Kony’s son demands UPDF deployment two years after military training

Kampala, Uganda | URN | Ali Saloongo Kony, the son of fugitive Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony, has expressed frustration over delays in his deployment by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), nearly two years after completing formal military training.

Kony Ssalongo who defected from the LRA in July 2021 while holding the rebel rank of brigadier, returned to Uganda in July 2023 alongside his family, including his mother, following a reported disagreement with his father.

Upon his return, the former rebel commander met President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at State House Entebbe in August 2023.

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In June 2024, Saloongo was enrolled in a seven-months Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCO) training course at Gaddafi Military Barracks in Jinja City alongside other UPDF personnel.

However, speaking to Uganda Radio Network over the weekend, he said he has neither been deployed nor formally integrated into the army despite successfully completing the course.

“…I did the course and I am at home at the moment. There is nothing happening, and it is like I never even attended any military training,” he said.

The 31-year-old said he has not received any payment following the training and has spent the last two years waiting for communication from the military.

He said uncertainty has diminished his interest in the military career even if the army comes with the offer now.

“At the moment, I am looking at what to do to help me survive. In fact, the training I did is no longer useful, and I also don’t intend to join the army anymore,” he said.

He questioned why he remains idle while others who underwent similar training have already been assigned duties.

“How is it possible that I can stay two years without any message from the army and without deployment as if I didn’t undertake that training, yet I see others being deployed?” he asked.

During his years in captivity, Kony junior rose through the ranks of the LRA, largely due to his family ties to Joseph Kony.

By the age of 27, he had attained the rank of brigadier and held influential positions serving as chief of security and coordination commander for the LRA and allied rebel groups operating in Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR).

He said he has now shifted his focus towards farming and other income-generating ventures rather than depending on government promises.

However, UPDF Fourth Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Felix Busizoori suggested that part of the misunderstanding stems from his expectations regarding military rank.

Gen Busizoori said Kony junior had insisted on being promoted after the training as a brigadier, the same informal rank he held while in captivity.

“You know he was claiming he wanted to be a brigadier, you see brigadier is not just given like that, ranks are not given like that. You do a junior recruit course, and you expect to be a General”, no things don’t happen like that.” Said Gen Busizoori.

Busizoori noted that he could not immediately confirm whether the complainant is receiving any salary or allowances from the UPDF but pledged to make inquiries into his case.

Kony remains one of the highest-ranking LRA commanders to have defected from Joseph Kony’s rebel movement since 2023.

Between May 21 and June 5 this year, at least 19 former LRA abductees and combatants, including two women believed to have been among Joseph Kony’s wives and three children, were repatriated to Uganda following their defection from the rebel group.

Kony remains in hiding and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 2005.

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