The acting UPDF spokesperson, Lt. Col Ronald Kakurungu, released a statement on Tuesday evening confirming new appointments made by the Head of State, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Among the new appointments include Maj Tom Magambo as the new Criminal Investigations Director in the Uganda Police Force. Magambo, who has been in the Internal Security Organization (ISO), replaces AIGP Grace Akullo as head of the Criminal Investigations Directorate. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Akullo is unwell, therefore unable to perform.
Major General Geoffrey Katsigazi Tumusiime is the new Deputy Inspector General of Police taking over from the deceased Lt Gen Paul Lokech, who succumbed to a blood clot in August last year.
As the Commander-in-Chief, the President has the power, sometimes with the advice of the army leadership, to appoint or designate any military officer to any command positions any time without giving reasons for the choices.
President Museveni has built a reputation for appointing Army Generals into the Uganda Police Force, one could speculate that Museveni trusts their discipline and leadership skills. This deployment brings to six, the number of UPDF officers in Police. The president has for long complained that the police force has been infiltrated by ‘weevils’. He has always attributed this to high crime.
Who is Major General Geoffrey Katsigazi Tumusiime, the new Deputy IGP
He is a Major General in the UPDF and prior to his current assignment, he served as the Deputy Commander of the UPDF Air Force. Previously, he served as the Defense Liaison Officer at the headquarters of the East African Community in Arusha,Tanzania.
Major General Geoffrey Katsigazi Tumusiime served in the past as Commander of the UPDF Motorized Infantry Brigade and as the Acting Chief of Staff of the UPDF Land Forces, among other appointments.
In January 2020, he took over as Deputy Commander of the UPDF Air Force, replacing Major General Gavas Mugyenyi, who was appointed Uganda’s military attache in India. On March 28, 2020, he was promoted from the rank of Brigadier to that of Major General.
Who is Maj Tom Magambo, the new Criminal Investigations boss
Magambo has been serving as the coordinator of the Eastern Africa Fusion and Liaison Unit (EA-FLU), a regional intelligence-gathering centre based in Entebbe.
The centre’s mandate is to support and facilitate regional cooperation initiatives to curb terrorism and other transnational threats posed by organized criminals and has 10 countries that subscribe to it including Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tanzania.
