By Joseph Kiggundu
KAMPALA — Two retired Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) generals who previously headed the country’s military intelligence directorate have been arrested as investigations into alleged false intelligence reports and treachery intensify.
The officers are retired Maj Gen Abel Kandiho and retired Brig Gen Charles Bakahumura, both former heads of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), currently known as Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS).
Military sources said the two were taken into custody on Tuesday morning, less than three weeks after formally retiring from active service.
They were among 19 senior officers whose retirement from the UPDF was announced on August 20, 2026.
Kandiho took charge of CMI in January 2017 while holding the rank of Colonel. He was subsequently promoted to Brigadier General in November of the same year and later attained the rank of Major General.
Bakahumura headed CMI between 2012 and 2017 before being appointed Chief of Logistics and Engineering, a position he reportedly held for seven years.
The arrests are reportedly linked to an investigation authorised by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
A military source familiar with the matter said investigators are also pursuing other individuals believed to be connected to the case.
The arrests come against the backdrop of a broader probe into allegations that some intelligence officers generated or circulated false reports.
Several senior DIS officers have already been arrested in connection with the investigation, among them former DIS chief Maj Gen James Birungi, Director of Counter-Terrorism Col Peter Ahimbisibwe and Director of Special Operations Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga.
Birungi and Byaruhanga have since been charged with treachery before the General Court Martial and remanded to the Makindye Military Police Barracks.
Birungi was arrested after appearing before a board chaired by Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Samuel Okiding. The board was reportedly established on the orders of Gen Kainerugaba as part of the ongoing investigations.
The latest arrests are expected to widen the inquiry into the alleged intelligence failures and activities within the military intelligence directorate.