Brig. Anthony Lukwago replaces Brig. Omola as UPDF Commander in Somalia

He replaces Brig. Gen. Peter Gaetano Omola who ended his tour of duty and handed over command to him at Basecamp Sector One headquarters in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Speaking at the ceremony, the ATMIS Force Commander Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding emphasized troop aggressiveness against Al-Shabaab to deny the latter freedom of action.

“To you Anthony you have come at a time of the most dangerous phases of war-withdrawal. We are phasing down leaving a big gap to cover. The road map to withdraw must be robust. We need to be more aggressive,” he said.

The ATMIS Force Commander pointed out that ATMIS is reaping the benefits of the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) intervention in the pacification of Somalia.

He noted that handing over Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to Somali Security Forces is an achievement of the African Union mandate of pacifying Somalia.

He added that the Federal Government of Somalia can now stand on its own when defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.

“We have started reaping what brought us to this country. Even our brothers and sisters who lost their lives, their blood was not in vain. SNA is now self-sustaining, we have mentored them, and they are building capacity albeit on a small scale,” Lt. Gen. Okiding acknowledged.

He appreciated the President of Somalia Hassan Shiekh Mohamed for prioritizing efforts in force generation within the shortest time who are now fighting on their own. President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the Commander-in-Chief, was hailed for his foresight in stabilizing Somalia.

He said if Uganda had not intervened, then Somalia would continue experiencing spillovers of insanity.

Gen. Peter Omola elaborated on the achievements attained during his tour of duty. These ranged from combat deployment of air assets in four sectors 1, 3, 4 and 5, continued implementation of the Somali Transition Plan through mentoring and coordination, sustainability operations, facilitation and provision of humanitarian assistance to local communities to maintain an enabling environment with the Federal Government of Somalia.

He further highlighted the challenges faced in Sector One such as inadequate force enablers, poor road infrastructure and harsh environment affecting equipment, and inadequate deployment of SNA to cover the expansive area of responsibility. “The revised ATMIS Concept of Operation requires a FOB to be manned not less than 200 personnel, troops to be agile, lethal, flexible, adaptable and responsive. Yet ATMIS mandate is to conduct a phased handover of security responsibility to Somali Security Forces. The drawdown is not aligned to the situation on the ground,” noted Gen. Omola.

In his acceptance speech, Gen. Anthony Lukwago Mbuusi expressed his sincere appreciation to President Museveni for the trust and responsibility bestowed upon him.