Generals Salim Saleh, Sejusa moved to tears in emotional reunion

Two of Uganda’s most prominent military figures, Gen Caleb Akandwanaho, also known as Salim Saleh, and Gen David Tinyefuza, known as David Sejusa, shared an emotional reunion in Ssembabule district over the weekend. 

The veteran soldiers were moved to tears, at a public event where they  met following years of political estrangement and self-imposed exile for Gen Sejusa.

At the funeral of Margaret Kibazibira, a paternal aunt of Gen Saleh and President Yoweri Museveni, the National Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), could not hide his emotions as he invited his old friend for a hug.

 “I am so happy to see my colleague, Daudi Tinyefuza. We just embraced each other, he almost threw me to the ground. We greeted each other and cried tears,” Gen Saleh remarked.

He further revealed that he had been actively trying to reach Sejusa, ever since he settled into retirement but to no avail 

 “I have searched for this man for a long time; I looked for his phone number but he hid from me. I want him to come back into his camp. Praise be to God.”

Gen David Sejusa is a historical figure in the National Resistance Army (NRA) and its successor, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), having played key roles in the bush war that brought the current government to power in 1986. 

Over the years, however, his relationship with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government became increasingly fraught. 

The biggest fallout occurred in 2013 when Sejusa, then the Coordinator of Intelligence Services, authored a controversial letter alleging a plot to assassinate top government officials who opposed a purported succession plan—popularly dubbed the 'Muhoozi Project.'

Following the controversial missive, Gen Sejusa fled the country, citing threats to his life, and sought refuge in the United Kingdom, where he spent a period in self-imposed exile. 

He became a vocal critic of the government from abroad, putting him at odds with the military establishment he helped to build.

Gen Sejusa eventually returned to Uganda in late 2014, a move that initiated a slow but gradual process of reconciliation. 

Upon his return, he faced court-martial proceedings related to his prolonged absence without leave, but he was later retired from the UPDF in 2016, along with other senior officers.

While he maintained a relatively low profile in the subsequent years, his visible and heartfelt reunion with Gen Saleh—President Museveni’s younger brother—signalled a possible full closure to the long-standing rift. 

Gen Saleh’s plea for Sejusa to "come back into his camp" suggests a political and personal desire to see the veteran General fully reintegrated within the NRM fold