Amid heightened attention, now fired Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen Katumba Wamala has revealed his retirement plans after handing over office to Gen Muhoozi on Tuesday next week.
General Wamala has been made a junior Minister for Works in the government after serving as the top army official since 2013, a departure seen as a demotion.
Inevitably, Katumba in an interview with Daily Monitor said he was ‘very, very appreciative of the way’ his ‘career has grown.’
He said: “I’m now 60 and for a General [under UPDF rules], you retire at 65. I, therefore, have three to five years to retire. I have been seconded to the Ministry of Works and I don’t see myself coming back to the army after my tour of duty there [Works ministry]. It would make a lot of sense to me as a person to retire after that time. I would retire very contented with the way I have progressed in the career and as a person in life.”
“I joined the army in 1979 and in 1980, I was a Lieutenant. Every soldier joins the army dreaming to be a General. My dream has been achieved. What more should I ask for? I have gone to the battles. I have led soldiers. I have led officers. I have held positions of responsibility. And luckily, I might be retiring without losing a leg or an arm. There are many soldiers without limbs in Mubende [UPDF Casualty Wing] and yet we have been at the same frontline. I have nothing to be discontented about.”
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Asked about his post-retirement plans, Gen. Katumba, 60, said: “I have spent 37 years in the army. I’m now going to be 65. All these 37 years, I have been to wars and have had no time for my family. There is a time when you call it quits. And I think this is the time.”
He declined to comment further on whether he has plans to stand for an elective office in 2021 or much earlier if a chance was availed.
