Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Frank Kaka Bagyenda, is a Ugandan retired

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 ...

in the

Uganda People's Defence Forces 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). Effective 20 October 2020, He is Uganda's

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

following his appointment by President

Yoweri Kaguta 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 ...

. He is the former

Director General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...

of the

Internal Security Organisation Internal Security Organisation (ISO) is the Uganda government's counter intelligence agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to Uganda's policy makers. It also engages in covert activities at the request of the President o ...

, Uganda government's counter intelligence agency, responsible for providing national security intelligence to Uganda's policy makers. A position he held between January 2017 to October 2020.

Background and education

He was born in

Ibanda District Ibanda District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. The town of Ibanda is the site of the district headquarters. Location Ibanda District is bordered by Kitagwenda District to the west, Kamw ...

, in Uganda's Western Region, in February 1952. He attended local schools before he was admitted to

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 ...

circa 1974. In 1977, he graduated from Makerere with a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree.

Civilian career

Following his graduation from

, Bagyenda took up employment in the Uganda Ministry of Public Service. Later, he was transferred to the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture. While there, he was posted to

Masindi District Masindi District is a district in Western Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' of Masindi, the location of the district headquarters. Location Masindi District is bordered by Nwoya District to the north, ...

, as an agricultural officer.

Military career

In 1981, Bagyenda joined the

National Resistance Army The National Resistance Army (NRA), the military wing of the National Resistance Movement (NRM), was a rebel army that waged a guerrilla war, commonly referred to as the Ugandan Bush War or Luwero War, against the government of Milton Obote, and l ...

(NRA), a rebel guerrilla outfit, led by

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 ...

, who waged 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 ...

, between 1981 and 1986. He carried out covert operations for the NRA and was instrumental in the capture of Masindi Army Barracks by the NRA on 20 February 1984. To disguise himself from the

Uganda National Liberation Army The Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF) was a political group formed by exiled Ugandans opposed to the rule of Idi Amin with an accompanying military wing, the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA). UNLA fought alongside Tanzanian forces in ...

(UNLA) soldiers, he adopted the name Kaka, dropping his birth names Frank Bagyenda. He served in the Ugandan military, rising to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, before he retired at that rank in 1993. His assignments in the military included as the commanding officer of a brigade based 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 capital city. He then served as head of the directorate of transport, and then as a member of the then Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), which today is the ''Chieftainancy of Military Intelligence'' (CMI). He also served in Uganda's Northern Region, where commanded a brigade in the early 1990s.

In retirement

In 1994, he was recalled and conscripted to assist the

Rwanda Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, win ...

capture power in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

. He remained in Uganda however, engaging in the trucking business in Western Uganda, and setting up ''Panoma Hotel'' in

Kalangala Kalangala is a town in Kalangala District in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the headquarters of the district. Location Kalangala is on the northern shore of Bugala Island, the largest of the Ssese Islands in Lake Victoria. It is approxima ...

, in the

Ssese Islands The Ssese Islands are an archipelago of eighty-four islands in the northwestern part of Lake Victoria in Uganda. The islands are coterminous with the Kalangala District in southern Central Uganda, which does not have any territory on mainland Uga ...

. While in Kalangala, Bagyenda remained an active intelligence operative, playing a role in the disruption of

illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

. In 2013, he was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, while in retirement. In January 2017, he was appointed to head ISO, replacing

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Ronnie Balya, who was appointed Uganda's ambassador to

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

, based in

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...

References

External links