By our reporter
On Wednesday, President Yoweri Museveni presided over the retirement of several UPDF officers from the rank of Brigadier to Lieutenant General.
Among the retirees was Kasirye Ggwanga who was in March promoted from Brigadier to Major General.
General Kasirye Ggwanga who joined the armed forces in 1972, on several occasions has been announcing publicly that he cannot retire from UPDF since he hates living a civilian life.
After the latest retirement approach, Kasirye Ggwanga talked to one of the online news sites and revealed that, “Don’t tell me about retirement. I don’t give a damn about retirement. I am Major General Kasirye Gwanga.”
Who is Kasirye Ggwanga?
First Kasirye comes from a peasant family in an Indian dominated, small urban centre in Mubende sold puppies at Shs100 to educate him , Kasirye Gwanga went to Namukoni Primary School (present day Mityana S.S), he then joined Kibuli SS for his O’level. He never went beyond.
After his O’level, Kasirye joined the army as the only solution to getting rich. He was then recruited by Uganda Army in 1972, which trained him and posted him to Arua in West Nile as a map instructor until 1977.
In 1978, he was promoted to artillery officer and by the time the Tanzania led liberation war ousted Idi Amin, he was a staff Sergeant.
After the overthrow of Amin, the liberation forces sent him and his colleagues to Luzira Prison for 897 days as prisoners of war. He got disorganized so much so that he swore never to join the army again and resolved to settle down and rehabilitate himself.
And guess what prompted the brigadier to re-join the army? He had a brother who was killed because he had refused to turn him in. Kasirye re-joined the army to revenge the murder of his brother.
He was killed by a man called Maj Ageta. According to Kasirye, Ageta nowdays lives in Tanzania and he is still wants to kill him for in order to avenge his slain brother.
He joined the Uganda Freedom Movement later named Freedom and Democracy Movement of Uganda. This was a rebel outfit (about 650 men) fighting Milton Obote’s regime in Mawokota, Mubende, alongside Luweero based National Resistance Army of Yoweri Museveni.
When Obote’s government was overthrown, his successor, Tito Okello Lutwa invited all rebel groups for the Nairobi peace talks. He declined to go there and instead joined forces with Museveni in 1985 whom he had first met in 1983.
Kasirye was part of the National Resistance Army (NRA) rebel group that brought President Museveni to power in 1986. He has rose through army ranks up to where he is now.
He says he enjoys living alone that why most times he stays at his farm house in Mubende.
He never discloses the number of children he has and their different mothers.
In an interview conducted by Monitor newspaper on 18 March, 2012, Kasirye adamantly asserted that he does not have friends, because all his childhood friends are dead.
“These people you meet at 30 years are not true friends; they just want to gain from you,” He said.
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