Museveni meets security chiefs

President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the commander in chief of the armed forces has met all the country’s security chiefs in a meeting held at State House, Entebbe.

“I met with security chiefs yesterday at State House Entebbe. Our discussions focused on the general security situation in the country,” Museveni tweeted on Wednesday without divulging any details of the meeting.

The closed-door meeting saw the President meet all the security chiefs at once, for the first time since the end of the January,14 polls in which he was declared the winner after flooring National Unity Platform's Robert Kyagulanyi, his closet rival.

This website has also learnt that during the closed-door meeting, the security chiefs discussed with the commander in chief, ways of improving and consolidating the country’s security.

The meeting was attended by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen David Muhoozi as the Chief of Defence Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Special Forces Commander and  Maj Gen Paul Lokech, the Deputy Inspector General of Police among other top security brass in the country.

With only a month to the January 14 polls, President Museveni made a major shakeup in the security set up  in which he appointed Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba as the new Special Forces Commander to replace Maj Gen James Birungi who was sent to South Sudan on a special assignment to monitor the demoblisation and integration of South Sudan troops.

The President also appointed Maj Gen Paul Lokech as the new Deputy Inspector General of Police to replace Maj Gen Sabiiti Muzeyi.

The changes according to many, were informed by failure by security agencies to properly handle the deadly November 18 and 19 protests in several parts of the country that left over 50 people dead.

It is said by insiders that the commander in chief was furious with the manner in which the protests simultaneously broke out without detection by security.

Consequently, the newly appointed commanders were tasked with ensuring there is no repeat of the same as the country geared towards the 2021 general elections which many had predicted to be violent.

However, the polls went on safely and President Museveni has on several occasions boasted of the same.

“You heard people saying that there will be violence in elections but we disappointed them because everyone voted in peace. They then said if NRM wins, then we shall have serious violence, where is it? I want to assure you that no one will disrupt the peace and unity of Ugandans,” Museveni has said on several occasions.

However, many Ugandan have complained of the abduction of their relatives by security organs towards, during and after the 2021 elections.

The President recently said the people had been arrested for either participating in the November 18 and 19 protests or were planning to disrupt the January 14 polls.

Government is yet to release a list of those who are missing despite a directive by President Museveni over the same and this has prompted many to conclude that the directive was only meant to calm the angry and worried Ugandans about the whereabouts of their relatives .