Penalty Shootout Aptly Decides UPDF–RDF Friendly Match in Ntungamo

The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) locked horns on Saturday, May 31, in a dramatic football face-off at Kyamate Playground in Ntungamo Municipality, capping a day of military drills with boots on the pitch and boots in the stands.

In a contest that went down to the wire, UPDF’s 2 Infantry Division team outgunned their RDF 5 Infantry Division counterparts 4–3 in a penalty shootout, after a tense regular-time draw.

But commanders on both sides were quick to downplay the result, hailing the mission’s real success: rearming ties and reloading trust across the border.

“There was no winner or loser at Kyamate playground,” declared Chief Guest Lt Gen (Rtd) Jim Owoyesigire, former Uganda Air Force Commander. “We all won.”

The day began with a joint march through Ntungamo town, led by the UPDF 2 Division brass band—boots pounding the tarmac in cadence, flags raised, and spirits high.

The match then took centre field, featuring active personnel and senior officers, including Maj Gen Paul Muhanguzi (UPDF 2 Division Commander), Brig Gen Pascal Muhizi (RDF 5 Division Commander), Brig Gen Richard Karemire (UPDF Joint Staff – Formal Education, Sports and Culture), Brig Gen Emmanuel Shillingi (Uganda’s Defence Attaché to Rwanda), and Col Emmanuel Ruzindana (Rwanda’s Defence Attaché to Uganda).

Lt Gen Owoyesigire described Kyamate as a fitting battlefield for diplomacy, recalling it as the launchpad of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s early liberation campaign.

“It is here in Kyamate where the search for truth by His Excellency Gen (Rtd) Yoweri Kaguta Museveni started nearly 70 years ago. That struggle, of course, was supported by many from your country, including His Excellency Gen Paul Kagame,” he said.

He emphasised the unshakable brotherhood between Uganda and Rwanda.

“In our struggles for freedom and democracy, gallant men and women from both countries fought side by side," he said.

"These are unbreakable bonds. President Kagame and many Rwandans played a key role in our liberation, just as Uganda was instrumental in Rwanda’s struggle."

Gen Owoyesigire praised the football match as a peacetime patrol of cooperation, showing that bilateral ties are no longer just written in memoranda but dribbled and kicked into community fields.

“Regional cooperation must not only be discussed in boardrooms—it should be visible on the ground, in fields like this one in Kyamate and in Musanze,” he said.

Both division commanders—Maj Gen Muhanguzi and Brig Gen Muhizi—saluted the political and military leadership in Kampala and Kigali, crediting Presidents Museveni and Kagame, as well as the respective chiefs of defence, for keeping the peace and green-lighting deeper collaboration.

Before the final whistle, the two armies also planted commemorative trees at the playground, symbolising rooted commitment to environmental protection.

And as the soldiers squared off on the field, medical teams manned another front—offering a free health camp with HIV testing and counselling, malaria screening and treatment, Hepatitis checks, blood pressure monitoring, and blood donation drives.

The outreach was conducted by the UPDF 2 Division medical wing in partnership with the Ntungamo Red Cross, local health units, and Rukungiri Blood Bank.

Among those who observed the friendly fire on the football field were Ntungamo RDC Mr Isiah Kanyamahane, Woman MP Mrs Kamateneti Bata, Mayor Mr Jackjex Kafureka, Assistant District Health Officer Ms Beatrice Chemusto, and community and religious leaders.

Also present were Brig Gen Sam Kakuru, former Deputy Chief of Personnel and Administration; Brig Gen (Rtd) Tumwebaze Okello, Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation; and Mr Savimbi, spokesperson for the Patriotic League of Uganda in Western Uganda.

The RDF will return fire by hosting the next round of the Proximity Games in Rwanda.