From Luzira's Prison cells to the battlefields of liberation, Major General James Kiiza Ssebagala Created unbreakable legacy

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By Maj Bilal Katamba

Death finally caught up with Major General James Kiiza Ssebagala (RO/00803) on July 6, 2025. For a man who had been declared dead twice before, initially when he disappeared from Kapeeka Primary School in 1963 to join the Uganda Rifles, and again during the fierce Battle of Kabasanda in 1985, when BBC's Focus on Africa announced his demise, but this third time proved tragically final.

When doctors at Victoria Hospital confirmed his passing, even those accustomed to Ssebagala's legendary "resurrections" had to accept that Uganda had lost one of its finest soldiers.

The burial on July 12 at his ancestral home in Mulule, Kikondo, Ssemtuto Town Council brought together more than 20 General Officers who had served alongside this military icon.

As the 13-gun salute was heard across the hills and his casket was lowered into the ground, the reality struck home, the man who had cheated death twice could not do so a third time.

The military honours befitted a warrior whose career spanned nearly six decades, from the Uganda Rifles through the turbulent years of the Uganda Army, to his role in shaping the National Resistance Army and Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces.

Ssebagala's mother, Nalongo Nakungu Sarah, had once wailed "Omwana wange n'abulako amayitire!?" (My child has disappeared without trace!!) when he first vanished as a boy to join the military. The family, following Buganda tradition, had even held funeral rites for him “Baamukumira olumbe”. Little did they know this would become a recurring theme in the life of a man whose dedication to soldiering would see him repeatedly defy the odds.

The year was 1985 when the National Resistance Army, riding high on successive victories at Masindi, Kabamba III, Kembogo Birembo, Mbarara and Masaka, had developed a sense of invincibility among its fighters. When the ever-cautious Chairman Yoweri Kaguta Museveni deployed the 7th Battalion under Senior Officer Matayo Kyaligonza to dislodge entrenched UNLA forces at Kabasanda in Butambala, he reinforced them with two additional companies from the 13th Battalion.

These were placed under Major James Kizza Ssebagala, then second-in-command to Ivan Koreta. The battle that followed would become legendary in NRA history, so fierce that the NRA forces had to make a tactical withdrawal to Lukalu before regrouping and eventually dislodging the dug-in UNLA troops.

In the thick of the fighting, a report flashed across the BBC's Focus on Africa programme, Ssebagala had fallen. When the news reached Chairman Museveni, he came to the battlefield himself to assess the situation. "Ssebagala mbona BBC enatangaza kwamba omekufa?" the Chairman asked with his characteristic dry humour. From somewhere in the chaos came the battle-hardened Major's reply, delivered with that trademark broad grin: "Afende mimi yiko, awo ndio wanajua!" This was Ssebagala's second "resurrection," proving once again that reports of his death were greatly exaggerated.

His military career was a testament to reinvention and perseverance. From a Primary Four dropout, he rose to become a Senior Officer in the Uganda Army by 1977, compensating for his modest formal education with an insatiable intellectual curiosity nurtured through decades of faithfully listening to BBC broadcasts.

This habit gave him a worldview and perspective that set him apart from peers of similar background. His tactical brilliance became evident during the liberation war, particularly as deputy to Ivan Koreta in the 13th Battalion's gruelling campaigns across Karuma, Olwio, Packwach, Nebbi, Bondo and finally Arua. But perhaps his most enduring legacy would be in the field of military training.

Early 1987 Ssebagala was appointed the Deputy Chief of Training and Recruitment (CTR) working under Julius Chihandae. When the NRA needed to transform itself into a professional army after taking power in 1986, it was to Lieutenant Colonel Ssebagala that President Museveni entrusted the first cadet intake (01/1988-89).

The officers who emerged from his rigorous programme would go on to form the backbone of Uganda's military leadership - names like Generals David Muhoozi, Sam Okiding, Joseph Musanyufu, Dick Olum, Gowa Kasiita, and dozens more. Night after night, Ssebagala would gather all 219 cadets and impart the principles that defined his own life and career: "You must put your country before self," he would tell them in those deep evening sessions.

"Love your soldiers like your children. You must be smart, and inspire your subordinates." These weren't just platitudes, they were the code he lived by.

