President Museveni has said departed Gen Elly Tumwiine has served Uganda in several capacities and fired the first shot to launch the 1981 – 1986 liberation struggle.
*President Museveni’s Eulogy in Full*:
Countrymen and Countrywomen, especially the NRM- NRA- UPDF fraternity.
With deep sorrow, I announce the death of General Elly Tumwiine which occurred at 5:46am this morning in Nairobi, from lung cancer.
According to his widow, with whom I have just talked to on the telephone, Gen Tumwiine was now 68 years old. I had taught him at Burunga Primary School in 1967, after our A-levels, as a student teacher, before going to university, later that year.
He joined FRONASA with 9000 others in 1979, went to Monduli Military School in Tanzania and was the one who fired the first shot on the 6th February 1981, at Kabamba, at the beginning of the 1981-1986 war of Resistance.
Since that time, Gen Tumwiine has been part of the leadership of the NRA- UPDF as well as serving the government in various capacities.
Those capacities included being Army- Commander, member of the High Command, Director-General of Intelligence, Minister of Security, etc.
He has been a dedicated and hard-working cadre. More will be said about him later. Condolences to his family, to the NRA-UPDF- NRM fraternity and to all Ugandans.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
Signed:
Yoweri K. Museveni
President of the Republic of Uganda/CIC. UPDF