General David Muhoozi is the current Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) after he was appointed in 2017. Before, he commanded the Land Forces and also served as the Military Lawyer at the Court Martial.
A law graduate from Makerere University, Muhoozi entered NRA/UPDF in 1985 a year before President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni took over power.
Who is Muhoozi?
Gen. Muhoozi was born on September 27, 1965 in Mbarara District to Mzee Jackson Rubakuba, a retired police officer and Mrs. Edinansi Kyomugyemo Rubakuba in a family of fourteen children
He is a lawyer by profession and holds a degree of Bachelor of Laws (Hons), obtained from Makerere University
He attended Masaka Secondary School and Mbarara Secondary School for his O’Level and Kigezi College Butobere for his A’Level.
He also obtained a post graduate diploma in legal practice from the law development Centre in Kampala, Uganda.
The General also holds a Masters in Arts (International Studies) from King’s College London and Masters in International Affairs from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Gen. Muhoozi joined the army in 1985, undertaking basic military training with the then NRA guerillas at Semuliki and Buhweju/Nsika in Western Uganda.
He was commissioned to the rank of second lieutenant in 1989 after undergoing the officer cadet course at the School of Infantry Jinja from 1988 to 1989.
He has also undergone the following military training and programs during the course of his career: Junior Command and Staff College in Jinja in 1992, Company Commander’s Course at Monduli Military Academy in Tanzania in 1998, Senior Command and Staff College in Ghana in 2004/05, and National Defense College at the Royal College of Defence Studies in the UK in 2007.
Prior to his current position, Gen. Muhoozi served as the Commander of the Land Forces (CLF) in the UPDF, from 2013 to 2017. In his role as the CLF, he was closely involved in preparing, deploying and supervising Ugandan battle groups that are the main component of the African Union peace enforcement operations in Somalia under AMISOM.
He also served as the Air Defence Division Commander from 2011 to 2013, as the Armored Brigade Commander from 2008 to 2011, and the Motorised Infantry Brigade Commander from 2006 to 2007. He had a brief stint as the Air Force Chief of Staff in 2008.
In his long and eventful career to date, Gen. Muhoozi served with the military intelligence, he was an instructor at the School of Infantry Jinja, and a platoon commander in the early 1990’s. He served as the defense counsel of the military court – the General Court Martial based at Makindye military barracks.
General David Muhoozi is the current Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces. He is married to Stella Alibatesa Muhoozi and they have been blessed with four children.