Former CMI commanders Kandiho, Bakahumura arrested over false intel

What the report says

The Observer reports that retired Maj Gen Abel Kandiho and retired Brig Gen Charles Bakahumura have been arrested in Uganda as military investigations widen into alleged false intelligence and treachery. According to the newspaper’s account, the two former Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) commanders were picked up on Tuesday morning. The reported inquiry is said to have been sanctioned by Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, though the Uganda People’s Defence Forces had not issued an official comment by press time.

The arrests add to a broader case involving senior military intelligence figures. The Observer says four top officers are now reportedly detained over suspected false intelligence reports, including former DIS chief Maj Gen James Birungi, Counter-Terrorism director Col Peter Ahimbisibwe and Special Operations director Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga. The report says Birungi and Byaruhanga have already been charged with treachery before the General Court Martial and remanded to Makindye Military Police Barracks.

The article notes that Kandiho previously headed CMI from 2017 before later being promoted to major general, while Bakahumura led CMI from 2012 to 2017 and later served as chief of logistics and engineering. Both men were among 19 generals retired by the UPDF on August 20, 2026, about three weeks before the reported arrests. The development matters because it points to an internal military crackdown on alleged misinformation within Uganda’s intelligence structures.