By Frank Kamuntu
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who is also the Commander-In- Chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has today passed-out 203 officer cadets at Uganda Military Academy, Kabamba.
The President congratulated the new officer cadets on being commissioned.
“There are three (3) types of people among the 203 cadets. One type are the ones who have done officer cadet plus a degree at Makerere University for three years, and then the others who did the officer cadet course without a degree, the third group are what we call professionals who joined the army in order to do technical work as you heard we have engineers, doctors, lawyers, teachers. These ones do that work in the army but in order for them to fit well, they must do some acclimatisation training which they have done here for 6 months and then they are given ranks so that they fit in the army,” he noted.
President Museveni explained that in the past regimes, Uganda had a problem of having an army of illiterate people, which was dangerous to the country.
“Those illiterate people could not fight because fighting needs knowledge that is why we defeated them. We told them that please recruit educated people in the army, but they were not interested, they thought illiteracy was good for the army which we didn’t agree with,” he said.
“I congratulate Uganda as a country for having an army which is educated, able to absorb modern ideas, including the ideas of fighting the modern war which needs a lot of technical information.”
President Museveni also congratulated the Ministry of Defence and the army commanders led by the CDF for listening to his directive to turn the training schools into centres of excellence.
“They showed me the master plan, it will make Kabamba totally a real type of centre in terms of accommodation and training facilities,” he said.
On the side of the officer cadets, Gen. Museveni assured them that they made the right choice to join an army like UPDF, saying that it’s a good force with a good history and a lot of potential for progress.
“All you need to do, first of all, is to look after your health, don’t ruin it by involving in prostitution, alcoholism and other diversions so that you remain fit,” he said.
The President also cautioned the officers against corruption.
“It’s not correct for you to pollute your record with corruption, it’s not correct at all. Even when we were getting small salaries, there were plans for the welfare of soldiers; the army schools to teach the children of the soldiers free of charge, housing so that you don’t have to pay rent, medical care and even Wazalendo SACCO where you can go and borrow and do some development in your individual capacity,” he stressed.
“Then the support for the spouses of the soldiers to do some economic activities around the barracks to get some additional incomes. Even when we were getting low salaries, we had ways of how to progress ourselves and families without going into corruption. These days the salaries are improving also, there’s no need for you to be corrupt,” he added.
The President further encouraged the Military school which has embraced agriculture in the area, to lead by example in adopting irrigation practices, which could significantly increase production.
Additionally, President Museveni awarded the outstanding officer cadets who excelled in their training at the Military Academy. The top award went to Mr. John Muhenda. Mr. Muhenda, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery, was commended for his exceptional performance across all fields of the training program.
The Minister of State for Defence in charge of Veteran Affairs, Hon. Huda Oleru said as the Ministry and UPDF, they celebrate the culmination of the hard work, dedication and perseverance of the officer cadets.
“Your graduation marks the end of the challenging journey but also the beginning of the new chapter of your military career. Today, you have earned the right to be proud of yourselves,” she urged.
Hon. Oleru also acknowledged President Museveni for the unwavering support towards the military and building their capacity to the level of becoming a professional army.
The Deputy Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding said Kabamba military academy is a large part of President Museveni’s strategy and guidance to build Uganda.
“Kabamba is one of the areas that you guided us to be escalated up as a centre of excellence. Your Excellency, in that regard, we have already taken some steps. The first step was to get the master plan of this institution which we are now progressing very well, and we are now moving to phase two to ensure that your guidance comes to a successful conclusion,” he said.
The Commandant of Uganda Military Academy- Kabamba, Brig. Gen. Wycliff Keita informed the President that the 203 officer cadets comprises professional cadets from intake 7 and those of intake 3 under the bachelors of Defence Studies program.
“Your Excellency sir, in addition we have officer cadets who completed their training at the esteemed Kenyan Military Academy; one officer cadet from the Officer Training Academy of India and one officer cadet from the Royal Air Force College in the UK, these two have joined their colleagues to receive their commissions today,” he said.
“Your Excellency sir, this cohort also includes one officer cadet from the Republic of Rwanda and 9 officer cadets from the Republic of South Sudan, reflecting the spirit of regional cooperation and unity.”
Brig. Gen. Keita also revealed that during the training, the officers demonstrated commitment and unwavering dedication, discipline and excellence.
“We are confident they will serve our country’s with distinction,” he assured.
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