Muhoozi Kainerugaba is shaking up Mbuya Hill. The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) is sifting the wheat from the chaff. In recent weeks, the media has been awash with news reports of the CDF cracking down on entrenched, systemic corruption at Mbuya Hill, the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) headquarters, by effecting arrests of high-ranking military officers in the UPDF, suspected of engaging in corruption and many Ugandans have welcomed the news.

After being appointed CDF in 2024, the fiercely patriotic Kainerugaba made it clear that when it comes to stamping out corruption, no one is untouchable and he has followed through on his promise.

Towards the end of June this year, in a radioed message, the CDF ordered an inquest to investigate, “The gross and flagrant acts of disinformation and deception committed by officers.” The Oxford dictionary defines disinformation as, ‘false information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media.’

Corruption is nothing to be proud about. Corrupt people are not clever; they are crafty individuals who frustrate infrastructure development and deny citizens decent goods and services. As for these corrupt military officers, who are under investigation, not only does their highly unpatriotic behavior violate the army code of conduct, it is disconcerting to learn that they even went as far as staging fake ‘terrorist attacks’ to compel an increment in the counter-terrorism budget, for self-enrichment. Squandering security funds is a security threat in itself, as it endangers national security. What will happen if (God forbid!) a real terrorist strikes, and our army is caught unawares, because counter-terrorism money has been ‘eaten’ by a corruption syndicate?

“There will be no mercy for the corrupt,” Kainerugaba warned, reiterating his firm anti-corruption stance, while addressing a Uganda Airforce College graduation ceremony on Thursday, July 3, 2025.

Fatigued by years of corruption scandals, what Ugandans want now is a person in a position of authority who is ready to stamp out corruption once and for all, not empty rhetoric; and that is what they see in Kainerugaba. The CDF not only abhors corruption, he has consistently sought soldiers’ welfare, by providing good meals, building decent accommodation, ensuring salary increment and promoting sports.

The security budget is classified. Every financial year, security takes the lion’s share of the national budget; understandably so, since we are a landlocked country and we have to protect our borders from enemies, both domestic and foreign. A classified budget implies that accountability has to be handled with high moral integrity, especially since the security budget is in trillions of shillings.

In Luke 3:14 (NlV) when the Roman soldiers approached John the Baptist at the River Jordan, asking him what they should do, he advised them on their code of conduct saying, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

When you grow up in a peaceful country like Uganda, it is easy to take peace for granted because you do not know what living in a war-torn country feels or looks like—except in the movies. Uganda is a haven of peace; so much so that when it comes to refugees, it is the number one refugee-hosting country in Africa and the third globally. Uganda hosts refugees from South Sudan, DRC Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi.

Psalm 127:1 (NKJV) says, ‘Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.’ While we thank God for the prevailing peace and security, Uganda is currently enjoying, we should not take it for granted.

For God and my country.

The Writer works for Uganda Media Centre