Three years after his release by the army court, Col Atwooki Ndahura remains out of public eye with no official deployment.
Together with his boss Gen. Kale Kayihura, Ndahura who at the time served as head of crime intelligence in Police was arrested in 2018 on charges of failing to protect war materials.
He was picked from Masindi, his native home by UPDF soldiers, on 8th June 2018 and spent 8 month in military detention before Court released him on February 2019, on non-cash bail of 10 million.
Prior to his appointment in Uganda Police in 2015 as director of Crime Intelligence Col Atwooki had served in many capacities in the UPDF establishment and the assignments brought him closer to President Yoweri Museveni which made him one of the most influential soldiers of his time.
For example Atwooki was Former commander in the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU) a lethal unit in the UPDF charged with the President’s security.
PPU has since been renamed Special Forces Command (SFC).
Atwooki, according to records is among the few highly trained senior officers.
Surprisingly, in his intake into the forces, Ndahura is the only one with a lower rank of a Colonel.
For example, in 1998 UPDF sent a number of its combatants, Atwooki inclusive to Company Commanders Course in Monduli, Tanzania.
By then he was at a rank of Lieutenant while others were below him.
To date, all the other officers are either serving as Generals, Lieutenant Generals, or Major Generals while Atwooki remains Colonel with no job.
Those who have worked with him say he is intelligent and thinks faster in containing every condition.
In 2006, Atwooki who was a Lt. Col. Acting as Third Division Commander devised means which combated insecurity in Karamoja.
There had been sanity for over 15 years until late last year when deadly cattle rustling resumed causing mayhem in the region.
Atwooki was also posted in Somalia commanding UPDF contingent under AMISOM to fight Al Shabaab terrorists. He did wonders.
Prior, Ndahura was the chief of planning in the East African Standby Force a position held by high-ranking soldiers, but he executed it as a Lt. Col.
In 2001, Lt Col Ndahura, then a captain in the presidential guard brigade, was accused of orchestrating election violence in Rukungiri District against Opposition supporters of Dr Kizza Besigye, who was contesting against President Museveni in that year’s general election. Lt Col Ndahura was also accused of fomenting violence against Kinkizi West constituency candidate, Mr James Garuga Musinguzi when he was contesting against Mr Amama Mbabazi.
In 2015, the IGP (then) Gen Kale Kayihura, appointed Ndahura head of the police Directorate of Crime Intelligence.
Gen Kayihura said the appointment took immediate effect adding that his expertise will strengthen police intelligence capabilities.
However, 3 years later, he was arrested alongside his boss Kayihura, charged and detained for 8 months before he was released on bail.
Three years later, his name is mentioned nowhere as the army keeps reshuffling, appointing, transferring, assigning and deployment its officers.