Breaking!! Why Former CMI Boss Maj Gen James Birungi Was Arrested Like A Chicken Thief

KAMPALA, Uganda — Maj. Gen. James Birungi, The Uganda’s former chief of military intelligence and current defense attaché to Burundi, was arrested and detained over this weekend as part of an investigation into alleged fabricated intelligence.

Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) spokesman Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye confirmed his arrest on Saturday, stating that Birungi’s detention is “in line with the ongoing investigations within his former department.” Kulayigye declined to provide further details.

According to military sources, Birungi’s arrest on Friday came after he appeared before a board of inquiry chaired by Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Samuel Okiding. The board was appointed in June by Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba to investigate allegations that some security operatives fabricated intelligence, leading to operational failures.

The high-level board includes top officials from various security agencies, including the Inspector General of Police Abbas Byakagaba and Director General of the Internal Security Organisation Arthur Mugyenyi. Its primary task is to investigate claims that some operatives may have manufactured fake security threats and bomb incidents in and around Kampala to secure operational funds.

The inquiry was initiated after the arrests of two other senior UPDF intelligence officers, Col. Peter Ahimbisibwe and Lt. Col. Ephraim Byaruhanga, on orders from Kainerugaba. The two former operatives are suspected of presiding over units that may have been infiltrated by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a terror group active in the region.

Birungi is facing similar charges of subversion and is the first former head of an intelligence outfit to be arrested in connection with the investigation.

The inquiry follows several recent incidents that drew public scrutiny. On June 22, the army reported intercepting and killing a female suicide bomber in Kalerwe Market. This came after a similar incident on June 3, where security forces said they had foiled a suicide attack in Munyonyo. Members of the public widely questioned the army’s accounts of both events.

In October 2021, three civilians were killed in a double suicide bombing in Kampala. The attack prompted the UPDF to launch “Operation Shujaa” against ADF terrorists in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in November 2021. Since the operation began, several ADF commanders have been arrested or killed and their camps destroyed.