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Vision, Mission, Objectives & Mandate

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UPDF

Overview

UPDF is a nonpartisan force, national in character, patriotic, professional, disciplined, productive and subordinate to the civilian authority as established under the constitution. The UPDF’s interest is to protect Uganda and africa atlarge. Providing a safe and secure environment in which all Ugandan citizens can live and prosper.

Our Mission

To defend and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda, and the Constitution that encapsulates people’s sovereignty through popular will.

Our Vision

Transform the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) into a modern , professional, efficient and accountable Force anchored on a strong civil-military partnership

  • Objectives
  • Core UPDF Missions
  • Defend and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda, ensuring non-violability of peoples and individual rights, the rule of law and good governance.
  • Build adequate and credible defence capacity to address external threats and in the medium term assist in maintaining internal security.
  • Create a productive and self-sustaining force.
  • Ensure adherence to and furtherance of international obligations.
  • Ensure continuation and strengthening of the Defence forces that has respect for Human Rights.
  • Create military alliances to enhance regional security and stability.
  • Maintain national cohesion.
  • Promote co-operation with the East African countries, which share common political, economic, social and cultural values, and interests..
  • Support regional and continental integration through the East African Community and African Union

The core missions for Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces as outlined in the Uganda Defence Policy, 2003 are;

  • Ensuring the defence of the Country and the Constitution of Uganda that encapsulates the peoples’ sovereignty through popular will. The UPDF will defend Uganda against all aggressions and will ensure that Constitutional order and rule of Law is maintained.
  • Assisting with Peacetime Security. Support to Uganda Police Force and other security actors against all manifolds of insecurity including civil unrest, internal insurgency and terrorism.
  • Contributing to Regional Stability. Outside Uganda, the greatest risks to our national economic and political interests lie in potential instability in the Eastern and Horn of Africa as well as the Great Lakes regions. UPDF will continue to collaborate with other regional forces to maintain regional stability and avoid spill-over to Uganda.
  • Provision of Support to the Civil Authorities. The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, as a nationally organized force, is often best placed to provide support to the civil community at times of civil emergency.
  • Conducting Defence Diplomacy. The growth of further ties within the region, principally with members of the East African Community (EAC) and the African Union (AU) is encouraged as a means of promoting broader understanding between the Defence Forces. Although it is envisaged that with time there will be a higher degree of military integration, joint military exercises, joint training and exchange of military observers.
  • Support to International Obligation. The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces must be prepared to deploy in support of international peace operations in furtherance of the wider foreign policy and national interests.

UPDF Mandate

To preserve and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda.

Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces was so named in the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. It was initially called the National Resistance Army which was the Force that fought the February 6, 1981 to January 26, 1986 Liberation war that saw the final overthrow of dictatorship in Uganda. NRA picked up the struggle from earlier Liberation struggles of the 1970’s against oppressive and anti People Governments in Uganda.

Right from the immediate post-colonial era, the state was by nature and characters an oppressive one. At independence, the same army recruited, trained and left behind by the colonialists just changed the name from King’s African Rifle (KAR) to first Uganda Rifles (UR) and then Uganda Army (UA). KAR’s main function was to repress and suppress any opposition to the British rule. The senior non commissioned officers in KAR, like Idi Amin, who had been promoted on account of their brutality against the MAU MAU freedom fighters, became officers in the UA. It would be excessive naivety to expect the rule of terror to have changed by a mere change of guards.

UPDF HIGH COMMAND

  • H.E GEN YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI
    H.E GEN YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI
    PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF (CIC) OF THE UPDF
  • GEN WILSON MBASU MBADI
    GEN WILSON MBASU MBADI
    CHIEF OF DEFENCE FORCES (CDF)
  • LT GEN PETER ELWELU
    LT GEN PETER ELWELU
    DEPUTY CHIEF OF DEFENCE FORCES (D/CDF)
H.E GEN YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF (CIC) OF THE UPDF
H.E GEN YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI

President Yoweri Museveni is a Ugandan politician and military leader who has been in power since 1986. He was born on September 15, 1944, in Ntungamo, southwestern Uganda.

Museveni came to power after a five-year guerrilla war in which he led the National Resistance Army (NRA) against the government of Milton Obote. Since then, he has been reelected in a series of contested elections, with the most recent being in January 2021.

Under Museveni’s leadership, Uganda has experienced economic growth and development, with poverty rates decreasing and access to education and healthcare improving. He has implemented policies aimed at promoting agriculture, infrastructure development, and foreign investment.

Museveni has also been praised for his efforts to bring peace and stability to Uganda, ending decades of civil war and insurgency in the northern part of the country.

Furthermore, he has played a key role in regional politics, particularly in the East African Community, promoting integration and cooperation among African nations. He has been a vocal advocate for African unity and self-sufficiency, and has championed the cause of African development and progress on the international stage.

In addition, President Museveni has been recognized for his leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda, with the country being hailed as a model for other nations in terms of its comprehensive approach to prevention, treatment, and care.

GEN WILSON MBASU MBADI
CHIEF OF DEFENCE FORCES (CDF)
GEN WILSON MBASU MBADI

General Wilson Mbasu Mbadi is a high-ranking military officer in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) who currently holds the position of Chief of Defense Forces, the most senior position in Uganda’s military. He assumed this role on 24 June 2021, succeeding General David Muhoozi, who was appointed State Minister of Internal Affairs.

