By KT Reporter
A storm is sweeping through the Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS), formerly known as the Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI), as a probe team instituted by the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, widens its net. At least 13 suspects—soldiers and civilians—are now under arrest over alleged orchestration of fake terror bomb attacks.
Among those detained is Maj Gen James Birungi, the former CMI chief, who was dramatically arrested on Friday and is currently being held at Makindye Military Police barracks. His arrest comes after weeks of silent investigations into what sources describe as “concocted terror incidents” that shook the country in recent years.
The probe began with the detention of Col Peter Ahimbisibwe, then director of counterterrorism at CMI, and Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga, who headed Special Operations. By the time Birungi was picked up, 10 more suspects had already been rounded up—eight soldiers and two civilians.
Among them are three soldiers linked to the June 3rd Martyrs Day bomb scare near Munyonyo Catholic Shrine, where a woman—allegedly a suicide bomber—was killed. Weeks later, another supposed female bomber was gunned down in Kaleerwe market, her “explosive device” detonated by operatives.
The Kaleerwe episode, insiders say, triggered the arrest of at least five junior soldiers. As investigators interrogated the detained officers, the name of Maj Gen Birungi repeatedly surfaced. Both Col Ahimbisibwe and Lt Col Byaruhanga are said to have implicated their former boss, suggesting that he not only sanctioned suspicious operations but also directed junior officers to link the so-called bomb threats to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
The probe gained momentum after Birungi was reassigned earlier this year to the Mountain Division in Fort Portal—ostensibly to oversee Operation Shujaa against ADF in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). His posting, however, appears to have been a tactical move by CDF Muhoozi to clear the ground for investigators.
It was intelligence officers in the Mountain Division, then under Maj Gen Richard Otto, who reportedly blew the whistle. Reviewing border surveillance measures, Otto’s team found no traces of ADF infiltration. They questioned how CMI in Kampala had obtained intelligence that led to the killing of the two women labeled as suicide bombers. This revelation reportedly set off alarm bells at Mbuya, prompting CDF Muhoozi to demand answers.
The findings, combined with fresh intelligence irregularities unearthed by Maj Gen Otto after assuming command at CMI, put Birungi and his close deputies on the chopping block. To keep him away from sensitive operations while the probe continued, Birungi was quietly named Uganda’s Defence Attaché to Burundi—a move sources now say was “for public relations.” On Thursday evening, he was summoned to CMI headquarters in Mbuya.
By Friday midday, he had been disarmed, interrogated for over seven hours, and later driven to Makindye barracks under tight security.
Maj Gen Felix Kulayigye, UPDF spokesperson, confirmed Birungi’s detention but declined to divulge details. “Yes, he is in custody,” Kulayigye said, without clarifying whether Birungi would face the General Court Martial like his deputies or be released on military bond.
The CDF probe team is reportedly digging deeper—tracing questionable bomb incidents as far back as three years.
These include abandoned devices discovered at Pastor Robert Kayanja’s church, bombs left in Nateete, and other scattered threats across Kampala. At least three terror cells allegedly linked to CMI operatives are now under scrutiny, raising fresh questions about whether some of Uganda’s most publicized terror scares were staged.
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