Benon Biraaro (1 March 1958 – 12 February 2020; surname sometimes spelled Biraro) was a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and a high-ranking commander in the

Uganda People's Defence Force The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...

(UPDF). While still in the active military, he served as the commandant of the

Uganda Senior Command and Staff College The Uganda Senior Command and Staff College (USCSC) is a training facility for senior commanders in the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), including the army, air force, and special forces. Location The facility is located in Kimaka, a subu ...

Kimaka Kimaka is a neighborhood in the city of Jinja, in the Eastern Region of Uganda. Location Kimaka is bordered by to the west by the Nile River, (from Nalubaale Power Station to Bujagali Power Station), to the south by the Kampala-Jinja Highway ...

, Jinja. In 2016, he ran (unsuccessfully) for

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force. The in ...

on behalf of his agrarian Farmers Party of Uganda.

Background and formal education

Benon Biraaro was born on 1 March 1958 in

Isingiro District Isingiro District is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. The town of Isingiro is the district's main municipal, administrative, and commercial center. Location Isingiro District is bordered by Kiruhura District to the north, Rakai Distr ...

. He attended

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

, in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

, Uganda's oldest and largest public university, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Later, he attended

Cranfield University , mottoeng = After clouds light , established = 1946 - College of Aeronautics 1969 - Cranfield Institute of Technology (gained university status by royal charter) 1993 - Cranfield University (adopted current name) , type = Public research uni ...

in the United Kingdom, graduating with a Masters in Global Strategic Studies.

Military education

His military education included the following courses: * Officer Cadet Course * Junior Staff College in the United Kingdom * Junior Command and Staff College at the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of t ...

, in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

* Senior Command and Staff College at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

, Kansas, USA * Africa Strategic Studies Course at

Nasser Military Academy Nasser Military Academy ( ar, أكادمية ناصر للعلوم العسكرية; Nasser Academy for Military Science) or Nasser Higher Military Academy (NHMA) is a higher military academy inaugurated in March 1965 after a republican decree was ...

, Cairo, Egypt * Masters in Global Security Studies at

, United Kingdom

Military career

Benon Biraaro joined the

Ugandan Bush War The Ugandan Bush War, also known as the Luwero War, the Ugandan Civil War or the Resistance War, was a civil war fought in Uganda by the official Ugandan government and its armed wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA), against a number o ...

on 7 June 1982, straight out of

. By 1984, he had risen to the position of secretary to the High Command and National Resistance Council. By 1986, he was the deputy to

Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tibuhaburwa (born 15 September 1944) is a Ugandan politician and retired senior military officer who has been the 9th and current President of Uganda since 26 January 1986. Museveni spearheaded rebellions with aid of then ...

’s Principal Private Secretary. He was then posted to

Kitgum District Kitgum District is a district in Northern Uganda. It is named after its major town of Kitgum, where the district headquarters is located. It has suffered many deaths and social disruption resulting from the 20-year civil war within the region duri ...

, as the special district administrator from 1986 until 1987. He then was transferred to Kyankwanzi and served as

deputy commandant Deputy commandant is a Group-A gazetted officer rank in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Indian Coast Guard. This rank is equivalent to the rank of Superintendent of police (India) and In the Indian Armed Forces it is a title given to ...

of the National Leadership Institute. Next, he served as the

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 97th Battalion in Uganda's Eastern Region, which ended the

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...

in the

Teso sub-region Teso sub-region (previously known as Teso District) is a sub-region in Eastern Region, Uganda that consists of: * Amuria District * Bukedea District * Kaberamaido District * Kapelebyong District * Katakwi District * Kumi District * Ngora District * ...

and in

Tororo Tororo is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Tororo District. History Tororo was garrisoned by the Uganda Army's Air and Sea Battalion during the Uganda–Tanzania War ( ...

and Busia Districts. Following that, he served as the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

in Uganda. He was then appointed the military representative in the Office of the Inspector General of Government. He then served as a member of the Adhoc Committee on Human Rights under the chairmanship of Abu Mayanja. He then became the director of training in the UPDF. In 1998, he commanded the Ugandan contingent to the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

(DRC). He then became the commander of the Infantry Division in the Western Region of Uganda. Following that he was appointed deputy chief of staff of the UPDF (DCOS), the fifth-highest rank in the Uganda military. Next, he served as the commandant for two in-takes at the

at Kimaka in the Eastern Region. He then served as the chief of the Strategic Planning and Management Unit of the Peace and Security Council at the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

headquarters in

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Other responsibilities

Biraaro and several prominent individuals in the Ugandan military and business started a public-private-partnership with the aim of raising investment funds locally to invest in local infrastructure and industry. Biraaro was the founder president and lead investor in Local Investment for Transformation.

Personal details

General Biraaro was a married father. He was of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

faith. He was reported to have built a church in the village where he was born, in

. He died on the morning of 12 February 2020, at

Kampala Hospital Kampala Hospital is a private healthcare facility in Uganda. It is a specialists' hospital and diagnostic centre. Kampala Hospital was the first hospital in Uganda to install a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine and a CT Scanner. For a ...

, located on Kololo Hill, in Kampala, where he had been admitted six days before. He was reported to have died from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

. He was just 61 years old.

References

External links

General Biraaro Plans To Run For President of Uganda In 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biraaro, Benon 1958 births 2020 deaths People from Isingiro District Alumni of Cranfield University Ugandan military personnel Makerere University alumni People from Western Region, Uganda Ugandan generals