Gen Sejusa reveals disappointing retirement package after 50 years of service

Retired Gen David Sejusa has revealed that he received a paltry Shs1.2 billion as his entire retirement package after nearly five decades in Uganda's security services, describing the benefits as modest compared with those enjoyed by some senior civilian public servants.

The former coordinator of intelligence services disclosed the figure on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, while responding to a social media user who claimed his retirement package was Shs10 billion.

“10bn, hahaha! Let me break my oath of not mentioning my personal things on X. My whole retirement package, pension etc, for 46 years of fighting for Uganda was 1.2bn...ONE...not TEN,” Sejusa wrote.

He said the Shs1.2 billion was a one-off payment and challenged anyone disputing the figure to check records at the ministries of Defence and Finance.

Sejusa also complained that retired soldiers do not receive some of the benefits accorded to senior civilian officials after leaving public service.

“No medical cover, no car, no house, no furniture, etc... like they give those civilian retirees/judges, Prime Minister, Vice,” he wrote.

“They even take them abroad for medical care, for us, NOTHING...!!”

Some soldiers who served for decades alongside him, he said, retired with even less money.

Sejusa formally retired from the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) on August 31, 2022, during a ceremony presided over by President Yoweri Museveni at State House, Entebbe. He was among 48 generals retired from active service under Batch 12. His service number was RO00031.

His retirement ended one of the longest and most turbulent military careers among the senior officers who emerged from the National Resistance Army (NRA) bush war.

Sejusa joined the armed struggle that brought Museveni to power in 1986 and rose to the rank of four-star general. He served in several senior positions, including army representative in Parliament, state minister for Defence and coordinator of intelligence services.

But getting out of the army proved almost as complicated as his military career.

Sejusa first publicly sought retirement in 1996 but remained in service. His relationship with the government deteriorated in 2013 after he authored a controversial letter calling for investigations into allegations that senior officers opposed to what became known as the “Muhoozi Project” risked assassination. He subsequently left Uganda for the United Kingdom before returning in December 2014.

He applied again to retire in December 2014. When the army did not grant the request, he went to court.

Sejusa argued that the army had stopped paying his salary and withdrawn his uniforms, guns, housing and transport allowances while at the same time refusing to discharge him.

In 2016, the High Court ruled in his favour and declared him constructively discharged. The court awarded him Shs750 million in damages and ordered payment of salary arrears and retirement benefits.

That victory was later overturned. In February 2022, the Court of Appeal ruled that the High Court had no authority to retire Sejusa because the decision belonged to the UPDF Commissions Board. The court consequently held that he remained a serving officer.

Three months later, Sejusa signed retirement documents at the UPDF headquarters in Mbuya, ending a battle to leave the military that had stretched for more than two decades.

His retirement finally took effect in August 2022.

At the ceremony, Sejusa struck a conciliatory tone. Speaking for the retiring officers, he expressed pride in having served in the NRA and UPDF and thanked Ugandans for supporting the guerrillas during the bush war. Museveni advised the retiring generals to invest their benefits rather than squander their savings.