The former Deputy Director of the Internal Security Organisation, Col. Emmy Katabazi, has been appointed Senior Presidential Advisor and Coordinator of Security and Intelligence.
President Yoweri Museveni made the appointment. Others appointed are former Foreign Affairs State Minister Philemon Mateke, who has been appointed Presidential Advisor on Regional Cooperation, and former Member of Parliament for Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, Odo Tayebwa, who has been posted as Senior Presidential Advisor on Poverty Alleviation.
Col. Katabazi was dropped as Deputy Director General (ISO) early this year. The changes that brought in Mr. Arthur Mugyenyi as Director General, succeeding the late Brig. Gen. Charles Oluka, who tragically passed away on January 29, 2025. Oluka and Katabazi had led the ISO since October 2020. Mr. Tony Kinyera Apecu was named as Col. Katabazi’s replacement.
The docket of the Coordinator of Security and Intelligence Services has been vacant since 2012, when Gen. David Sejusa, who had been the coordinator, fell out with the establishment. Katabazi served as the Deputy Director General of the ISO, a position where he often interacted with students and youth leaders to promote patriotism, discipline, and national development.
Col. Katabazi’s new role will be to coordinate the Security and Intelligence agencies with a view to harmonizing activities of the government both within and without, especially the East African and the Great Lakes regions.
Katabazi is a well-composed figure within security and intelligence circles, given his vast knowledge of the sector for over three decades at the helm of the service. Col. Katabazi’s latest docket isn’t limited to Uganda alone, as it extends to the East African region.
