Former Western Uganda Youth MP aspirant and daughter to former Presidential candidate, Major General Benon Biraaro, Gwennie Murungi was officially handed over by her family in marriage to Mr Mugaino Baker.
The give away ceremony was held at Pearl of Africa hotel in Kampala on the 7th October and it was flocked by members from both families and friends.
Baker is a high ranking official in the Ministry of Lands where he serves as Commissioner Lands Registry. It’s thus, unsurprising that several employees at the Judith Nabakooba Miistry were conspicuously in attendance as their own took the boldest step to officially declare a general’s daughter for a wife.
Besides high ranking officials from different government ministries and departments, Gwennie’s ‘Kuhingira”was massively attended by members of the first family, which suggested the rekindling of the old comraderie relationship between fallen liberation war hero, Benon Biraaro and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Whereas Museveni was not physically present at the already ppous ceremony in the heart of the city, he was ably represent2d by his brothers, Micheal Nuwagira, Geoffrey Sodo, Kaguta Nzeire, among others members of the famous Kaguta family, adding more glamour to the event.
First son General Muhoozi Kenerugaba also failed to make it to the function of his ‘ sister’ but his apology was conveyed by his right hand man, Dr Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi amid cheers from.
The 2016 general election where the fallen general challenged his old friend for the top seat could have tempted many to insinuate that the right friendship was over but last week’s event proved them all wrong.
Biraro, who the majority of ordinary Ugandans might not have known due to his preference for life away from the limelight wooed many hearts with his exquisite debating acumen and great ideas during the 2016 presidential live debate that was relayed on all televisions.
But who is Biraro, the man whose daughter’s give away has left many talking?
Benon Biraaro was born on 1st March 1958 in Isingiro District. He attended Makerere University, in Kampala, Uganda’s oldest and largest public university, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.
Later, he attended Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, graduating with a Masters in Global Strategic Studies.
Military education
Officer Cadet Course.
Junior Staff College in the United Kingdom.
Junior Command and Staff College at the Nigerian Defence Academy, in Kaduna, Nigeria.
Senior Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, USA.
Africa Strategic Studies Course at Nasser Military Academy, Cairo, Egypt.
Masters in Global Security Studies at Cranfield University, United Kingdom.
Military career
Benon Biraaro joined the Ugandan Bush War on 7th June 1982, straight out of Makerere University.
By 1984, he had risen to the position of secretary to the High Command and National Resistance Council.
By 1986, he was the deputy to Yoweri Museveni’s Principal Private Secretary.
He was then posted to Kitgum District, as the special district administrator from 1986 until 1987.
He then was transferred to Kyankwanzi and served as deputy commandant of the National Leadership Institute.
Next, he served as the commanding officer of the 97th Battalion in Uganda’s Eastern Region, which ended the insurgency in the Teso sub-region and in Tororo and Busia Districts.
Following that, he served as the commander of the military police in Uganda.
He was then appointed the military representative in the Office of the Inspector General of Government.
He then served as a member of the Adhoc Committee on Human Rights under the chairmanship of Abu Mayanja.
He then became the director of training in the UPDF.
In 1998, he commanded the Ugandan contingent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
He then became the commander of the Infantry Division in the Western Region of Uganda.
Following that he was appointed deputy chief of staff of the UPDF (DCOS), the fifth-highest rank in the Uganda military.
Next, he served as the commandant for two in-takes at the Uganda Senior Command and Staff College at Kimaka in the Eastern Region.
He then served as the chief of the Strategic Planning and Management Unit of the Peace and Security Council at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Other responsibilities
Biraaro and several prominent individuals in the Ugandan military and business have started a public-private-partnership with the aim of raising investment funds locally to invest in local infrastructure and industry.
Biraaro was the founder president and investor in Local Investment for Transformation.
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