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 ...

Kayanja Muhanga (born 1965), is Ugandan

army 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 contextu ...

. He currently serves as Commander Of Land forces in UPDF . He was appointed to that position in October 2022 by the

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 ...

and Commander in chief of the UPDF, Yoweri Museveni. He previously served as commander of 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 ...

contingent in Eastern DRC under operation code named Operation Shujja. He was appointed to that position in January 2021 by General Yoweri Museveni, the Commander in Chief of the UPDF and the President of Uganda. Prior to that, Maj. General Muhanga served as the commandant of the military police within the

(UPDF).

History

Kayanja Muhanga was born in

Fort Portal Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom. Location Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampal ...

Kabarole District Kabarole District is a district in Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Kingdom of Toro. Its main town was Fort Portal before 1st July 2020 when it was elevated to a city, separating it from Kabarole district Government. The new Kabar ...

, Western Uganda, circa 1964. He is an older brother to journalist, Andrew Mwenda, the publisher and editor of

The Independent (Uganda) ''The Independent'' is a newsmagazine published in Kampala, Uganda. Overview The newspaper covers general and business news. It also has dedicated sections for news analysis, Eastern African regional news and a features section. It comes out in ...

, newsmagazine. He also has a sister, '' Margaret Muhanga'', a staffer in the Office of the President of Uganda. His father is ''Mzee Phillip Muhanga'' of Fort Portal.

Formal education

He attended ''Duhaga Secondary School in Hoima district'' and later ''Mpanga Day School'', in

. In 1985, while still in S5, he joined Museveni's

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).

Military education

He attended the Cadet Officers Course at the Uganda Military Academy in 1988. At that time, the school was located at Quaddafi Barracks in Jinja,

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 ...

, before it was relocated to

Kabamba Kabamba is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Edouard Kabamba (born 1987), Belgian footballer *Maguy Kabamba (born 1960), Democratic Republic of the Congo writer and translator *Nicke Kabamba (born 1993 ...

, in

Mubende District Mubende is a district in the Central Region of Uganda. The town of Mubende is the site of the district headquarters. The district was reduced in size in July 2005 with the creation of the Mityana District and reduced again in 2019 with the creat ...

Military career

He joined the NRA at the rank of

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, serving in that position until NRA captured power in 1986. He served in the military police unit based in

Kasese Kasese is a town north of Lake George in the Western Region of Uganda. It originally grew around the copper mine at Kilembe, while attention later turned to cobalt mining. It is the chief town of Kasese District, and the district headquarters ...

. He served in the Presidential Protection Unit at the rank of private from 1986 until 1988. Following the Junior Cadet Officer Course, he served in the office of the Chief of Combat Operations, at the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. He was transferred to the Directorate of Military Intelligence in 1990, serving there until 1993. From 1993 until 1997, he served as the Intelligence Officer, attached to the UPDF barracks in

Mubende Mubende is a town in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mubende District and is the location of the district headquarters. Location Mubende is approximately , by road, west of Kampal ...

. He was assigned to the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce, at the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He was promoted through

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 ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and

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 ...

and was posted to

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, as part of the UPDF contingent to AMISOM. While there, he commanded Uganda’s "Battle Group Eight" and concurrently served as the deputy commander for the Ugandan contingent in Somalia. After his tour of duty he served as the Chief of the Military Police in the UPDF, until January 2014. In January 2014, Colonel Kayanja Muhanga was appointed Commander of the UPDF Operations in South Sudan. In February 2014, he was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhanga, Kayanja Living people 1965 births Toro people People from Kabarole District Ugandan military personnel Uganda Military Academy alumni Ugandan generals

History

Formal education

Military education

Military career

See also

References