The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has ordered the arrest of Brigadier-General Cyrus Besigye Bekunda, the Joint Staff Chief of the UPDF Engineers Brigade, along with several other officers in the unit.
The arrest, sources say, is part of an intensified anti-corruption crackdown within the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF).
In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Gen Muhoozi condemned the officers for betraying core UPDF principles of self-sufficiency and efficiency by misusing funds allocated to the Engineers Brigade.
"They poisoned, contaminated and desecrated a sacred principle we have always embraced as UPDF i.e. we can be self-sufficient, we can be efficient. They received monies and misused it! Let their punishment serve as a lesson to others," he said.
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This arrest follows closely on the heels of the detention of Colonel Godfrey Tukamwakira, formerly the Engineers Brigade commander, who was also apprehended after a wealth audit revealed unexplained luxury assets far beyond his declared income.
The audit and subsequent investigations uncovered possible misuse of over Shs 1 billion meant for brigade operations.
Gen Muhoozi said these arrests are disciplinary and not politically motivated, underlining a zero-tolerance approach to corruption.
"For those who have stolen more than Shs1 billion from the people of Uganda, we shall put in front of a firing squad," he warned.
The crackdown coincides with a wider military investigation into allegedly fabricated anti-terror operations, in which several intelligence officers have been detained.
Gen Muhoozi's anti-corruption stance has been a consistent theme since early 2024, when he warned military officers during a logistics and inventory management retreat that corruption and mismanagement undermine UPDF's combat readiness and troop welfare.
He stated, "Any individual or group with selfish interests--whether corruption, misappropriation of resources, or mismanagement of any kind--must reform immediately or leave our cherished UPDF before they are exposed."
This is news article will be updated.
