Brig Kyanda sent on course to India

The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Chief of Staff Land Forces (COS/LF) Brigadier Leopold Kyanda has been sent on a one-year course at the National Defence College in India, sources have intimated to the EagleOnline.

Brig. Kyanda’s going for studies comes at a time his name has surfaced in a reported arms deal scandal in which some Polish businessmen claim they lost over Euros 500.000 (about Shs2b) to Ugandan fraudsters posing as military procurement officials.

Since then Captain Ronald Muhoozi, an army officer and aide to General Salim Saleh and, civilian Sam Ssimbwa, have been arrested in connection with the saga, while Brig. Kyanda denied any connection with the reported scam.

A Sandhurst-trained officer, Brig. Kyanda who joined the army in 1985,  has previously served in very sensitive positions in the UPDF, first as Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Commander-in-Chief General Yoweri Museveni; then as Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI); a Military Attache to the US and then as Chief of Personnel and Administration (CPA) in the army.

Brig. Kyanda has been replaced as COS/LF by Brig. Geoffrey Katsigazi. He (Kyanda) was appointed COS/LF in May 2013, replacing then Major General Charles Angina, who at the time was made Deputy Chief of Defence Forces (DCDF), a post he still holds.

About the National Defence College, India.

Located in New Delhi, it is the highest seat of strategic learning for Indian Defence and Civil Services officers of the rank of Brigadier. According to Wikipedia, the college offers the very prestigious course attended only by a few hand-picked defence officers of Brigadier (one-star General) rank and from friendly foreign countries. Each year, approximately 25 officers from countries like the USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UAE and others attend the course.

The college conducts a 47-week National Security and Strategic Study course each year which commences in the first week of January each year and finishes in the first week of December. The entire course is divided in six subjects spread over two terms. This course also involves extensive travel within and outside the country to visit Indian states and foreign countries where course members meet head of states and important decision makers to understand the political, social and strategic landscape of the state or country.