Ssebagala's loyalty to Uganda was tested in the ordeal of 1979. As commander of the Tororo-based Air and Sea Borne Battalion during Idi Amin's regime, he faced a moral crossroads after Amin's overthrow. While many of his colleagues chose exile, Ssebagala made the extraordinary decision to surrender to the new authorities. Together with three fellow officers - Captains Kasunku, Mathias Bakabulinde and another from Rukungiri, he approached his long-time friend Patrick Batanda. "I'm not running away," he declared firmly. "If I'm to die, I should die from my homeland." Batanda drove them in his Beetle car (UEG 152) to a Tanzanian roadblock at Kireka where they surrendered to a lanky, light-skinned Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Forces captain.

What followed were six gruelling years in Luzira Prison, until Museveni's insistence during the August 27-December 17, 198,5 Nairobi peace talks secured the release of political prisoners.

Emerging from prison, Ssebagala went straight to Ngoma where he joined the NRA's Kigweri Political School for orientation under Rtd Brig Gyagenda Kibirango and Kage Kagumire (The first NRA Inspector General of Military Equipment - IGME). This marked the beginning of his deep bond with HEX Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the NRA forming a bond that would see him through decades of service. Ssebagala knew how to make friends, and retain them too, a number of his friends that attended his funeral met in the 1960 and 70s Rev Prince Kajumba, Partrick Batanda. The two, told Ssebagala's stories of the youthful years.

To his family, Ssebagala was 'Mugatta', the glue that held everything together. He organised graduations and funerals with military precision, but set uncompromising boundaries when it came to corruption. "Temumpita nga omwana akutte ku sente y'omulimu," he would warn sternly, refusing to bail out any relative caught stealing public funds. His home was open to all, biological children and extended family alike, all treated with equal care and discipline. This same egalitarian spirit extended to his military subordinates, earning him both respect and deep affection.

A man of great faith, Ssebagala was instrumental in the construction of St. Baptist Church Namungoona, making regular contributions towards its building. Yet he insisted on complete transparency, even in matters that others might conceal. He specifically instructed Reverend Luninze, his spiritual leader: "When I die, make it clear I had three wives." True to his word, during the week-long vigil, Reverend Luninze honoured this request whenever he spoke. This uncompromising honesty defined Ssebagala's character, just as much as his trademark immaculate uniform and crisp military salutes embodied his professional ethos. If his Berette cap was a side, he would ask his juniors to hold the salute until he had his gear on just to give back an appropriate salute, “Kijana subiri….wait..wait, ….now salute” he would say.

His relationship with President Museveni was particularly special. When in 2013 he struggled to complete his Kireka home, he approached the President at Kisozi with photographs of the unfinished house. "Mwishimiwa Raisi, mbona nimishindwa kuimalizia nyumba yangu," he confessed in his fluent Swahili. Knowing Ssebagala's legendary integrity, Museveni immediately directed the State House Comptroller to assist. The story goes that when Ssebagala received the chegue, he misread the amount, missing a zero. Only when colleagues pointed out the actual figure on his way back from Kisozi did the emotional weight hit him. "Mzee, Mzee. Mzee ankubye enkata. Yamponya okufiira mu komera, anzimbidde ne nyumba," he reportedly said through tears. He believed, and certainly rightly so that he might have died in prison had Museveni not pressured Lutwa's government to release all political prisoners. This moment captured the depth of their bond built in the struggle for liberation and tempered through decades of mutual service.

As General Muhoozi Kainerugaba noted in his eulogy, Ssebagala was "a patriotic, selfless officer who dedicated his life to Uganda, mentoring many officers." From the battlefields of Kabasanda to the lecture halls of training schools, his influence shaped generations of Uganda's military leaders. The soils of Mulule now cradles a true soldier's soldier, a man who lived the values he preached, loved his country without reservation, and left behind a legacy that will never surrender to time. When the last notes of the bugle call faded on that

July 12, afternoon, one truth remained undeniable: James Kiiza Ssebagala had marched into history, but his example continues to inspire all who believe in service beyond self.

The writer is the outgoing Ag Deputy Director, Defence Public Information MODVA/UPDF