Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have passed out 485 post cadet officers of intake 06/23 at Oliver Reginald Tambo school of Leadership at Kaweweta in Nakaseke District.
The cadets who were passed out on April 20 include 438 male and 47 female officers who completed a one month intensive Post Cadet Ideological Orientation training course at Kaweweta.
Speaking during the pass out, the Military Police commandant Maj Gen Don Nabaasa, who represented the Land Forces commander Lt Gen Kayanja Muhanga, noted that “the security of Uganda is still calm only that terrorism, cattle rustling, general criminality and effects of bad weather continue to threaten national security.”
However, he observed that the situation in the Karamoja sub region is normalising under the army’s 3rd and 5th division which has cracked down on cattle rustlers.
Meanwhile, Maj Gen Nabaasa said that the ADF and Al-Shabab rebel groups still pose security threats in Eastern DR Congo and Somalia respectively.
“We have a lot of hope in you young officers who will soon take over leadership responsibilities of the UPDF so as to move the country forward. Defending the sovereignty of a country is a do or die and requires solid ideological grounding,” Maj Gen Nabasa emphasized.
The Deputy Director General of the Internal Security Organisation Lt Col Immy Katabaazi said: “To an officer of the army, the guiding element is ideology. Without ideology, any force would be a disaster.
According to the commandant of the leadership school Col Justus K Rukundo, the group of 485 participants started the training course on March 21, 2023.
“The aim of the course was to impart ideological knowledge to enable the freshly commissioned junior officers be change agents in their respective units and formations,” Col Rukundo explained.
According to the army, participants were taken through a number of training programmes that included skill at arms, body physical fitness, ideological clarity and consciousness training at individual, institutional and national level and Kiswahili language, among others.
On his party, Col Okei Rukogota disclosed to participants that they were being trained to take over as current UPDF leaders gradually retire.
“This achievement is yet another great milestone in the growth of this centre of leadership training,”said Col Rukogota who represented UPDF’s the Chief Political Commissar Maj Gen Henry Matsiko.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
