KAMPALA — President Museveni has appointed Lt. Gen Nakibus Lakara, the current AMISOM Deputy Force Commander in Charge of Operations as General Manager of Uganda Air Cargo Corporation (UACC) after he fired Eng. Frank Kyankya.
Army sources have confirmed Lt Gen Lakara’s appointment.
Defence spokesperson Brigadier Richard Karemire told local media that a new team of senior army officials has been put in place to run the institution.
Karemire also revealed that in the interim, Col Emanuel Kwihangana from Airforce is running the institution pending the return of Gen Lakara from Somalia. He didn’t speak of when Gen. Lakara is expected to return from Somalia.
The new shakeup at UACC also saw Lt Gen James Mugira, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Enterprise Corporation, the business arm of the armed forces, appointed to the Board.
UACC established in the 1994 to Provide and operate safe, efficient, adequate, economical and properly coordinated air transport services within and outside the country, for cargo, passenger, chartered passenger flights, air mail services and flight training.
In 1990s while at the rank of brigadier, Gen Lakara served as the commanding officer of the UPDF 2nd Division based in Mbarara and UPDF chief of staff but was relieved of his post and court marshalled on account of “ghost soldiers in the army”.
Following the dismissal of some of the charges, and acquittal on others, he remained undeployed from 2003 until 2011 when he was admitted to the National Defence College, Kenya for a senior staff strategic course.
In April 2015, he was promoted to major general and posted to Somalia with AMISOM.
In February 2019, he was promoted from the rank of Major General to that of Lieutenant General, in an exercise that witnessed the promotion of over 2,000 UPDF men and women.
He is being praised to taming Alshabab dominance in Somalia.
President Yoweri Museveni last week vowed to crack a whip on all government officials.
He has since cleaned NIRA, URA and KCCA among other looming changes.