Prior to his current position, General Mbadi served as the Deputy Chief of Defense Forces from January 2017 to June 2021, holding the rank of Lieutenant General. He replaced Lieutenant General Charles Angina, who became Deputy Commander of Operation Wealth Creation. From May 2013 to January 2017, he served as the Joint Chief of Staff of the UPDF, before being replaced by Major General Joseph Musanyufu.

Education

Wilson Mbadi joined the Uganda military in 1986 and was commissioned in 1991 after completing a one-year Officer Cadet course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, where he graduated at the top of his class. In 1992, he attended the Platoon Commander’s Course at the Uganda School of Infantry, then located in Jinja, and in 1994, he attended the Uganda Junior Staff College, also in Jinja.

He continued his education in 1998 by attending the Mobile International Defence Management Course in Lusaka, Zambia, and the Company Command Course in Tanzania. In 2001, he attended the Combat Group Command Course at the Armored Corps Center and School in Ahmadnagar, India, performing exceptionally well. In 2004, he attended the Senior Command and Staff Course at the National Defence College, Kenya (NDCK), and also completed the Peace Support Operations Course (PSTC) at Karen, Kenya.

In 2005, he successfully completed a Diploma course in Strategic Studies at the University of Nairobi, and in 2007, he graduated with a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, United States of America.

Military

Between 1987 and 1989, he worked as a Junior Non-commissioned Instructor at Kaweweta and Kabamba Recruit Training Schools. In 1991, he served as the Officer in charge of Career Planning. He later served as the Director of Supplies in 1997/8 and held the positions of Armoured Brigade Logistics Officer and Brigade Administrative Officer in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

In 2001, he became the Directing Staff at the Uganda Junior Staff College in Jinja before being appointed as the 503 Infantry Brigade Operations and Training officer in 2001/2002. He served as the Armoured Brigade Operations and Training Officer between 2002 and 2003 before commanding the Armoured Brigade in an acting capacity. He took full command of the 507 Brigade in 2005 before becoming the Principal Air Staff Officer (Personnel and Administration) at Uganda Peoples Defence Air Force HQs in 2006.

In 2007, he was appointed as the Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the President of Uganda and served in that capacity until December 2012 when he was appointed as the Commander of the 4th Infantry Division of UPDF, based in Gulu. He was appointed as the Joint Chief of Staff of the UPDF in May 2013.

Responsibilities

In addition to being the Chief of Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Wilson Mbadi holds other important positions within the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). He is the Inspector General of UPDF and also serves as the Chairman of several committees, including the UPDF Medals Committee, UPDF Dress Committee, Defence Forces Duty-Free Shop Board of Directors, Senior Command and Staff College Control Board, Uganda National Defence College Steering Committee, and MoDVA Projects Preparation Committee. He is also a member of the Kyoga Dynamics Board of Directors.

Previously, Lt. Gen. Mbadi served as the Chairman of Uganda Military Engineering College and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Enterprise Corporation Limited from 2013 to 2016. He was also a member of the Standard Gauge Railway Board of Directors from 2015 to 2018.

Lt. Gen. Mbadi is married and has children. He is a practicing Christian.

LT GEN PETER ELWELU
DEPUTY CHIEF OF DEFENCE FORCES (D/CDF)
LT GEN PETER ELWELU

Peter Elwelu is a Lieutenant General in the Ugandan military, formally known as the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF). He currently holds the position of Deputy Chief of the Defense Forces of the UPDF, which he was appointed to on 24 June 2021. Prior to this, he served as the commander of land forces from 9 January 2017, which is the fourth-highest position in the UPDF hierarchy. From June 2013 until January 2017, he was the commander of the UPDF 2nd division, which is based in Mbarara, the largest town in Uganda’s Western Region.

Military

Peter Elwelu reportedly joined the Ugandan military in 1987 after attending the Tanzania Military Academy in Monduli. He was then posted to the military installation at Kabamba and later transferred to the Cadet Officer School at the Gaddafi military barracks in Jinja in 1995.

Elwelu served as a commander within the UPDF during the invasion of Zaire and the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko, alongside the Rwandan military. He was later deployed to the Northern Region in 1999 to fight Joseph Kony and his guerilla Lord’s Resistance Army. During this tour, he survived being shot in the back.

In 2007, Elwelu commanded the first Uganda military contingent when the country sent troops to Somalia under the African Union Mission to Somalia. He received commendation from the UPDF chief of defence forces, General Katumba Wamala, for his role on that tour.

In June 2013, Elwelu was appointed commander of the 2nd UPDF Division based at Mbarara, having previously served as the commander of the UPDF 3rd Division based at Moroto.

Elwelu made his first visit to UPDF troops in Somalia under AMISOM on Wednesday 22 March 2017 in his capacity as the UPDF Land forces commander. According to the spokesman of the Ugandan contingent in Somalia, the general’s visit was to “check on the operational tempo, boost the morale of the troops, and also update the troops on the situation in Uganda.”

In February 2019, over 2,000 men and women in the UPDF received promotions, including Elwelu, who was promoted from the rank of Major General to that of Lieutenant General.