Kampala, Uganda: Former Director of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), Maj Gen James Birungi, has been remanded to Makindye Military Barracks after being charged before the General Court Martial with treachery and offences relating to security.
Birungi appeared before a panel of the General Court Martial chaired by Brig Gen Richard Tukacungurwa on Monday, nearly one year after his arrest in August 2025.
The senior Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer was arraigned alongside three other military officers, who are reportedly facing separate murder charges arising from security operations involving suspected suicide bombers.
The General Court Martial ordered that Birungi and his co-accused remain on remand until August 3, 2026, when they are expected to return for further proceedings.
Proceedings were conducted behind restricted media access after journalists were barred from photographing the accused or reporting from inside the courtroom.
Maj Alex Echeru, the officer in charge of Makindye Military Barracks prison cells, led the security team escorting Birungi to court and enforced the restrictions on media coverage.
According to information available in court, one of Birungi’s co-accused was identified as Byaruhanga, although the identities of the other officers had not been officially disclosed by the time of publication.
The three officers are understood to face murder charges connected to separate operations in which suspected suicide bombers were fatally shot near Kalerwe Market and the Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Munyonyo.
Alleged false intelligence reports
Birungi was arrested in August 2025, months after being removed from frontline intelligence leadership.
According to security sources, investigators accuse him of allegedly generating false intelligence reports relating to counterfeit fuel and suspected suicide bombers, which were allegedly used to facilitate the fraudulent release of government funds.
Those allegations had remained untested until Monday’s formal arraignment before the military court.
The UPDF has not publicly released detailed particulars of the charges.
Before his arrest, Birungi had served as Director of the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), now renamed the Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS).
On April 16, 2025, he was transferred from CMI during a UPDF reshuffle that saw him exchange positions with Maj Gen Richard Otto, who assumed leadership of the military intelligence agency.
Birungi was subsequently appointed Commander of the Mountain Infantry Division, but his tenure lasted barely two months before he was relieved of the role by Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Linked to Besigye treason case
The development is particularly significant because Birungi is among the individuals listed as state witnesses in the ongoing treason case involving opposition politician Dr Kizza Besigye, Hajji Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, and Capt Denis Oola.
The three are accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
With Birungi now facing treachery charges himself, he joins a growing list of senior military officers prosecuted before the General Court Martial in recent years.
Under Uganda’s military justice system, the offence of treachery carries severe penalties, including the possibility of a death sentence upon conviction.
The case is expected to resume on August 3, when the General Court Martial will hear the matter further.
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