In memory of General Aronda Nyakairima

By Brig. Charles Bakahumura

Once in a while, a towering figure emerges in times of crisis and displays exceptional and rare leadership skills that help to turn around a bad situation. Unfortunately, in most cases, such people do not live for a long time.

History is full of many examples of such people both from the Holy Scriptures and ordinary life. General Aronda fits well in the above categorisation. Indeed, his character and personality were not commonly found in many individuals leave alone his style of leadership.

As one of the very few individuals to whom he genuinely considered as his trusted confidants, I felt it was an obligation to share the strong feelings I have developed over the years about this giant of a man and perhaps that would contribute to putting his name in posterity.

From the moment he was declared dead at Dubai International Airport to the time I decided to write this article, I have received countless messages of condolence from far and wide. Most of these people knew so well the special relationship I have had with him, especially during the period he served as UPDF Chief of Defence Forces.

It was a great honour for me to get to know him and I must emphasise that our relationship was purely work related. I was also privileged to be one of the very first few individuals to learn about his demise. This has no doubt confirmed the close and special relationship that I enjoyed with him.

I first got to know General Aronda a few weeks after his appointment as Army Commander in 2003. That time I was in Nairobi getting prepared to be deployed in Southern Sudan as it was known then as part of the IGAD military team of officer to monitor and verify the violation of cessation of hostilities agreement between the government of Sudan and SPLM/A rebels.

After consulting some of the officers at UPDF headquarters about an officer who could help him revive the department of inspectorate, he was given my name by I guess the then Lt Col David Muhoozi, currently holding the rank of Major General and a position of Commander Land Forces.

He decided to reverse my deployment and appoint me as his Director of UPDF Inspectorate at Bombo Army Headquarters. I was directly answerable to him and at the beginning; I got frightened of assuming such a high profile appointment while having a junior rank of Major without the required experience.

I remained very close to him since that time because of the good working relationship we developed. Had it not been because of his good mentorship and constant guidance, my military career would have ended quite early because of the complex assignments I found myself handling. I found him a very strict General who did not tolerate incompetent and lazy officers.

I worked hard to meet his expectation and I am glad that I never disappointed him. He has been a great motivator and mentor of young and promising UPDF officers who felt disillusioned and disappointed by some elements of bad leadership within UPDF ranks. Many people young as well as old people within and outside the military can give testimony of his inspirational leadership and command skills.

Once I met a Kenyan Colonel who was serving as a Defence Attaché in UK in 2005 while I had gone to attend command and staff course there. Upon learning that I was a Ugandan, he intimated to me that he had attended a similar course to the one I was attending together with General Aronda in Fort Leavenwort, Kansas, USA in 1993.

He described him as a naturally born a leader because of the way he immediately assumed a leadership role of all the African students attending the course. A well-groomed and responsible leader does not wait for formal appointments in order to execute the required tasks.

He simply emerges and tackles problems and that was Aronda Nyakairima. I have heard from those who served with him in the Bush war during the liberation struggle that he displayed the same quality as he did in Fort Leavenworth in spite of his junior position.

He was a down to earth individual who detested the trappings of power and glory that come with bid appointments. I always found him always approachable any time I wanted to speak to him be it day or night. I am sure this is a trait he got from President Museveni to whom he worked for a long time.

Many senior leaders switch off their telephones or refuse to pick them when you call on the pretext of being very busy. That had never been the case with General Aronda. He would not fail to return your call if he found a missed call.

He believed and practiced the virtue of team work which helped build espirit de corps in the military throughout his tenure as its head. He once told me that a good leader once he assumes a senior position of responsibility, he should avoid getting bogged down by rumormongers who will try to tell you about the weaknesses of your predecessor. Instead, he should work to consolidate the achievements already made and strive to do better.

This is what he exactly did as he always cautioned that such people will be the same to rush to your successor to tell him about your weaknesses. He taught me by example that everyone under my command will always have a contribution to make towards the achievement of mission success in spite of individual weaknesses.

That I should always identify the strength of an individual while helping him to overcome his weaknesses. It is this philosophy of leadership which helped him achieve a lot of successes against Kony.

 Such a philosophy needed to be inculcated in many officers who felt side-lined and witch hunted by the previous administration, if we were to have a cohesive force to fight the nation’s wars. He taught many of us after he took over UPDF command from Gen James Kaziini RIP that without team work, we would not defeat Joseph Kony leave alone build a viable military institution that was the main focus of the commander in chief then.

I believe that it was this philosophy which led to UPDF playing a leading role in both national, regional and international missions after the defeat of LRA in 2005. This of course did not augur well with some people who felt that he had out shined by his performance. In addition to this, he detested tribalism and corruption.

At a personal level, I can summarise his character in three words: honour, duty and loyalty. He was a selfless and kind person. He had a very good sense of humour and was always ready to forgive those who offended him. He loved all humanity equally and had no time for pettiness. He was very loyal to his leader President Museveni as well as his friends.

He had time for everyone who reached out to him regardless of tribe, race and creed and was always willing to listen to divergent views before building a consensus especially in meetings he chaired. Above all, he was a political animal. We shall miss him dearly in the intelligence as well as security agencies community. In his capacity as chairperson of National Security Committee, he always worked for the common good.

Within a short period of his tenure as Minister of Internal Affairs, he succeeded in improving coordination and team work. Of course this is not to say that he did not have weaknesses. Personally, I will forever be indebted to him for having played a crucial role in raising me up and mentoring me well. Every time I think about him, I can’t help remembering a song I used to fancy during my university days which went like “….You lifted me so high in a loving way….Heavens must have sent you baby”. Rest in peace my Boss and friend.

The writer is the Chief of Military Intelligence

Published with the permission of General Katumba Wamala, UPDF-CDF.