President Museveni has announced delegation of command authority of the military and defence forces to Gen Wilson Mbadi.
Gen Mbadi is the Chief of Defence Forces in the UPDF.
The president on Sunday announced that by virtue of the powers enshrined under Article 98(1) of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, and Section 8(1) and (2)(a) of the UPDF Act, 2005 he had delegated command, control and administration to Gen Mbadi to command all elements of the UPDF.
“I salute the late Lt.Gen(Rtd) Pecos Kutesa for steering this effort as the first Chairman of the UPDF Establishment Committee and congratulate the UPDF on the launch of this milestone towards a more matured and modern force,” Museveni said.
Following the statement by the president, many started asking questions on what the commander in chief meant.
However, according to the army leadership, the UPDF Establishment 2021 that the President handed to Gen Mbadi is a document that enables changes including merging of some UPDF departments, the creation of new ones, and discarding others to improve command, control and administration of the Forces.
By handing the document to the CDF, he has been by law given the mandate to ensure all is implemented.
This means Gen Mbadi now has full powers over command and control of the UPDF and can make decisions on behalf of the nation in regards the army, other than waiting for the commander in chief.