Henry Tumukunde

Henry Tumukunde is a retired senior military officer of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF). On 3rd Mard 2020, he declared his Presidential Ambition officially and vowed to stand against President Museveni in the 2021 Uganda elections.

On 3rd March 2020, Henry Tumukunde declared that he will be challenging Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for the seat of presidency in 2021. In a press briefing, Tumukunde attributed his decision to the fact that NRM party and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni were not ready to discuss a peaceful transition of power.

On Thursday 12th March 2020, General Tumukunde was arrested from his office in Kampala. The aspiring Presidential candidate was arrested on allegations of treason.

He was the Minister of National Security in the Cabinet of Uganda. He was appointed to that position on 6 June 2016. On 4 March 2018, he was relieved of his duties in an unexpected cabinet reshuffle.

On 6 June 2016, he was appointed to the Cabinet as the Minister of National Security. He was relieved of his cabinet responsibilities on the evening of Sunday, 4 March 2018, in a presidential tweet, in which his nemesis, General Kale Kayihura, the Inspector General of Police was also fired.

On 1 September 2015, the Daily Monitor reported that Henry Tumukunde had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and then retired from the Army. He effectively skipped the rank of Major General.

On 18 April 2013, the UPDF General Court Martial sat to bring an end to the process that had lasted 8 years and summed up its deliberations. The charge of spreading harmful propaganda was dropped while the joint charge of military misconduct was upheld and Tumukunde was subsequently sentenced to a severe reprimand.

His home was surrounded by at least 50 soldiers commanded by generals Kale Kayihura and Masaba who proceeded to arrest him. Tumukunde was then driven in a tightly guarded convoy to an officers' mess turned detention center, where he was incarcerated for nearly 2 years, during which time he had limited and tightly controlled contact with the outside world. His extrajudicial detention coupled with a series of controversial and uncertain court martial hearings seemed to backfire leading to irreversible pressure culminating in his release in 2007. His arrest followed his opposing views to the proposed "third term" project that suggested a revision to the Ugandan constitution enabling one to serve an unlimited number of terms as president, removing the two-term maximum limit.

Following the set-up of the constitution, Uganda held elections and Tumukunde subsequently became a member of parliament representing the Army as a special interest group. He went on to serve as an MP until 2005. In addition to this, Tumukunde was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and appointed chief of personnel and administration. In 1998, Tumukunde was again promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed chief of military intelligence and security. His tenure was arguably the most successful by any officer as it is during this time that Al-Qaeda's plan to bomb the American Embassy was thwarted. There was also a time where bombings were rampant within the capital Kampala, and once again Tumukunde formed several intelligence committees within the city and the problem was managed. Tumukunde also built an amicable rapport with the Muslim community, which many had accused of spearheading the attacks, so much so that key intelligence information was forwarded to him with ease. Arguably, it was during his reign that the Ugandan intelligence apparatus was at its most efficient.

Tumukunde was charged with the offences of abuse of office and spreading harmful propaganda. The abuse of office charges were eventually dropped in a manner suggesting that they had been politically motivated in the first instance. What followed was, however, a surprise to many. Tumukunde was on 28 May 2005 forced to resign from Parliament and subsequently arrested on the orders of the president.

At a political retreat in 2003, Tumukunde, in the presence of the president and his cabinet, argued against the impending removal of term limits that would give President Museveni the right to stand for re-election on an infinite basis. Tumukunde stated that this would be in direct contravention of the rights that they fought to establish and that he was not willing to take part in what he considered to be grossly unconstitutional behaviour. Predictably, this put him at loggerheads with the establishment and more so the president.

He is also a qualified lawyer. He has served as the UPDF's chief of personnel and administration, chief of military intelligence as well as serving as the commanding officer of the UPDF Fourth Division, based in Gulu in the Northern Region of Uganda. He has also previously served as the director general of the Internal Security Organisation (ISO). Tumukunde was also a Member of Parliament representing the Army in the Parliament of Uganda between 1995 and 2005.

In 1994, Uganda held elections for the Constituent Assembly and Tumukunde sought to represent his home county Rubaabo. His main competitor was a government minister and senior figure Mondo Kagonyera. Tumukunde, who was in early thirties at the time, was thought to be the underdog in the race; however, Tumukunde was a very good mobiliser and won by a landslide margin. Tumukunde then joined the CA, which formulated the current 1995 Ugandan Constitution. Tumukunde was known to be a regular and astute contributor to the sessions and debates that preceded the formation of the Constitution.

In 1985, during one of the bigger battles with the then Uganda army in Luweero District, Tumukunde was shot multiple times in his legs. The wounds were so major that it was thought he would not survive. He was, however, smuggled out of the country to Nairobi and eventually to London where he was operated on.

He was born on 28 February 1959 in Rukungiri District in the Western Region of Uganda. He attended Bishop Stuart College Demonstration School for his primary schooling. He studied at Kigezi College Butobere (Siniya) and Kibuli Secondary School for his O-Level and A-Level education, respectively. Tumukunde graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1981. He obtained a Diploma in Legal Practice awarded by the Law Development Centre in 2010. He also holds an Executive Masters in Oil and Gas Management, awarded by the Graduate Institute of Geneva in 2013.