President Yoweri Museveni, also the Commander in Chief of UPDF, advised retiring senior army officers to invest their retirement packages wisely and not see retirement as redundancy.
He commended the retirement package’s quality and emphasized the importance of using it wisely.
In an event at State House Entebbe, 11 generals officially retired, joining 99 senior officers who retired earlier, making it a total of 110 senior officers retiring this year.
President Museveni cautioned against ambitious investments and encouraged small, stable ventures like food production. He urged retirees to become local counselors to help improve household incomes.
“This package you have got is really good. Be very careful not to misuse it by being like people with ambitious plans like building hotels or schools. Gov’t builds schools , how do I as an individual build a school? What I do is simple but sure. With 50 million shillings I can buy 4 acres of land and practice agriculture,” he said
He added: ” Like a man called Nyakana in Fort Portal area listened to our message and with 1.2 acres of land, he earns over 240 million Shillings in a year from 8 cows of milk and poultry eggs so if you can get five acres, this is a lot of land that can help you to get a lot of income. If you invest in food production, you cannot go wrong.”
Museveni praised UPDF’s contribution to Uganda’s development and the region’s stability. He highlighted Uganda’s economic progress and low inflation compared to the world.
” I really congratulate you for belonging to such a glorious force and making your own contribution to it because it solved very many problems for our people. When you look at our economy now, it’s a totally different story from what it was in 1986 and even different from what is happening in the world.” he added
The Minister of State for Defence and Veteran Affairs and the Chief of Defence Forces Jacob Oboth Oboth also commended the retiring officers and thanked the President for the improved retirement benefits.
Oboth recognized that the retiring officers likely have unfulfilled goals due to the complexities of the modern world. He reassured them that their work will continue, even in retirement, and their positive impact on UPDF’s well-being and operational effectiveness is undeniable.
Chief of Defence Forces Gen Wilson Mbasu Mbadi congratulated the retiring generals for reaching the culmination of their careers. He expressed gratitude to the President for the improved retirement benefits, which have alleviated concerns about the future and reluctance to retire. Gen. Mbadi emphasized the positive impact of these enhanced emoluments on the retiring officers’ peace of mind.
The 11 retired generals include; former Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura, Lt Gen. James Nakibus Lakara, Maj Gen. Samuel Wasswa Mutesasira, Maj Gen. Joseph Arocha, and Maj Gen. David Wakaalo.Others are; Brig Gen. Austine Kasatwooki Kamanyire, Brig Gen. Stephen Oluka, Brig Gen. Frank Katende Kyambadde, Brig Gen. Emmanuel Kwihangana, Brig Gen. Wilson Muhabuzi and Brig Gen. Ham Atwooki Kaija.
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