Silas Paul Mayunga (6 August 2011) was a Tanzanian military officer and diplomat.

Biography

Mayunga served in the

Tanganyika Rifles The Tanganyika Rifles was the sole regiment in the Tanganyikan army, from 1961 to 1964. History With the independence of Tanganyika in December 1961, the two battalions of the King's African Rifles which had been raised in the colony were trans ...

as a second lieutenant and was stationed in

Lugalo Lugalo is a village in Tanzania near Iringa which in 1891 was the site of a battle in which a German colonial military force under Emil von Zelewski was decisively defeated and almost annihilated by the Hehe army of Chief Mkwawa. This was the fir ...

. During the Tanganyika Rifles mutiny of January 1964 he was in

Tabora Tabora is the capital of Tanzania's Tabora Region and is classified as a municipality by the Tanzanian government. It is also the administrative seat of Tabora Urban District. According to the 2012 census, the district had a population of 226,999. ...

. In October 1978 Uganda, ruled by

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

and occupied the Kagera Salient in northern Tanzania, initiating the Uganda–Tanzania War. Mayunga, serving as a brigadier in the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDF), led a brigade into Kagera after the Uganda Army withdrew. The TPDF invaded Uganda in early 1979, and Mayunga commanded the 206th Brigade as it advanced into the southwestern portion of the country and seized

Mbarara Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, Nyakay ...

. During the war his troops commonly referred to him as "the artillery wizard". After leading forces into Uganda, his men nicknamed him "Mti Mkavu" (Swahili: dry tree) in reference to his perceived durability. Following the capture of Mbarara and Masaka, the TPDF halted to reorganise. On March 21 Mayunga was promoted to major general and given charge of a newly formed "Task Force", a unit consisting of the 206th Brigade and the Minziro Brigade, which was semi-autonomous from the TPDF's main invasion force, the 20th Division, in southeastern Uganda. While the 20th Division attacked Kampala and other major locations, the Task Force advanced north into western Uganda in the following months, engaging Ugandan troops conducting rearguard defensive actions. On 3 June 1979 Mayunga accompanied the Minziro Brigade as it secured the last portion of unoccupied Ugandan territory along the Sudanese border, ending the war. At the frontier, he delivered a short victory speech to his soldiers, telling them, "You've taught Idi Amin a lesson he'll never forget." He was later awarded by the new Ugandan government for his role in overthrowing Amin's regime. In 1990 Mayunga was appointed as an envoy to Ghana. Mayunga died on 6 August 2011 at the age of 71 in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

while undergoing medical treatment. His body was repatriated to Tanzania two days later. Uhuru Stadium in Bukoba was renamed Mayunga Stadium in his honour.

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayunga, Silas 2011 deaths Military personnel of the Uganda–Tanzania War Tanzanian generals