General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Haji Abubaker Jeje Odongo is 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 ...

n senior

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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. In June 2021, he was appointed Uganda's cabinet minister for Foreign Affairs. He has previously served as

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in the

Cabinet of Uganda There are 32 Cabinet ministers and 50 Ministers of State in the Cabinet of Uganda (2021 to 2026). According to Section 111 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, as amended in 2005, "There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, t ...

from 2016 to 2022. Previously he served as

Minister of State for Defence The Minister of State for Defence is a mid-level position in the Ministry of Defence in the British government. It is currently held by Baroness Goldie, who took the office on 26 July 2019. Responsibilities The minister has the following min ...

from February 2009 to June 2016.

History

Jeje Odongo was born in

Amuria District Amuria District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Amuria is the site of the district headquarters. Location Amuria District is bordered by Otuke District to the north, Napak District to the northeast, Katakwi District to ...

, 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 * ...

, in

Eastern Uganda The Eastern region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts , the Eastern Region contained 32 districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in s ...

. He attended secondary school at Ngora High School. He entered the Ugandan army in 1979. He is one of the original twenty seven combatants who, together with

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 ...

, attacked Kabamba Military Barracks in February 1981 to start 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 ...

, a guerrilla war that lasted from February 1981 until April 1986. Jeje Odongo was captured soon after the first NRA operation and was imprisoned in Luzira Maximum Security Prison. In 1994, Jeje Odongo was one of the ten army officers who represented the Ugandan military in the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that drafted the 1995 Ugandan

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. In 1996, he was selected to replace Colonel Sserwanga Lwanga as the Political Commissar in the

Uganda People's Defense 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). Also in 1996, he contested the parliamentary seat for Amuria District in the Ugandan Parliament. He won and was appointed as Minister of Defence soon after he entered parliament. In 1998, he resigned his parliamentary seat and his cabinet position and was appointed Commander of the Army, taking over from Major General

Mugisha Muntu Gregory Mugisha Muntuyera, commonly referred to as Mugisha Muntu (born October 1958), is a Ugandan politician and retired military officer. He is the current President of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), a political party he founde ...

. He served as army commander until 2001, when he was replaced by Major General

James Kazini Major General James Kazini (1957–2009) was a Ugandan army officer who served as commander of the Uganda People's Defense Force from 2001 to 2003. History He was born in 1957 in the Basongora ethnic group, in Kasese District, in Western Reg ...

. In 2001, he was appointed as Minister without Portfolio, a position he occupied until 2004. In 2004, now at the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, Jeje Odongo was appointed as Minister of State for the Environment. Between 2001 and 2006, he was one of 10 senior UPDF officers who represented the Ugandan military in the 8th Ugandan Parliament. In May 2008, Jeje Odongo graduated with the degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in International Relations and Diplomacy from

Nkumba University Nkumba University (NKU) is a chartered private university in Uganda. It was established in 1994 as part of a group of schools and colleges that originally grew from a kindergarten established in 1951. The university is not affiliated with any pa ...

. On 16 February 2009, he was promoted to

and appointed

. After seven years in that post, he was instead appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs in the cabinet list announced on 6 June 2016. On 18 February 2022 he participated in the European Union - African Union Summit in Brussels. A

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

arose when he greeted

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; Albrecht, born 8 October 1958) is a German politician who has been serving as the president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 an ...

, only after an intervention by

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

, which was considered a

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

attitude.

References

External links

Jeje Odongo Implicated in Illegal Detention of Traders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odongo, Jeje Living people People from Amuria District Ugandan Muslims 1951 births People from Eastern Region, Uganda Members of the Parliament of Uganda Itesot people Ugandan generals Ugandan military personnel Nkumba University alumni Government ministers of Uganda People from Teso sub-region National Resistance Movement politicians 21st-century Ugandan politicians Foreign Ministers of Uganda