Brigadier General Asaph Mweteise Nyakikuru has been appointed acting Commander of the Special Forces Command (SFC), the elite Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) unit responsible for protecting President Yoweri Museveni, members of the First Family and other key installations. The appointment was made by Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who also serves as Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations. Nyakikuru has been granted the acting rank of Major General, with both the appointment and promotion taking immediate effect.
He replaces Major General David Mugisha, who is set to leave for the National Defense College course abroad in the coming months. During Uganda’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia, Nyakikuru played a key role in operations against Al-Shabaab militants, including efforts that helped push the group out of strategic positions in Mogadishu.
In South Sudan, he commanded commando units during the 2013 conflict, where UPDF forces helped President Salva Kiir’s government repel an attempted takeover by forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar. He has also been involved in military operations against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in western Uganda and campaigns against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda.
