Gregory Mugisha Muntuyera, commonly referred to as Mugisha Muntu (born October 1958), is a

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southe ...

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 ...

and 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 ...

. He is the current President of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), a political party he founded in March 2019. He previously served as the President of the

Forum for Democratic Change The Forum for Democratic Change ( sw, Jukwaa la Mabadiliko ya Kidemokrasia; FDC), founded on 16 December 2004, is the main opposition party in Uganda. The FDC was founded as an umbrella body called Reform Agenda, mostly for disenchanted former m ...

(FDC), an opposition political party, from 2012 to 2017. In September 2018, General Muntu parted ways with the FDC citing ideological differences with the new FDC leadership of Hon.Patrick Oboi Amuriat. On 27 September 2018 he announced in a televised press conference that he and some other leaders had begun what he called The New Formation which later became the ANT. He served as the Commander of the Army, the highest position in the Ugandan military, from 1989 to 1998. When 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 ...

was renamed 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), General Muntu became Commander of the UPDF. In 2008, he unsuccessfully contested for the FDC's presidency, against

Kizza Besigye Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe (born 22 April 1956), known as Colonel. Dr. Kizza Besigye, is a Ugandan physician, politician, and former military officer in the Uganda People's Defence Force. He served as the president of the Forum for Democrati ...

but was later elected as party president in 2012. He is the founder and current Party President of

Alliance for National Transformation The Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), founded on 19 March 2019, is a political party in Uganda. Background The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) was the leading opposition party in Uganda during the 2000s and 2010s. On three consecu ...

(ANT)

Early life and education

Mugisha Muntu was born in October 1958 at Kitunga village in present-day

Ntungamo District Ntungamo District is a district in Western Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it named after its 'chief town', Ntungamo, the location of the district headquarters. Ntungamo was elevated to a district on 5th May 1993. Overview In the past, Ntun ...

Ankole sub-region Ankole sub-region is a region in the Western Region of Uganda that consists of the following districts: * Buhweju District * Bushenyi District * Ibanda District * Isingiro District * Kazo District * Kiruhura District * Mbarara District * M ...

, Western Uganda, to Enock Ruzima Muntuyera and Aida Matama Muntuyera. He had an affluent childhood as his father was a strong government functionary and close friend of Ugandan leader

Milton Obote Apollo Milton Obote (28 December 1925 – 10 October 2005) was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda to independence from British colonial rule in 1962. Following the nation's independence, he served as prime minister of Uganda from 1962 to ...

. He attended Mbarara Junior School, Kitunga Primary School and Kitunga High School. (Kitunga High School was later renamed Muntuyera High School, in memory of his father, by Obote.) Muntu attended

Makerere College School Makerere College School is a co-educational government aided O and A Level school founded in 1945 by Makerere University. In 1945 Makerere University was still a constituent college of the University of London. The school is located on the main c ...

and subsequently went on to graduate in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

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 ...

, where he was deputy president of the students union.

Military career

Muntu joined the guerrilla

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 ...

the day he completed his university exams, to the chagrin of his family and President Obote, who considered him a son. Early into the rebellion he was shot in the chest but survived after receiving treatment 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 ...

. Later he emerged as the head of Military Intelligence after the NRA victory in 1986. In military intelligence he had under his command personalities like

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...

, who would later become the President of

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. Muntu underwent further elite military training in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

before becoming a division commander in

Northern Uganda The Northern Region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts As of 2010, the Northern Region had 30 districts A district is a type of administrative division tha ...

. He rose to the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

within the UPDF. His rapid promotion did not to go unnoticed by other senior officers in the Ugandan military. He was later to serve as Commander of the UPDF. That post was later renamed Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda. As army chief, he oversaw the demobilization of many sections of the army. Observers have attributed Maj. Gen. Muntu's quick ascension to the pinnacle of the NRA/UPDF to his reputation as an incorruptible and loyal officer to the President of Uganda. This loyalty was rewarded by the support of the President during Muntu's many quarrels with sections of the army which accused him of trying to alienate them. Prominent among these were the so-called 'uneducated' officers, led 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 ...

. Muntu was accused of creating a schism within the army by showing preferential treatment to educated officers while sidelining those he considered uneducated.

Political career

Muntu was a member of 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 ...

(1994–1995) and parliamentarian. After disagreeing with Museveni's approach to politics and the military, he was removed from the army command and appointed as a minister, a position he politely turned down. In November 2001, he was selected by the members of the Ugandan Parliament to serve as one of the nine Ugandan representatives to the

East African Legislative Assembly , native_name_lang = , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , foundation = 30 November 2001 , house_type = , body ...

(EALA). On 21 November 2020, Muntu, along with fellow opposition presidential candidates

Bobi Wine Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan politician, singer, and actor. He is a former Member of Parliament for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda's Central Region. He also leads ...

Henry Tumukunde Henry Tumukunde is a politician and retired senior military officer of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). He ran as an independent for president in the 2021 Ugandan general election. He was the Minister of National Security in the Ca ...

Norbert Mao Norbert Mao is a Ugandan political activist and lawyer. He has been president of the Democratic Party since 2010, three time presidential candidate and he served as the Local Council 5 chairman for Gulu District. He is the current minister for ...

, and Patrick Amuriat Oboi, agreed to form an alliance together.

Personal life

Since 1992, he has been married to Julia Kakonge Muntu. They have one son, who was born in 1993, and one daughter, who was born in 1996.The Muntu You Did Not Know
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References

External links