Jacob John Mkunda | |
|---|---|
 Mkunda in 2023 | |
| Allegiance |  Tanzania |
| Service/ | Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF) |
| Years of service | 2022–Present |
| Rank | General  |
| Commands held | Chief of Defence Forces of TPDF |
Jacob John Mkunda is a Tanzanian military officer who currently serves as Chief of the Tanzanian People's Defence Force since 30 June 2022.
Mkunda attended the Ruvu Secondary School, where he played on the football team and was involved in student government. [1]
In February 2020, Mkunda, at the rank of brigadier, led the Tanzanian People's Defence Force's (TPDF) 202nd Western Brigade in Kitavi in an operation to suppress rebel activity in refugee settlements, leading to weapons seizures and several arrests. [2] [3] By 2021 he was chief of the TPDF's training staff. [4]
On 30 June 2022 Mkunda was appointed Chief of Defence Forces, replacing retiring General Venance Salvatory Mabeyo. [1]
The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force, the Tanganyika Rifles. From its inception, it was ingrained in the troops of the new TPDF that they were a people's force under civilian control. Unlike some of its neighbouring countries, Tanzania has never suffered a coup d'état or civil war.
The Uganda–Tanzania War, known in Tanzania as the Kagera War and in Uganda as the 1979 Liberation War, was fought between Uganda and Tanzania from October 1978 until June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugandan President Idi Amin. The war was preceded by a deterioration of relations between Uganda and Tanzania following Amin's 1971 overthrow of President Milton Obote, who was close to the President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere. Over the following years, Amin's regime was destabilised by violent purges, economic problems, and dissatisfaction in the Uganda Army.
The Tanzania Air Force Command is the aerial service branch of the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF). The current commander of the Tanzania Air Force Command is Major General Shaban Mani, who replaced major general Ingram upon the latter's retirement in 2021.
The Battle of Lukaya was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War. It was fought between 10 and 11 March 1979 around Lukaya, Uganda, between Tanzanian forces and Ugandan government forces. After briefly occupying the town, Tanzanian troops and Ugandan rebels retreated under artillery fire. The Tanzanians subsequently launched a counterattack, retaking Lukaya and killing hundreds of Libyans and Ugandans.
David Bugozi Musuguri is a Tanzanian soldier and retired military officer who served as Chief of the Tanzania People's Defence Force from 1980 until 1988.
Venance Salvatory Mabeyo, also known as Vicent Mabeyo, is a retired Tanzanian military officer who served as the eighth Defense Forces Chief to lead the Tanzania People's Defense Force (TPDF). He was appointed by President John Magufuli on 6 February 2017. After Magufuli's death in March 2021, Mabeyo played a major role in ensuring a smooth transition of power to the new President, Samia Suluhu Hassan. He retired from the TPDF in June 2022.
The Battle of Masaka was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place from 23 February to 24 February 1979 in the town of Masaka, Uganda. Following an artillery bombardment, most of the Ugandan government forces fled and Tanzanian and Ugandan rebel forces captured the town.
The Battle of Entebbe was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place on 7 April 1979 on the Entebbe peninsula in Uganda between Tanzanian units and Ugandan and Libyan units. The Tanzanians occupied the area, killed hundreds of Libyans, and ended the Libyan airlift in support of the Ugandan government.
John Butler Walden was a Tanzanian military officer. Born in British Tanganyika to a white father and black mother, he enlisted in the King's African Rifles in 1957 after finishing school. He eventually achieved the rank of sergeant and, following Tanganyika's independence, was transferred to the Tanganyika Rifles. In April 1963 he became a lieutenant. He was later promoted to major and held command of a camp in Mafinga. During the Uganda–Tanzania War of 1978 and 1979 Walden served as commander of the 207th Brigade in the Tanzania People's Defence Force with the rank of brigadier. In 1981 he organised the withdrawal of the Tanzanian troops in Uganda. By 1987 he had been promoted to major general and two years later he oversaw an anti-poaching operation. He died in 2002.
In October 1978 Uganda invaded the Kagera Salient in northern Tanzania, initiating the Uganda–Tanzania War. The Ugandans met light resistance and in November President Idi Amin of Uganda announced the annexation of all Tanzanian land north of the Kagera River. The Tanzanians organised a counter-offensive later in November and successfully ejected the Ugandan forces from their country.
