Uganda’s military intelligence establishment has been rocked by a widening investigation into claims that a series of terror scares were fabricated by its own officers.
The inquiry, ordered by Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has so far led to the arrest of at least 13 people, including senior officers, junior soldiers, and civilians.
Among those detained is Maj Gen James Birungi, the former head of the Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS)—previously known as the Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI). He was arrested on Friday and taken to the Makindye Military Police barracks in Kampala.
Arrests linked to bomb scares
The probe began with the detention of Col Peter Ahimbisibwe, who once led CMI’s counterterrorism directorate, and Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga, head of Special Operations. Investigators say their testimonies implicated Birungi in sanctioning suspicious operations.
Officials are now examining whether a number of high-profile incidents, presented as terrorist plots, were in fact staged. These include a scare during Martyrs’ Day celebrations in June last year near Munyonyo Catholic Shrine, when a woman was killed after being labelled a suicide bomber, and a similar episode weeks later in Kaleerwe market. Both incidents were linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group at the time.
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According to sources close to the investigation, several junior soldiers have already been arrested in connection with these events.
Whistleblowers raise doubts
The case gained momentum earlier this year when Birungi was moved from CMI to the Mountain Division in western Uganda, where he was tasked with operations against the ADF in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was intelligence officers in that division who reportedly raised concerns, saying they found no evidence of ADF infiltration to match the Kampala incidents.
Those findings triggered further scrutiny from military leadership. When Maj Gen Richard Otto later replaced Birungi at CMI, additional irregularities were uncovered, intensifying the probe.
Although Birungi was later appointed Uganda’s Defence Attaché to Burundi, military sources now suggest this was intended to distance him from active operations while investigations continued.
High-level detention
On Thursday, Birungi was summoned to CMI headquarters in Mbuya. The following day, he was disarmed, questioned for several hours, and transferred under guard to Makindye.
UPDF spokesperson Maj Gen Felix Kulayigye confirmed his detention but declined to comment on whether he would face trial before the General Court Martial.
The investigation is now looking into other past incidents, including devices allegedly planted at churches and public spaces in Kampala. Officials say at least three suspected “terror cells” linked to military intelligence operatives are under examination.
The probe raises new questions about whether some of Uganda’s most widely reported terror threats in recent years were genuine or deliberately staged.
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