Retired Brig Gen Charles Bakahumura has been arrested as investigations into alleged false intelligence and treachery within Uganda’s military intelligence structures widen, with former military intelligence chiefs increasingly being drawn into the probe.
Bakahumura was arrested on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, together with retired Maj Gen Abel Kandiho, another former head of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), now known as Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS).
The two generals were among 19 senior UPDF officers who officially retired on August 20, 2026, making their detention less than three weeks after retirement a major development in the ongoing investigation.
According to military sources, their arrests are linked to an inquiry reportedly sanctioned by Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. A source familiar with the investigation said more people connected to the same file are still wanted.
The investigation centres on allegations that false intelligence was generated within military intelligence structures, with some officers already facing serious security-related charges.
Former DIS chief Maj Gen James Birungi, Director of Counter-Terrorism Col Peter Ahimbisibwe and Director of Special Operations Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga are among officers who have been arrested in connection with the investigation.
Birungi and Byaruhanga have since been charged with treachery before the General Court Martial and remanded to Makindye Military Police Barracks. Birungi was arrested after appearing before a board chaired by Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt Gen Samuel Okiding, which had been instituted by Gen Muhoozi.
Bakahumura is not new to Uganda’s military intelligence establishment. He served as CMI chief from 2012 to 2017 before becoming Chief of Logistics and Engineering, a position he held for about seven years. He later served as Uganda’s defence attaché in Turkey.
Kandiho succeeded Bakahumura as CMI chief in January 2017 and was later promoted to Brigadier and Major General. His detention alongside his predecessor has therefore brought two former heads of Uganda’s military intelligence into the same investigation.
The circumstances of Bakahumura’s arrest had not been publicly detailed by the UPDF by Wednesday evening. However, reports indicate that Kandiho was picked up from his farm in Gomba District.
The arrests also followed a series of posts by Gen Muhoozi after videos emerged showing retired generals dancing during their farewell ceremony at State House Entebbe.
Gen Muhoozi said the officers involved would be investigated and warned that some of them would be arrested.
“I think from now it’s forbidden for generals to dance too much next to State House. We are investigating all the generals who were dancing too much. They will be arrested soon,” Gen Muhoozi said.
In another post, the CDF wrote: “This is NONSENSE! And ALL involved will be arrested!”
He also questioned the reason for the celebrations, asking: “They were dancing because they were happy to be free of UPDF?”
As the arrests began, Gen Muhoozi announced that one of the retired generals had been captured.
“We have captured one of the dancing Generals. Another one will be captured soon,” he said.
He later appeared to refer to one of the generals believed to be Maj Gen Kandiho, saying: “One is running for dear life in one of his farms in Gomba. He might try escaping to Rwanda. We shall capture him wherever he goes.”
Gen Muhoozi also said other retired generals could be hiding at the home of senior presidential adviser Gen Salim Saleh.
“The others must be hiding under Afande Saleh’s bed. But I will look for them,” he said.
Bakahumura’s current arrest should, however, be distinguished from a 2022 incident in which he was questioned by CMI while serving as Chief of Logistics and Engineering.
In March 2022, Brig Bakahumura was summoned and interrogated at CMI headquarters in Mbuya after attending UPDF prayers at Kololo amid investigations into alleged misuse of military fuel by officers under his command.
At the time, reports indicated that one of the officers under the logistics command had been found with fuel cards worth more than Shs1 billion, leading to the arrest of five logistics officers who were detained at Makindye Military Barracks. Army spokesperson then Brig Felix Kulaigye denied that Bakahumura himself had been arrested. However, that is the genesis of his troubles amid allegations that he had accumulated extra wealth.
For Maj Gen Kandiho, his woes relate to allegations that he sometimes relied on cooked intelligence, which, if proven, carries a death sentence.
That 2022 matter concerned the alleged misuse of military fuel and is separate from the current investigation into alleged false intelligence and treachery.
The investigation will determine the extent of the alleged false intelligence operation, the officers involved, and whether other former or serving security officials will face arrest or charges
