Peter Elwelu
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Peter Elwelu, the former Deputy CDF Lieutenant General Peter Elwelu now faces a call to surrender after Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that he had stripped him of his military ranks and demoted him to the lowest rank of Private.
The announcement marks a new development in an ongoing shake-up within the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), where senior officers and former military personnel have come under scrutiny as the army leadership pursues what it describes as a crackdown on corruption, misconduct and alleged disloyalty.
In a series of public statements, Kainerugaba described Elwelu as a “traitor” and declared that he no longer held his previous military titles. He also indicated that the military command expected the former deputy army chief to surrender, warning that doing so would be in his own interest.
“The traitor Peter Elwelu is hereby stripped of his ranks. He is demoted to Private,” Kainerugaba announced.
The CDF further stated that Elwelu should surrender to “save his own life,” while making additional remarks about the former senior officer. The comments were part of a public declaration of the military command’s authority over personnel and its determination to pursue those it considers to have violated its standards.
“Let all the world know that we intend to remain the masters of our own house,” Kainerugaba said, emphasising the command’s position on military autonomy.
However, the public announcement did not, by itself, establish the formal legal process through which Elwelu’s demotion was effected or detail specific charges that he might face. The allegations and characterisations made by the CDF therefore remain attributable to the military leadership.
The action against Elwelu has been accompanied by arrests involving people reportedly connected to him, widening the scope of the military investigations.
According to Kainerugaba, more than 20 former soldiers linked to the former deputy CDF have been taken into custody. He said those arrested were cooperating with military investigators, although detailed information about their individual cases and any formal charges had not been publicly itemised in the statements cited.
The arrests suggest that investigators are examining a wider circle of military personnel rather than limiting their attention to one former senior officer. The precise nature of the alleged offences, however, remains unclear from the publicly available details.
The developments come against the backdrop of other investigations involving senior UPDF officers, including Major General Don William Nabaasa and former Chief of Military Intelligence Major General James Birungi.
Reports have linked the officers to inquiries involving alleged logistics fraud, manipulation of intelligence and activities described by the military leadership as treasonous. Some officers were reportedly detained at military facilities in Makindye and Kasenyi as investigations proceeded.
The allegations have not all been accompanied by publicly available details of formal charges or judicial findings, making it important to distinguish accusations under investigation from proven offences.
The latest measures also reflect a broader effort under Kainerugaba’s leadership to reorganise the military command and investigate alleged wrongdoing. Reports of previous arrests have referred to suspected procurement irregularities, inflated costs, questionable supplies, intelligence misconduct and bribery.
The investigations could have implications for how procurement, intelligence operations and command responsibilities are managed within the force. However, the extent to which the reported cases will result in prosecutions, disciplinary sanctions or further changes in the military hierarchy remains to be established.
Elwelu’s own military career has previously attracted international scrutiny over his role in the 2016 killings in Kasese, where security forces killed people during an operation against the Rwenzururu kingdom. He subsequently faced US sanctions connected to allegations of serious human rights abuses. The sanctions and allegations form part of the background to his public profile but are separate from the current military action.
Before Kainerugaba’s latest announcement, Elwelu had already been sidelined from key leadership responsibilities, according to reports. The declaration stripping him of his ranks now places him at the centre of the latest developments in the UPDF’s internal disciplinary and investigative drive.
For the military, the central questions will be whether the investigations produce clearly documented charges, whether those implicated are given due process and whether the measures lead to demonstrable improvements in accountability.
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