The Battle of Jinja was a battle of the Uganda–Tanzania War that took place on 22 April 1979 near and in the city of Jinja, Uganda between Tanzanian and allied Uganda National Liberation Front forces, and Ugandan troops loyal to Idi Amin. The Tanzanians and the UNLF men met slight resistance and captured Owen Falls Dam and the town of Jinja.
The Battle of Karuma Falls was one of the last battles in the Uganda–Tanzania War, fought between Tanzania and Uganda Army troops loyal to Idi Amin on 17 May 1979. Soldiers of the Tanzania People's Defence Force attacked Ugandan forces at the bridge over the Nile River at Karuma Falls. Tanzania's 205th Brigade was tasked with advancing from Masindi to Gulu, taking a route which passed over the Karuma Falls Bridge. The brigade assaulted the crossing on the morning of 17 May with tanks and artillery and one of its battalions ran over the bridge to attack the Ugandan positions. The Ugandans destroyed a TPDF tank, delaying the Tanzanians long enough to board buses and retreat to Gulu. The Tanzanians secured Karuma Falls before capturing Gulu several days later.
Silas Paul Mayunga was a Tanzanian military officer and diplomat.
The Battle of Mutukula took place from 21 to 22 January 1979 near and in the town of Mutukula, Uganda, during the Uganda–Tanzania War. After repulsing a Ugandan invasion of the Kagera Salient in 1978, Tanzanian commanders feared that Ugandan forces stationed upon the high ground in Mutukula, a town located along the Tanzania–Uganda border, still posed a threat to their territory. On the night of 21 January 1979 the Tanzanian 208th Brigade crossed the border and surrounded the town. The following morning it attacked, and the Ugandan garrison—including the Gondo and Suicide Battalions—fled. Afterwards the Tanzanians razed the locale in revenge for the damage wrought by the Ugandans in Kagera.
Herman Cornel Lupogo was a Tanzanian military officer and government administrator. After graduating from Makerere University, he enlisted in the Tanzania People's Defence Force in 1965. He held various positions in the army, including head of the National Leadership Academy, and served as a brigadier during the Uganda–Tanzania War of 1978 and 1979. He retired with the rank of major general in 1992, and subsequently worked as a government administrator. He chaired the Tanzania Commission for AIDS from 2001 until 2007, and died in 2014.
Mrisho S.H. Sarakikya was the first chief of the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF). He was given command of the TPDF soon after the army mutiny of 1964, when either a captain or a lieutenant.
Operation Dada Idi was a military offensive conducted by Tanzania against the Ugandan government of Idi Amin and its Libyan as well as Palestinian allies in March and April 1979 during the Uganda–Tanzania War. The attack took place amid the disintegration of the Uganda Army, and thus encountered only sporadic and disorganised resistance. The operation resulted in the Tanzanian capture of Mpigi and several other locations around Kampala.
Imran Hussein Kombe was a Tanzanian military and intelligence officer. During the Uganda–Tanzania War of 1979, he commanded the Tanzania People's Defence Force's 201st Brigade as it invaded Uganda. From 1980 until 1983, he served as TPDF Chief of Staff, before being made Director of the Tanzania Intelligence and Security Service. He held the latter post until 1995. He was shot and killed by police the following year after they mistook him for a car thief.
Yorokamu Tizihwayo, also known as Y. Tiziriwayho and Yerukamu, was a Ugandan military officer. He served as a high-ranking commander during Idi Amin's rule as Ugandan President, first as the head of the 2nd Paratrooper Battalion and later for the Western Brigade. In the Uganda–Tanzania War (1978–1979), Tizihwayo led the Uganda Army troops which opposed the Tanzania People's Defence Force's advance into western Uganda. Despite being regarded as a talented soldier and considered one of the Tanzanians' more dangerous opponents during the war, he was eventually arrested and executed on alleged treason charges by Amin's State Research Bureau.
Bernard Rwehururu was a Ugandan military officer and author. He served in various Ugandan militaries from 1965 until 2013, including under the governments of Milton Obote, Idi Amin, Tito Okello, and Yoweri Museveni.