Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, pp. 30–31.
  17. ↑ Avirgan & Honey 1983, p. 91.
  18. ↑ Cooper & Fontanellaz 2015, p. 33.
  19. ↑ Avirgan & Honey 1983, p. 94.
  20. ↑ Avirgan & Honey 1983, p. xi.
  21. ↑ "General Musuguri to Tanzania". Sub-Saharan Africa Report. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1980.
  22. ↑ "Tanzania : Senior Officers Promoted". Africa Research Bulletin. 1980. p. 5910.
  23. ↑ "Ugandan honour for Tanzanian COS". Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa. No. 6612–6661. 1981. OCLC   378680447.
  24. 1 2 "Tanzania : New Defence Chief". Africa Research Bulletin. Vol. 25. 1988. p. 9014.
  25. ↑ Avirgan & Honey 1983, pp. 231–232.
  26. ↑ "Tanzania general calls for federation". New Vision. 11 April 2002. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  27. ↑ "President honours 86 for selfless service". Daily News. Dar es Salaam. 27 April 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2019.

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References

Military offices
Preceded by Chief of Tanzanian People's Defence Force
1980-1988		Succeeded by
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