Francis Okello | |
---|---|
Allegiance | Uganda |
Service/ | Uganda People's Defence Force |
Rank | Major General |
Commands | Commander of AMISOM |
Francis Okello is a major general in Uganda People's Defence Force.
Major General Francis Okello was the second commander of AMISOM from 3 March 2008 to the end of his tour of duty in 2009, after which he returned to the army headquarter in Bombo, Uganda. [1] [2]
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, consisting of land forces and an air wing. Recruitment to the forces is done annually.
Bazilio Olara-Okello was a Ugandan military officer and one of the commanders of the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) that together with the Tanzanian army organized the coup d'état that overthrew Idi Amin in 1979. In 1985, he was briefly the chairman of the ruling Military Council and de facto head of state of Uganda, and later, lieutenant-general and chief of the armed forces.
Tito Lutwa Okello was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the eighth president of Uganda from 29 July 1985 until 26 January 1986.
The National Resistance Army (NRA) was a guerilla army and the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) that fought in the Ugandan Bush War against the government of Milton Obote, and later the government of Tito Okello. NRA was supported by Muammar Gaddafi.
John Gideon Okello was a Ugandan revolutionary and the leader of the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964. This revolution overthrew Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah and led to the proclamation of Zanzibar as a republic.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during a large scale invasion in late 2006. The missions primary objective was to maintain the regime change between the ICU and the newly installed Transitional Federal Government, implement a national security plan and train the TFG security forces. As part of its duties, AMISOM later supported the Federal Government of Somalia in its war against Al-Shabaab. AMISOM was the most deadly peacekeeping operation in the post-war era.
Two large-scale attacks against AMISOM soldiers carried out by al-Shabaab suicide bombers in Mogadishu, Somalia occurred in 2009. In total 32 people, including 28 AMISOM soldiers, were killed and 55 people were injured.
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.
Cyprien Hakiza is a major general in the Army of Burundi.
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.
Lieutenant General Andrew Gutti is a Ugandan military officer. He was the chairman of the General Court Martial of the Uganda People's Defence Force until 3 August 2022, when he handed over office to Brigadier General Robert Freeman Mugabe. Gutti was appointed to that position in May 2016, replacing the late Major General Levi Karuhanga.
Lieutenant General Silas Ntigurirwa is a Burundian military officer, in the Burundi National Defense Forces (BNDF). Effective December 2013, he is the Commander of AMISOM, based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Lieutenant General Silas Ntigurirwa is the first Burundian and first non-Ugandan to command AMISOM, since the creation of the Mission in 2007. He served as AMISOM commander until December 2014 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Jonathan Kipkemoi Rono.
Major General Richard Prit Olum, commonly known as Dick Olum, is a military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF). Effective 13 May 2024, he serves as commander of the "South Sudan Stabilization Mechanism", an observer force to ensure adherence to the peace agreements. Before that, he served 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 simultaneously served 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.
Lieutenant General Samuel Kavuma, commonly known as Sam Kavuma, is a Ugandan senior military officer. Since March 2024, he has bene serving as the Commander of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Before that, from 24 June 2021 until 24 March 2024, he was the deputy coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation, a presidential appointment by Yoweri Museveni Immediately before that 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 (AMISOM). He was appointed to that position in October 2014. He replaced Brigadier General Dick Olum, who served in that position from September 2013 until October 2014.
James Nakibus Lakara, commonly known as Nakibus Lakara, is a 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 Don William Nabasa, is a Ugandan military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). He currently serves as the Commander of the UPDF Military Police, effective 26 October 2021. Before that, he was the commander of the Uganda contingent in Somalia as part of AMISOM.
Christine Alalo was a Ugandan peacekeeper and police commissioner, who received the EU Human Rights Defenders Award in 2014. She was one of the passengers killed in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
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".
Brigadier Michael Kabango is an Ugandan military officer, who serves as the commander of the Ugandan contingent to the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). He took up that position on 21 December 2018.
Zeddy Maruru was a Ugandan military pilot and military officer. He served in all of Uganda's post-independence armies, from 1964 until 2002. He was the commander of the Uganda Army Air Force during the 1970s. He also served as the Chief of Army Staff after Tito Okello overthrew Milton Obote's second administration in 1985.