Mega Fm & Agency
Maj Gen Richard Otto Owilli, the former Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security, has defended his reassignment as a routine military practice, dismissing suggestions that his replacement signals an unusual development within the army.
Otto was replaced by his former deputy, Maj Gen Oscar Munanura, in changes announced on Tuesday by Col Chris Magezi, the UPDF Acting Director of Defence Public Information.
Munanura, who previously held the rank of brigadier, was promoted to acting major general and appointed Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Otto was subsequently reassigned to the Joint Staff Human Resource Management Department pending redeployment.
Speaking to Uganda Radio Network (URN) in an exclusive interview on Wednesday, Otto said transfers were a normal part of military service, allowing officers to assume new responsibilities while others take over their positions.
“These transfers are normal; they are healthy. Before I was there, I was somewhere, and I knew I took over from someone, so someone should also take over from me. Transfers are normal,” he said.
Otto said he was yet to establish where he would be deployed next, adding that he had not handed over his office because the process requires adequate preparation and time.
Responding to questions about why he had not immediately handed over his responsibilities, Otto rejected the suggestion that the process should be rushed, arguing that officers are ordinarily given time to prepare handover reports and facilitate an orderly transition.
“I was just transferred yesterday. Then you hand over today as if you are arrested or a criminal? You don’t even prepare a handover report? Unless maybe when you are running away, we don’t work like that,” he said.
Otto served as Chief of Defence Intelligence and Security for slightly more than a year after his appointment in April 2025. He replaced Maj Gen James Birungi, who previously headed the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).
Birungi is currently facing proceedings before the court-martial following his arrest in August 2025 over allegations of fabricating intelligence reports.
Otto’s reassignment comes amid other developments involving senior military officers. On October 27, Gen Muhoozi announced on his official X account that former Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Gen Peter Elwelu had been stripped of his military ranks and demoted to the rank of private.
Muhoozi also claimed that 20 soldiers attached to Elwelu had been arrested and alleged that some weapons stockpiled by the former senior officer had been recovered from his homes in the Teso sub-region.