Hon. Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala is the current Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces and one of the ten members of parliament representing the UPDF in the current 9th Parliament.
The Chief of Defence Forces is the head of the Defence Forces and is responsible for the Command, Control, and Administration of the Defence Forces. He is also the chief military advisor to the President and Commander-in-Chief.
Education and Military Training
Gen. Katumba Wamala was born on November 19, 1956 on an Island at Bweza, in Kalangala District. He holds a Master of Science degree in Strategic Leadership from US Army War College and a Bachelors degree in International Relations from Nkumba University. He also studied Agriculture at Bukalasa Agricultural College from 1977-1979.
Gen. Wamala joined the army in 1979 and was commissioned to the rank of Second Lieutenant in 1980 after completing the Officer Cadet Course in Tanzania, at the Monduli Military Academy. He has since done several other military courses among which are Platoon Commander’s Course, Company Commander’s Course, and Junior Staff Course, all at School of Infantry, Jinja – Uganda. Gen Katumba also completed a Combined Arms Combat Course in the former USSR, Senior Command and Staff Course at Kaduna in Nigeria and graduated from the US Army War College, Pennsylvania.
Career
Prior to his current position, Gen. Wamala served as the Commander of the Land Forces (CLF) in the UPDF, from 2005 up to 2013. He also served as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Uganda Police Force, the highest rank in Police, from 2001 – 2005. He was replaced as IGP by Gen. Edward Kale Kayihura. Gen. Wamala was the first active UPDF soldier to serve as the head of the Uganda Police Force.
Gen. Katumba Wamala was an officer in the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) at the time the NRA/M captured power in 1986. He transitioned into the NRA/UPDF after that and has been serving with distinction since.
Gen. Wamala commanded military operations against insurgents of the West Nile Rescue Front II in West Nile and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Northern Uganda. In 1998 – 1999, he commanded the UPDF 4th Division, based in Gulu. In 2000 – 2001, Gen. Wamala, then at the rank of Brigadier, commanded the UPDF forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before being promoted to Major General and appointed IGP of the Uganda Police Force.
In 2005, Gen. Wamala was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed the CLF, with his headquarters at Bombo Military Barracks. In his role as CLF, he was closely involved in preparing, deploying and supervising Ugandan Battlegroups that were the main component of the African Union Peace Enforcement Operation in Somalia. In May 2013, Gen. Wamala was promoted to the rank of four-star General and appointed the CDF of the UPDF.
Gen. Wamala, is a renowned rotarian, he is married and has six children.