Many voting age Ugandans are not aware that President Museveni is a retired soldier. He is a veteran. And he did not become a general while in active military service - the title was conferred upon him at retirement on April 6, 2004. The immediate reason for Museveni's retirement was that the Constitution stated clearly that one could not contest to become president if one was a serving member of the armed forces. The UPDF organised a function to retire its Commander-In-Chief.
The then Minister of Defense, Amama Mbabazi, said: "This is the first time in history that we have an army officer of the forces, Commander-In-Chief of the army, who is also President of Uganda, retiring voluntarily in accordance with the rule of law."
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