Security forces have reportedly arrested retired Lieutenant General Peter Elwelu in Soroti City over allegations of involvement in activities said to threaten national security.

The arrest was announced on Monday evening by Cris Magezi, the Acting Director of Defence Public Information, who said the former Deputy Chief of Defence Forces had been on the run before he was apprehended.

According to the security authorities, the operation follows the recent recovery of 15 firearms, military uniforms and two pickup trucks allegedly connected to the retired senior army officer.

Authorities indicated that Elwelu would be produced before court and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

However, they had not provided detailed information about the specific offences he is expected to face or the circumstances leading to his arrest.

The development comes after weeks of growing security attention surrounding the former military commander, following allegations of a possible plot to destabilise the government.
In late October, Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced that security personnel had recovered guns and ammunition from one of Elwelu’s residences in Teso.

Muhoozi also disclosed that several former military personnel had been arrested over their alleged connections to the retired general and urged him to surrender to security authorities.

Elwelu’s relatives have previously rejected suggestions that he was involved in rebellion, expressing concern over the allegations against him.

From ordinary soldier to senior UPDF commander
Born on June 12, 1966, in present-day Kalaki District, formerly part of Soroti District, Elwelu joined the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1987, shortly after the National Resistance Movement (NRM) came to power.

His early education was reportedly interrupted by financial challenges and insecurity associated with insurgencies in the Teso sub-region during the 1980s.

He subsequently joined the military as an ordinary soldier and gradually climbed the ranks through military training and operational assignments.

His professional military education included training at the Tanzania Military Academy in Monduli and the Cadet Officer School at Gaddafi Military Barracks in Jinja.

Throughout his career, Elwelu participated in several military operations, including deployments in the Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Uganda during the campaign against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony.

In 2007, he commanded Uganda’s first contingent deployed to Somalia under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), an operation established to support the Somali government against armed insurgencies.

He later held several senior command positions, including leadership of the UPDF’s Second and Third Divisions.

In June 2013, he was appointed commander of the Second Division, headquartered in Mbarara, where he served until January 2017.

His career took another major turn in January 2017 when he was appointed Commander of the UPDF Land Forces. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant General in February 2019.

In June 2021, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni elevated him to the position of Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, making him one of the most senior officers in the country’s military establishment.
Kasese operation attracted controversy
Despite his rise through the military hierarchy, Elwelu’s career was not without controversy.

He attracted national and international attention in November 2016 when he commanded the military operation against the Rwenzururu Kingdom’s palace in Kasese District.

The operation resulted in more than 100 deaths, including civilians, according to reports at the time, triggering widespread criticism over the conduct of security forces.

The attack also resulted in the arrest of Rwenzururu King Charles Wesley Mumbere and hundreds of his subjects, who subsequently faced various criminal charges.
The government eventually dropped the charges against Mumbere in June 2023.

Elwelu remained Deputy Chief of Defence Forces until March 2024, when he was replaced in a military leadership reshuffle.
He continued serving in public life before officially retiring from the UPDF in August 2025.

His reported arrest now places the former military heavyweight at the centre of a major security investigation, with the possibility of criminal proceedings expected to attract considerable public interest.

The case is particularly significant in the Teso sub-region, where Elwelu was born and began his journey from an ordinary soldier to one of the most influential figures in Uganda’s military establishment.

Further details surrounding the allegations, evidence against him and the formal charges are expected to emerge as the legal process unfolds.