The 12th Parliament on Tuesday, 11th August, commended His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda and Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Gen (Rtd) Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, for his leadership that has delivered four decades of peace and security in the country.
The appreciation was made during the 15th sitting of the 1st meeting of the 1st session of the 12th Parliament, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa.
Addressing the House, the Deputy Chief of Defence Forces (D/CDF) and UPDF Representative, Lt Gen Sam Okiding, thanked President Museveni for his “mighty leadership” over the past 40 years.
The President, in his State of the Nation Address delivered on 4th June, prioritised in security and thanked the nation for its role in maintaining it.
“Above all, I thank God for all these victories and for the peace in the Country in spite of so many evil people that have been plotting to disturb the peace,” said Museveni.
Lt Gen Okiding hailed the UPDF under the leadership of the President Museveni for its tireless efforts in keeping Uganda secure and stable.
“We have been able to protect this country with the little we have for the past 40 years,” he said.
The D/CDF underscored the role of citizens in building the national defence, which he said has enabled Uganda to enjoy peace and security.
“I want to thank all of the Ugandans for enabling him build a well robust National Defence. Rt Hon Speaker, world over National Defense is built by citizens, its built by every body , for the last 40 years Uganda has experienced high levels of peace and stability,” Lt Gen Okiding cited.
He noted that despite Uganda’s small geographical size of 242 square kilometres and a depth of only 42km, the UPDF had developed a robust security system.
“We have been able to protect this country with the small we have, the few kilometres.
This robust system gave birth to a well developed national security system which has put us on the map internationally, today we are a very critical security asset, everybody eyes on Uganda,” noted Lt Gen Okiding.
Lt Gen Okiding attributed the achievements to the years of NRM leadership under President Museveni and the citizens of Uganda, and urged Ugandans to guard the peace jealously.
“As a country, we should jealously defend what we have, because most people don’t have even a quarter of what we have as a country,” he concluded.
Karamoja Security Reaffirmed
In ministerial responses, the Minister of State for Defence and Veterans Affairs (Veterans) Hon. Huda Oleru, assured the people of the Karamoja sub-region of continued protection by the UPDF amid concerns over insecurity.
“UPDF has a full formation in karamoja, we have a barracks in Moroto and units in other near districts and basically it is to protect the Karimajongs and neighboring districts , therefore the security which UPDF has created in Karamoja will not be distabilised,” she confirmed.
UPDF Representation in UWOPA
In other parliamentary business, Hon. Col Meeme Sylvia, Brigade Operations and Training Officer for Military Police and UPDF Representative, was voted as the UPDF representative on the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA) for 2026.
